SARK9

http://www.pjnovak.cz/needle-grozbeckert-292-sp392292a176x1-55nm-p-2535.html?language=en&currency=usd Needle GROZ-BECKERT 292 SP/392/292A/176X1 55NmEquivalents: 292SP/392/292A/176X1SPI furring,thin leather,sharpes point,for very straight stitching -DC

>>The top thread is the one that needs to be held, not the bobbin thread.<< Right, but the interesting part was that the Consew 206xx, which has a similar bobbin apparatus to the 1541, doesn't seem to care if you hold back the thread at all. After a session of fanatically holding thread tails on the LU-563's, its sort of a relief to move over to the Consew and just not think about it. What is different about the 1541's compared to the 206? -DC

At one time the were a few instances of needle collisions with symptoms similar to what you may have experienced. I have no idea if this is still common, but its something else to check. See: http://leiflabs.blogspot.com/2010/05/its-juki-disastro.html The 1541's are frequently advertised as "sew & go" on the bobbin changes, like the Consew 206x's, which could care less about thread tails. They are pretty similar mechanically, so I wonder what causes such a difference in behavior? -DC

Odd that the horizontal axis bobbin 1541 needs its tails pulled. The Consew 206 types don't care at all, in fact, you don't even have to pull the lower thread up after a bobbin change.....pop it in and start sewing. The vertical axis bobbin types like the Juki LU563 on the other hand....the upper thread MUST be held back, or you get a mess every time. Some machines are much happier if you'll keep the take-up arm just past TDC when you begin sewing. -DC

With your needle plate off, there is nothing to prevent the entire bobbin case from rotating out of position. There should be a small tab on the front of the bobbin basket that fits in a notch in the underside of your needle plate. -DC

The pulleys I make myself are usually 50mm-->215mm or so, for a bit over 4:1. You will want to use a 10mm (9.7mm?) wide belt with very small pulleys, since they flex much more easily. Stay with very good quality belts, since the uneven splices on the cheap ones can cause a horrible *thump thump* that I promise you will hate. -DC

"M6" is only the screw's diameter---you need to have your guy put a metric thread gage on it to determine the pitch of the threads. Metric threads are designated by the number of mms the lead advances in one revolution. M6-1.0 is the "standard" pitch for that size, but Pfaff has probably taken a page from the Singer methods and put a non-standard pitch on a standard size screw. See if you can get the thds measured, then you will know what to look for. -DC

www.artisansew.com/pdf/manuals/schmetz_cutting.pdf http://grozbeckert.com/cms/en/products_services/sewing/smn_produktprogramm/weitere_produktinformationen_sewing/s_leather_points/ -DC

I remember encountering *somewhere* that the table cut-outs for German machines is somewhat different than those for the Japanese and American machines. I do not have an German industrial here to try in my tables, however. This may have been in reference to certain "garment" class machines, but its something to verify. -DC

Greg with Keystone Sewing has shared the manual for the Seiko STH-8BDL-3 in the past, and it has a fully dimensioned print for the table cutout included. I've not gotten around to writing the G-code for it, but someone probably has. You might ask if he would share the link for that manual again- -DC

The Cobra 18 *looks* like a hybrid spawn of the Mitsubishi LU2-410, the Juki 241H-7, and the Nakajima 280-L. The claim to sew 7/16ths is sort of impressive. I'd bet $5 its made in China, but I've been wrong before. -DC

Stick, I think if had the funds available for a new business venture and enough volume of work to get out, I wouldn't hesitate to jump on a Juki 1508. Personally, I get the short run stuff I do handled easily by some of my old outdated machines like this one: Poor old thing. LOL! -DC

A couple of the more widely used/popular models you will encounter are the Juki LU-563 and the Consew 206RB thru 206RB3, some models of RB4. These are of Japanese manufacture and have excellent reputations and plentiful, relatively inexpensive accessories and spares. The Juki has the slightly larger *U* class bobbins, but the Consew's *M* bobbins are nice and large as well. The Juki is a vertical axis hook/bobbin machine and requires you to hold the thread tails for the first couple of stitches, while the Consew is a horizontal axis using a conventional bobbin case and is less fussy. Both machines have their fans; I have both and like things about each. Be sure to look carefully at any Juki 563's- Some subclasses lack reverse, and some adverts tend to gloss right over that. Pfaff and Adler (Germany) make several models of excellent machines with similar capabilities which are slightly handicapped by the usually higher price and scarcity of many common accessories. There is a Juki LU-563 listed on CL in your area, a bit high priced for my taste, but you are a heck of long way from anywhere LOL. I'm originally from the "Permian Basin" myself. -DC

