JimC

Takk Trox.. That fellow is both smart and patient. I typically take care of problems with an American Wrench. Mine come in 1lb., 2lb and finally 5lb - if the prior two do not handle the problem. Thanks again. Cheers. Jim

I have a light Brother automatic - servo ..a Adler with a SERVPRO servo ..and a half dozen machines with clutches. The Brother and Adler servo motors work great. I decided to convert a couple of other daily machines because they do not run hours straight. On/Off would be a better way to run them, besides who needs the constant noise. My Consew 206RBs can sew about anything ..So, Consew/Consew made sense. Eh-Eh. Everybody hates them. They don't seem to have a rheostat ..nearly pure ON or OFF. You get a choice of: ON s-l-o-w .. or 'Oh S__', a runaway machine. I can feather the pedal, but my ladies cannot. You cannot get the motor to crawl unless you have the lightest touch or backed off to '3-stitches-per-minute'. I have been walking around bitching for a couple of weeks ..now that I have said it out loud, maybe I can forget it. More 'boat anchors' for the collection.... Jim The Servpro and Consew appear to use similar castings ..and maybe the Adler, because it is a very heavy machine, works better.

.. thanks Kevin. I'm on to it. ...

Thanks .. I found them, but need to call at a better time and/or find an email for them. Their email is covered over in one browser and does not even come up on another. Thanks again. Jim

I cannot seem to either find a punch .. or someone who can machine these for me. This is like a 13-15oz hide, button size needs to be 1-1.25" ..with four holes. I can take 1,000 today.. but the price of the hide needs to be the major cost. I cannot afford to pay someone to knock these out by hand. (..maybe India or PAK.) I'd appreciate any ideas where to go for such an item. Thanks Jim Cancil

Mogwild.. From what I know - they're all Chinese. I have a 'Premier' by Consew in a carton that I have not opened to see if it's different than the other two I have. One on the Adler 105 looks much the same as I mounted on the 206RB but seems to be more gradual. ..perhaps because I run it slow. Both are pulley-to-pulley with no reduction between. 50.. Ya, I am familiar with the speed control. Like you, I do not like to blast thru my work. Tends to overhead needles, loose control of the material, etc.. But unlike the Adler, I do run the 206 reasonably fast. I'll crack the carton on the Consew motor and see what it looks like... Jim

I have a couple of Consew 206s which have had clutch motors for years. I have a couple of other machines with servo motors and frankly like the fact that a servo motor is not running 100% of the time. What I do not like is that there seems to be 'no clutch' .. there's no gradual start. The gas pedal is all - or nothing. Maybe you have figured a workaround? (the lever arm seems really short too...) Jim

I need to find a 1-1.5" circle punch .. with four 1/8" internal punches. I may not be able to 'get there from here'... as I could see, the internal punches would plug quickly. Perhaps I could get a 4x1/8" ..then punch the outer circle in a second step. I may need to make a lot of these... Any suggestions in finding a source would be appreciated. Thanks. Jim jim@wetstuff.com

I buy them off Ebay. The yard sale searchers seem to find a lot. I got up to 1-7/8's inch recently. (a hand held punch) Jim

Ben, I came here today to ask the same question... came up with a different answer, as I could not find those 'wool skins' on the other site mentioned here. I did find some Black hides for $40 with free, UPS shipping at: http://www.theleatherguy.org/ ...it's on their second page of sheepskin listings. I bought a couple to get a sniff. They were also in Minnesota, so it only ships half the country for me. Jim

Thanks Tomas... Maybe you know where I can find a 'hinged foot' for my 105? Cheers. Jim

Also got Bob at Toledo Sew Mach to send me one of his modified servo motors. Got a 51" narrow V-belt .. and it all works. I love servo motors, I am funny about the gratuitous noise of a constantly running motor. Jim

... this is an old thread, but I just recently got a 105-64. While looking for thread, needles, etc. I found the manual for sale: http://www.campbell-...16v5jm7&x=0&y=0 Jim

