Brother Mark Iii Sl-755-3A

[Aeryk]

I just acquired a used Brother Mark III SL-755-3A sewing machine from a friend of my wife, and I was wondering if anyone could tell me what kinds of leather it can handle. It looks like it would work just fine for things like garment and upholstery leather, but can it handle tougher vegetable tanned leathers?

It is in good shape, but sat unused for about 4 years collecting dirt and cobwebs, so it needs a good cleaning and probably a tune-up, just trying to decide if it would be worth putting any money into it, etc.

Thanks for any info.

[Wizcrafts]

It is a high speed garment maker's and tailoring machine. Forget about sewing most leather with this machine.

[Aeryk]

I thought that might be the case, maybe my wife can use it for her sewing business (If she can handle the speed it runs at)

Thanks

[Wizcrafts]

That type of machine is designed with an oil pump and oil wicks. It is meant to spin at over 5000 RPM most of the time it operates. That would be about 90 stitches per second; just a tad too fast for intricate leather sewing!

[Aeryk]

Would it be possible to slow it down by changing out the motor and or pulley, or would that cause the oil pump to not work properly?

[Wizcrafts]

Would it be possible to slow it down by changing out the motor and or pulley, or would that cause the oil pump to not work properly?

You can slow it down to about 2000 stitches per minute and still get decent oil distribution. That would equate to a very manageable top speed of 33 stitches per second. If you use a #14 needle, with #46 bonded nylon thread, and set the stitch spacing to about 16 per inch (1/16" per stitch), you will sew 2 inches per second. That is fairly easy to control! Or, if you stretch out the stitch length to 5 per inch, if it will even allow that length, you could cover about 6 to 7 inches per second. Get 'er done! Now that's moving along.

[Aeryk]

Thanks for all the info, I really appreciate your help. I will play around and see what I can do with it, I am a complete novice with sewing, so even at those speeds it sounds like it might be more than I can handle. My wife has been sewing for like 17 years though, she can probably work with it.

Thanks again

[Wizcrafts]

To appreciate what I am writing about, as regards these high speed straight stitch machines, watch this video.

Yes, you can run them slow for a while. But, they need to be run full out once every so often to get the oil to the extremities. Some people wind the bobbins at full speed to oil the wicks. But, these machines are not meant for continuous slow speed operation.