Thread lubricant

Massive · March 28, 2013, 01:38:55 PM

"A few weeks ago I was trying to get a recipe for lube hoping I could use something from around the house. I had noticed that on the DVD Bianchi used lube, and I used to use it when making sails with a domestic sewing machine. My Techsew came with a thread oiler. I find lube particularly useful when sewing through certain rubber cements. Though some leather machines come with oilers it isn't apparently needed because "all" bonded threads are pre-lubed. I was having problems with some light thread in a handbag my mom wanted fixed, and I just took my fingers swept up some machine oil, slicked the needle, and the first few feet of exposed thread. Problem solved. "

I'm going to try this, or a can of silicone thread lubricant I have:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/COLLINS-SEWERS-AID-THREAD-LUBRICANT-HAND-MACHINE-SEWING-PART-C21-/290723331126?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43b075fc36

The can I have is http://www.kemmfg.com/html/lubes/aero.htm TRB-599.

Or for you big users:

http://www.cansew.com/product/443.aspx

Red Cent · April 06, 2013, 10:54:47 AM

Massive, what happened? I have cased the leather, tryed holding down the leather, and with new needles to no avail.
Not like it does it on every stitch. I may go for minutes, needle sticks, raises the leather and a skipped stitch is the result. It could be the dry leather and I am unable to hold it down. I took two pieces of 7-8 ounce, cemented them together, let it dry, cased the leather, and it still stuck.

mikesmith648 · April 07, 2013, 09:51:14 AM

I am new here but have 40+ years in leather and guns..
What machine are you using? What kind of thread? If mine sticks I usually take some beeswax and rub the needle every once in a while. Also, wet or cased leather is more difficult to sew.....let it dry first!

Mike

Massive · April 11, 2013, 01:49:41 AM

Quote from: Red Cent on April 06, 2013, 10:54:47 AM
Massive, what happened? I have cased the leather, tryed holding down the leather, and with new needles to no avail.
Not like it does it on every stitch. I may go for minutes, needle sticks, raises the leather and a skipped stitch is the result. It could be the dry leather and I am unable to hold it down. I took two pieces of 7-8 ounce, cemented them together, let it dry, cased the leather, and it still stuck.

Red, I haven`t had this problem since I got the Cobra, maybe because I just haven`t created the conditions yet. I did look into the formulas, and it seems to be that they all have some silicon in them.

What I would do in your situation is check the needle and see if it has any sign of built up cement on it, or if it is sticky. If so you have to remove it, clean it thoroughly with some solvent, or put in a new needle. I am needle stingy and do not change them until they break, I sharpen them when they get dull... So then take a sample piece that is of the type that has given trouble, and take some sewing machine oil and with a drop between your finger, or just some wet oil on your fingers, rub the needle and the first three feet of cord. Then sew, and see what happens, if the lubed thread does not give trouble then you know lubrication will solve your problem, and get a magnetic lubricator, and some thread oil.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0&_nkw=MULTIPLE+SEWING+THREAD+LUBRICATION+BOX&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Marshal Will Wingam · April 11, 2013, 11:22:22 AM

Welcome to the forum, Mike. Looking forward to your posts.

Red Cent · April 11, 2013, 08:30:50 PM

Whoa! Magnetic lubricator? Sorry Massive, past me. Explain please.

Tonght I was repairing an old holster. Apparenty the leather was very dry because the machine would pick up the leather, skip a stitch and would do this every other stitch or so. This was, I think, two layers of about 7-8 ounce leather. I happened to notice a can of saddle soap so I wiped some of this along the stitch line. Worked very well.

With one layer of 8-9 ounce and a layer of 7-8 ounce with a 7-8 ounce welt, I am having a difficut time getting the Cobra 4 to sew through the layers. I have tried letting the glue dry over night but it really does'nt make a difference. I have changed to a new needle and have had the same problem.

I know I have a lot to learn and it is difficcult to figure out what we describe. The learning curve.

Massive · April 12, 2013, 02:37:18 AM

Quote from: Red Cent on April 11, 2013, 08:30:50 PM
Whoa! Magnetic lubricator? Sorry Massive, past me. Explain please.

Did you open the link? It is just a little thing the thread runs through and lubricant is applied to the upper thread as you sew. It is a modern version of the little dishes the old machines had on top of them to lube thread. These are enclosed and you can meter the amount of lube that gets down to the thread. You could probably put a little lube on a patch of cloth, and then clamp that to your thread with a clothespîn, right ahead of the drag.

If you look at what happens to the top thread during sewing, with each stitch about 3-6 inches of thread goes down and around the bobbin and back up again. All that happens with the lower thread is that it gets snugged up to the underside of the leather. So the top thread goes around the world with every stitch. If it is going through material that has cement on it, or a lot of drag, then it will transfer that to the needle and over time it gets so gummed up that the stitch goes south.

Also if the thread gets messy, then it sometimes will miss the hook and so you skip a stitch.

Diagnostically, if all this bad stuff is happening, then when your machine goes bad, it should have a sticky needle and or gum on the thread.

I am not too sure why your foot is coming up. That should not happen if you have original presser foot tension. Do you believe that your machine is factory settings, or in your frustration did you twiddle a few knobs and loose your setting.

Another thing to look at is you needle. If you are running the needles that came with the machine, that should be fine. I have had machines that totally got with the program just from changing the style of needle, to a dagger point style with two edges, like an awl. That opens up the thread hole through the leather, and means a lot of stuff, but particularly when the needle enters it cuts a slot, rather than nosing open a hole. The later may deposit more residue on the needle.

No mater what you say about the materials you are sewing, this machine is supposed to sew as much as 48+ oz leather in a pass, so it should be fine for anything you might throw at it in the 14-18 range.

Your experience with the saddle soap tends to indicate that some lube would help. So far though. I am not having any trouble with my cobra in similarish circumstances. One thing I noticed with another machine was that it leaked oil for a year when it was new, so that there was probably oil on the thread most of that time anyway. Machine oil. So when that ran out, it never got that wet again, and one could see how if one had been skating on the lube, it might not be so good after that.

Cliff Fendley · April 12, 2013, 09:30:26 AM

I got one of those little magnetic ones from Weaver and put in on my Cobra. It also came with a little bracket so I mounted it with a bolt in one of the threaded holes on top. Seems to be working good so far.

Red Cent · April 13, 2013, 12:54:24 PM

Steve, the salesperson for The Leather Machine Co./Cobra, states that very dry leather will cause the needle to "stick".

Yes, I m using the needles that came with the machine. It came with 277 nylon bonded and I use the #25 needle. As far as the thickness is concerned, the machine will sew that thickness. I am sure that most of the problems incurred are operator error.

I was under the impression that the lockstitch should bury both top and bottom thread and meet, hopefully, halfway in the hole. Am I to expect the bottom thread and the top thread to look the same? At first it seemed the bottom thread was a straight line with the top stitch not pulling much at all.

I am going to get the magnetic oiler. Ain't that expensive and if nothing changes, big whoop.

I need a lot practice

Massive · April 13, 2013, 08:00:39 PM

The thread should meet in the middle, but with machines, the top and bottom do not normally look identical. There are minor dynamic differences, like the needles punches out on the bottom, so the results are not completely identical. Really so long as you hold both threads to start, are running original settings and products The machine should do the rest. You can steer it off course or drop stitches if your cornering procedures are incorrect, but basically the machine does the rest.