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Uwe

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Everything posted by Uwe

  1. Not correct, sorry. There are many subclasses in the Singer 111W and 211W category that cover just about all combinations and permutations of bottom, upper, and needle feed. Only some models have a unison (bottom+upper+needle) feed walking foot design that is preferred by most upholstery folks. The Singer 111W155 is one of these unison walking foot designs.
  2. Obviously, the only proper thing to do is to get a high-end made-in-Germany sewing machine of roughly the same vintage as the BMW you're restoring For example, I have a Pfaff 545 H4 N10 that I bought in, of all places, St. Louis when I attended a car club event about two years ago. The H4 means it has very high foot lift, the N10 means it can make 10mm long stitches. It wasn't working when I got it, but it's a big hunk of buttery smoothness now. The only fly in the ointment, so to speak, is that in exchange for the 10mm stitch length you give up reverse. But lack of reverse is not a show stopper for a determined seamster. YouTuber and automotive upholstery guru Cechaflo uses machine that have reverse, but he usually locks his stitches manually. I could be talked into selling the machine. The nice thing about high-end vintage sewing machine originals is that they hold their value very well. You can buy a nice vintage Pfaff or Durkopp Adler now and sell it again for about the same in a year or two, if you take good care of it. It really makes no material difference whether the machine is 30 or 32 years old.
  3. The Pfaff 145/545 parts manual (PFAFF-145-545.pdf) may contain some clues regarding the specific parts differences between the S and L versions of the Pfaff 145. Personally, I wouldn't necessarily rule out a Pfaff 145 for leather work just because of the "S" in the model descriptor.
  4. That Juki is gorgeous - definitely a keeper in my mind. Ferdco lived off the reputation of that modified Juki long after they stopped using Juki's. I'd be tempted to carefully peel those Ferdco stickers off - the value is really in the Juki brand and all it implies. I'm voting to keep the Juki and the Pfaff and sell the clones.
  5. The Juki LS-341N is well supported in terms of available information, manuals and parts. The Juki is a good choice for sewing bags and wallets and should handle 6mm veg tan leather without trouble. I know nothing about the Mitsubishi and there's almost no information available online. They may be fine machines, but you won't get much help because very few people know or own them. So unless you have local support and resources for the Mitsubishi, I'd recommend the Juki.
  6. Out of the machines you're considering, I'm voting for the Adler 269 - they are seriously nice sewing machines and are comfortable sewing the things you want to sew. The thick arm on the Adler 269 has room for full motion feed dog mechanism and a vertical axis hook, which I prefer. It's not overkill for what you want to sew, but rather "just right," in my opinion. Adler 69 and Pfaff 335 have thinner arms, which is great if you absolutely need it, but they usually have feed dogs that only go back and forth but not up and down.
  7. I made a video some time ago that illustrates the desired needle guard (aka hook washer) setting, as recommended by our resident expert Eric ( @gottaknow) I check and adjust this detail every time I work on a machine and I consider it an important step in hook adjustment.
  8. Definitely not an Adler 205 or Juki TSC-441 design. Other current machines that appear nearly identical use a "GB6-180-2" model designation, sold under Thor and Kingmax brands. Top + Bottom feed machines. I've not found an "original" manufacturer that produced this design. I'm starting to think that Ferdco just bought semi-random lots of machines, changed out a few parts, if any, and put their seemingly home-made Ferdco stickers on it. Many Ferdco models appear to be more of a marketing/branding exercise than an engineering effort. Not much different than the current crop of clone manufacturers or badge engineering resellers like Consew. Ferdco built their reputation with the early models that were modified genuine Juki TSC-441 machines. They soon moved to cheaper, anonymous clone manufacturers. Here's a picture of the Thor GB6-180-2 just for comparison:
  9. Those smooth feed dogs are also available online from places like AliExpress.com. Juki probably makes them, too, and I would hope there's a Juki dealer in Japan. You can also try a needle feed throat plate and remove the feed dog entirely. Which option is best really depends on the project. I made a lower needle guide for a 441 needle feed throat plate some time ago. This video shows how this setup can work. Here's the screen shot of the AliExpress page:
  10. Lots of things can be re-assembled incorrectly. Since you have twin machines and one of them works as it should, your best bet may be to put them side-by-side and very carefully compare every last bit of hardware involved in the stitch length and reverse mechanisms. How far does a part move? In what position does it start and stop to move? Things that appear the same at first glance often turn out to be not quite the same upon careful inspection. Finding or noticing that one thing that's off is a key skill in sewing machine repair and adjustment. Many mechanisms that translate partial rotary motion to linear motion need to be "centered" to work as designed and provide the correct range of motion, both linear or rotary. The stitch length and reverse mechanism does this rotary-to-linear movement translation in four or five different places in sequence (the reverse lever rotates a shaft which moves an arm that in turn rotates another shaft, and so on.) Some of these linkages are adjustable and if they're not properly "centered" they may not provide the correct linear or rotary motion. Whatever movement the reverse lever makes when you push it down needs to produce a precise 180˚ rotary movement somewhere else in the reverse mechanism. I'd also check the feed mechanism, especially since you changed the timing belt. If the feed timing is off, it may not transport the material as far as it should, or the needle may penetrate the material after it already started moving towards the back (or before it reaches the front.) Make some stitches in stiff paper to get a good needle hole distance measurement. I made a stitch length gauge some time ago for a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiaaT1npYrQ). You can download the PDF file and print it out yourself: http://docs.uwe.net/SLG.pdf
  11. Have you checked the stop screws that limit the reverse lever movement? They can be used to limit stitch length. The bracket may have rotated on the shaft, inadvertently changing the stop limits. Or perhaps you changed the stops when balancing forward and reverse, which can results in a shorter overall stitch length. The Consew 339 is really a re-badged Seiko LSW-8BL. The pictures below are from the Seiko parts list and my Seiko LSW-8BL. Also verify that the stitch length eccentric itself has the full range of motion. The eccentric movement sometimes binds in a certain position before the pin that moves inside the spiral groove reaches the end of that channel. The two parts rotate against each other as you change stitch length. It should give about 4/5 of a full rotation during adjustment. This is hard to observe since the whole thing rotates as you change stitch length. I took two pictures of the the stitch length eccentric in both extreme positions on my Seiko as a reference. Check if the notch in the right disk lines up the same way in your machine when you dial in stitch length "0" and maximum stitch length. On my machine the two discs rotate about 4/5 of a full rotation against each other. Other machines have a different spiral track disc design, so they may offer more or less of rotation. Here's an annotated graphic from the Seiko LCW-8BL parts list that shows the spiral track and the pin that runs inside it. You can see the end points of the spiral track. I separated the eccentric discs on my machine just to illustrate the spiral track mentioned above. You don't have to take this apart to verify range of motion. I just did to see the actual spiral track on my machine and how the end points of that track align with the limits of the stitch length adjustment.
  12. That Pfaff 145 seems like great candidate to start your upholstery sewing adventure, especially if it's ready to sew. Make sure it actually does sew well, though. That upgrade to the larger 545 hook involves a bunch of parts and they all need to be changed over. Starting out with a machine that had an incomplete upgrade will be an exercise in frustration because it simply won't work like it's supposed to, no matter how you adjust it. Good quality presser feet for the Pfaff x45 series are readily available. I'd recommend getting a set of standard feet like the ones shown below (I have a few left on clearance, check the link in signature below.) Other aftermarket parts are also available from various vendors online, at reasonable (but not dirt-cheap) prices. The Pfaff 145/545 are a very good design. The ones I've had were super smooth and a pleasure to use. If this one is as good as you describe it, it'll set a reference mark for your future machines. By the way, that large diameter hand wheel pulley provides slower sewing speed and higher (not lower) torque. For some how-to videos on sewing car interiors, visit Youtube user Cechaflo (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_8PUaXqvjSq3p1lYouXzQ) - he makes it look easy.
  13. Just get a 441 class machine like the Cowboy 4500 and a nice flatbed attachment first. You may find it'll do everything you want to do. They're not much more expensive than the Juki flatbeds you're looking at.
  14. I'd buy something made for the European market. Both Jack and Zoje are big enough brands to likely make decent motors for their machines. The best form factor of the servo motor depends on how your machine is mounted on a table. Some servo motors have all-in-one, integrated motor/controller/speed input and others are made up of three separate parts connected by wires. The 3-part motors with physically separate motor/controller/speed input usually offer greater installation flexibility and are my personal preference. I definitely recommend getting a small 50mm motor pulley for improved low speed control and torque. If you want features like needle positioning (most leatherworkers don't) make sure the controller is capable of it and includes the position sensor (it often is sold separately.)