I had not dealt with Robeson Sewing Machine in Tennessee before, but they had an Adler at a good price. With no developed expectations, I figured I would probably need TIG and a rolling toolbox before I got to sew... To my surprise, UPS Freight (I avoid regular Ground) rolled up with this! Yes, I was expecting the machine, just not careful attention to what happens between their shipping dock and my front door. The small print always says; "F-off. Take it up with the trucker." .. but the reality is, the shipper has to consider the trucker just found out his dispatcher - is dispatching the trucker's wife... or the guy running the forklift will certainly spear the base of a table held down with butcher's twine. In the age of the internet where we can rage about poor service, we should also pile on praise when merited. I have not had a machine this heavy in here for 20+yrs... A new toy that looks like a lot of fun. (I tell my wife it is 'work'.) Cheers. Jim

I have been sewing a long time but am venturing into heavy work. (my usual threads over the years are Poly 69 and 135) ...but I am curious about Linen. In what situations is it better that nylon or poly. Thanks. Jim

Daniel, That's a great machine. ...maybe not for what you are thinking of, but a workhorse in the canvas and upholstery trade. If it does not sew the minute you set it up - carry the head to someone like NY Sewing machine who have moved from W. 25th to N. Bergen (great folks ..a little 'New York' initially for us former midwesterners, but hearts of gold) .. or simply ask around in the garment district. It is an easily adjusted machine that does not need to be baby'ed. We run two, a long-arm just like yours and a newer version that is run every day. .... and in some respects, I would suggest you take another tack. It takes a long time to develop sewing skills; if you are primarily a designer, then you are making it doubly difficult to achieve your goal. I would think it better to find a lady who sews. There are tons of skilled crafters that can make anything from doll clothes for their grand kids to slip covers, drapes, etc. for other people. A person with a wide range of sewing exposure could probably help you 10X as fast as learning all this yourself. I do all our product design .. I have also been sewing for 40yrs .. But, I am smart enough to hire just those sorts of ladies to do my production. I also am lucky to be in an area that had many sewing factories, so they also know what it means to get stuff out the door... Jim

Thanks all. Nice call from a gentleman in PA telling me about a JUKI on Ebay .. Nice conversations with Jarod in Arkansas and Greg at Keystone. I found -what should be good for us- an ADLER 105-64 .. it's not a 205-370, but was about 30% the price. Again thanks. Jim

... thanks Wiz, about a 1/2" of 4ply of plastic coated webbing. I know that almost any modern machine that is close to a 7 Cl. machine will punch thru .. I was just attempting to discern whether there was an advantage to either needle-feed over walking foot in this particular situation.. if your choice was limited to these two. The comment by TwinOaks is probably 100% correct, but when a compound feed machine is almost 2X of a used walker/needler .. then you have to factor in how much more work you need to produce to cover that investment. Greg, Thanks. We spoke last week. For people who have not dealt with them, I cannot more highly praise Keystone Sewing Machine. For 20+yrs, I can call for parts (as I did this morning) and expect to see them in 48hrs. Good folks. Jim

Thanks all - I have had a long-arm Consew for many years. It punches pretty good. We did a nice load of vinyl covers for a trailed piece of equipment the SeaBees use during disasters. The long-arm is really handy for big stuff like that where ideally you want two people to shove it around the table, but I find it pretty useless, or cumbersome to operate ..for non-oversize work of under about 10lbs total weight. Thanks again. Jim

I know the practical .. we sew medium weight canvas with a Juki DLN-415; my operator busts a lot of needles, but is comfortable with the machine -10hrs/day- so it's not an issue. We have four active walking foot machines, so again I know the concepts and much of the practical. But, where I need to expand into is heavy webbing ..and it is outside my experience. I'd love to simply buy the most expensive 3-action feed machine to cover all bets, but you do not stay in business pretending it is 2005 and money grows at the end of your pen. I have found two pretty capable, heavy machines, one a walking foot .. the other a needle-feed. Maybe one of you has run both and can comment. Luckily, I have been able to stay around long enough for this internet .. I certainly bought a bunch of boat anchors before I sorted out the machines I have. Thanks in advance. Cheers. Jim

..... Good thought. Roughly 1/2" webbing with heavy urethane coating. A flatbed machine would work but I could make a table for a cylinder. Thanks. Jim

I did not arrive in time to see the Adler for sale by OutEast, so missed that one.. But I am looking for something similar in ability (compound feed/high lift) and price. (I am in Maryland, so freight these days has a serious impact) There are some decent new machines available, and my friends of many years -Keystone Sewing Machine in Philadelphia- have an option, but I thought I post this in case you know of someone who wants to move up or is leaving the trade. Thanks. Jim Cancil 410.749.6693 (typ, 8-6)