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DrmCa

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Posts posted by DrmCa


  1. 1 hour ago, MtlBiker said:

    Plus it would be awkward to attach a big spool of v92 thread to it. 

    There are standalone cone stands, and they are cheap.

    1 hour ago, MtlBiker said:

    going to take a chance on one of those fairly cheap winders on Amazon (Canada) that cost about $65 or so

    $65 sounds like a lot of money for a winder, from my perspective, because I am spoiled by the availability of domestic machines that I keep picking up from the curb. I have approximately 4 running machines to pick from, after having sold and given away a few. IMO they are a much cheaper and more versatile alternative to a winder. The latest one I got was Kenmore with all accessories, including half a dozen zigzag programming wheels, buttonhole attachment, feet, needles, tools and Eng/Fre manuals, all in the drawers of its nice table that only lacked rollers. The 2nd last one was a cast-iron Brother. There was a Singer before that, and the list goes on and on. All came in carry cases or on tables that I now use under my lathe and drill press. If one keeps their eyes open, in Canada, there are plenty of unwanted machines to save from landfill.

    A while ago I sold one on Ebay to a lady who turned out to be my kid's classmate's mother. She was ecstatic to be able to buy a cast-iron Singer with zigzag wheels for CDN$40, and to pick it up. I did not tell her where I'd gotten the machine from. Then I gave another similar machine away, to a co-worker whose wife just had a baby, and they needed baby clothes and curtains made. They had no idea that they could get away without spending $200-300 on a machine. Canadians in general are very green and environmental, but most of them only do a lip service to that cause. Considering by how much one can reduce environmental pollution by simply re-using a still perfectly running sewing machine, circular saw, lawnmower etc, they could do a lot better but all they really do is outsource the imposition of carbon tax to Ottawa. End of rant.


  2. Spent the morning playing with my patcher as I planned on how I will motorize it with a lawnmower PMDC motor and a thyristor voltage regulator.

    It stitched fine through 1, 2, and 5 layers of upholstery leather. Used the stitch length from 3 to 8 spi, and the machine did fine. It does not like sharp corners on the go but if stopped and restarted after a turn, it does fine. Was using American and Efird Permacore TEX47 thread that I randomly grabbed from a shelf. It will likely run better with bonded nylon that I was too greedy to waste. The foot is not marking leather either, no matter how many layers. Maybe it would mark harder leathers? Dunno.

    I do not know if it is my luck that I got a sewing sewing machine or others do something wrong until they figure it out.

    The threading method I use is to thread through both of the tensioners set to the lowest possible tension. On the bobbin, I used the nearest hole. Maybe I will experiment with the far hole but for now the patcher just stitches.


  3. 6 hours ago, Constabulary said:

    It does not matter if a machine is an "upholstery machine".

    It does. If it runs off on you on an English end of an 8oz piece, the belt is ruined.

     

    6 hours ago, Constabulary said:

    maybe a speed reducer.

    That's a different story.


  4. Looks like a brass tube over the steel shaft.

    You could take a triangular file and clean the thread up. I wonder if it's been the previous owner's way of peening the nut in place. There are many strange people in this world.

    The surface of the roller needs TLC as well.


  5. I do not see any mechanical possibility for the roller to rotate, with the pictured design. If you badly want this to work, you may have to invest into replacement parts.

    Until you get the formerly winged nut off you won't know. +1 for using heat and WD40 to get it off. Later, you might want to get a replacement steel nut.


  6. 99 works excellent on wool coats. Many of them were used to stitch trench-coats, over the last few world wars. But it will either mark light leather or not feed heavier leathers. Spend $300-400 on a walking foot machine, and that will be the a much better investment.

    You may be able to replace a zipper on a leather jacket but that will be the most these machines can handle reliably.


  7. The cheapest and most accessible form of lead comes in wheel weights at your nearest scrap yard.

    Look rather for huge truck weights than for tiny car weights: this way you get more lead vs steel, and they are easy to pick by hand, w/o requiring a shovel.

    But if I were you I'd stick with less hazardous materials, like zinc that sometimes can be scavenged from old furniture hardware, golf club heads, and some other stuff, including the new "environmentally friendly" car wheel weights. If they do not melt with lead then they are zinc or steel (magnet check will tell). Zinc melts at about 450C, only about 150C above lead. The numbers are approximate. You can reach zinc melting point on an electric stove or with a tiger torch, in a cooking pot. Zinc shrinks quite a bit when it solidifies.

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