What Thread Size Is About 1Mm In Diameter And Can A 441 Clone Sew With It?

[Uwe]

If you're looking for a modern, state of the art machine that does what you're asking with a little more versatility than a sole stitcher, consider the Durkopp Adler 969 H-Type cylinder bed or the Durkopp Adler 967 H-Type flatbed. The 969's material handling specs are wicked with a price tag to match.

[Uwe]

I decided to actually measure a stitchline I made with size 415 bonded polyester on my Adler 205. In real life, the 415 thread is indeed very close to 1mm in thickness. If it's the visual you're going for, the size 415 might be all you need. The 441 and Adler 205 specs are similar, so a 441 might be able to handle 415 thread well enough if you sew slowly.

[Uwe]

Another photo of the size 415 bonded polyester thread stitch line:

[DrmCa]

Uwe,

Your thread looks very similar to mine in diameter, at least to my uneducated eyes.

I am getting roughly 0.9mm but considering it a 1mm thread as the caliper is squeezing it ever so slightly.

What size needle are you using with that?

[Uwe]

I use either 200Nm/25 or 250Nm/27 size needles with my 415 thread from The Thread Exchange , depending on the presser foot and material I sew with. I'm pretty sure this particular sample was sewn with a size 25 needle.

[Uwe]

I once made a little video sewing some samples of thick bridle and vegtan leather with a special ridged presser foot, using 415 thread and a size 27 needle.

You can see the video here:

[Trox]

Was at the machine dealer today and he showed me Singer 144 (if I remember correctly - it's a 30" or so long arm walking foot with a boat outside foot installed) that according to him takes size 30 needle and can saw 4 layers of 10 oz leather with 554 thread.

He also said that size 28 should be enough and that I am welcome to come by any time with thread and leather samples and he would let me sew on that Singer.

I only had 2 tiny pieces of leather 3/4x4" with me and he said those are too small.

I had such machine before: Singer 144-305 (30" free space to the right of the needle) It is a triple feed upholstery class machine with a XXL bobbin, with a 20 mm. Foot lift. It was designed to sew door panel for cars and such, it sewed vinyl and leather on to wooden plates. It was used on military tents and such. It even got an medal for its 2WW effort used by the US army. It handles thread size ticket 8 (Nm) or Tex 350 without problems, I never tried anything heavier. However, this is not a heavy leather stitcher, it has a vertical rotating hook and is classified as an super heavy upholstery machine. A heavy leather sticker has a shuttle hook design, that ables it to work with heavy thread tension. 4 pieces of 10 Oz will be about 16 mm thick. You can get the machine to penetrate that thickness of leather, with a strong motor/reducer. But pulling a stitch in it, no I do not think so. It will start skipping stitches long before that thickness because of the hook design. It's a great machine, but do not mistake it for an leather stitcher.

Tor

[DrmCa]

Thank you for the info!

Not exactly 305, but it is in the same league. The one I looked at did not have a wheel in the middle, Just a round bulge up top. I cannot find a picture of the same machine after at least an hour of total googling, so it's 144, but which model is still a mystery as the dealer is adamant there is no 2nd part of the model number.

[Trox]

Thank you for the info!

Not exactly 305, but it is in the same league. The one I looked at did not have a wheel in the middle, Just a round bulge up top. I cannot find a picture of the same machine after at least an hour of total googling, so it's 144, but which model is still a mystery as the dealer is adamant there is no 2nd part of the model number.

Mine had that extra hand wheel on the arm, I found an old picture of it. Adler made the same machine called 220 and of course Juki would not be any different LG 158. There are later models of them too, like the Singer 144B8BL-30 (-10 -20)

http://industrialsewmachine.com/webdoc1/singer/144b.htm

Both Adler and Singer made these for years in different arm length, 10" 20" and 30". Here is the black war horse the US army could not do without: http://industrialsewmachine.com/webdoc1/used/used-singers/144w.htm

Here is a model like mine ,without the extra wheel.

http://industrialsewmachine.com/webdoc1/used/used-brochures/144w.htm

These lang arm machine is very expensive new and can sell for much used too. If you need one you got to pay. On the other hand, it can be difficult to sell too. It's to big for most people, it weight like a ton. These perform best on upholstery material, tent and so on. It's no leather stitcher. However, if you want to sew canvas on trailers, tarpaulins and such. There are no better machine for the job, it has a monster bobbin.

I hope this info answered some of your questions.

Tor

[DrmCa]

The pictures in your 3d link is of the machine I looked at.

I was not considering buying it exactly for the reasons you mentioned - it's too big and too heavy and I already ran out of space 2 machines back.

But it is still good to know. Naively I thought that a big machine with a huge bobbin means it could stitch heavy leather, but you and others on this forum put me straight and I genuinely appreciate you sharing this valuable information.

Just curious: what does the mid-arm wheel do?

Edited August 31, 2015 by DrmCa