gottaknow

I should have never looked at what leather workers are having to pay for needles. The more sources I looked at, the more irritated I became. I won't make that mistake again.:) Regards, Eric

Put the 18 into an old Singer stand today. Bolted on an old Singer motor, thread stand, converted the knee lift to a foot pedal. A new light and bobbin winder will complete the stand. I included some pics below, including something Singer did that unless you know specifically what it is, is a head scratcher. I have a new top feed dog ready to install after I check the timing. I should be ready to sew next week, time permitting. Regards, Eric

That's cool! I think you'll like the results of a needle feed machine on what you're sewing. They are very versatile. Regards, Eric

Finally have time to get back to this machine. I received the new top feed dogs and have placed the head into an old Singer table. The footprint was an exact match. I'm going to convert the foot lift to a chain. The only part of this machine that I found was the head itself. No table or motor. A chain lift will work nicer with less fuss. I'm still planning on setting it up to sew heavy twill binding. I'll post some pics as I get farther along. We rebuilt 2 Singer 153K103's yesterday and this was next up until my new gauge set arrives for my long arm Singer 320W. It never ends. Regards, Eric

I just read through this thread again and was pleased to see all the pictures back! It didn't make a lot of sense without them. Regards, Eric

Groz Beckert needle prices change all the time. I think the guy you spoke with wasn't informed very well. My basic overlock needles are UY154's to fit my 40 or so Union Special 39500's. The price per hundred 6 years ago was about $22/100. I bought some last week for $51.90/100. That's a higher increase than many other needle classes, but they all change. I usually purchase needles 1000 at a time to get a better price. We make the operators change needles on our wool twice a day, on the waxed canvas, 3-4 times a day. Regards, Eric

No experience with any of the CowBoy machines, but the advantage of new is the support. On used machines, you're on your own with just the support of a bunch of guys on an online forum. It looks to be a fine machine and certainly bound to have a better price point than a new Juki. I can tell you the reason a lot of older machines don't have a backtack feature is simply because in the factories, a backtack was simple to accomplish by reaching the end of a seam, lifting the foot slightly and pulling the material back enough to overlap 3 or 4 stitches. The operators were very accomplished at this, often faster than a manual backtack lever because their hands never left the material. Singer waited a long time to add backtacks to a lot of their machines. The machines made in Japan included it as standard much earlier. Juki, Consew, Brother, Mitsubishi etc. Regards, Eric

Ok. The correct part # is 0367100424. Universal Sewing Supply can special order it for less than $100. They have it listed on the website as original. Regards, Eric

I don't know about that... but I know when I got the machine to rebuild the plastic part of the hand wheel was smashed during shipping. There wasn't much to it, it just screwed to the end of the main metal wheel. I do recall looking the part up, finding a source etc. It's here somewhere..... Regards, Eric

Seems that I had sourced that replacement for you, and it wasn't nearly that much. I'm thinking your price is for the pulley and everything. It's just the plastic piece screwed to the end of the hand wheel that you need. I'll see if I have that part number somewhere still. Regards, Eric

A drop feed and needle feed are two different machines. I would look for a needle feed, forget about using a drop feed. I have always freelanced machine repair even though I do it full time. I've serviced a lot of drapery shops over the years including a woman who specialized in high dollar insulated drapes. If I recall, she used a Brother 700 something series needle feed. Very smooth machine, handled everything she through at it, and it had reverse. It was a garment machine with an oil sump, much like the Singer 281-22 which doesn't have reverse. They were made in Japan and like most machines coming out of Japan in the 80's and 90's, they all had reverse. There are a lot of models of older Brothers that were needle feed. Parts are still available, and because you don't really need a walking foot, the price will be reasonable. Do some googling and you'll see a lot of that era Brothers for sale. Regards, Eric

Yikes! My needle budget would go through the roof with that price! Regards, Eric

We use Coats bonded nylon. It seems about the best for not coiling too bad. We even use the black in T135 for the gimp thread in our keyhole button holes, (which has to be pretty much coil free). Regards, Eric

