catskin

If you can find a REALLY OLD clothes dryer some of them have a perfect speed reducer on them in the back. The one I found is a 2" pully on the side of a 10" pulley It runs on bronze bushings but with a bit of oil once in a while mine has run for 20 plus years. And its still going. I use mine with a clutch and motor.

Sorry guys I haven't been on here for a bit I have been fixing flood damage to my house. Now, I have what I think is the original 1/2 hp motor (just a regular electric motor), but I have put on a salvaged speed reducer pulley I took of an OLD clothes dryer. And then I had trouble with the old round leather belt slipping so I put on a chain drive from the clutch to the machine( on this machine the clutch is a separate unit) no more slipping belts. I have it slowed way down to about 70 stitches per minute but that suits me fine. I have sewed everything from harness traces to tow straps to 2ply deer skin and anything else that showed up. I use it less since I bought my Cowboy 4500 but it still has its place. Van R Good to hear that your timing marks are right I just had that problem and thought it was worth checking since I was struggling with that for a long time because it was so little wiggle but still skipped stitches some times. To set the needle bar down on mine you loosen 2 screws that clamp the square block that the ( I will call it the pitman ) connects to that also connects to that same cam wheel and moves the needle and slide the needle bar up or down so the needle scarf is below the hook the right amount. It really is pretty easy once you get to it. When I got this machine and another one like it there were several extra parts( when I sold the other one I kept all the extra parts ) including several hooks, the hooks are a bit different from each other so I tried changing them until one worked the best. I think the different hooks set the point of the hook at slightly different distances from the needle to match the different thicknesses of needles. When I got this machine it had needle from as thin as a regular household machine for 69 thread right up to a 300.

Van R, The timing marks are on the end of the shaft and the cam wheel they look like shallow chisel marks, they need to line up. Sorry about pictures, I am not computer literate enough to get pictures loaded. Maybe my brain is analog not digital!

DC. $3.00 !!!!! I paid $8.50 for the ones I got from Landis international. The awl that came with it is a champion ( that's the name on it) and it is the same as the Gros-Beckert that I got so champion awls might be cheaper. I would guess champion needles would be the same too. Yes I am aware that they are NOT for sewing anything but leather.

Van R, Check the set screw that holds the cam wheel that also drives the needle it is deep in a hole . Mine used to skip stitches occasionally and it took me a long time to realize that that set screw was slightly loose and the cam wheel would wiggle on the shaft just enough to skip stitches once in a while. There are timing marks on the end of the shaft and the cam wheel. Mine is also the old black machine.

I have and use one, They are a good strong machine while they don't get into tight places because of the larger feet they can and do easily sew 3/4 to 7/8 inch of leather.

Thank DC for your insight. I also will be sewing harness traces and such, I have A cowboy 4500 but after seeing one of these in a museum this spring I couldn't resist when the guy said he'd sell me this one. I made a flat plate for mine this afternoon and it works good, you guys were right it wasn't that hard to make, would have been even better with the right tools. It sure is easier to sew flat pieces with this plate compared to the sole stitching plate. It tends to want to turn the work since the foot has that paddle on the inside that creates a bit of drag. Now if I could just find somebody that has a foot that fits the shaft that I could buy even broken, as long as it would fit the shaft I could build the foot on to it. I could grind the paddle off this one but I would rather keep it and the plate for sewing soles in case I or the next owner wanted to do that sometime.

Thanks DC I guess I need to get to work, I might make mine even longer since I will be sewing pieces as much as 6 feet long. Just I case someone needs a book I ended up with more than one copy so I would be able to send one to people for a reasonable cost if they need one.

Thanks Bob. The sole stitcher plate part S-8-76 has a little piece on the bottom called a thread retainer, part S-8-76C the book does not mention it for the harness plate is it needed with the harness plate if I make one? For those who have a book the parts I am looking at are S-8-96 and S-8-98 and S-8-99 and S-8-99B to replace parts S-8-76, S-8-76C ,S-3-81.

Thanks for the replies. I thought about making one and I might yet, I've done that sort of thing before. I am hoping Bob might reply on here sending E-mails to him hasn't gotten an answer maybe they don't get through. If you want to see how the flat table works google American straight needle and look at the video that Lisa Sorrell has on, she shows it plus the sole stitching plate. Any body else with any ideas I will be glad to hear from you. PS to Dirtclod Did you replace the sole stitching plate or make a flat to fit around it?

I want to convert my American straight needle from a sole stitcher to a straight stitcher so I need 3 or 4 parts I know they exist because I have seen vid's on the net of them being used. What I need is the flat table, the harness needle plate and the harness foot. If anyone has these parts or knows where they might be available I would be greatful if you would let me know. If you have them you can PM me details including price.

