skeeter Report post Posted July 28, 2013 Was at an auction yesterday and picked up a singer 241-13. And am looking for any information out there. Was able to find and download a manual and parts list. Looks like it is a fast garment machine? Can a servo be added to slow it down to work better for leather? What weight of leather should it be able to sew well? Any info would be helpful and hopefully help my learning curve on figuring out this machine. Thank you Karl Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted July 28, 2013 A servo will allow you to dial down the speed, especially if it has a 2" pulley, rather than the 4" that you probably have now. Garment workers usually sew at 30 to 50 stitches per second. Soft leather is best sewn under 15 stitches per second (-800 rpm). Veg-tan should not be sewn faster than about 9 or 10 per second (~600 rpm). That said, your machine may clear 1/4 inch of soft temper leather, but will need either a Teflon or roller foot to feed it evenly. There are both roller equipped presser feet and roller wheel conversion kits available. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skeeter Report post Posted July 30, 2013 Thank you Wiz it is a 4 inch pulley, So I need to get a 2" pulley a servo and a teflon or roller foot conversion kit? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted July 30, 2013 Thank you Wiz it is a 4 inch pulley, So I need to get a 2" pulley a servo and a teflon or roller foot conversion kit? If you change to a 2 inch pulley, the original belt will be 2" too long. You should locate the length that is stamped on the existing belt (e.g. M42, 3L43, M44) and buy one that is 2 inches shorter. The v-belts used on industrial sewing machines are type 3L. A Teflon foot (with a long slot between the left and right toes) will work fine until you forget to keep it lifted after you pull the material out and drop it down on the teeth of the feed dog (personal exp). As long as you don't let the feeder teeth hit it, this is your cheapest solution. I would buy a couple so you have a spare when you forget to keep it off the teeth. I am looking at a roller equipped foot I bought for my Singer 31-15. It has SPK-3 etched into the side where it mounts to the presser bar. There is a roller inside the front of both the left and right toes, plus four rollers across the middle of the back, behind where the needle stops. It has a long slot to work with either a needle feed or a fixed needle straight stitch machine. I probably paid under $20 for it. While the feed dog teeth can't hurt it, the rollers being lower than the bottom of the foot prevent all of the foot from making contact with the material. This allows some materials to lift with the ascending needle, causing puckering or even occasional skipped stitches. The roller foot conversion comes in two sizes. The smaller wheel lets you get in closer to the needle and lets you turn sharper corners. They work very well on soft and medium temper leather (e.g. shoe uppers, vests, zippers in leather jackets, thin belts, et al). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skeeter Report post Posted July 30, 2013 Thanks Wiz I'll locate some of these and give them a try. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