I can't believe how much these small resellers charge for their needles. I pay $13.50 per 100. Yes, I buy high volume, but still even at my price, my supplier makes a profit. Huge markup. Regards, Eric

For information, http://www.grozbeckert.com GB are high quality and consistent. I also use Schmetz when I have to. Regards, Eric

135x17 is a round point for wooven goods, not leather. I prefer Groz Beckert needles. Regards, Eric

I have an original Singer hook out of a 111. If you verify the shaft diameter and the diameter of the cam that drives the latch opener, it's yours for the cost of shipping. Regards, Eric

Uwe, what is the diameter of that hook shaft? Regards, Eric

I'll take a look at my spare hooks and see what I have. Stay tuned. Regards, Eric

Nice find! As for the hook oiling, that red dot hole to the right of the throat plate will provide oil to the hook. It's in line with the lower shaft that the hook rotates with. If you want to give it a jumpstart, tip the machine back and put a few drops of oil where the hook meets the bobbin basket (where the bobbin sits). Regards, Eric

Clever fix for a diy'er, but using superglue on the hook of a machine I had sold isn't something I'd ever do. First good big birdnest, a wandering screwdriver, tweezers, etc. and your fix pops off or gets bent down still pinching the thread. I've seen things like this attempted many times and they always fail. Sorry Uwe, just being honest. If I had bought this machine and discovered the work around later, I'd be upset. If you're going to rebuild and sell machines, this is one of those things you should avoid doing. Again, just being completely honest. Regards, Eric

I still think your shaft timing is off one notch. Your top shaft is ahead your bottom shaft. Either that or you little to no tension on your check spring. As Wiz suggested, your travel on your check spring is too short. If your shaft timing is good, and your check spring has enough tension and travel, your thread should not have any slack before the needle penetrates the material you're sewing. I don't think it's a position thing with where your hook stops. It happens too often from what you told me than a 1 in 360 chance of stopping and then touching the hand wheel slightly backwards. Unless someone has the bad habit of turning the hand wheel backwards all the time I think it's a machine setting. My 211's with clutch motors rarely do this and we use them 40 hours a week. Regards, Eric

If folks in Germany are looking for cheap, a much better machine to hack is the 211G151's. First off they are going to be in the same price range as a 241, but yet offer needle feed, a vertical hook, and the ability to raise the needle bar and convert to the 137x16 needle class for leather. They will sew and tension properly T135 with the heavier tension spring. Parts are cheep. Can easily be set for 1/2" presser foot lift without modification. Over the years, I've seen perfectly good machines ruined because folks didn't know how to go about making good decisions about modifying machines. I have a thread on a 211 that I rebuilt for a lady here that had been hacked to the point of near death. I was able to get it going again, but most people couldn't have fixed it and it would have ended up a boat anchor. I have modified hundreds of machines over the years, but always proceeding in a logical manor because I know what I'm doing. Regards, Eric

Really decent servos and air motors and control boxes have been used for many years in factories. I know Trox is a fan of the Efka's, and even the older units from the 1980's were butter smooth. I've taken many out of service in the last few years, but having a unit survive factory use for 30 years is pretty amazing. The "hobby" servos and controllers are actually quite pathetic comparatively speaking, thus everyone wants to mod them and reinvent the wheel. The wheel already exists if you want to pay the price. I know some of the cheaper ones can serve a hobbyist quite well. But the price point is good for hobbyists. I trust guys like Wiz to know the good from the bad because he's dealt with them. We don't use them in factories because they get killed in short order. In contrast, I have Singer and Amco clutch motors from the 70's that have never needed a clutch replaced and old Efka units that are still going strong without adjustment. It's too bad there isn't something in between that was really smooth and strong but at a better price, perhaps not a big enough market? Regards, Eric

Uwe. That really is a nice adjustment on that needle guard. I bet that machine sews nice. Regards, Eric