Ole South

(@Constabulary) Harris finally retired, Pilgrim is no more... I think Wes(?) at Shoe Systems Plus picked up a lot of Pilgrim inventory, unfortunately he told me most of the patcher inventory went to metal recycler. What a loss.

Actually, an established cobbler should(might) have a Landis or McKay insole stitcher BUT.... In most cases it will probably be a chainstitch rather than a lockstitch (insoles need "stretch" a bit, chainstitch allows this, lockstitch inhibits. There is, I believe, a Landis insole stitcher that is lockstitch but not as common as McKay style. Chainstitcher probably wouldn't work in your project as the "loops" are your top stitch, inline stitches will be inside your case. Its a single needle(awl), single thread machine. The horn on my McKay is approximately 1/2-5/8" wide. Thread is usually linen (black or white) but 403wt poly might work for short runs.

Without pictures it is hard to help but... 1.Compare broken lever profile and thickness with your replacement part, often some grinding/filing/polishing is necessary. 2. Clean receiver area in needle bar driving lever. Remove gunk and foreign objects trapped in there. 3. Broken pin: file broken pin top flat (even if you have to remove a little of the casting) center punch the middle of the old pin and carefully drill out broken piece. You should feel when the drill bit bottoms. Replace pin with brass rod (available at most hobbyshops) I'll check drill bit and rod diameter on my 29-4 (cir1915) later today. I'm thinking 1/16-3/32.

HONEYSEW HOOK+BOBBIN CASE - THICK SHAFT 240558 10655 For SINGER 111W155 CONSEW 224 225 226 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LCWD4QG/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_SkqAEb19FVC86 This is proper Hirose hook for 111w155, I just replaced one earlier this month... First set screw (turning hook cw, handwheel toward you) goes into notch. Mine had a rounded set screw and a ball bearing instead of a pointed set screw.

(Full disclosure: I know parts for both models' are pretty much discontinued for the most part but this was a foray into what may or may not work ) I just completed partial rebuild of each model, 29-4 circa 1915 and Adler 30-1 circa "who knows"(black paint/cast iron stand, no decals) feed motion area and thought I'd pass on what I found. Stitch length was far from optimal but little or no play in either of the machines' Driving Lever(s) so I felt driver cam was within functional specs. I noticed Kunpeng Sewing(CKPSMS) sells both a Feed Motion Ring (simanco 82053) and Bell Crank Lever (82167) on E-bay. Prices were reasonable so I bought 2 Feed Motion Rings and Bell Crank Levers to see if they would work. Feed Motion Ring The Feed Motion Rings came without cam follower rollers (they now sell them as a set) so I contacted CKPSMS outlining the issue but got no response. A couple of months later I see the roller and stud assembly (ckpsms #1816) listed at a disposable price so I purchased two. These rollers are clearly marked as being 10mm dia O.D., the description and pictures of the assembly are completely accurate. Being lazy, (I prefer to think of this as "Time Efficiency" but....) I mic'd the roller (rather than the Feed Motion Cam Wheel race the roller rides in) from a well-worn 29K-60 sixty-something year old original Feed Motion Ring I'd previously replaced at 9.79mm O.D. thinking 2.0+mm wear was expectable. It's not... at least not for the 29-4 or 30-1. Both races mic out at 9.79-9.80mm. If anyone has a 29K Feed Motion Cam Wheel (p/n 82149) in good shape I'd appreciate the actual race width measurement at the narrowest part for comparison. I'm guessing the original Simanco roller was probably 25/64" O.D. (ish… mebbe??). The problem doesn't end there; the replacement roller stud has a cir-clip retaining ring and receiver machined into it extending the roller shaft by about 1.5mm. This doesn't allow the assembled FMR to seat into head casting. The Simanco FMR's I've seen have either a free floating roller or the stud is peened almost flush to capture the roller. Easy enough to remedy with a grinder once a properly sized roller is procured but the mounting nut on the other side may also have to be ground flush. I had a FMR from another vendor (Pilgrim or Shoe System Plus probably) that I ended up using in the 29-4. The Adler retained its original FMR. (a new Bell Crank Lever removed all apparent slop) Bell Crank Lever The BCL worked in the 29-4 but bound the needle bar in the Adler as it returned. A lot of creative grinding/polishing later and a couple screw fabrications* and the Adler too had longer stitch lengths. Basic mod was to remove the gore (sloping metal casting) transitioning from the lever bar to the ring making it a clean right (90 deg) angle and thinning the outer wall of the lever's needle bar guide ring to allow full angular motion. Net-net... I now have 2 new Feed Motion Ring and roller assy's (un-usable) languishing in my spare parts bin and a spare Bell Crank Lever should I ever need them *in my case the pivot screws from the worn Adler BCL were a different thread than the Kunpeng which appear to be 6-40 ncf.

