gottaknow

http://www.consew.com/Resources/ These are free to download. Have fun! Regards, Eric

I use several S2's for tacking elastic. Understanding how to set them is a process. As I look back over my career, the only machine I ever gave up on was an S2. It had an intermittent skipping issue. I must have messed with that machine off and on for a year. I eventually parted it out. Setting a 101 is actually easier imo than an S2. However, once you get enough wear in the cam that drives the head, or the cam that drives the loopers and spreaders, you will never get them to sew right. And I do mean never. The newer machines are made in the Chech Republic. They are copies of the originals, but they used aluminum where they shouldn't have so I'm anticipating faster wear. It's also a machine I go through once a month looking for certain key loose components. Again, somewhat of a beast. Regards, Eric

These machines are beasts, for many reasons. There's really no comparison between a 101 and a lockstitch machine. The original manuals are good, parts are still available. I have machines with 4-5 million cycles on them, still running. They are a pretty sturdy machine. They are however difficult to troubleshoot and adjust, and I've been working on them for almost 37 years. They are also fascinating and a real good example at American engineering from years gone by. Regards, Eric

Believe it or not, it's not slippery enough and doesn't evaporate. As a footnote, cleaning up a spill of silicone is an all day project...

I pay $14 a gallon for my Lilly White. We buy volume of course, but it's the same oil that most will pay twice as much for. On the other hand, the price of my Silicone thread lube has jumped up to $60 in the last few years, a good $20 more than I used to pay. Not really sure for the cause of that increase, but we have to use it on several high speed joining operations to keep down needle heat. It does stain, so we test it on everything first. Regards, Eric

I never get tired of learning Art. I just gottaknow.

I assume it is, though I don't know what Bob sells. It's pretty much been the industry standard sewing machine oil for a very long time. Regards, Eric

Lilly white is used for its ease of cleaning with dry cleaning solvents that we use in factories to remove oil spots from fabric. It's also non-detergent so it doesn't foam in a splash type oil system. I also use it to lube air cylinders in atomizing type oilers. As for the leather we use in our luggage factory, it is dyed and finished before we sew it and the oil is simply wiped off for cleaning. Many garments purchased at the retail level have had oil spots removed at the factory. Juki has come out with "oill- less" heads in recent years. They will not have the life expectancy of older machines using oil. Regards, Eric

I've bought 35 or so new Jukis is the last few years. I spoke to Juki about oil and Lilly white is fine and won't void any warranties. I use it in all of my machines. Regards, Eric

Return it! Your machine will be heading back this coming week.

The new knives are the correct next step. Whenever I trouble shoot a machine, I try and look at the most likely event that is causing the issue. First the threading, you did that, knife sharpening is subjective. I have a honing machine that I sharpen knives on. The stationary knife must be exactly parallel across it's width or your cutting will be hit and miss. Replace the knives with new ones, then address your knife timing. New mechanics will often make the mistake of changing the hardest thing before checking the threading and then the blades. It's keeping the diagnostics in order that will save many a headache. Good luck. Regards, Eric

Hard to say what they'll do, but they could perhaps use someone who knows what they're talking about. I've said it before, but I don't have the patience to be a dealer. if I were, I'd hope not to be misinforming folks. I do that enough just as a head mechanic, but I do keep the factory humming along with little or no machine down time, and that's where I make my money. Regards, Eric

If it's sewing good, keep it. It's certainly capable of what your doing. It is not a needle feed machine. Needle feed machines don't have the alternating presser feet. Overall, it's probably a better machine. When you get fussbudget back from me, it's certainly worth selling and it will be in good shape. It will make someone a decent machine. This could all end up better for you in the long run. I do still think for your products I've seen, you could still benefit from a needle feed machine. Regards, Eric

From looking at the first picture. If you thread your bobbin thread through the tip of the finger on the bobbin case, it will put your bobbin thread where the knife will cut it. Don't make any adjustments to your knife system since it's still cutting your needle thread until the bobbin is threaded. It will sew that way, but not cut. Regards, Eric

