All Activity

That's it, I've committed. One of the ' lumps' is thawing out as I type. Its around 2kg . I'll cook it s-l-o-w-l-y on Saturday. It will either be nice juicy and tender , or I'll be able sole my shoes with it . I'll let you know how it goes at the weekend. Thankfully I can freeze the cooked meat if I have a lot left over, soups etc. HS

these work pretty well. https://durston.com/product/ring-shank-bender/

@gordonl We stock these from size #19-#27

@AlZilla That guy in Toledo has them!

Brasso. Or tamarind paste. Rinse both out well once clean.

I played around with a piece of the banding and it looks promising. It's pretty tough and springy but can be hammered into a right angle without snapping. Heating it to anneal it makes no difference, as does heating and quenching. It can be filed to give a sharp edge but obviously won't be quite as hard as the proper steel rule. I also have a hand tool that is used to punch/crimp the banding to the steel house framing (I had no idea what to do with it but for $5 at the time it just looked useful ), it punches a rectangular hole but I should be able to make a new pin and anvil to punch a small round hole. My biggest challenge though is to make a bending jig/machine to shape the stuff. It won't be difficult, just a matter of digging through all my "stores" to see what can be re-purposed.

In the kitchen for stainless I use: 1/2 Quart Water 50ml Hydrogen Peroxide 1oz Citric Acid I don't know why the mixed units. That's just how it came to me. Do your own research. Prolonged exposure to citric acid will leach zinc from the brass.

Wow! I thought I looked high and low. If they're available overseas, they must be available here. Thank you!

Hello everyone! After a death in my family, I recieved my family's very old draft team harnesses. Initally, I know they were stored in a basement in a darker area in a plastic tote. And honestly I don't know if they have ever been cleaned in their entire lifetime. Upon examination, it looks like they have white spots all over. After many hours of research and gathering my materials I started with 2 tests to get the white off, only on a very tiny spot. 1st: Using a hair dryer on low heat and far away from the leather I was trying to see if the white was fat spores coming up. Some did go away while other parts of the white stayed. 2nd: I used a vinegar and water mix and let it dry on it's own, then used saddle soap. After the cleaning step, my next step was to use pure Neatsfoot oil to condition then a neutral leather shoe polish with a horse hair brush and canvas. BUT during the process of cleaning I noticed the leather was almost "molding" and moving itself very slightly( as i touched it with my finger, my finger left a very slight indention.) Also, when I was dapping up some of the moisture from the saddle soap test, the rag had brought up brown. Again I don't know if its dirt or leather. On the test part, where I had originally seen very faint stitching had disappeared. I don't believe the stitching is gone but I did not want to go any further and risk the chance of So so sorry for a long explanation I just wanna make sure I explained it correctly. Is there other methods I should try? Or should I only condition them and leave them be? THANK YOU!

Looking at this picture I belive the Singer 107w hinges are the same. https://www.college-sewing.co.uk/202258-210844-machine-hinge-hook-singer-107w.html?srsltid=AfmBOopJb1ilppAZoElRixRJKheoNF9ftFELvIPI6Cw_MaVvn7w75taq https://armastore.eu/210844-singer-107w-hinge-hook You will get them on your end as well just check the numbers online But I would probably buy the female part too - you never know....

Yes whoever invented the layback sewing machine deserves a prize 🦄

Servo motors: You can use either a brushed or brushless servo motor on any industrial sewing machine and it is a straight swap out as the mounting hole pattern is the same. You may have to move the "go" pedal slightly to the left or right. You can buy from a vendor or from Amazon / Temu / Ebay but you are not limited to the dealer should you want / have to change the motor. Brushless servo motors come in typically three puke favours. Cheap ones have 6 internal coils for the servo motor, mid grade have 9 internal coils and the better ones have 12 internal coils typical wattage ratings of 1/2 hp to 1 hp. The more internal coils the better. Brushed servo motors are simpler to repair with no computer controls, longer lasting with typical wattage ratings of 1/2 hp to 1 hp so less frustration. kgg

i'm kind of stuck looking for bed hinges. They're originally from a Wheeler & Wilson D12 (Singer bought W&W in 1905 and this 111w156 is related to the D12). I need to work back and forth under the bed and up top. Flopping around on the bench is a pain in the ass.