Thanks will try those. I think there are places that it has built up enough to affect the thread control and make it not pull up the top thread.

Lots of you folks clean up old machines ,and I bought one recently that has a lot of old wax stuck/ dried on it, I am wondering what you use to soften / dissolve it to clean it off. Gasoline might work but it is rather flammable. It sews the way it is but I would like to clean up the stuff that is around the rollers that the thread runs on and whatever I can get at without tearing it all down.

On one of my machines the hook got broken rather badly and I took it out took it to the grinder resharpened it polished it with fine sand paper and have been using it for years without a missed stitch. Not everything that gets broke has to be replaced.

For what its worth on my American straight needle it says that the awl is to be slightly offset from the needle so check and see if this is the case with your machine too. The offset on mine is to be 1/64th inch.

Thanks Bob I was on the web site but didn't find them.

I have done all sorts of searches for a manual to print off the internet for an American straight needle machine. I have come up with several statements that they are available to print but not one said where to look. (what web site ) If anybody on here knows where to look I would be very happy if you would tell me where. Or where I could buy one. Someone said on a thread on here several years ago the pilgrim shoe gives them out free but when I went to the web site I could not find any way to contact them. Thanks in advance for any help I might get.

My guess is that you are missing one place in the threading either going the wrong direction through something or missing something that it needs to go over through or around since you seem to never have had it working consistantly well since you got it. The reason I am making this suggestion is I was threading one of my machines wrong for years and it was doing much the same thing. It would some times sew perfectly for miles and then do what yours is doing and then seemingly fix it self. I had no threading diagram. So check the threading as though you are threading it for the first time ever.

I found a brother DB2-B722-405 F40 machine for sale, and a friend is interested in it and asked my advise. I saw the machine and it appears to be needle feed walking foot with also bottom feed dog, all of which seem good. But I am wondering what they were built to do? Are they a machine with oil bath that needs to run FAST in order to oil properly? Would it be suitable for sewing upholstery leather and vinyl? What would the max thickness be for it? How thick thread could it use? Would the toothed bottom feed dog harm the leather and vinyl? Could the feed dog be replaced with a smooth one or removed and a slotted plate be put in its place? Thanks in advance for any insight you can give.

Thanks all for your input. I am NOT an electronics person 99% of this stuff goes right over my head, but now I sort of understand what you are all getting at.

I was thinking of ordering a servo motor from Toledo but after reading all of this thread I am wondering if it is possible to get a servo that works without all this pot and mod and ohm crap done. The cowboy 4500 I bought a couple years ago has a servo that with the nob turned to the slowest speed will go so slow you can almost have coffee between stiches, are these good ones no longer available? I notice the Bob,s have not said anything on this thread I wonder why if they sell these motors?

Thanks Wiz, sounds simple enough BUT everything seems pined to the shafts, the part that moves the hook is definitely pined to the shaft, the part at the end at the bottom right end has a pin AND a screw but I doubt the hole in the shaft is long to allow the part to be moved to change the hook timing. There is another topic on here about timing the hook on a machine but it has screws holding the parts to the shafts. I still would like to know if Schmetz or some other brand of needle would be shorter from eye to point as the needle that came with this machine is,, if so that would solve this problem for me.

I have a singer 78-3 machine, and have been told on here that the original needle system needles are no longer made and to use 135-16 or 135-17 needles. I have original singer needles for my patcher that are marked 135 but they are longer from the eye to the point then the needle that came with this machine so when I set the stitch length to the longer end of its adjustment the needle hits the bobbin case and gets pushed back until it lifts a bit then it pops back into line.( this is a needle feed walking foot machine ) I have also been told that singer no longer makes patcher needles but these were bought about 30 years ago ( I bought 100 ) and they are genuine singer with the singer numbers on them and no scarf on the side. So my question is are the newer 135 needles shorter from the eye to the point if they are then I could use the full stich length adjustment. If I adjust the needle bar high enough so that the needle does not hit the bobbin case at longer stitch length the hook comes at the eye not above it. Being a few thousandths shorter from eye to point would not affect the forming of the stitch I don't think.

I am now looking for a table for my industrial machine. Do not need motor or machine just a table that it would fit into it is flat bed needs opening about 7 X 19 inches. Fixer uppers considered. Prefer in Sask. or Manitoba. My ad for the motor got me one thanks to a member so thought it would be worth a try.

There is a Consew on Kijiji in Regina now for $700.00 It might be worth checking out what model it is.