  15. This topic about timing a Singer 45K may provide some good background information and a few things to check on your GA5:
  16. @westernatelier Sorry, that Consew 104 sold over a year ago.
  17. The real problem may be that @RaptorBravo doesn't actually say what he or she doesn't like about that bottom stitch line.
  18. To avoid the thread snagging on the hook gib extension finger, you can try to advance the hook timing a little bit (rotate the hook a little bit clockwise and adjust needle bar height if need be.) This has to do with the timing of the thread take-up lever motion and the hook rotation. A millimeter one way or the other can make all the difference. If the hook is rotated a tiny bit further clockwise when the thread take-up lever starts pulling up, the hook gib finger gets out of the way earlier and the thread may no longer snag on it. I often adjust a machine by the book (science) and then make tiny adjustments (art) to reach the buttery smoothness of sewing nirvana. Occasionally these snag issues are also sewing speed related. Certain snags at slow motion, hand-turned speeds may disappear at normal sewing speeds due to the thread being tossed about like a lasso rope. Also, Juki now makes two versions of this hook, one for normal thread (B1830-563-0A0) and one for thick thread (B1830-563-BA0.) One of the differences between the two hooks is that the gib on the version for the thick thread does not have that extension finger. I'm not totally sure what the extension finger is supposed to accomplish, perhaps it keeps the thread from tossing about too much and risk getting picked up by the hook as it comes around again. One work-around option may be to replace just that extended hook gib with the stubby version (or modify the existing gib.)
  19. Thanks for the close-up pictures. That looks correct to me. That tension unit looks just like one I ordered some time ago. I could never get over that "ball" under the tension discs. It offsets the tension discs from the check spring unit. It seems like a part taken from a two-thread tension unit. I ended up ordering an original Juki tension unit. It's a little more money but well worth it in my mind. Alas, your tension unit does not appear to be the culprit of your tension problems. Sometimes apparent top thread tension problems are really due to the top thread snagging somewhere on its path around the hook. This may cause top thread to pulled when it shouldn't, resulting in apparent "lack of tension" symptoms. Remove the hook cover slide and observe a few hand-turned stitches. If the thread snags or snaps at any point, that may be a problem. Bobbin case opener finger position is sometimes the culprit. The thread may snag on its path around the bobbin case tab that sits inside the throat plate cutout, or it may snag on the bobbin case opener finger if it doesn't get out of the way soon enough. When adjusting the bobbin case opener finger position, be careful to avoid a bind condition as shown in this video (different machine, same concept): This is how the thread is supposed to move around the hook (and older video snipped from when I was working on timing belt issues on my my Juki LU-563 clone)
  20. I suspect the tension discs never actually get close enough to pinch/squeeze the thread and provide tension, even when the thread tension release mechanism is in the "engage" position (presser feet down.) You mentioned that you "calibrated" that thread tension release mechanism. Can you elaborate on that? The tension discs will be loose and "wiggly" when thread tension is released. They should be firm and tight and actually grabbing the thread when engaged. Just check if you can easily pull the thread back and forth between the tension discs with your fingers when the tension discs are engaged. If theres is no tension, then your thread tension release mechanism isn't working right.
  21. Telling us the model number of the machine, providing a link to the product page or a photo so we can see what "thIs machine" actually looks like would be useful. The machine is apparently a SP998 Master Insole Stitching Machine The stitch mechanism is quite interesting to watch with the hook being above the material in plain sight. It's almost like an upside-down Landis 16 mechanism minus the awl. I'm guessing the thread take-up mechanism and the big spool of thread is in the box below the curved arm.
  22. Efka in Germany (http://efka.net) makes really good servo motor and controller systems. They may not qualify for "in the middle" status.
  23. There's also simple spring and lever physics at work. The longer the lever, the less force it takes to move something. The more you deflect a spring, the more force it takes. In the bottom position of that wing nut, you have a long lever and short spring deflection, resulting in relatively low force/torque required to move things. In the uppermost position, you have half the lever and twice the spring deflection. So it may take four times the force (torque) to walk the feet in the upper wing nut position. Once things start moving, the momentum of all the rotating masses help provide torque.
  24. There are my favorite thread nippers. Easy to hold, fine tip and good control.
  25. You'd have to drill and tap M5 mounting holes on the back of a Pfaff 145. It's doable but not everybody is game for drilling holes into their machines. The KB09 adapter bracket is the right candidate.
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