Chinese Manual leather stitcher, any good?

[solman]

Hello All,
I like to make an occasional knife sheath or other leather items. I always stitched by hand but as age catches up this is no longer doable for me. I make these just for myself from time to time, I am not making stuff for sale or any large quantities. I was wondering about the Chinese hand crank stitchers that I see on the inter web are they any good? Will it work for making a knife sheath or slippie. I generally don't go past using 2 pieces of 8-9 oz leather and sometimes thinner 4-5 oz like for my phone holder.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

[JoshRG]

Yes they will work, BUT they do require a bit of modifications and tuning to get them to run correctly. Also, because the bobbin is so small be prepared to change it out and refill it regularly. The bobbin size is probably my biggest gripe with the machine, it gets old having to refill it every sheath or two. They are robust machines and can handle whatever thickness you can fit under the foot. I typically do three layers of 7/8 oz and have no problems at all, can't fit much more than that. I currently run #207 polyester thread and while I would like something a little heavier, the #207 works well. If you do go this route I strongly advise modifying your needle bar, it doesn't take long and allows for a much wider selection of needle sizes.

These are definitely not a replacement for a quality leather sewing machine and if I had the room in my shop I would not have purchased the Chinese machine but for the price and size they are 100% worth it IMO.

 

[solman]

Thanks Josh,
What is the modification procedure?

 

[leatherman]

I have been hearing about these machines for some time now, its good to hear that they work for low numbers. My curiosity about these has surely been piqued!

 

[Horsewright]

Yes they will work, BUT they do require a bit of modifications and tuning to get them to run correctly. Also, because the bobbin is so small be prepared to change it out and refill it regularly. The bobbin size is probably my biggest gripe with the machine, it gets old having to refill it every sheath or two. They are robust machines and can handle whatever thickness you can fit under the foot. I typically do three layers of 7/8 oz and have no problems at all, can't fit much more than that. I currently run #207 polyester thread and while I would like something a little heavier, the #207 works well. If you do go this route I strongly advise modifying your needle bar, it doesn't take long and allows for a much wider selection of needle sizes.

These are definitely not a replacement for a quality leather sewing machine and if I had the room in my shop I would not have purchased the Chinese machine but for the price and size they are 100% worth it IMO.

Very nice work Josh. Anybody got a link?

 

[Makael]

I've never heard of them.

 

[JoshRG]

Don't have a link but if you search for "Chinese Shoe Patcher Sewing machine" you should have no problem finding plenty of places to purchase. There are a lot different "company names" these are sold under but from what I can tell most all of them are identical. A few minor differences but nothing worth mentioning.

The needle bar mod essentially requires removing material from the needle bar to allow larger diameter needles to fit. I did mine in about five minutes with a Foredom knockoff and carbide cutter. If you search FB there is a group on there that discusses this machine and its modifications pretty much exclusively.

Blessings,
Joshua

 

[Hengelo_77]

I found some machines just over $100
They say max 5mm thick. That is not a lot

They look like shoe repair machines I've worked with. personaly I'd go for a 2nd hand better machine if available

 

[Horsewright]

hmm..

 

[Makael]

Don't have a link but if you search for "Chinese Shoe Patcher Sewing machine" you should have no problem finding plenty of places to purchase. There are a lot different "company names" these are sold under but from what I can tell most all of them are identical. A few minor differences but nothing worth mentioning.

The needle bar mod essentially requires removing material from the needle bar to allow larger diameter needles to fit. I did mine in about five minutes with a Foredom knockoff and carbide cutter. If you search FB there is a group on there that discusses this machine and its modifications pretty much exclusively.

Blessings,
Joshua

I did find those machines, I wasn't aware of those. I might of tried one before a 2500.00 purchase.

Looks interesting. Ty

 

[JoshRG]

I found some machines just over $100
They say max 5mm thick. That is not a lot

They look like shoe repair machines I've worked with. personaly I'd go for a 2nd hand better machine if available

I agree, I also would go with a better machine if space and budget were not an issue. In my case I simply did not have enough room in my shop for anything even close to a full size sewing machine. For what I paid, my little patcher has been absolutely worth it. The max sewing thickness is incorrect at 5mm. In my experience, and many others, these machines will sew whatever you can fit under the foot which in my case is right around 7/16 of an inch. I do 3 layers of 7/8oz all day long without a hiccup. They do make other, more heavy duty machines that are rated to stitch well over an inch and can handle much heavier thread with larger bobbin capacity. From what I understand there are no US vendors for the larger machines but they can still be ordered from overseas. Not entirely sure on the pricing but last I heard it was around $400 with shipping for these heavy duty machines.

Again, I am not a fanboy of these machines but I do believe it fills a spot in the market. If there is anything else out there that can handle over 3/8 of veg tan for less than $150 I would definitely take a look at it. It sure beats the heck out of hand stitching lol.

Blessings,
Joshua

 

[Makael]

Watched a video. Quite an operation to see.

 

[spro]

I currently run #207 polyester thread and while I would like something a little heavier, the #207 works well.

Any tips for getting #207 thread to work? Mine starts to fray and eventually snaps - I am guessing something is snagging down around the bobbin, but I've filed everything smooth. Other sources are saying the max thread size is #69, some say #138.

 

[Horsewright]

Any tips for getting #207 thread to work? Mine starts to fray and eventually snaps - I am guessing something is snagging down around the bobbin, but I've filed everything smooth. Other sources are saying the max thread size is #69, some say #138.

No experience with the stitcher but with several sewing machines and I have found that fraying deal to be an issue sometimes with 207. I switched brands and that helped and also switched from nylon to polyester and that helped too. Maybe try a different thread.

 

[JoshRG]

Any tips for getting #207 thread to work? Mine starts to fray and eventually snaps - I am guessing something is snagging down around the bobbin, but I've filed everything smooth. Other sources are saying the max thread size is #69, some say #138.

I had some fraying and snapping occur when my thread would get snagged and the tension would get too high. If you smoothed/removed all sharp edges and burrs then I would bet you are having some thread getting caught when cranking the flywheel. Watch your thread as it runs off the spool during sewing and make sure it is free moving and not being pulled by anything.
In order to run #207 thread you need to modify your needle bar to accept commercial size needles. I used a rotary tool and very small carbide cutter for this. As I mentioned previously, if you search Facebook you will find a group that has files discussing these mods in greater detail than I can provide. #207 is the biggest thread I have tried and I'm not sure you'll be able to find a compatible needle that will handle anything larger that will fit the machine.

Blessings,
Joshua