Folding gauge for double welt

[sofadoc]

I bought some used stuff off a salesman yesterday. He got it from a shop that was closing and owed him money.

Among the stuff was a double welt folding gauge. I've always been leery of them because I've been told that they must be custom made to fit a specific weight of fabric. I've been playing around with this one, and so far, I kinda like it. Although it doesn't achieve a real tight wrap on thinner fabrics, and thicker fabrics are harder to get started.

But here it is. Take a look.


Here's a thicker fabric:


I actually could've sewed much faster, but I was fumbling with the camera.

You have to cut the strips approx. 1 3/4" to 1 7/8" wide, depending on the thickness of the fabric.
It will mount on most any industrial machine, walking foot or not (as long as you have a DW foot).
You can use the 5/32 DW cord, or two single cords.

It also did a nice job of sewing across a seam where 2 strips were joined.

Burch fabrics sells these for about $110 + shipping and tax.

You have to start with a full bobbin. Because if the bobbin runs out, or the top thread breaks for any reason, there's no backing up.

I think this thing will come in handy on large DW jobs. But for smaller jobs, it may be too much trouble to set up and adjust.

[SteveA]

No trimming necessary to the underside ?
SA

[MinUph]

Nice. I will be ordering one. I didn't know burch had them. Unless you want to sell it cheap :)

[sofadoc]

No trimming necessary to the underside ?
SA

I'm still playing with it. On some fabrics, I didn't have to trim anything. On others, there was a slight excess.
I did another test run using 6/32 cord instead of 5/32. It came out perfect. Nice tight wrap, no excess to trim.

I'll probably use 6/32 cord on thin fabrics. And 5/32 on thicker ones.

[baileyuph]

One of mine is from Burch, like you said - works well on the right fabric but not all or even most fabrics.  Using the guage, the strips have to be cut with precision and feed evenly in alignment. 

They pay off when made for the fabric .

The fabrics that fray one has to be very careful,  often makes me want to sew a factory setup and so on.

Doyle

[Darren Henry]

LOL. I'm glad you came to the end of the fabric in your video. I thought for a minute you had gotten your tie stuck in the machine.  ;D

I actually saw that  happen once. Way back before I earned my apprenticeship as a shoemaker I was managing a "While you wait " shoe repair in a mall in Winnipeg and our patcher was on a high counter so you sewed at chest height. We were obliged to wear ties. One day my main man was sewing a very difficult spot on a shoe---finally got it done---went to hand it to the lady---and found out he had sewn his tie in with the patch. Hilarius!

[sofadoc]

I thought for a minute you had gotten your tie stuck in the machine........ Way back before I earned my apprenticeship as a shoemaker.......... We were obliged to wear ties.

What? You mean you don't wear a suit and tie while you work now?

I thought all us upholsterers did.

I keep my curve needle in the brim of my Fedora.

[gene]

What? You mean you don't wear a suit and tie while you work now?

I thought all us upholsterers did.

I keep my curve needle in the brim of my Fedora.

Sometimes I only wear a tie. Just a tie. Nothing else. I won't share with you where I keep my curved needle.    :)

gene

PS: Thanks for the videos. I've occasionally thought of getting one of those but only when I have a big job with a lot of welt cord. Once the job is over, I don't think about it any more.