New to industrial sewing machines Juki LU-562

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

Nice

[jshep]

Uwe thank you!!! This is exactly what I needed to know!

[advansite]

just got a juki lu 563.  can not find a good reference for needles and thread for doing leather belts/sheaths. any pointers 

[Wizcrafts]

2 hours ago, advansite said:

just got a juki lu 563.  can not find a good reference for needles and thread for doing leather belts/sheaths. any pointers 

Buy System 135x16 leather point needles in sizes 18, 19, 22 and 23. This covers a bonded nylon thread range of v69 through v138. If you are going to sew cloth or woven material, buy 135x17 round point needles in the appropriate sizes. Your machine can use up to #138 bonded thread. It can also sew with thinner thread than #69. Here is a thread and needle size chart to help you choose the best combinations.

[advansite]

so what is a good thread size and needle size for say a leather belt , or a 3/8 inch thick leather sheath 

 

is the needle bigger  as the number gets smaller  ( size 18 bigger than 23 ) 

is the thread thicker as the number gets bigger.. I used 1mm tiger thread to hand sew sheaths.. what is close to that in v size.. 

 

thanks for all the help .. never touched a sewing machine before 

[Wizcrafts]

3 hours ago, advansite said:

so what is a good thread size and needle size for say a leather belt , or a 3/8 inch thick leather sheath 

 

is the needle bigger  as the number gets smaller  ( size 18 bigger than 23 ) 

is the thread thicker as the number gets bigger.. I used 1mm tiger thread to hand sew sheaths.. what is close to that in v size.. 

 

thanks for all the help .. never touched a sewing machine before 

As needle size number increases, so does the diameter of the business end. As the bonded nylon or bonded polyester thread size increases, so does its diameter.

There are very few sewing machines that can even approach using 1mm thread. None of the ones in common use or new ones for sale from our dealers can do much more than 1/2 mm diameter. Only needle and awl or shoe sole machines can use 1mm thread.

[dikman]

Advansite, have you read Wiz's sticky at the top? It is an absolute necessity for anyone starting out and wanting to use a machine to sew leather. Many newcomers who hand stitch ask the same thing, they expect to be able to use a similar size thread when machine stitching, unfortunately that is way beyond the capability of most of the machines commonly used by members here.

[advansite]

not sure what a wiz sticky is.. 

i was just referencing i used 1mm by hand.. no thoughts that i can stick that spool on my machine and i am all set 

my ask is what is a good needle and thread size  for a belt and a sheath 

 

i appreciate the patience and help by you experienced leather workers 

[Wizcrafts]

1 hour ago, advansite said:

not sure what a wiz sticky is.. 

i was just referencing i used 1mm by hand.. no thoughts that i can stick that spool on my machine and i am all set 

my ask is what is a good needle and thread size  for a belt and a sheath 

 

i appreciate the patience and help by you experienced leather workers 

I use #277 bonded nylon thread, top and bobbin, with a #25 leather point needle when sewing holsters up to 1/2 inch thick. Beyond that I switch to #346 thread, top and bottom, with a #26 needle, and increase the stitch length a bit. My current holster machine is a Cowboy CB4500.

A sticky topic is fixed at the top of the list of topics when you enter each forum. I happen to have such a topic that has been locked and remains in its place near the top of the entry page of the Leather Sewing Machines forum. That topic is labeled: The Type Of Sewing Machine You Need To Sew Leather. All of the topics that don't move down with time are called "sticky" topics. It is done by our forum's software.

[dikman]

Sorry, I just assumed that anyone using a forum knew what a "sticky" was. My bad. Thanks Wiz.

Wiz answered your question with his first post. The maximum size you will be able to use reliably is #138 thread. It doesn't look too bad on a dress belt, but on gunbelts it can look a bit "small", likewise on a sheath. 3/8", by the way, is the maximum you can fit under the feet and still sew.