juki lu 562/563 presser feet lifting height

[mixmkr]

When sewing, how high should the walking presser feet lift off the fabric?  On my JUKI LU562, it seems to be about 2-3mm.   What's happening is when I come to a THICK seam (I'm sewing marine canvas), the middle foot and needle can't move the material, because the outside foot is still clamping down.  Gradual thickness changes are fine and it can sew thru 10 layers of Sunbrella fine...up to about 3/8"+ or so.  Just not from 3 layers to 10, without getting caught on the outside foot.   Seems if the presser feet had a greater travel distance when sewing, this might not happen.  They both seem equal at this point too.

I've studied UWE's vids and any others pertaining to this machine I'd appreciate knowing about.

Lastly.... should I keep this machine or consider something in the same league but newer?... Seems the LU1508 would be a step up, with slightly better thickness capabilities and higher presser foot lifting (when not sewing), while machines like the Consew 206rb5 and clones seem to emulate my LU562.

I'm ONLY sewing marine canvas for the most part.  But I'll have some seams from time to time that are like the wall of China.... i.e.....bias binding folded over with 40mil clear vinyl with a couple layers of Sunbrella.....then back to 2-3 layers of canvas.

 

[brmax]

Its a good video to check out, it may have been a long time ago for me and do recall mentioning it with a link to some others, so +1 on the study. Of course do some popcorn!

I have to slow down and take a good look myself at the seam step or any big seam really, but this here discussion we were talking briefly the other day on another juki machine. The walkers all are similar in the "alternating or equalization and step height adjustment"  and I think they all have a different term. One of the very first things that threw me off in these machine terms somebody said a banana link adjustment, I thought omg wha?! where am i.

Anywho that is a term related to that exact adjustment you will find helpful, I'm sure some will chime in maybe with a first check or two with a heading in that direction.

Interesting actually in your other next new machine hunt for your particular canvas work, you wont go wrong with a 1541, seriously! btdt. There are also a couple of 1508 the( N ) and ( NH ), there not a 441 brute but its clear the NH is the top dog under the 441 in my book. Weather ya need that is up to you, I think ya will be happier with a side loader for general canvas.

In doing some leather work this maybe studied a bit more, I know some of the pro shops can tweak some machines to run a slightly bigger thread possibly but not sure going back n forth above 138.

It depends on your finds really, be patient for sure.

Floyd 

Edited December 31, 2016 by brmax

[mixmkr]

thanks Floyd.  In looking at other similar machine .pdf files, I think the "banana" linkage is on the back side...and yes I was able to adjust it and it made a BIG difference in stepping over thick seams.  The adjustment is about a 1/2" either way, with a pin, sliding in the "banana linkage" and being tightened with a nut (in my case a wingnut). 

I've been eyeing the 1541 and will look closer at a 441.  I never go above 138 thread and use a #22 needle typically.  But I do an amount of canvas work professionally, a trade I am just getting into my 2nd year of.  No shortage of business, living on the lakes.  So I need a machine that gives me a good stitch consistently, so I'm not wasting time or sewing thru expensive materials like clear vinyl...as I can't really pull stitches out of that, once gone thru.  Probably the same as a nice piece of leather.

In studying stuff like the Consew machines and their manuals, it seems they are all pretty similar.

[Uwe]

I'm not sure exactly what the question is. Are you saying your max step height is not high enough to step up to or down from thick seams?

In general, the maximum foot lift height is limited by the design of the linkages. If you've already adjusted to maximum foot lift height and it's not enough, there's not much else you can do other than manually moving the material to help step over the seam (lifting the presser feet and moving the material a little bit by hand, then lowering the feet again to continue.)

If the foot lift is less than the height of the seam you're trying to step down from, the inner presser foot will not press against the feed dog and as a result the outer presser foot will not lift up from the material.

On vintage machines when sewing slowly, I think it's okay to dial in maximum foot lift and just leave it there. I cannot think of any real drawbacks of sewing at max foot lift at slow speeds. As the sewing speed increases the large movement start to cause problems due to "foot slap" (feet hitting feed dog hard and fast) and increased momentum of accelerating and decelerating the feet and linkages as they step. If you need to sew fast, then lower the foot lift height and shorten the stitch length to avoid too much stress and wear on your machine.

Some modern machines like the Durkopp Adler M-Type 867 machines allow you to pre-set two different foot lift heights and then quickly switch between two foot lift heights with a simple button press. This allows you to sew fast on a long, flat stretch and when you get to a seam, you can quickly switch to a higher foot lift and slower speed with a button press to step over the seam. This video shows the lift height (and speed) switching at the 4:20 mark:

Just for reference, I think this is the video you referred to in the earlier posts. It shows how to adjust foot lift height on a Juki 563 class machine at the 3:14 mark:

 

[keithski122]

I'm interested in this thread as I'm using a juki 563 for auto upholstery and was thinking of buying a 1508(don't think I'd like a side loading machine).Over here in the uk consew seem to be sold under the seiko brand, don't know what other brands of machine offer similar specs as the 1508.

Edited December 31, 2016 by keithski122

[CowboyBob]

13 hours ago, mixmkr said:

thanks Floyd.  In looking at other similar machine .pdf files, I think the "banana" linkage is on the back side...and yes I was able to adjust it and it made a BIG difference in stepping over thick seams.  The adjustment is about a 1/2" either way, with a pin, sliding in the "banana linkage" and being tightened with a nut (in my case a wingnut). 

I've been eyeing the 1541 and will look closer at a 441.  I never go above 138 thread and use a #22 needle typically.  But I do an amount of canvas work professionally, a trade I am just getting into my 2nd year of.  No shortage of business, living on the lakes.  So I need a machine that gives me a good stitch consistently, so I'm not wasting time or sewing thru expensive materials like clear vinyl...as I can't really pull stitches out of that, once gone thru.  Probably the same as a nice piece of leather.

In studying stuff like the Consew machines and their manuals, it seems they are all pretty similar.

For it to work you need to make sure that both feet are lifting them same as they walk,you can loosen the clamp on the back to make adjustments as needed.You also have the sliding lift adjustment where you can loosen the nut & slide it up for more lift.But you do need to check & make sure first that they both lift the same as they walk.

[mixmkr]

Thanks Bob... yes...both feet lift the same and the JUKI 562 has a wingnut on the back, specifically for this.  Duh... looked in an old manual I had tucked away.  Thx for the reply

Uwe,...yes I was saying I wanted to increase the max step height.  I was wanting to cure...as you said;

"If the foot lift is less than the height of the seam you're trying to step down from, the inner presser foot will not press against the feed dog and as a result the outer presser foot will not lift up from the material

.  With BIG steps, I do as you say, by manually raising the presser feet, going stitch by stitch...and coax the material by gently tugging on the backside, to help out the feed dogs.  Sometimes it would catch on the outer dog, so I ground out one of my dogs with a more rounded approach surface, so the "square" edge of the dog wouldn't want to catch as easily.

Thx for all replies.