Sewing nylon bag questions

What weight of nylon are you sewing? All our camera bags (many of the Camera care Systems bags like these:

Look at the Classic range to see the sort of thing) are Cordura outers with foam padding and an inner nylon lining. This mixture is rather too much for a standard domestic machine.If you are aiming to make this sort of thing regularly, you'll need tougher machine than a standard domestic model. DO NOT look at the things called 'industrial strength' on ebay - 99% of those are standard domestic models, no matter what the sellers claim. You want to look more for this sort of machine: (NAYY, just using this as an example)For sewing into awkward corners, you need a specialist post bed or cylinder bed machine, which will be a true industrial, VERY FAST, and not for the faint-hearted or the beginner!

^ agreed. One thing I need to point out though is that if you have this:

You should try and TIGHTEN the bobbin (bottom thread) tension, instead making it looser, bc that is only going to make your problem worse. Sort of like using a knife to cut deeper into an already existing wound then putting salt and lemon juice on it. To tighten it, locate a screw that should be on the side, near where you thread the case with thread, and use a small screwdriver and tighten it by turning right.

Tahirih, humble sewist "Two things are infinate; the universe and human stupidity. I'm not sure about the former." -Albert Einstein

My question is, is my machine just not up to the job

My mid-eighties Kenmore can't handle heavy (#69) nylon thread. Does okay with double-strength polyester Gutterman thread. And for projects like you're describing I use a #18 sharp needle and change it frequently.

I sew cordura, leather and neoprene all the time and it quickly became apparent that I was going to wind up killing my Kenmore. I bit the bullet and invested in a re-built commercial sewing machine - a 30 plus year-old Consew. Very fast, very scary. Using a #22 sharp needle I haven't encountered anything it won't handle, including multiple thick layers of tough stuff. It takes a delicate touch on the foot pedal; I usually work barefooted so I can feel what I'm doing.

As Kate said, if you're going to want to be doing this kind of thing on a regular basis you'll probably want to invest in a heavy duty machine.

Kathleen

But remember that if there are loops on the underside of the sewing, the problem lies with the UPPER thread, which may need higher tension.

Thanks for the reply Kate & Tahirih. I have been sewing Cordura 1000D and plan to do some Ballistic like Nylon eventually. Sounds like I have got a bigger project than I can handle. I was wondering, should I tighten the bobbin screw all the way, which will render the thicker nylon thread with some resistance to pull by fingers? There is no loop on the underside of the sewing when I did my best, just not as straight or tight compared to the top. I set the top tension to max already so I guess not much else I could do, with the machine I have anyway. Are there any links which might teach me more on this particular subject and explanation on different industrial sewing machines? Any pointer would be great. :-)

I find V-69 and V-90 thread to be more slippery, and thus hard to get enough upper tension. My sailrite has some extra "loop arounds" in the thread path ahead of the tension disks that add more, and even more if needed, tension. It is plainly machine design add-on. I vaguely remember hearing that "in the old days" it was common to run the thread all over the machine or not as a way of increasing tension.

My old Pfaff doesn't handle V-69 well at all. Tension all over the place, and the thread lay unwinds after a bit of sewing, the unlay sticking in the eye of the needle. I suspect the problem is I use cones with the thread coming off the top of the cone rather than off the side, and the Pfaff has a rotary bobbin rather than a shuttle.

BTW Alan, your Singer 107 will nail heavy nylon without problem.

You should NOT mess with the bobbin tension. Your problem is the thread is to heavy for your machine, as it will be with most home sewing machines. They are not designed to handle those weight threads. I am assuming you are using at least size 69 thread. That is meant for use in industrial machine and even some of those it is to heavy.

I've sewn lots of Cordura and similar fabrics in making packs (backpacks, canoe packs etc). and I use a heavy-duty conventional home machine* (all metal gears and such). It is fine for such heavy materials, but maxes out at about 6 layers. For four layers plus a couple of layers of webbing I might have to help it along by turning the thing by hand to start it.

One key thing - DON"T USE HEAVY THREAD. There's no need. Use conventional 100% polyester like Gutermann or Mettler . I 've used denim needles or #14 with good results.

I've nver been able to get these things to sew without increasing the bobbin tension. Unlike the top tension, there are no numbers to guide you - you have to try different settings and see how it goes.

Mike

*The brand on the machine is Viking, but that's not the well known Viking but the house brand name for the long-gone Eaton's stores in Canada. The machine is actually a no-name that was branded by the retailer. I've never been able to figure out who actually made the machine - there are no identifiable marks inside.