dikman

So I made a jig to (theoretically) get consistent sharpening angles. My first idea was to just fit a bar across the wheels but I soon realised that wouldn't work because of the knife handle, dragging the knife across the inside of the wheels would raise the blade and change the angles. So, version 2 with blocks the width of the wheels, version 3 with added spacers under the blocks for more clearance. Looked good, but unfortunately there is a slight problem with such a design, because the wheel is rotating away from me it tends to grab the blade and try and drag it forward along with the wheel. This results in an uneven bevel. Pressing down harder on the blade didn't work as that also put more pressure on the wheel and yes, it's quite easy to burn a blade doing this!! The only way this can work would require a fairly elaborate means of clamping the blade to the guide, such that it can slide but not lift, or perhaps some sort of arm coming from the rear of the guide, over the top and finishing just above the front of the guide by the wheel to stop the blade lifting. This may be the easiest to do but would need to be adjustable for different thickness blades. Could be getting a bit complicated.

It's probably too slow to be practical, but it was done to compensate for the servo as I found the pedal transition from stop to max was too sudden for my liking.

That's the one that myjtp used in the link that R8R posted. Should work fine.

Don't run yourself down, you did pretty good on your purchase, they're a very good machine to start with and should be more than adequate for your current needs. Fit the smaller motor pulley (hopefully there should be enough adjustment to use the existing belt) and then experiment with the settings on the servo, who knows, it may be fine as it is.

And if you want to take it to the next level - large wheel + speed reducer, gives me 1 stitch every 2.5 secs! Yes, I know, it's a bit extreme, but........ Seriously, a 2" on the motor and a 6 - 8" on the head unit (as in R8R's link) should give you the control you want.

Thanks for the reminder JKH, the chap selling them mentioned this but I forgot. I removed the base and rotated it 180* so the switch is still at the front. Now I just have to rig up a guide system to get consistent angles.

Simplest way is to find a large pulley to replace the handwheel, an 8" will give a significant speed reduction (I've done this on three of my machines). There have been a few posts about this method as well as lots about speed reducers.

I have all sorts of gear for sharpening blades - oilstones, Arkansas stones, wet-wheel grinder, belt grinder etc, but while at the annual Adelaide Knife Show a chap was demonstrating the Razor Sharp system. I was quite impressed so bought it. Basically it's two paper wheels with one being coated on the outside with 180 grit and the other (slotted) wheel given a coating of fine rouge.Using them he brought an ordinary kitchen knife to a hair-shaving edge in very little time. I bought the set for a 6" grinder, but because both of my 8" grinders are in use I had to buy a 6" grinder too! I decided to buy the cheapest I could find as I didn't need something with a lot of power for this job - the Ozito is only 150w but has a 3-year warranty so it seemed like the most practical option for $35. It came with two grinding wheels but I reckon it would have been underpowered for anything other than sharpening drill bits! I stripped the wheels and guards off and raised the base to clear the 8" Razor Sharp wheels. It takes a few seconds to come up to speed but is plenty powerful enough for this job as sharpening knives doesn't load down the motor. A quick try and it works well, although like everything there will be a bit of a learning curve. Should be good for my leatherworking tools (and woodworking stuff too).

I thought #3 looked like some sort of 211, but with all that rust on the bases I'd want to check underneath pretty carefully.

You're quite right Brtz, that's what comes of my reading the post too quickly. However, to simply say "it's not working" is fairly meaningless, for anyone to help we need a description what it's not doing (not pivoting, not contacting the lifter etc). A couple of photos will go a long way to providing help.

I don't see why a Singer lift couldn't be adapted as the basic principle is the same.

Yet another way of doing it, nice one Brtz.

Looks good. I like those old stands, they look nice and are very solid. Where did you get the motor? I haven't seen one with such a low profile before (so low that i can't see it!)

No real reason it couldn't be used. It would have to be modified slightly so that the clutch is fully engaged all the time (simpler than rigging up a foot control to give variable speed). The simplest way to fit a wood burnisher would be to drill the mounting hole slightly undersize and then force screw it onto the shaft thread (unless you have the correct size tap for the thread). I did this when I made one for my bench grinder, but you do need a lathe to get it bored accurately.

Very impressive job! I applaud your persistence.I think if I was going to attempt it, however, I would find an old used oven as I don't think baking asphaltum in an oven that is going to be used for food is probably a good idea.

Not much I can add to R8R's answers, he's pretty well got it covered. The Consew is a good choice as it uses common Singer 111-type feet, so easy and cheap to find. It should handle up to #138 thread. Lilly White oil is basically ISO 22 hydraulic oil, another option if you can't find it.

There must be quite a story about how they all came to be there, pity we'll never know.

Is it a new or old model 335? And have you adjusted/changed anything recently?

R8R, I have got my old model 335 to sew with #138 thread, but it's definitely happier with #69. I reckon #92 would be a pretty good compromise and should work ok.

Mais oui, monsieur.

You've got a good eye, Don. When I looked closer the take-up spring looks a bit funny too and, strangely enough, most of the red paint marking oiling points appears to be intact. I suppose if you don't put oil down them then the paint won't be affected! I would say that the needle plate screw isn't original and is just a countersunk screw with a slightly larger head. The other one appears to be slightly domed, whereas this one is flat. And there appears to be another knurled nut just behind the cross-threaded tension nut?

Wiz, I'd say that I've got a greater chance of winning the Lotto than finding something like that here in Oz!

Yeah, it just bugs me that I can only use this thread for handstitching.

On to Version 3. While it would turn over at fairly low speed it didn't matter how I played with the settings the transition from slow to fast (whatever I'd set the max to) was just to quick for my liking. So the only answer was to resurrect one of my reducers and modify it fit this setup. Fortunately I had a few short belts that would work and a goodly assortment of pulleys. It actually works quite well now. From the motor to the reducer gives me a 2.7:1 reduction and from the reducer to the head another 3.9:1. I can now sew at 1 stitch/2.5 secs and changing the max speed is simple, two buttons on the front of the control box if I need a faster top speed. Wonder what I can do next?

My experiences with using wax (beeswax, tallow, candle wax) in shooting and reloading is that once you get wax on something it's almost impossible to remove it completely! So while I'll happily use it to buff leather and seal the edges it isn't going anywhere near my needles!! I'll stick to "conventional" thread.