dikman

I doubt building a pedestal-type stand out of timber would have the rigidity needed, class 4's are big and heavy! There shouldn't be any problems making a more conventional table out of wood. More info needed on exactly what you're trying to achieve.

Looks very similar to some of the Singer 211's. Whatever it is it looks like a good solid machine but yeah, needs a bit of a cleanup!

Very nice work. You must have been just a tad annoyed at losing the other one after all that work.

Yep, whoever comes up with it and patents the idea should make a fortune!

Yep, that might work. My first machine, a Singer post-bed that I was given, came with a clutch motor and the first time I fired it up it scared the daylights out of me as I had absolutely no experience with such a thing! Yes, I learned to drive manuals but feathering this clutch was NOT working! So I went through the usual things, fitted a larger pulley in place of the handwheel, made a speed reducer and experimented with various pulley combinations but to no avail, I could not tame this beast. It wasn't 'til I fitted a servo that it became useable. Mastering a clutch motor can be done (just not by me), I wish you luck in your endeavors.

I've never come across anyone having cracking issues with vinegaroon before. The fact that only one panel shows cracks suggests that there's some issue with the leather itself?

Simple, just ignore it and learn which parts of the machine need oiling and do it manually with a fine oiler. I had an auto oiler machine for a little while and just oiled it manually. Basically, just oil any parts that move against each other with a drop or two every so often, it's no big deal and that is how most on here look after their machines.

They're a decent machine and as has been said throw out the clutch motor and fit a servo. College Sewing would be a convenient place to buy one but for the most part they are pretty generic things these days and readily available on ebay; a 550w will work fine, a 750w will be better. It will mount in place of the clutch motor (they all have standard spacing for the mounting bolts) the only thing you may have to do is replace the drive belt. If you can work on cars then you shouldn't have any problems fitting a servo. Toxo suggested replacing the handwheel with a larger pulley to further reduce the speed, normally this is a great way to do it instead of fitting a pulley speed reducer BUT can't be done easily on the 211 models because the shaft end bearing is actually part of the handwheel and not mounted in the head casing as is normally done. Try just the servo first and if still too fast look at fitting a speed reducer. If you are that way inclined you can make your own, search on here there's been lots posted about them. And unless you're a safety freak don't worry about re-fitting the belt covers, I don't know too many who bother with them, you would have to be pretty stupid to get tangled up in the drive belt.

(Relatively) slow speed sewing, that's why many (most?) of us manually oil their machine regardless of having an auto oiler.

I too pondered this subject some time ago, but then it occurred to me that if it was easy to solve someone smarter than me would have already done it.

Yep, a beautiful table indeed - but as kgg said it might not be too practical when it comes to using the machine. It looks a bit squeezy for the legs. As to a servo, pretty well any servo should work as the mounting plates are all a standard size. 550w will be more than enough but 750w often don't cost much more. The ones on ebay are pretty generic, the control functions usually being the major difference. You would have to mount the control box on the outside of the table due to the limited space underneath. The table may not be the best choice for this machine/motor setup - but it does look nice!

Not withstanding the advice from the more experienced members, don't be afraid to experiment. On thin soft leather round-point needles should also work, you would have to try it to see what the stitch looks like (I've used them when I didn't have leather-point needles in the size I wanted).

Anything that can dissolve grease is bound to be a pretty strong (nasty?) solvent.......

kgg gave you more detailed info than I did (I was trying to keep it simple ) but here is a bit more. The manual refers to top, bottom and needle feed, the bottom feed is presumably the feed dog BUT because it only moves in the back/forth motion it will not give the same assistance to the movement of the material under the needle as a conventional triple feed (does that make it a 2 1/2 feed?). I have what is referred to as the "old style casting" which means the specs are a little different (basically less lift/clearance under the feet). I managed to get mine sewing #138 but I had to readjust the needle bar, timing and feet lift. It meant the feet didn't touch the needle plate so couldn't sew thinner material - in short it worked but wasn't worth the trouble so I put it back to #69 thread. You "should" be able to get it to work, with the correct feet, needle plate and feed dog (available from Kwok Hing, by the way) but it will never be as good as a proper upholstery-class machine. It is designed to be a binder. Sorry.

Here is a manual for the Pfaff 335 - https://www.manualslib.com/products/Pfaff-335-3541803.html - there are more available and likely you-tube videos (I haven't looked). It sounds like the presser feet might not be adjusted correctly. The feed dog on these binders is set for back and forth motion, rather than the normal elliptical motion of upholstery-class machines. It is a minor limitation but you should still be able to sew with it, but you really need the "proper" feet and needle plate if you are not going to use it as a binder. There have been other posts on here about that issue (search for 335 issues in the sewing machine section).

That machine is a copy of a Pfaff 335, setup as a binder. Does yours have the binder attachments too? While the machine, as it is shown, will do normal stitching it is not ideal and really needs the feet, needle plate and feed dog changed to do that. It should handle the material thickness ok (should go up to 8mm thickness) but to use #138 thread may need to be re-adjusted as it would have been setup for #69 at the factory.

Yes, it does sound odd. After 90 years you would think they would have found something better that doesn't have the potential for staining the items (whatever they are).

I've been using a contact adhesive made by Sika, nothing special other than it is thinner than the Selley's stuff that I've used in the past. I've taken to thinning it with Xylene as it slowly thickens up, seems to work ok. I've made a few belts, mostly gunbelts, using two pieces of veg-tan glued rough side to rough side with no problems. I suspect most solvent contact adhesives will work fine, regardless of the brand, I've even used the cheap stuff from discount stores.

Using Cosmoline between two layers of leather sounds a bit bizarre to me.. Unless the leather is sealed before applying the Cosmoline then it's bound to start seeping through when it gets warm/hot, being a grease. I'm trying to visualise a reason for doing it and can't for the life of me think of one. And if you find a process for drawing the Cosmoline out of the leather then what is the point of putting it there in the first place?

Looks like a pretty solid belt, should last a while.

Full marks for taking the time and making the effort to do all of that!

If you wear suspenders why not make a pair of tooled leather suspenders? A little more complex than making a belt, maybe, but should look pretty cool.

I made three different sizes, they're currently drying as I coated them with diluted white glue 'cos the plywood I used is rubbish! Just have to find something to use for the pins. Thanks Dwight.

Glad it worked out for you. $300 for a post-bed machine is pretty good, particularly as they don't appear to be very common unlike flat-beds or cylinder arms.

I like that little dohickey, I'll have to make one.