Darren Brosowski

When Singer closed factories they contracted companies in Japan to build machines. The 153 was built by Seiko as the 153B series. When Singer went belly up Seiko kept building them as the Seiko CW8. Seiko created "Consolidated Sewing" to sell their machines in the USA under the brand name "Consew".

I make drip trays from sheet metal, perspex or even leather (domestic machines). Unless you are setting up a sweat shop a piece of leather will do the job but you may have to replace it every couple of years

The Juki is in the same family as the Seiko CW-8/Consew 227r so #138 on the bottom and maybe #207 on top. Compound feed. Brother part number is incomplete

A Cb4500 is $4500 in the land of Aus. Shipping to SA is around $350 CB3200 is $3500 plus shipping

You can never have too many machines!!! A Seiko at that price is a bargain and if you resell it you have the knowledge to sell it properly and make some money so you can buy new machines from me LOL

I have just converted a Consew 227R to a Seiko CW-1 darner so I have most of those parts but they are second hand.

I serviced a poorly maintained Highlead 441 and it was in very good condition. There is a big difference between the home environment and what Eric does as he needs machines to sew constantly at 4000spm

Why not ask Ronnie?

Stop sharing my secret Research and Development projects you bastard

If he had half a brain and would listen to advice it may also help. The OP is beyond help as he wants a machine to sew everthing from silk to saddles at 30 stitches per minute to 4500 spm. Possibly he also wants it to do off-the-arm chain stitch and edge carpets.

A lot comes down to practice and experience as there are members here who have done it but others struggle

It was a hire car - next best thing to a Formula One racer

I cut the slot with an angle grinder fitted with a 1mm stainless steel cutting disc. I cut the slot with an angle grinder fitted with a 1mm stainless steel cutting disc.

Hi Marianne! Did you join from the bagmaking page?

When welding cast iron it is best to preheat the part and then weld with a high nickel content rod. To avoid warping and localised fracturing you cool it slowly in sand and for large items you actually slow the cooling down with a blow torch

Last time I drove through SA was a back road to Ceduna and sat in the middle of the road at night doing about 180. The guy I was taking down there was shitting himself as he thought we would get booked by the coppers. "No wukkas mate, the road is dead flat and no trees so we can see about 5km ahead of us. Mind you if a Roo or Wombat walks out we are ed"

I see these questions a lot and there are a few issues. 1/ when setting the bottom tension it is pretty much a case of you just want to feel some resistance as you pull it through the feed dog. It is hard to quantify but you don't want it to come straight through and you don't want to put your foot against the machine to pull it out so about half way between those extremes. 2/ When setting the top tension the most important issue is that the thread goes around the main tension 1 1/2 times and the tension roller spins as you pull the thread through. Sometimes this means that there will be very little tension on the main spring. The tension at the top/back is the one that puts the pressure on the thread to spin the main tension. There are many ways to balance the tensions and no two people will agree as with three springs there are a thousand ways to do it. Nobody is right or wrong and you need to find a way to balance everything that works for you

Wanty, wanty want, want. If that lot were within 200km of me I would be there!! Three 133 darners are interesting, a 29k machine is always good - even if just for parts, but the one at the far end looks seriously interesting. Also look for Sowing and Sawing machines

What Steve said!!!

Simple oiling instructions for every machine; wherever there is a hole or you see metal rubbing on metal then oil it

If red is the top thread then you are going the wrong way as there is no top tension

As a dealer in Australia my decision, based on your requirements, is pretty simple - "the door is over there" If you ask my opinion and I make a suggestion I am legally liable if it does not do the job and you are asking for something that does not exist. Get off your high horse and define what you really want from a machine then come back and ask.

I have a foot lift lever and possibly a take up lever assembly.

Beautiful machine.

It is a good-ish price but does not include table, motor or extra feet.