dikman

From what I've read repairing horse blankets can do nasty things to sewing machines as the blankets are generally filled with all sorts of grit and hair.

I don't have any experience with any of these machines, but from my perspective the Techsew would be the better choice in the long run - if the finances permit! Within reason you should be able to sew "lighter" things on it, but you can't sew heavy stuff on a medium-weight machine. There's always the chance that you may come across a "medium-weight" walking foot going for a good price later on, should you feel you still need one.

If you operate the foot pedal just a little (not enough to engage the clutch) it should release the brake in the clutch motor, allowing the pulley to turn.

Dang! Another word I had to look up!

They almost got the word right - it's spelt cylindraceus. Unfortunately, for them, it has nothing to do with cylinders, it variously refers to a species of cactus, salamander or parasite among others. My contribution of useless trivia for the day.......

G'day Deryk, the ad contradicts itself, advertised as 110v but then it says it doesn't come with the motor! Anyhow, it's what is referred to as a patcher, very good for boot/shoe repair and sewing patches on jackets (Wiz always says this) but not really intended for the type of work you're doing. By the time you buy a suitable table and motor it will end up not quite so cheap (or portable). I doubt if it would be a lot of use for what you're doing.

Yep, that's the place, bit like an Aladdin's Cave when you walk in there, stuff everywhere! They have a limited range of thread in M20, I'd have to check on what I've got in thread but I think it's mostly poly. Needle size is 22/23 for the bigger thread.

Here in Oz we generally use the Metric designation for thread size - M40 = #69 (US size), M20 = #138. M40 is probably the most common size used on the 335, but I have used M20 on mine. Thread can be difficult to find here, but I've bought thread from here - http://www.theshanngroup.com/- although you will need to set up a business account to deal with them. I've also bought thread from a leatherwork supply place here in Adelaide.

The holsters are probably the determining factor as they need a heavy duty machine, as bikermutt said a Cobra or Cowboy, for example. As he also said the best thing is to talk to some of the dealers who frequent/sponsor this site, as they have demonstrated time and again that they will give good advice and won't try and talk you into something that isn't suitable for your needs. Might be quicker than wading through lots of posts and possibly confusing yourself .

I wonder how many of us have done that?

Yep, I agree, very nice job indeed! I can't believe how you managed to get all the bright metal parts so clean!

Bloody hell, mike, that is scary stuff! I'll definitely be sticking to enamels, acrylics and lacquers! When I was a wee kiddie (an awful long time ago!) my dad worked at a glass factory, he was also caretaker so I used to wander around the (very large) factory with him. I still remember one room, it had some very large vats in it full of steaming, noxious stuff. The factory did their own silvering of mirrors, which is what the room was for. Very few do silvering anymore, due to the chemicals required, makes me wonder just what was in there when I was wandering about. Hmmm, might account for the loss of brain cells (along with the alcohol).

Gentlemen, thank you for a most interesting discourse on 2K paints. Whilst they certainly sound great from a durability perspective, after what mike has said I think I'll be giving them a big miss!

I don't see where the problem is - keep both, of course!

Man, what a bargain! It looks great after cleaning, definitely worth the drive. I bought a set of KH feet for my 335, very nicely made feet.

I can't read the spec. plate, but that looks like a brush-type motor. The screw at the top looks like a brush-holder mount, in which case it's the same type as found in electric drills etc. (not induction).

Thanks tt,, now that I look more carefully it's obviously not designed to be tilted back. Silly me.

I was also intrigued by the motor setup when I saw it and am interested to see the reducer fitting. I learned the hard way to keep belts as short as possible. I made a reducer setup with the motor under the table for my Seiko, which had quite a long belt going to the head pulley. I made a fancy spring-loaded tensioner (using bearings from a Honda Accord!) but I could not get it to run smooth as the belt always had a bit of slap in it. I finally re-hashed it using shorter belts and it works fine now. The only downside I can see to your fitting is not being able to tilt the head back?

I agree, doesn't look to me like it needs restoring paint-wise. Looks to me to be in pretty good condition (although the sight of that switch box made me cringe). And yeah, nice machine, just wanting it is a good enough reason. I was at my daughter's the other day for a bbq and something came up about sewing machines and I said I didn't need any more at the moment. My older daughter laughed and said "dad, I didn't think I'd ever hear you say that!"

Nice work so far. I looked at that green bin full of bits and chuckled - let's see, I need a small bolt here, this one? Nope, how about this one? Nope, next one........

As Floyd suggests, if the servo isn't slow enough then a smaller (2") pulley on the motor and, if necessary, a speed reducer should do it. I presume you've played around with the settings? Often they can be slowed but at the expense of top speed.

You'd better look after that hubby of yours, sounds like a handy person to have around!

Has the lever been removed to stop anyone changing the stitch length?

I have a "calibrated stick" that I use for just that purpose on one of my machines .

As a matter of fact I do , but I was raised on manuals. I'm right-handed, but some things I do left-handed - swing an axe, baseball bat, cricket bat, golf club and use a fork in my right hand when eating. However, for accurate control of the go pedal on the sewing machine I really need to use my right foot. So there .