Wizcrafts

The foot pressure is controlled by the long leaf spring along the back. There is a thumbscrew under the pivot axle on the top trapeze mechanism. That screw tightens or loosens the pressure as you adjust its position. There is a sliding regulator gib on the back of the presser foot and above it. There is a thumbscrew that secures the gib in place. Raise the foot with the hand lift lever, then loosen the screw on the gib, slide it all the way down until it touches the top of the foot mount, then lock it in place. That is the maximum stitch length setting. On a like new patcher, the maximum stitch length into 8 ounces is 5 to the inch. On a worn out 100 year old patcher you'll be lucky to get 7 or 8 to the inch into 8 ounces. If you find that the stitch length doesn't improve with the regulator gib all the way down to the raised foot, try wiggling the foot forward and backward. If it moves more than 1/16 inch, it is shot. If it moves between 1/64 and 3/64, it may be savable by brazing, shaping and polishing bronze welding rod material onto the inside "puck" that slides inside the round ring under the head.

Hydraulic clicker press, using steel rule clicker dies. The press weighs about 2000 pounds and operates on 220 v.

The motor starts at the slowest switch setting (350 rpm), once the brake is released. The pedal has a good range of speed control, from just over 1, up to about 2.33 stitches per second. I only use that setting on biker patches and phone/pistol cases. It is way too slow for anything else I do on that machine. The brake is needed to stop the machine from over-sewing on 10 to 15 sps jobs.

The changes are noticeable for each click of the switch. That is, until the last three, which do nothing more to increase the speed. The switch has been wired in backwards, with higher speeds counterclockwise and the lowest at full clockwise. The maximum driven speed at the machine would be about 1400 spm, or 23 per second, which is too fast for the machine. I get this by dividing the maximum rpm, which I think is about 3600, by 2.5, which is the motor to machine pulley ratio. My actual maximum sewing speed used would be about 10 to 12 stitches per second (under 800/minute), on long zippers or hem lines. I guess a top motor speed of 1800 would do just fine for me on this machine. The slowest speed I currently get is ~1.5 stitches per second (thin pouches, wallets, phone cases and patches). I would like to be able to get 1/2 stitch per second, steady pace, for precision sewing around curves and shapes on motorcycle patches. Right now I single stitch around these shapes, or hand wheel through them. Taking my hand off the work loses control over the vest. My vest patch machine is a 20" body Singer 139w101, compound feed, walking foot machine, with a 4.5" diameter machine pulley. The Family Sew motor has a 2" pulley.

I will do that next time I go into the shop.

Bob; Will your pot and resistor mod plug into my rotary switch on my FS550s? Or, would it replace the switch completely? Does this extend the slow speed below stock and still have enough torque to turn the machine over at under 60 rpm (at the motor)? Right now my FS 550, attached to a long body Singer 139 walking foot machine, bottoms out at 1 stitch per second, with 2.5:1 gear reduction from motor to flywheel. I cannot give up my top speed. Whatever mod I might use, it must still allow full speed when needed (3500 rpm?).

For a while, about a year ago, I had a problem with the top thread moving away from the center of the upper tension disks. I ended up using a drastic fix. Normally, you feed the top thread around a triple eyelet part, then into and around the tensioners. Since this wasn't hold that particular thread down all the way, I actually fed it under the steel spring pin on the right side of the tension disks, then up on the right and over. That absolutely cured the top tension problems. I had to back off significantly to compensate for the added tension from that sharp turn. Maybe this will help the O.P. Other things to check are scratches on the hook and the area that is beveled behind the point. Also, make sure the hook is very tightly mounted. Any looseness can cause issues. Check for thread remnants under the hook, in the shuttle area, or even underneath.

I have tested the Family Sew fs550s at work, mounted to a long body walking foot machine, having a 2.5:1 ratio between the motor and machine pulleys. The best steady slow speed was quicker than 1 per second; probably around 1.5 per second. The Sew Pro 500 definitely sews slower at a controllable pace, in a oranges to oranges comparison. If your motor has a 2" pulley and the machine has a 4 or 4.5" pulley, your results may be similar to mine. But, if the machine phulley is under 4" your minimum steady speed may be higher. Note: it is trivial to stop the needle up or down on the FS550 to do single stitching. I do that all the time around sharp corners and inside curves.

I researched the NakaJima 380 a bit and found these facts: It is a triple feed, light to medium duty, walking foot machine. It has reverse. It will sew with #138 thread top and bottom. It has limited sewing capacity under the lowered feet; just under 1/4 inch In contrast, a Consew 206RB-5 can sew into 3/8 inch of material

There are several members here that are modifying their FS 550 motors for better slow speed control. One person has plans to market the components after optimizing them. This would allow one to sew from 1/10th, all the way up to 50 or more stitches per second, with one dial setting on the motor. As for the Sew Pro 500GR, it has become hard to find.

