Cumberland Highpower

I think the Jog dial is pretty lame on a stitcher, unless you have a machine that's a mile's reach to the handwheel. LCD screen with multi function display/features is just as lame, confusing to new users and equally annoying to a seasoned one. So is the typical plastic Chinese made rocker switch/power switch that is good for about 25 cycles. What you need is a basic quality steel toggle switch on/off, a knob that you can twist for speed control (speed control only) and an option for a positioner needle up/down also controlled by basic toggle switches. (flip on, twist flip and done) Those features along with some serious low speed torque and you'd have it. An additional plus, would be one that can actually be compatible with a speed reducer and positioner at the same time and not throw an error at a 4:1 ratio. The problem with the modern programmable servos is that they're made to a price point and expected to function with a wide array of machines of various designs. Lots of functions can be a good thing, but most here that buy a "Cowboy" stitcher or something similar want simple, smooth, easy to use and lots of torque.

I think they were kinda standard across a few different machines back in the day. I have a couple Singer Post bed heads in the corner, and one is a WW machine. I think both have the same hinge system as yours. Might not be so hard to find as one could think? Wish I had some leads for you though.

When I bought my first Randall it belonged to a Jockey who did repairs down in Florida. He ran Barbours 4 cord...But not in Wax. He ran water in his lube pot. Apparently it worked. Stitching looked pretty decent and there was no residue of liquid wax or whatever. Of course that means the thread would be dry in the leather w/nothing to really protect it down the road. I never followed his advice other than just to try it out. On the UL's I run mostly nylon mostly in oil. On those machines there is a bit of a difference where the lock sets from nylon to poly. (stretch) but always works out well. What you need is 2 or 3 UL's...That way you can set one for Nylon, One for Poly and a spare for Linen if you run it sometimes! LOL

I have "one" piece of possibly solid evidence you might be able to use as a Rosetta Stone of sorts?. Solid being open to how you read into it...LOL I have a Randall with a serial just barely over 200 and someone scratched their initials and date into the machined surface front of the machine above the awl. Dec 23, 1913. I had the machine for 15 years before I noticed it under the patina. I'm guessing it's either an inspector at Randall?? or the original owner of the machine making his mark when he received it.

I've heard that for 25 years but I think it's mostly a myth? I've run hundreds of lbs of Nylon and Poly and everything is always 100%

We're making a small run of some antique type tooling. I find some of the rawhide pieces used are pretty thick. I may end up doubling up if I end up using 5/6. I looked over the link. I was surprised to see horse rawhide as well as goat. Up to this point I've never used a single piece of rawhide on anything, but have worked a very substantial amount of tanned leathers. So I can say I both "know" and "dont know" what I'm doing with confidence! LOL

What's the thickest/heaviest weight Rawhide out there? Bovine or something similar. Been looking for some really heavy sides/double shoulders but can't seem to find anything over 5/6oz....Would like to find something heavier. Any leads/ideas?

When my "work van" with a 3.6 Pentastar went out of warranty 10 years ago I started using 10w30/40. Was cheaper to buy as a generic than 5W-20. I've seen no negativity over the years and have 350k on it. No apparent decrease in fuel economy or hard starting in cold either. In a general sense it makes no difference in most applications.

I'm a huge fan of Ballistol and use it almost everywhere, but more sparingly on sewing machines. On sewing machinery I find it a mixed bag and use it for select points.

10w spindle oil is what I'd use on that machine. Many machine makers call for it. In truth you can use almost any oil including motor oil. In the past I often just used a 30w straight oil on many machines and worked great, especially older machines that I received with a bit of pre-wear. Thicker oil does tend to quiet down a worn machine a bit. Some machines actually call for a heavy oil, such as the famed Adler 205. It's Esso K68, that's essentially a first cousin to bar and chain oil. Lilly white is popular here. I find it a bit light, but many also use it for thread lube so could double up. Topic for endless debate here.

I'd probably go medium brown with a couple drops of black to darken just a shade. Dont' get carried away with the black. There might be a little light darkening at play there as well. (Comes of a bit of an oxymoron!). I've always found brown dyes to need a little work to get an even shade. Coats have to be even and given a little time to penetrate, and you may need to work in any excess that doesn't absorb just right to avoid darker spots. Use "oil dye" the kind labeled nowadays as PRO dye. Feibing's has an in house chemist, if you call, he'll call you back and tell you what to blend more precisely.

There's an outfit in Italy that made tons of those. Sold by just about everyone. I don't remember the Italian maker unfortunately. If you need parts just call Randall/Campbell, they sold the same thing w their label on it. Probably could tell you the exact maker unless it's some kind of a "trade secret." I think FIPI made those Hudsons. They might not be in business any longer, I don't know. FIPI machines were pretty similar to Atoms. Manufacturers Supplies might be able to help with the manual. They sent me a PDF for an Atom a few years back.

Probably not a bad idea to delete. I never went so far, mainly not trusting it. Seems to be a few of these online as well outside of this forum.

Are these patterns for real or are they a Trojan Horse? I clicked on one out of curiosity and I got a popup wanting me to "click allow" to prove I'm human....Sounds awfully suspect to me?

There's one that keeps hitting me up. Sent at least 3 different solicitations and follow ups....Pretty much the same MO as yours. I just say, yeah thanks I already got in touch, paid for the item and received it. Works great!

When I was a teenager, I made a slicker from a $2 motor/arbor. Took a chain saw and cut a slice off of a piece of firewood, drilled a hole and turned it down on the arbor itself. (Clamped a block of wood to table and used a chisel just like you would on a woodlathe). The wood turned out to be cherry. Held up pretty good. Still have it sitting around somewhere.

