Members marronne Posted January 8, 2019 Members Report Posted January 8, 2019 Hello Can you help me? I'm looking at getting a 1950s Singer 15-32. There doesn"' seem to be much information about it on the internet apart from that it is the more robust sister to the Tailor's Singer 31-15. I want to work on horse gear - thick canvas, horse rugs, 1/4 wool felt and soft bag leather. I have read that it will cope admirably - is this the case? Would very much appreciate any advice and opinions on the 31-32 and also the 31-15. Also, if anyone knows of any info on line anywhere ...... Many thanks Quote Current Industrial Machines: USM No6; Claes Atlas; Singer 29k, Union Special 11900; Durkopp 18; Adler 5-36; Singer 108w20; Singer 107w1; Singer 75-1; Singer 46k15; Singer 18-2; Singer 133k13; Adler 30-15; Singer 31k15; Singer 31k32; Singer 134w3; Singer 34k11; Singer 91k6
Members AmyK Posted January 19, 2019 Members Report Posted January 19, 2019 Head on over to the sewing machine portion of this forum. This has been discussed in great detail by Wiz and others. I actually have a file on my desktop of some of their tips (mostly Wiz), and I pasted a small sample here. I still highly recommend you go to the source. "First, I will address the machines seen on eBay, sold as Industrial Strength sewing machines. Most are all metal and proudly state that fact. The sellers talk about the "powerful" 1.2 or 1.5 amp motors that are attached. Some even have ribbed drive belts and gear reduction, to eliminate slippage when sewing thick material. No doubt these are strong machines. I have a few myself. I have 2 old iron body Singers and a metal body Kenmore, even an ancient White Rotary machine. Will they sew leather? Yes, two layers of 2 to 4 oz garment leather. Will they sew leather with nylon thread? Yes, but no bigger than #69 nylon. Will they smoothly feed garment leather as it is sewn? Yes, as long as it is fairly small in size and weight and not stitcky on the top grain. If the top is sticky, no way, Jose. Sticky vinyl and leather usually gets dragged back by the top pressor foot and the stitches are either too short, or filigree the material, or skip frequently." ---- "I have watched the take-up levers on cast iron home sewing machines bend or snap off, under the strain of using #138 thread, while trying to sew 5/16" of veg-tan leather. The slightest thread jam in the bobbin throws them totally out of time. Tensions are hard to balance and they don't hold much thread, once you go beyond size 69." --- Best of luck to you. I have a singer 15 in my workshop right now that I'm trying to get up and running just for thin garment weight leather. I've little motivation however, because saddle stitching by hand on the small items I'm usually making looks so nice and is meditative for me. For someone doing large or high volume leather sewing I'm sure its very different! Quote
alpha2 Posted January 19, 2019 Report Posted January 19, 2019 AmyK! You have your own character on South Park? I really need to do that. Seriously, thanks for your post, it kind of nails what people are faced with on Google searches, or Amazon and Ebay. Jeff Quote So much leather...so little time.
Northmount Posted January 20, 2019 Report Posted January 20, 2019 @marronne Moved your post to Leather Sewing Machines. You'll get more info and feedback here. Tom Quote
Moderator Wizcrafts Posted January 20, 2019 Moderator Report Posted January 20, 2019 On 1/8/2019 at 6:27 AM, marronne said: Hello Can you help me? I'm looking at getting a 1950s Singer 15-32. There doesn"' seem to be much information about it on the internet apart from that it is the more robust sister to the Tailor's Singer 31-15. I want to work on horse gear - thick canvas, horse rugs, 1/4 wool felt and soft bag leather. I have read that it will cope admirably - is this the case? Would very much appreciate any advice and opinions on the 31-32 and also the 31-15. Also, if anyone knows of any info on line anywhere ...... Many thanks I found this: " Same as 31-15 except fitted with reversible drop feed. For cloth. (10/1952) " Quote Posted IMHO, by Wiz My current crop of sewing machines: Cowboy CB4500, Singer 107w3, Singer 139w109, Singer 168G101, Singer 29k71, Singer 31-15, Singer 111w103, Singer 211G156, Adler 30-7 on power stand, Techsew 2700, Fortuna power skiver and a Pfaff 4 thread 2 needle serger.
Moderator Wizcrafts Posted January 20, 2019 Moderator Report Posted January 20, 2019 The 31 class are for tailors, seamstresses and decorative shoe uppers. Some later models can be tweaked to use #92 and possibly even #138 thread (mine cannot). But, they are very light duty machines with bottom feed and soft tension and pressure springs. You need to move up to a different class of machine to sew rugs and tack. Check out the CB2500. Quote Posted IMHO, by Wiz My current crop of sewing machines: Cowboy CB4500, Singer 107w3, Singer 139w109, Singer 168G101, Singer 29k71, Singer 31-15, Singer 111w103, Singer 211G156, Adler 30-7 on power stand, Techsew 2700, Fortuna power skiver and a Pfaff 4 thread 2 needle serger.
Members Colt W Knight Posted January 20, 2019 Members Report Posted January 20, 2019 The GA5 machines are popular for folks sewing horse blankets. Quote
Members marronne Posted February 9, 2019 Author Members Report Posted February 9, 2019 Thanks everyone. I eventually purchased a really good condition Singer 29k58 and a German Claes Atlas machine which needs some renovation but is a beast of a machine especially for heavy duty leather work. It has 8cm harpoons for needles! Which I'm trying to find at the moment - I have one but would like to have a stock! The posts by Matt S and Wizcrafts on deciphering numbers on needle packets is a real help to understanding the different systems. A pic of my Atlas is below. She's oiled and is turning. The inside is remarkably clean considering she's been in a barn for years. She desperately needs some TLC. Looking fwd to getting her up and running properly. May re-do the japanning on the bed but will certainly be leaving the decals on the stand alone - just gentle cleaning and polishing. Some of her metal bits have responded well already! This machine is not well know in the US nor in the UK. I'm in France (but I'm English and she's German :/ ) Looking for a nice bit of wood for a table and proper Atlas treadle irons - someone put her on a Singer treadle. She was used on a Trotter's Yard here in France to make and repair harnesses for the horses. Quote Current Industrial Machines: USM No6; Claes Atlas; Singer 29k, Union Special 11900; Durkopp 18; Adler 5-36; Singer 108w20; Singer 107w1; Singer 75-1; Singer 46k15; Singer 18-2; Singer 133k13; Adler 30-15; Singer 31k15; Singer 31k32; Singer 134w3; Singer 34k11; Singer 91k6
Rockoboy Posted February 10, 2019 Report Posted February 10, 2019 What a beast of a machine! I reckon that one would pull a bogged truck out of a mud-hole! Quote Kindest regards Brian "Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you are right" Henry Ford Machines: Singer 201p, Kennedy, Singer 31K20, Singer 66K16 ("boat anchor" condition), Protex TY8B Cylinder Arm (Consew 227r copy), Unbranded Walking Foot (Sailrite LSV-1 copy)
Members Constabulary Posted February 10, 2019 Members Report Posted February 10, 2019 Thats actually and ADLER II or III - I had one of these - very cool and smooth machine it was but Yours even has the gear reduction! You also find them branded with CLAES, ATLAS or DROSSNER and other brands. I think I still have the copy of the German manual - let me check... EDIT - looks like an Adler II... later... Quote ~ Keep "OLD CAST IRON" alive - it´s worth it ~ Machines in use: - Singer 111G156 - Singer 307G2 - Singer 29K71 - Singer 212G141 - Singer 45D91 - Singer 132K6 - Singer 108W20 - Singer 51WSV2 - Singer 143W2
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