I stand corrected.

Raising the presser foot should release the upper tension disks... rotating the hand wheel should allow the upper thread to clear the bobbin mechanism (try rocking the hand wheel backwards and forwards as you pull the material free). If that doesn't free both threads then double check the adjustments mentioned. Multiple threads(cut) coming out of the feed dog in your picture, indicates upper thread is still captured by bobbin assembly i.e. shouldn't be more than one thread there (bobbin thread). I will hook the upper thread with an index finger where the thread rises above the tension disks and lash spring and pull some slack after lifting presser foot if top tension is tight so not to stress the workpiece. That's the correct threading shown tho most don't use it. And yes... it will increase upper tension by design. The Singer 111 has that pin on the opposite side of the mechanism and is supposed to be threaded accordingly. The machines will still work if you don't. But it does appear you may have missed a guide out of frame prior to the tension assembly. There is vertical wear indications on the first chrome guide feeding the tension disks and the thread is coming in at a different angle... your thread appears to be riding the casting even tho there is no scuffing of the paint. This doesn't affect or cause your problem but...

(A very late response, sorry) I've never thought about trying to use a McKay for side wall stitching but I'll check mine. The biggest problem will be the material advance mechanism... a single pawl that digs into the material and pushes it forward (toward the awl) that likes a pre-cut channel. It is a chain Stitcher but that's not a bad thing in this case. Chain stitch has way more stretch than a lockstitch does and would allow the sidewalls to flex better but will unravel if not tied off or glued correctly and the wrong loose thread is pulled. If you notice, this machine in the video, does NOT pull the lockstitch very tight... you can reduce the size of the shoe by 1/4-1/2 an American Size that way(yeah, I've done that hand-stitching using a saddle stitch :/ ) And yes, a Jerk Awl IS what I usually use to sidewall stitch the toe box if needed. You can go pretty quickly once you get the hang of it. A Speedy Stitcher isn't very useful in the dark confines of a shoe upper. Btw... a McKay (or Champion) model 77(Insole stitcher) and it's ilk will not work inside a boot due to its horn limitations... thus the need for an Outsole (welt stitcher) like the Landis K machines. The McKay is far simpler a machine.

Make a prototype without wet forming and test. If it's too stiff, skive where you want it to bend a bit thinner the width of the flap.

I'm wondering if a Landis K stitcher could be modified to do this now the Protos is no longer made? The standard welt guide on the K-12 is interchangeable but I've never seen a box stitching attachment. Has anyone played around with one of them?

If you wet formed the flap and it has any thickness (greater than 3-4oz or so) or even worse a lined flap... then you create an internal vs external diameter differential*. Meaning the inside length is shorter than the outside length and when you straighten the flap, the excess dimension HAS to go somewhere... so the long side lifts into a wrinkle or wave. The converse applies if you DON'T "form the arc" when gluing a lining to a thicker top piece or if you don't stretch (wet form) the piece. In this case, both sides have equal length and if one won't stretch then you'll get wrinkles when the flap is closed (on the inside) due to the flesh side (or lining) lacking the ability to compress enough to compensate for the topside's resistance to stretching. Work around? Find the happy medium about mid-way of the bend when making the flap if you're using a lining or don't wet form the fold completely closed or choose materials that have the needed ability to stretch and/or compress. The stretch vs compressibility (compression ratio) of the material(s) you're using is the primary factor in this equation. Remember when wet forming leather you are removing some or all of the compression ratio of a piece of leather and the thicker the piece the greater the I.D. vs the O.D. (Inside Dimension vs OUTside dimension) regardless. This is also why you may have seen posts on the forums about calculating gusset length of a bag. Basically the same issue... but exaggerated because not only are you dealing with material thickness (gusset, belly and back) but also how much of a seam allowance is allocated for the bag and the stretch/compression of each piece. Add in an inside seam (hidden) vs an exposed seam and the calculation gets way more complex. This solution is a bit easier if you've measured long... just cut off the excess. * a good example of this is to grab a inch thick stack of paper from your printer or copier and bring the short edges to each other... the top sheets will be way shorter than the inner-most sheets even though they are the same length when laying flat. Does this make sense?