I have a walking foot machine at home and a similar machine at work with each of those motors. The one at home has the Sew Pro 500GR motor and sews into denim jeans at about 1 stitch per second, steady pace. It drops out into single stitching when I try to sew slower. This is with the speed knob on full. It sews slower at about the 50% position on the pot, but loses top end. It groans loudly at the slower speeds, at 50% or under rotation. I am worried about its future. I'll try the same piece of denim at work, tomorrow, on the Family Sew 550s equipped machine. That motor is only one year old. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon with my findings. I have another FS 550 under my big Cowboy CB4500. It feeds a 3:1 reducer system, up to the flywheel. It can plow through hard leather at the astounding rate of 1 stitch every 5 or 6 seconds. Sometimes I hold it at that rate just to amaze myself and my customers. Watching thee needle move that slowly is like watching grass grow. The overall speed reduction from the motor to the CB4500 is about 9:1. On the walking foot machine it is 2:1.

You can buy a Family Sew 550s for $135.00 shipped.

To your knowledge, will your pot mod substitute for the rotary switch currently installed in my FS-550s? I already have great slow speed control, especially with the 3:1 reducer in the chain.

That Neel's number 5 is a good machine for saddlery, like you want to do It sews just under 1/2 inch, depending on how dense the leather is. It uses heavy bonded nylon and bonded polyester thread, definitely up to #346. The machine is bottom feed only, with aggressive feed dogs. As long as the bottom appearance isn't critical to your work, this machine is a decent alternative to a CB4500. What you will lack is a walking foot that climbs up and down new layers, triple - needle feed and a 16.5" arm. Those things exist on the model CB3200 and up.

My FS-550s has a rotary switch, not a pot. The slowest setting is full clockwise. It speeds up the wrong way, CCW. On the pot mod, is the slowest speed at the lowest resistance (~10 - 12k)?

Bob; Are these mods for the Family Sew FS-550 motors? What is the mod to the magnets? Re the 100k pot. Is it a 10% center, log taper clockwise, carbon pot?

I thought you were looking for a zig-zag walking foot machine to sew shoe leather. Are you rather looking to sew sails and small upholstery items? If so, the Sailrite portable will work for those canvas and vinyl jobs.

That would be the best type of walking foot machine for sewing bags, purses, pouches and cases, or arm holes on vests and heavy garments.

I once had a Pfaff 138 zig-zag machine. It was very quiet and smooth to operate. I remember that the width of the zig-zag wasn't very wide, in my estimation. I believe it maxed out at about 5 mm or so. The feed was good, although bottom only. They are great machines for cloth and sail repairs. The teeth on the bottom get a good grip and move the material along nicely. The 138 was not very good at feeding soft garment leather, which is basically sticky on top. The thread capacity was #69, if I recall correctly. It didn't do what I wanted it to do and I traded it for something else. That said, sailors love these machines for repairs to canvas or building new items made of sail cloth.

As for the motors, try out various machines that are equipped with different motors. When you find happiness, ask how much that motor will be with the machine head you are going to buy. The whole package will be assembled for you and setup. You should ask for basic starter instructions, so you don't jam the machine or sew your fingers together. It may turn out that the motor you like best costs more than the one they normally sell on out the door machines. Pay the extra money to get the better motor.

Sproggy; You can see my National 300N walking foot machine in close up action, on YouTube (link). All real walking foot machines work like this one. The feed dog on the bottom (not shown) works in concert with the moving needle and inside "vibrating foot" to move the material, as the outside presser foot lifts to let it go. When you go to the dealer to look at machines, this is the action you want. They may try to steer you towards a less expensive machine that has dual feed: feed dog on bottom and claw teeth on outside presser foot. Avoid it like the plague if you intend to sew leather that would be ruined by tooth marks on top.

Check out the zig-zag walking foot machines on this page

What I would do in your situation is buy a walking foot machine to sew the leather parts together. Then buy a good quality domestic sewing machine, new or used, to sew the linings and cloth interiors together. Join the already sewn interiors to the leather edges on the w.f. machine. You may be able to do the interiors with a straight stitch machine, which could be an old iron Singer with the motor on the back. I have three domestic machines at home that are only used for light duty flatwork cloth sewing. When business picks up you can buy an industrial straight stitch machine.

I think that the Singer 292 is just another high speed, straight stitch, garment factory machine. Expect to sew at 5000 stitches per minute (83/second) to keep the oil circulating to the extremities. The stitch length will be about 8 to the inch, using #46 bonded, or T50 cotton thread. It is meant for flat work cloth.

There are ways to "dumb down" a walking foot machine, to allow it to sew thinner cloth. It will never be as smooth at it as a bottom feed only garment machine. But, a garment machine cannot be smartened up enough to sew real leather. In reality, you may need two different machines: one for leather; one for cloth. Try a walking foot first and see if it can sew your cloth bags.