I always suspected Bianchi used suede as a liner for another reason. Bianchi bought ALLOT of leather shoulders. (Good price, good yield, not many defects). Shoulder+suede=pretty substantial holster. Suede made it have a finished look at the same time.

It looks like you already unseized your machine? I recently bought a Seiko from Japan that was seized up. It hadn't been used since the year it was made, 1986! Locked up tight, just like you used superglue instead of oil. I used a few drops of PB Blaster (Penetrating oil) on each joint, bearing and oil hole and then sat it up on blocks above a gas freestanding heater in my shop. I left it there a few hours, until it was pretty warm (not hot, just warm enough you'd want to not keep your hand on it for more than a couple seconds). I took it down and everything moved a little. After a couple extra drops, it spun freely. I don't know if you'd really need the heat, but I found it helped allot with the polymerized oil. Looks like a great buy for $20 Euro. I always liked pre Durkopp Adler machines. Really great build quality.

Controlling Multiple Motors with One VFD | Rockwell Automation | US Here's a little primer on the basics With the really cheap VFD's on Amazon/Alibaba and what not, that are pretty small, you'd probably be handicapped right out of the bubble wrap. I don't use a VFD for anything, although I am warming up to the idea. I've got one disc grinder I need to set up that is too far from my 3ph lines. A vfd would be cheaper than wiring/conduit, and it's within 20' of my 220v.

It's kind of novel. I wonder if you can find a ready made one somewhere like that? Maybe with an extension cord already built in? a cord of 20' or so would be a plus, must hobby leather shops here in the US don't have 220v outlets as a standard thing so they maybe just wire up one. If you have lots of 3ph machines, you'd be better off with a rotary phase converter and just wire your shop for 3ph. That's what I have. I can run every piece of machinery in there at once. I have 2 converters, both surplus units from DuPont that cost $200. One is supposed to be a spare, but after 15 years I still don't need it. Some machines can't work properly on a single VFD, for example a machine that has multiple seriously mismatched motor hp ratings or has motors that start and stop independently of each other.

It would run at 2/3 power with the capacitors. Probably not as bad as it sounds, my FAV came straight from Grande Italia this way. I guess FAV didn't find it worthwhile to offer the FAV AV2 with a factory single phase motor at the time.

That was my idea as well Dwight. But, I have to say that's probably a pretty well built quality clutch motor he has there! I have a single phase CM made in Belgium here (3450rpm ) and it's a pretty well built unit. Wish I had more of those. It came on an Adler made in the late 60s so it has some age to it.

I'll give you an honest set of answers. Hobby: It's a great hobby, make all the goodies you and your friends desire. I'd consider a retiree making a few dog collars or chaps or whatever for sale at a flea market a great hobby. Business: RUN, AND RUN AWAY FAST I wish someone had told me that! LOL I've been supporting myself for 20 years doing this. Some good times, some bad. There is a limit to what profit you can make working for yourself. 10 employees, maybe a sunnier day there. It's not a good time either. With the looming import tariffs, costs will be way up. Domestic leathers are likely to be in shorter supply and higher in cost as well (HO for example imports wattle bark from Argentina). Nobody really want's to say it out loud, but nobody has money these days. Festivals and events are packed, but you'll find there's hardly a dime changing hands. In 2 years everything will be better. If I had it all to do over I would have bought a kettle and sold Kettle Corn! Yes, you're for sure wasting time if you dont have a machine or 2. I bought my first Randall in 2005 to fill a holster contract that I won and had no way to fill. (I was not a leatherworker at that time). Either way, it will wear your hands out and your sanity about the same.

I am curious, are clutch motors an easy thing to find in Belgium? If they are, why not just change it to something single phase? I've probably purchased maybe 20 machines so far that were set up for 3ph clutch motors, and on almost every one of those, I swapped the 3ph motor for a single phase. Used Clutch motors here are usually $20-50. In the US that makes them cheaper on the used market than a good VFD, and you don't have to do any work around other than a little with the wiring. Most motors like that are designed for delta on the lower and Wye on the higher voltages. You're not planning to install on 380v are you? I'm guessing not? Your VFD will wire up as a delta 220v. Every 3phase machine I have that didn't get converted by a motor swap is run off of a rotary phase converter, wired delta. Everything from Clickers, to Band Skivers, Belt cutting machines, CNC stitchers, bell skivers, etc. Often several at once. You could also just add a capacitor to your motor and effectively convert it to run on single phase, but it's been a long time since I've done that so you'll have to research.. Some factory built machines come like that, for example my FAV bell skiver has a 3ph motor with a run and start capacitor added to make it "insta" single phase). There are ready made static converters that do the same thing, they're just a box with capcitors and your motor would run at 2/3 power once it starts up. Static converters seem to be fading away with the VFD being around.

Sure it can be fixed. Can you post some details like Wiz asked? You "May just be able to use it as it is...Maybe forever? Or maybe not? If it looks like it's holding pretty well, you can just cut a small relief in the cracked areas and work in JB weld, grind flush and repaint the machine. Nobody will ever know. Check to see if it works freely w/o any binding or misalignment before doing anything. Are you certain it's a crack? Some machines are made from more than one piece and bolted together. (Like my Seiko TE6). It has 2 pieces that are bolted together and finished smooth on the exterior, but "look" like a fine crack. Is it a hairline crack or a crack that allows some daylight? If he's a welder by trade there is little doubt he can fit it. Cast iron you have is best brazed. Probably in 'stitches" to keep anything from warping or cracking further. It can be welded also, but I'm not sure I would do it on a sewing machine.