Okay, with the help of a friend of mine (real live Sewing Machine mechanic) I got to work on the beast today. She's lifting both feet now, not quite as high as spec says but we both learned a lot about the 111w155. Our pdf doesn't give a starting point for the adjustment but it is correct. Turning the eccentric worm gear counter clockwise creates a "cam" effect off the motion of the upper drive shaft resulting in a greater range of motion of the (exposed) lifter rocker/swing arms (visible in Figs 4, 18 & 19) which drive both presser feet bars via the Lifting Bell Crank Lever(Simanco p/n 240205 plate 16993, Consew #2 pg 5). This results in a higher lift of one or both feet. Since the presser foot basically pivots off the vibrating foot you only see vibrating foot rise or fall as you are making the adjustment at screw D. There are a lot of moving pieces to getting the machine to lift both feet as you desire. Basically this is a complex equivalent of the 29-4 L-M-H wingnut setting. We got both feet lifting about 3/8", synchronized correctly and sewing well. All the settings are not perfect as the needle bar now impacts and binds the top of the vibrating foot when the Presser Lift Lever is up and the hand wheel is rotated but sews well. The major culprit appears to be the Presser Bar Spring Bracket wasn't set properly. As brmax noted shimming or prying one or both of the feet up/down is necessary to accomplish adjustment if the machine is too far out of spec (I used a stack of pennies or dimes as a shim). It would be nice to create a beginning to end procedure for setting the lift. The pdf manual assumes a correctly adjusted machine, I'll try and come up with written procedure but finding a set starting point is the trick. Set screws involved (ref: INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING AND ADJUSTING SINGER* SEWING MACHINES CLASS 111 VARIETIES 152, 153, 154 and 155 {pdf}): G (Fig 4 pg. 5) -Positions rocker arms and releases feet C* (Fig 19 pg 17) -Supposed to lock Eccentric Regulating (worm) Screw D (Fig 20 pg 17) Lift Eccentric Regulating Screw - Sets lift height Pinch Screw 200086c & Presser Bar Spring Bracket (Simanco p/n 210949 Part Manual Plate 16693, Consew #15&16 pg 7) Sets the height the Presser Foot rises Additionally I discovered why the tension release bar comes flying out the back of the machine or may lock both presser feet it the UP position when the Presser Release handle is hyper extended. Either the Tension Release Slide (Consew #11 pg 7 or Simanco p/n 264527 plate 16693) is binding and/or gummed up or the Presser Bar Spring Bracket is set too high. I've included a link to the Consew 206rb parts manual as the exploded diagrams (similar tho not exactly the same) show relative positioning better than the Singer Parts Lists Reference: http://consew.com/Files/112347/PartsBooks/206RB-5.pdf * On my 111W155 there are two screws on Fig 19 instead of a single "C" set screw as shown. Neither seem have any effect on locking the regulating screw adjustment on my machine (too much wear??). The one on the left (as you are looking from the back of the machine) is the Eccentric Body Set Screw (I assume locks the eccentric to the upper drive shaft) and the right-most is the Lift Eccentric Set Screw (locks the Regulating Screw??).

Yes Uwe, That's what led me to where the bind actually was. Brmax, I've shimmed both feet and used that as a starting point too. I'll try and get some pictures. Ty all.

I think I've a different problem. When decending needle is level with the top of the throat plate the feed dogs have risen and are ready to begin their back stroke; if I drop the presser feet by loosening the screw, further handwheel motion causes the eccentric toggle (top of the L pivot bar, green line) to bind on THE OUTSIDE PRESSER BAR rather than the casting. Could this be a top end / bottom end timing issue? Note: vibrating foot lifts 1/2", outside presser only lifts 1/16".

