Sewing machine

[BDAZ]

2 hours ago, koreric75 said:

perhaps,  from what I understood..he is sewing two 4oz pieces together, and wants a vintage machine...I just wrote a novel to go about my thought process when I started, never meant to imply he should start sewing holsters or go get a 3200...I just offered up some advice over all, and pretty sure I referred to a great little vintage machine that I started with, which was IIRC in the original post, he also alluded to hand bags in his original...I've been getting alot of orders for those little leather dopp kits, and some of those seams can get beefy real quick, so I use the 15-91 to sew in the liner and the zipper, then I need something bigger to handle the corners....yep, it's all in there, just have to filter through 3 or 10 paragraphs of idle ramblings as my train of thought  derails now and again.

P.S. I miss the AZ weather, especially when dyeing my stuff...my poor little airbrush drier never filled up like it does here...oopps there it goes again, choo choo

 

 

Yep, this time of year is perfect leather weather... wet forming takes no more than an hour or two in the sun at 5% humidity.  Where were you in AZ and where are you now?

 

Bob

2 hours ago, dikman said:

As far as that first post goes, you're quite right Bob, BUT (there's always a but) he then says he wants to use 1mm thread. That's when the discussion turned to heavy machines. There are two incompatible elements to his requirements - a (cheap) machine and using heavy thread, which I think has been clarified here. My (medium-weight) machines can do pretty well anything I need except holsters. I've found that using #138 on belts doesn't look too bad, but the holsters have to be hand stitched, which is tedious but strangely satisfying (only problem is I feel that I can't really charge for all the time it actually takes!).

My Seiko, btw, only cost me $150 (Aus) . I just needed to add a servo. It's great with #138. But a 3200 would be nice.....

I don't think he considered the practicality of the aesthetics he would like to achieve. With the walking foot and heavy upholstery thread the Singer does an adequate job for the $$. I turn down jobs for any light weight leathers. I find you can't recoup the cost of time in the price.

Bob

[koreric75]

17 minutes ago, BDAZ said:

Yep, this time of year is perfect leather weather... wet forming takes no more than an hour or two in the sun at 5% humidity.  Where were you in AZ and where are you now?

 i was in Sierra Vista, now back in Shreveport/Bossier, LA...it's I never understood how much humidity really affects things...yep, wet molding would be dry in no time, dye sets quick, but don't leave the lid off of anything, cause it'll be dust in no time...lol

[BDAZ]

24 minutes ago, koreric75 said:

 i was in Sierra Vista, now back in Shreveport/Bossier, LA...it's I never understood how much humidity really affects things...yep, wet molding would be dry in no time, dye sets quick, but don't leave the lid off of anything, cause it'll be dust in no time...lol

That's for sure! I have converted a bathroom to a humidor using  a home made swamp cooler which keeps all my leather and musical instruments at 60% Works like a champ! Wne I lived in SFl, everything turned green!

Bob

[RJLamie]

So I tried the singer 4423 with #92 thread and a 110 needle.  The machine easily sewed two layers of 5oz.  It did it pretty effortlessly but the #92 didn’t have the look I want.  My problem is I have been hand stitching too long and like the look of .4/.6mm thread.  I’m creepy into handbags but the time to hand stitch a complete bag has been more than I want put into projects.  If I can machine stitch the less visible stitches and hand stitch the highly visible ones I would be golden.  I don’t want a huge difference in the thread size.

[RJLamie]

What do you guys think about the Sailrite LS1?  Do you think it could sew a #346 thread with it? What needle size do I need to use?

[BDAZ]

I think you are barking up the wrong mast. Do you have any pictures of your bags with the monster threads?

 

Bob

[RJLamie]

I know the Sailrite is way above my budget of 200 but clearly that was not workable.  I may need to hand stitch a few more bags to put me in a good budget range.

[kgg]

Hi RJlamie,

The Sailrite LS1 is only rated for V92 thread and you maybe able to push 138 through with a few tweaks same with the Reliable Barracuda. Size 346 you are going to need a real heavy duty machine.

[Wizcrafts]

3 hours ago, RJLamie said:

What do you guys think about the Sailrite LS1?  Do you think it could sew a #346 thread with it? What needle size do I need to use?

The Sailrite LS1 maxes out with #138 thread and a #23 needle. To use them you'll need to upgrade to the Monster II balance wheel.

[RJLamie]

Are the maximum thread and needle of a machine based on the available torque from the motor?  If I was to retro another motor or increase reduce ratio would that help or are there mechanical limitations like needle mounts or needle length when I go up in needle size?