Sewing Strapping On A Consew 206Rb-1

[Colt W Knight]

Hello,

I am making some GPS tracking collars for cattle, and I am trying to sew Weaver Brahma strap to polyester seatbelt material on my consew 206 RB-1

Right now I am using #138 thread (have both bonded nylon and bonded polyester) and #23 leather point needles. The machine isn't pulling the bottom thread up. The best I have been able to do is get the bottom to rest on the back side. If I tighten it more, the top thread frays or skips stitches. If I go lighter, the bottom thread bird nests.

Any tips or suggestions?

[JLSleather]

Bigger hole, or smaller thread.

Can you UPsize the needle one size (or maybe that's tops for that machine?)

Worst case, use the 23 needle and reduce thread size (like a 92). Pulls up in the hole a little easier...

Oh, wait... I'm assuming that you ALREADY tried reducing the bottom tension (?).

Edited September 27, 2015 by JLSleather

[Colt W Knight]

Bigger hole, or smaller thread.

Can you UPsize the needle one size (or maybe that's tops for that machine?)

Worst case, use the 23 needle and reduce thread size (like a 92). Pulls up in the hole a little easier...

Oh, wait... I'm assuming that you ALREADY tried reducing the bottom tension (?).

Yeah, everything went to hell when I messed with the bottom tension.

I have some 92, I will give that a try.

Thanks for the tip

[JLSleather]

HEY.. don't that machine have a little round bobbin case with the bottom tension right on the case? If I remember, you can pick up bobbin cases for CHEAP ($5?). Guy could keep one for 138 thread, one for 92, one for 69... never mess with the tension. When you swap thread size, just use the case for that size, and WAH LAH....

[Colt W Knight]

Switching needle types really helped - I almost have it set where it will sew 138 on top and 92 on the bottom with messing up the thread, but I am still not happy. I think I need a bigger needle. It will pull through the seatbelt, but not the weaver webbing. Here I thought sewing this stuff was going to be easier.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Colt W Knight

[Wizcrafts]

Stop using leather point needles on webbing. It frays the strands and makes a slit, rather than a round hole. This change alone may improve the bottom appearance.

#23 round point needle with #138 thread, top and bottom. Lengthen the check spring travel some.

[Colt W Knight]

Stop using leather point needles on webbing. It frays the strands and makes a slit, rather than a round hole. This change alone may improve the bottom appearance.

#23 round point needle with #138 thread, top and bottom. Lengthen the check spring travel some.

You'll have to forgive my ignorance, I don't know much about sewing machines

I started out using a leather point needle, and that wasn't working at all - then I switched to using

135x17 160/23 ( are these round point? They look more pointed)

That made a huge improvement

What/where is the check spring travel?

[Wizcrafts]

Colt;

The check spring is on a second split shaft under the top tension disks. It is the small coil spring with a turnback on the end, which you pull the top thread through, before it feeds up to the take-up lever. Its purpose is to maintain tension on the top thread during the take-up and downstrokes. It must keep the thread taut until the needle penetrates the top layer and must let go before bottom dead center is reached. Everything in between is optional and can make a difference.

The amount of movement of this check spring is determined by a bracket under it. The bracket is movable in an arc on the housing that holds the spring. Loosen the screw going through the bracket and move it one way or the other to change the distance the spring travels, from a resting position.

Instead of a bottom stop bracket, rour check spring may have a sliding block facing outward and behind a knurled nut on the lower shaft. It is secured by a little screw inside a curved slot on the forward facing round plate. These allow a certain amount of fine adjustment of the travel.

Here is a link to one on eBay, with a good photo of the spring and mounting assembly.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CONSEW-206RB-WALKING-FOOT-INDUSTRIAL-SEWING-MACHINE-THREAD-TENSION-ASSEMBLY-/270962678983

Edited September 28, 2015 by Wizcrafts

[Colt W Knight]

I had to go to a number 25 round point needle to sew #138 top and bottom.