gottaknow Report post Posted August 16, 2013 (edited) Thought I'd share something from a different perspective, but still machines to sew leather goods. Just faster. We're doing a contract for the US Navy making welding jackets. It's a nice 4 oz suede. We are making our way through 6 pallets of hides stacked about 4' high each. Needless to say, a lot of leather. The spec calls for Kevlar thread, tex 90. Wow, that stuff's expensive! The machines I set up are a Singer 300W flatbed dbl needle chainstitch. I set the needle gauge to 3/16". That is used to create a lap seam with two row of stitching which was required. The other main machine is a Singer 261-3 feed off the arm dbl needle chainstitch. It's not a cylinder machine, but rather a feed off the arm machine that can close a sleeve with little effort. Since both those machines are chainstitches, no bobbins. On the 300W I made a speed reducer as well as making a needle cooler which you can see in the picture is actually under the throat plate and blows air as the needles decend. I'm also running both the needle threads and looper threads through a silicone bath. The 261 has just the needle cooler. The original motor has plenty of torque. I'm using 62x40 needles with a spear point, size 20. Chainstitch machine needles deflect quite a bit more than a lockstitch so the heavier needle must be used. Other misc. equipment required are a Brother progammable bartack, an automatic rivet machine, and an old manual Stimpson kick press for the snaps and grommets. Total time to produce one complete jacket is about 18 minutes. That doesn't include cutting time. The cutters are using Eastman 2" round knives after laying out each hide with masonite templates. I'll have enough scrap suede for the next 10 years! Regards, Eric Edited August 16, 2013 by gottaknow Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thesergeant Report post Posted August 16, 2013 18 minutes?! That's insane. The jacket looks phenomenal too. Thanks for sharing! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirtclod Report post Posted August 16, 2013 That is a interesting machine, heck it's all interesting. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brmax Report post Posted August 16, 2013 Eric thanks for the glimpse in the factory setups, A very good eye opener for me and Just thanks for your help. uh more pics Please ! beings im last for the moment here and semi retired/repurposing myself, I know your busy. Im starting the new to me venture of a 212G140 and this forum and its group has shared many valueble tips. Have a Good Day Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trox Report post Posted August 17, 2013 Hello Eric, nice set up and interesting reading. The needle cooler you made, does it only blow when the needle descend or all the time? ( I know we spoke about this before, but you wrote"when the needle descend") Thanks Tor Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ferg Report post Posted August 17, 2013 Great read Eric. See!! Folks are interested in what you do and say. ferg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electrathon Report post Posted August 17, 2013 Eric, I find this very interesting too. Reading through this and a few other posts you have made my main question to you is about your house. Is it filled with prototypes of what you are making or are you not allowed to bring stuff home? I know I would have difficulty not bringing one of everything home. Aaron Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gottaknow Report post Posted August 17, 2013 Tor, the air flows through an air switch that is activated when you start sewing. It blows air across the needles below the plate. When you stop sewing, the air stops. Arron, we have hundreds of samples at the factory. I will bring one home on occasion if it needs some engineering. Regards, Eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EquusCustomLeathers Report post Posted August 17, 2013 Wow! Many years ago I worked on the production floor at Flags Unlimited. We sure could have used a guy like you around If we had a machine break down, we were instructed to just "set it aside" and replace it with another half broke down machine. Loss of production time was incredible! We had a mechanic that came in part time but he didn't really put a lot of effort into the job. He was probably overwhelmed by the huge stack of broken machines in the back corner LOL Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WScott Report post Posted August 17, 2013 This is pretty cool, definitely big leagues manufacturing How many jackets to produce in the contract? Are they one size fits all? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gottaknow Report post Posted August 17, 2013 We estimated about 2000 units in 3 different sizes. The hides are decent and we don't have to worry about scars etc. I think we'll be finished in October. We got this contract because another factory couldn't make their machines sew them with quality. We redesigned them and they loved our samples. They were trying to do a full felled seam (4 layers) I changed it to a simple lap seam since leather doesn't unravel. The other company simply didn't have the means or machines to make them. We'll likely get to make chaps as well. Regards, Eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
