dikman

When I mentioned to my wife that I just saw this machine on Gumtree (local ebay) and thought I'd buy it she didn't even bat an eyelid. My daughter and son-in-law just shook their heads and sort of laughed. Bit of a worry.....Well, it was only $120 and was advertised as an industrial treadle machine. Yes, it is an industrial machine, but I was only really interested in the treadle and stand. The guy selling it buys and sells stuff and I'm guessing this came as part of a pile of stuff he bought and he just wanted to move it quickly. He didn't know anything about it and said it came as is.The machine itself looks ok, serial no. indicates 1923, no rust and everything appears to move ok. Came with a small pile of bits and pieces - assorted feet, bobbins, two hook/race assemblies, needles wrapped in an oily rag and some bits that I haven't figured out yet. I should add that I don't really need this machine as it's essentially the same as my 331K4. Anyhow, on to the stand. The table is obviously not original and has been built from 1 1/4" tongue and groove planking. The stand wasn't set up but the pulley stack just bolted straight on to existing bolts in the table. I don't know much about these things, but it appears that this may have been a "convertible" version of the treadle that Singer made, wherein a motor could be connected via the pulley stack in lieu of the treadle. That would account for the fact that it has a clutch built into it (plus the treadle wheel looks a bit small). I've figured out that I need to make a cone-shaped bolt to replace the one missing from the side of the treadle wheel (simple enough) but I can't work out how the Pitman rod from the wheel crank attaches to the treadle itself - there's no attachment point, nor can I see where anything may have broken off. Can anyone provide any photos (or a parts list, if there is one) for a complete treadle of this type? I reckon I'll have to get rid of the yukky grey colour of the stand and give it a shot of black, and at some point make a decent table top. My intention is to fit one of my spare walking foot heads to it. This is becoming an obsession - scary stuff!

I'd say you did very well, Jim, that's not something I'd try! Those clutch motors are literally a dead weight.

Whose a clever boy, then?. Just shows it pays to look "outside the box".

For what it's worth, I completely dismantled the tables of every machine I bought, made it much easier to pack safely in my car, plus I didn't need any help to move them.

Unfortunately, Redbone, the "all-around leather sewing machine" is a mythical beast. It all boils down to what you want to sew. Probably not the answer you really wanted.

I can only agree with Uwe, as I have broken a few needles through deflection and hitting the feed dog. The thicker the leather the easier it is to deflect the needle. Even if it doesn't break the needle it can easily damage the point.

Thanks Wiz, there's no way I could have figured that out from the photos. Quite a neat setup, in that case, but yeah, that motor is still essentially a domestic machine motor. I guess they had little choice, though, in trying to make it a compact, portable machine.

Just looked at the specs. for the motor and at 1/10th HP and 1.5 A I would consider it on the puny side for driving needles through leather. Probably not much different to the motor on my domestic Singer, and that buzzes (and stops) if I try to make it do too much.

It might be worth dismantling the clutch and checking the condition of the clutch material and making sure it's smooth and the facing plate is clean and smooth, BUT it takes a bit (a lot?) of practice to learn to control a clutch motor, particularly if you want to go slow for leatherwork. You could fit a smaller pulley to the motor and fit a speed reducing pulley setup, but for a newcomer a servo is probably the way to go, as it will give you control and inspire confidence.

Patria, can you take a closeup photo of the designation plate on that Ho Hsing motor? That should at least tell us whether it's an AC clutch motor or a DC servo.

Great deal, that thing looks almost mint in the photo! Isn't it nice how some of these machines fit Singer tables? If you replace that handwheel with a bigger pulley you'll get even more grunt out of it (albeit a bit slower). You did real well.

A bike, sewing machines and shooting - life's pretty good at the moment (beats the heck out of working ). I reckon that new machine will be a bit of fun to get sorted.

400 lbs weight! I like the foot operated reverse, neater than jamming a piece of wood on the lever.

You did well with the moving - nothing like a bit of brute strength! (Sadly lacking in my department). I looked at the first photo again, and while having all those settings to play with would appeal to my technical side, I've realised that for what I'm doing (leatherwork) having a simpler, basic machine is preferable - there's enough to go wrong without added complications. A bit like my motorbikes, having computer-controlled fuel injection was great as it allowed me to hook up a computer and fiddle with the tuning (which I did a lot, and it was fun) but the bike I'm keeping has carby's and no computer!

Hmm, airbrush.... I have a few lying around, haven't used them for years. Once I've finished brewing my dye I'll give it a try. My neighbour has a walnut tree, might have to ask him if I can have the ones that the birds are dropping on the ground so that I can make a bigger batch. Thanks veedub.

Good grief!!!! Just how many machines do you have in there?

Uwe, my 335 also came with a closed end cap like Brian's, and the end also looks the same.

Nice video, Brian. Your beard looks like mine, except yours has a bit of colour in it , but you've definitely got more hair on top than me!!! Diyer, I think the big issue with clutch motors is that most of us hobbyists get a (hopefully) suitable machine and just want to get straight into sewing leather. Slow speed control is really essential for this and very few of us will have the time to learn to control a clutch motor (plus leather is probably not the ideal material to start to learn on). I tried, and that included making speed reducers and fitting larger pulleys to the head units, but to no avail. I doubt if I could do what I am if a servo hadn't been available. I am in awe of those who can crawl a clutch motor.

Thanks Karina. I made a small batch last year, using some dried whole walnuts ( including the husks) that I had, using a similar method. While it is certainly a dark colour itself it only produced a very light colouring in the leather (dipping it, as I'm reluctant to soak the leather), and over time most of the water has evaporated and left a thick dark syrup which is too thick to soak into the leather. I'm currently making another batch from this year's meagre crop - the walnuts/husks have been soaking in a bucket of water for several weeks and I have a nice dark brew. Once this is ready I'll add last years to it. How do you apply your stain? Do you concentrate it by removing most of the water to thicken it, do you apply it several times to build up the colour or do you just soak the leather, and if so how long?

Welcome, Patria, looks like you've got some interesting times ahead of you, that's quite a collection you've got!! That warehouse sounds more like Aladdin's Cave (a treasure trove!).

Anyone on here made their own stain from walnuts?

I guess for a business, removing and refitting a motor/controller, with lots of connections, would be making unnecessary work. Me, I wouldn't hesitate, anything to make my life easier (and removing excess weight from a sewing machine definitely rates as easier).

The simplest (cheapest) way to run a 3-phase motor from a single phase supply is by using a VFD. Considering what you've said it seems to me that replacing it with a servo makes more sense than spending time/money on the Efka (regardless of how clever it might be). Might be an opportune time to apply the KISS principle.

Nice looking machine, should be a lot of fun. Now all you need to do is fit a servo motor.

Two strong guys? Very strong, I'd say. It's not just the weight, they can be an awkward thing to move. If you can remove that great lump of a motor it would certainly make it easier to move.