Just curious this morning why a machine dealer would sell a machine that is supposed to be a needle feed when it's actually a walking foot. Not even close to the same as a 211G157 needle feed. I've been under the weather, so somewhat absent, but sheesh. Regards, Eric

We ship machines between factories all the time. We bolt the table to a full size pallet with the head still in the table. We then strap the head to the table with multiple straps and then strap the table to the pallet. We'll shrink wrap the entire thing which does an amazing job at dampening all the vibration. Or course all our factories have fork lifts, but a lift will work for pick up and delivery. Most drivers carry pallet jacks. For pricing we use freightquote.com and the only trucking line we avoid is YRC. Regards, Eric

I still have the parts diagrams, I'll see if I can get them to you in the next day or so. Regards, Eric

For those screws, I use SnapOn screwdrivers that are quite large with a hex head shape on the top of the shaft just below the handle. You can then put a box end wrench on the screwdriver for some serious torque. Those screws are messed up from using screwdrivers that were too small. If you can't find screws, let me know. I have a bunch of them. Regards, Eric

A lot of chirps come from feed dog to throat plate contact. Not a place that gets lubed for obvious reasons. Way to tell is to loosen the throat plate a bit (both screws) and then sew. If it gets quiet, there's your chirp. You can usually fix this by tweaking your feed dogs side to side a bit. Regards, Eric

We still use a 28 stitch tacker for setting belt loops. Nothing better. Regards, Eric

The 269's aren't for the weak of heart. The two air cylinders can be operated off one pedal or two as Wiz described. One cylinder drops the clamp, the other engages the run cycle. If the machine makes stitches and the needle hits the knife, your knife timing is off, not the shuttle timing. When replacing the knife plate, you must engage the first two gears closest to the front of the machine. That sets the knife timing. You can alter the X and Y dimensions of the tack pattern as long as you keep it inside the clamp area. This machine had the cam changed to perform a specific task. Standard 269 trackers were either 28 stitch or 42 stitch. They were the standard of apparel manufacturing for decades. I still use several. Regards, Eric

Our luggage factory uses a similar machine to that one Wiz for setting all the leather straps and buckles on our luggage. It's made by Brother, who seems to be fairly aggressive in their automation work stations. If I recall, the price was less than I thought it would be. I have a Brother memory label setter that sets all of our different labels. It can be set for different sizes in about 10 minutes. It was about 7k and has paid for itself in less than two years. I've always been a firm believer in buying the very best you can afford. I understand this can be tough for hobbyist to justify, but if you're going to make a profit as you know, you really need good reliable machines. Regards, Eric

I bought a Reece 101 keyhole buttonhole machine two years ago. $14,500. And all it does is buttonholes. Really nice ones though. My seam sealing machines for waterproof breathable fabric were 35k each. And I have two of them. The return on investment in a factory happens very quickly though. Regards, Eric

We were shut down all week as is customary in the sewing factory circles. It messes up production in the summer when you have people taking vacations randomly, so the shut downs occur nation wide. It's the same with a lot of the support industries as well since there's no one to talk to anyway. Regards, Eric

In my experience sewing webbing on vertical hook machines creates some different issues that other material. First and foremost, the webbing deflects the needle to the left. Even if your hook is set tight to the scarf of the needle, it deflects to the left and the hook point runs right through your thread. I set all vertical hook machines so that the hook point deflects the needle a bit, then adjust the needle guard on the hook to push the needle to the left enough for the hook point to clear the needle. What that means is that when you sew, your needle guard will deflect your needle to the left. Since your hook point is set for that, the webbing can't deflect your needle far enough for your hook to fray your thread because the needle is already under a little tension which keeps it from deflecting more. You also need a very sharp hook point. (Dull hooks fray thread) As for your hook timing, I generally retard the timing just a bit so that it goes through the scarf of the needle a little lower where the loop from bonded thread is more consistent. Bottom line, even though your hook timing looks good, that needle will deflect to the left. More in webbing than any other material, which means your hook is simply too far away from your needle. Even on regular fabric and leather, frayed thread is usually caused by your hook to needle setting (left/right), or a dull or flat hook point. Have fun! Regards, Eric