Many of us, including me, use this type of "brushed" servo motor: https://www.tolindsewmach.com/motors.html. Unlike the one you linked to and own, which starts at 200 rpm, this motor starts turning over smoothly from zero rpm when you move the foot pedal down. There is no jerky start, nor any complicated electronics panels to replace. The only parts that experience wear are the two carbon brushes, two of which which come extra with the motor. I've yet to go through the original brushes in a motor I installed around 2014.

Yeah, I'm a slow learner...

Update: First of all, I was today years old when I learned that Uber has a courier service and it is awesome. Spared me 3 hours of traffic. Had the pedal and controller at the store at 10 am and 10 mins later the owner called me that he fixed it. He said the problem was the cable between the controller and the pedal, there was a pc board in there that failed: he replaced it. Got my delivery from Uber and tried it and now my machine works again. So, many of you were correct in your hypotheses. I appreciate you taking time to read and trying to help me out. You are good people. For future reference, lets say that I wanted to buy a whole set of Motor, controller and pedal like @kgg and others mentioned, would I have to buy a specific one or it would not matter since replacing all 3 parts would basically replace the whole system? If yes, could anyone link me one? I might just get one to leave in the basement to hot swap it if somewhere happens again so that I can still work while they fix the broken one. This is the one i have now, but do I have to buy an Artisan or can anyone recommend a better one? Thank you. https://bobssewvac.com/product/acf-680-880-watt-servo-motor/

I wonder if an ultra-sonic cleaner would work?

I have since acquired a machine that uses 7x3 needles. 7x3 seems to be the round point equivalent of 7x4 and 794. These are about 68mm long in total, 60mm from butt to top of eye. Worth reading is Wiz' blog on dumbing down a cowboy 4500, which also uses 7x3 needles.

Did you get this machine up and rolling? Would love to see some videos 🎥

Did you get your machine running? I'm not familiar with the 291. If a machine has a safety clutch, it will likely be built into the timing cog underneath the machine. Follow the timing belt from the main shaft down to the horizontal timing shaft. The cog on the horizontal timing shaft---if it has levers and pawls on the right side of it, your machine has a safety clutch. Here's a video by Uwe that shows safety clutches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-MClgDKnq4

Thanks Northmount, I tend to get sidetracked sometimes - I'm also very good at hi-jacking threads.

Hi there, I have been looking for a machine to sew leather belts and firefighter radio straps made from 8-9 oz veg tan leather. Can a Juki 563 handle this? What is the max thickness of veg tan I could sew with this machine?

I've been thinking about making a watch strap and bingo! just the templates I need. Thank you!

I like this method a lot. Yesterday I made the mistake of bringing the Singer 144 all the way down to ground level, and then later had to figure out how to get it back to table level. (I did it in two stages, with wooden trough made to fit the 144. First hop onto a chair with the trough, both hands on the trough. Second hop from chair to the table, left arm through the machine like a purse. Well maybe not as high as a purse, but at least up to my elbow. When I get to the table and it's time to lower the machine, there's a bending-over sort of motion required to get the machine a few inches out laterally from me and into the cutout. This lateral motion is hard, and I aspire to invent some wooden accessory so I can set down on wood, then skooch it over and lower one half at a time. But not there yet. You know the other thing that's a pain in the butt...good paint. I'm avoiding marring the orange paint on the table, and that avoiding gets expensive. I'm thinking "Who I could drag over here for a two-person lift?" The neighbor on one side used to be quite strong. For now I made a label out of blue tape that says "Two person Lift" to remind me to lay off it by myself. I also bought a chain hoist with straps, rated for 500 pounds. I even introduced the chain hoist to my girlfriend, but haven't admitted yet that I actually want to ceiling mount it in her living room. 🤩 Now that I've thought through it, the two hardest parts of the transfer are A. Getting from ground level to table level, and B. Leaning forward four inches to hit the slot. I can work around "A" by never putting it on the ground again...just transfer it to a workbench. And if I ever need to move a heavy machine from ground level to table level, then I gotta make friends with the neighbor...which would be good for me anyway. 🤷‍♀️ I'll start looking for another table. If not for in the house, then at least I could set up one machine in the cellar. (I would call it a basement, but that would be generous) 🤣 Luckily, I'm full up on motors. They are the easiest thing to tuck away so nobody can tell me I have too many of them.

Me too. Only about 45 years.