Needle Quandry

[ThreeRivers]

Needle Quandary

In my brief and exciting venture in the world of leather machine stitching I have encountered challenges and some small victories, and spent considerable time learning and being confused, not necessarily in that order. One on the remaining mysteries is the issue of machine needles. There seems to be numerous codes used to describe the size, shape, length, intended use, etc. for the various needles. One would think that he same machine would use the same needle for the same use. Specifically I am referring to the 441 Type machines offered by Tech Sew, Leather Machine Co. and Toledo Industrial.

I looked up the needles on the web sites for the following machines and found that each appears to use a different needle:

Cobra 4 7X4 NW

Tech Sew 5100 7X1

Cowboy 4500 7X3 (DYX3)

7X appears to be the common denominator but after that things change. Are these needles interchangeable between machines or are the machines different enough to require different needles? Is there some sort of cross reference available to decipher the various codes and aid in selecting needles? Thanks !!!!

[CowboyBob]

All the 441 clone type of machine take the 7x3 (which is a round point) and then there's the 7x4 leather point the comes in a nw(narrow wedge point) it doesn't look that good,a LR twist point that gives it a zig-zag look,a diamond point that work s ok & the best needle to use if you want a tight looking stitch is the Schmetz 794S point that looks like a spade point & makes a slice in the leather parallel with the line of stitching (we sell more S-points than the others)

[ThreeRivers]

Thanks Bob, for the feedback..

[Sovran81]

@Bob, could you repeat that for the Consew 206RB?

[Red Cent]

Go to the bottom of the page and click on the leather needle. Bottom left. Bunch of info on this site. As you look at the separate needles, be sure to look for "materials".

http://www.schmetzne...out-needles.htm

http://www.campbell-bosworth.com/supply/needles.html

Edited August 11, 2013 by Red Cent

[Sovran81]

Thanks Red Cent. The pics show it all.