>>...making the flywheel on the hand wheel become loosey goosey.<< There is nothing a clutch motor can do to produce that particular symptom, that I can think of anyway....I'd look REAL hard at the pulley on the machine again, and its assembly. It also could have worn away some of the mating surface that faces the stop motion washer. Like any other "domestic" machine, that mechanism will slip (even if all is factory new) if you attempt to sew something too tough. Enough slipping plus time equals wear. With the belt off, does the motor sound erratic? -DC

Its hard to be positive from your pictures, but in general, its less likely to "strip" the threads from a heat treated steel set screw than it is to strip out the tapped aluminium hole it goes in. What I can see of your screw doesn't *appear* to be stripped, unless you mean you have deformed the slot the screwdriver blade fits in. You could easily verify the integrity of your tapped hole by trying the other screw in it and observing whether it draws up correctly. -DC

>>I think the SR just has to be mounted behind the hinges of the machine, thats it - or not?<< Correct- Its a bit hard to do that without the larger SR pulley contacting the motor pulley (if you want to use the existing motor mount holes, leave the carriage bolts in place and not modify the table's belt slot). Nice table BTW- Is it wider than 54cm? The commercial 21 inch tables are about as wide as we commonly get here, so the back edge limits how far I can move things. -DC

One of the issues I've encountered when using a speed reducer in conjunction with a servo is the loss of the ability to tilt the machine head back for routine servicing. To obtain the required clearance between the large reducer pulley and the motor pulley, the reducer is almost always required to mount slightly foreward (towards the operator), thus altering the rotational geometry between the machine head and the pulley driving its belt. The result: Tilting the machine head back TIGHTENS the belt rather than loosening it, making it impossible to tilt back in the normal way. The seat-of-your-pants cure I've used in an attempt to make this somewhat more sanitary is to install an intermediate offset plate/servo mount to move the servo BACK and allow the SR to regain the critical location for the normal rotation of the machine head. It requires a bit of thickish plate and some drilling & tapping, but no alteration of the table or belt slot, and uses existing bolts and mounting holes. -DC

ISMACS says the 31K32 is the same as the 31K15 except it and the 31-32 both have "reversable drop feed". Sounds interesting! -DC

Shoot. I just noticed that your hinged bobbin latch is pointing at about 10:00 o'clock, while all three of mine point at about 1:00. I can see that the tab on the bobbin basket isn't correctly seated in the notch in the underside of your needle plate. That's the problem....the whole thing is able to rotate. -DC

It LOOKS (but I'm not positive) like your thread is making a loop over the pin which prevents the tension disks from rotating before it enters the thread control disks. Check the path of the upper thread. It usually exits the tension disks going straight down into the control disk. -DC

Another solution which you can apply (in addition) is to relocate the attachment point on the foot pedal to reduce the amount the pittman link moves vs. your perceived foot travel. See photo. -DC

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/Universal-Model-KNB-Zig-Zag-Sewing-Machine-18792999.html Says there it was also sold as some model of "Dressmaker" machine.... I know someone that has a couple of those... -DC

>>The machine was a popular Japanese make back in the 50's and 60's, so parts would be kinda scarce<< Actually, there is a good chance that some of the other machines from that era share common parts...Most of these were manufactured by a short list of Japanese companies and rebranded/rebadged to suit the retailer or importing customers. You might inquire at: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/vintagejapansewingmachines/info ...to see if someone there knows of an original, or what parts interchange with what. -DC

I have set up one of my Juki machines with an air-actuated foot lift....built mostly using off-the-shelf parts. If you adjust the heel stroke on your foot pedal somewhat generously, its not particularly snarky about accidentally engaging it. Poor video of the action here: -DC

Looks legit- There is a parts manual here: https://www.universalsewing.com/images2/parts_lists/all/mnlffcg0.pdf -DC