Singer 351 Edge Guide

[BigMatt]

I have a Singer 531b -8bl that I believe is the same as a Consew 206rb1. I would like to stitch close to the edge on turned edges. What would be the best guide? I think I can get a roller guide or a presser foot with a built in guide. What is the best method?

[Colt W Knight]

This is what I have on my Consew 206rb-1

Bob Kovar from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines sold it to me for a few dollars.

You have play with position to get the hang of using it correctly or it will cause jumped stitches, but once you figure it out you can sew a belt or purse strap with the roller touching the inside presser foot as quick as you want to sew. I just did a 42" purse strap this morning. Took me longer to do the lock stitches than it took to sew down both sides.

Ive found that I need to put the center of the roller even with the needle, and then I feed my work in from a slight angle .

Edited July 19, 2015 by Colt W Knight

[Uwe]

As to which edge guide works best for you is a bit personal preference. Some like the swing down guides, others prefer the presser feet with the built-in spring loaded edge guide or the arm/bed mounted guides. The presser feet are easy to install and relatively cheap. I've used one on my Consew 225. You can see how it works in a little video I made some time ago: https://youtu.be/Dg12IXhcqkU?t=30s

The swing down guides require threaded mounting holes in a suitable location on the back of the machine. The swing down guides are easy and quick to use and offer the most flexibility with different guide attachments like rollers, straight edge, zipper guides, etc. If you post a close-up picture of the back of the machine near the foot lift lever it will be easier to tell if your machine is suitable for a swing-down guide.

[Evo160K]

Uwe,

Is the spring loaded guide in the video a Consew product?

What type and size of thread were you using?

Thank you

[Uwe]

Mine is a generic presser foot I got on Ebay, not exactly sure from which seller, actually. There are similar presser feet available on Ebay right now (example 1, example 2).

The thread used in the video is size 138 bonded polyester top and bottom. If you watch the video on a PC it should show superimposed captions that provide some additional details.

[Colt W Knight]

Swing guides are expensive for the 206, but it would be nice to simply swing it out of the way.

Uwe, have you experienced the material wanting to jam up against the spring loaded edge guide when you sew thick leather?

I

[Evo160K]

Thanks Uwe, appreciate the information. I'll take another look at the video.

[BigMatt]

Thanks all for the replies. I have a set screw type guide like the one pictured. I just need to get a different thumb screw to match the threads in the bed of the machine.

Uwe, that is exactly what I was looking for - first hand knowledge of the presser foot guide that your video illustrates. I understand it will probably just come down to personal preference, but I was hoping to get a perspective on the matter.

Also, I was wondering if a swing down guide would be better. Any input on this would be great.

Attached are the pictures of my machine.

[Ferg]

I have swing down roller guide for my cylinder arm, it works perfect on it but I didn't care for it on my Consew 206RB5

I have a number of guides for the Consew. I use the roller guide Colt uses on his. Also have a straight guide that I use most of the time.

The straight guide will allow you to go around a corner, holding the leather against it while you turn. Probably my favorite.

I found with the roller guide you have to be careful you do not use too much pressure holding the leather piece against roller. This is not so much a problem if you are sewing at least a quarter inch thickness of veg tanned.

ferg

[Uwe]

Installing a swing-down guide will involve some drilling and tapping for threads. As it happens, I did just that since my last post, haha.

I just had to find out if I can install a swing-down guide (KG-867 in this case) on my Consew 225. I also wanted to get over my fear of drilling into a perfectly good machine. It survived very well, as did I. The back of my Consew 225 is pretty much identical to your Singer.

The installation worked quite nicely and took me perhaps 45 minutes. I used a regular hand drill to drill the holes. I placed a vacuum hose nozzle near the drill hole to suck up the metal shavings after the first hole. The original thumb screw used to adjust how far down the guide drops was a little too big to fit the space, so I substituted a regular M6 hex head screw. I have some of these guides for sale on Ebay, check my Ebay link in my signature below if you are interested in a swing down guide.

Here are some pictures that hopefully illustrate my installation steps:

[BigMatt]

Thanks for all of the input. I think I will start with the roller guide I already have and go from there.

Those swing down guides are super cool. I have experience drilling/tapping cast iron so installation shouldn't be a problem. They really look like the bee's knees. How rigid are they? They don't flex at all?

I have seen the straight guides for quilting, but I wasn't sure how they would work on leather. I will probably try those out too.

[BigMatt]

OK, I tied the roller guide and while it does a good job, I can't get close enough to the edge because of interference with the feed dog. I still have about 1/8" and I am looking for between 1/16" and 3/32".

I am thinking that a presser foot guide wouldn't get me much closer because the closest one is 1/8". I am looking for a guide that would nestle right up next to the presser foot.

Any thoughts before I go off the deep end and buy a swing down guide?

[Uwe]

Perhaps you can put a little shim or washer under the roller guide to raise it up a little so it won't interfere with the feed dog.

The swing down guides are height adjustable so they don't touch the surface unless you want them to.

[iron1951]

Nice workmanship on the KG-867 guide installation on your 225. I would like to know if you used a drill press or hand drill to drill the tap holes. Again, nice installation and well documented.

Also, do you think that the presser foot with the built in spring loaded edge you showed in your video sewing two pieces of felt together would fit my 226? If so could you pass along the make and model number. Being from a small town everything has to be couriered in and I would hate to order the wrong part.

Thanks

Anthony

[Uwe]

Thanks Anthony! I had posted links for the presser feet earlier in the thread. I drilled the holes by hand, setting the machine on its side and shimming to have level drilling surface and the using the built-in water level guide on the back of my drill to make sure I'm drilling perfectly vertical (and holding my breath while doing it, haha).

[Colt W Knight]

My roller guide has up and down play in it, so I can set it on the feed dog and touching the center foot. The roller just rides up and down on the feed dog. I'll check to see how close I can get my stitches to the edge.

Edited July 24, 2015 by Colt W Knight