How does the presser foot rise relative to the vibrating foot? The problem I'm seeing is that when I get the vibrating foot rising 1/4-1/2" the presser foot barely lifts. But I will try this tomorrow. Thank you so much for all this!

Page 17 of Singer-Class-111-Instructions

Wish I could... manual says it's to change the lift ratio between vibrating foot and outside presser foot. I suspect it's the correlation between both the eccentric and the pivot pin adjustment.

Loosened the lock screw and turned the worm screw rotating the eccentric at the middle of the upper drive shaft.

Thanks Uwe, the vibrating foot actually clamps down too hard on the feed dog to turn the hand wheel. I will revisit the linkage set screw. Where (just picking a random point) should things be when the L shaped pivot arm {red/green} is at exactly 3 o'clock position. And thank you so VERY much for the pictures of the thread tension release guide... I wondered why mine shot out of the back of the machine if the pressure lift arm was hyper-extended. I ordered one and I got the rod for a 152/3 (different diameter). I eventually fabricated one of correct diameter from brass rod but if you push lifter release too high it binds the presser feet... basically how I got the presser feet out of whak in the first place.

I've rebuilt a "parts machine" 111W155. Initially it sewed well but I tried to adjust the alternating presser foot height by the manual and things went in the crapper. The vibrating foot lifts 3/8ths -1.2 inch. the alternating presser foot (outside) barely clears the material being sewn. This makes it difficult to sew across height variations like seams. The mechanics appear to pivot the outer foot off the inner.... but when I adjust them for the same lift (standard) the inner foot binds on the feed dogs and locks up the machine. The manual doesn't specify where/what their starting point/position should be. Anyone else experienced this? Thanks. (Needle bar height is set correctly)

Yep Conny, I beat the beejeebers outa that pin (from the back) to the point I was afraid of mushrooming it. The end started out rounded and now is pretty flat. Yessir, I've heated it ("it" being the lever pivot area{driving rack arm} not the head casting), torched it, frozen it and doused it with penetrating oil all to no avail. But the good news is that I got the roller pivot out (my original objective)... I finally just clamped a pair of vice grips on it and gave a hefty heave-ho and lo & behold it broke loose and rotated out. Then the other shoe fell... The new roller pivot O.D. is a mic or two larger than the one I removed (~7mm) AND... about 5mm longer. Now the roller pivot is out I can run a pin punch down the lever hole and there seems to be an obstruction. It could be just corrosion buildup but if it's the casting then drilling and punching from the hand-wheel side wouldn't have worked probably and my new roller assembly will bottom out before seating. Does anyone know if that hole is drilled thru and thru? Aussie I didn't ignore your advice... I just can't get to the backside of the roller pin since removing the needle bar lever has been a no-go. Btw, this being a 29k-30 I found the driving rack pivot pin is a significantly larger diameter than on my 29-4. I really need to get this poor orphan sewing. Thanks guys for all the advice and help!

Weellll, that didn't work. Three days under pressure and only the clamp gave. The pin didn't even move. I guess I'll have to grind off the end of the roller pivot and punch it out from the needle bar lever end. Or drill it out :\

Thanks Ndn.... what we forget... a brilliant suggestion. I'll take a C-clamp and a couple sockets over to the shop tomorrow (I've actually used this technique before I got an arbor press. ' must be getting old, dang it.)

Thanks for all the help guys!! Okey-doke.... center pin (needle bar lever/big pin) is frozen in the needle bar lever. It oscillates freely front and back in the main casting but won't budge when trying to drive it out (back to front). I've heated it, froze it, doused it with penetrating oil all to no avail; hammered the back of the pin until it's gone flat. I'm afraid to beat on it any more for fear of mushrooming the tapered end of the pin (note: the front side of the pin was already flattened). All I can think of now, is to try and find a small bearing splitter/separator tool and see if that will break the roller or roller pivot free from the end of the lever. Anybody got another idea??? Additional notes: Circa 1945 machine and... Is there supposed to be a pin securing the cam/drive pulley to the main shaft on a 29k-30? The clamping screw was missing and only a pin held the drive pulley to the shaft.

We have to remove the arm to replace this roller?