dikman

I just had a look at that link - are those feet gold-plated??? The prices have very impressive numbers attached to them!

I thought the same thing as Mike but couldn't put it as elegantly. My limited experience is that dying the leather can make it stiffer and tougher to sew. I was going to suggest increasing the needle size too, but again Mike beat me to it.

Now that is very nice! The sort of thing that appeals to me, dressy, but not enough to detract from the understated simplicity of the design. I note, though, that when I used British Tan it came out redder.

As a hobbyist you're facing a common dilemma - should I buy a machine that may take a long time to pay for itself (if at all)? The need to sew holsters immediately eliminates many machines, as you're probably looking at a Cowboy 3200-type machine as a starting point. (While I have several machines, none are suitable for holsters (ok for belts) so I still hand stitch them).

What he said. If the machine isn't manufactured with a reverse lever then you can't sew "backwards". The usual method in this case is to turn the material around, if possible, and sew a few stitches then turn it back and start sewing normally. This will lock the stitches. As to which motor to buy, yes, that can be confusing with the choices out there. A 500w (3/4 hp) should be more than adequate for your needs. If you have any qualms about buying one from China, via ebay, then I suggest you look at the sponsors/vendors on this site and buy locally. You are lucky, in the US, in that you have dealers who sell these motors at reasonable prices. This will at least give you peace-of-mind and they're not that much dearer than buying via ebay.

Obow, if you can change to a servo you won't regret it. It took me a while to understand what on earth they were talking about, and then a while to convince myself to spend the money, but once I fitted one I ended up buying two more! If you buy a servo see if you can get a 2" pulley with it.

Thanks Sark - and I thought the motor on my old Singer was old! Just learnt something new, so it's a been a good day.

With a LOT of practice you could learn to feather the clutch and control the speed somewhat, but for newbies these things are notoriously difficult to master. A "speed control switch" isn't really a viable option, the usual way to gain some control is to fit a speed reducer pulley setup or, and this is the best way, change the motor for a modern servo motor which will give you much better speed control. Photos are always a good idea as I'm a bit puzzled by what you mean by the clutch material being screwed to the pulley.

MG, all the motors I've seen (so far) have the same mounting hole pattern - 2 bolts at the left hand end and one bolt at the right. Check the new motor first and make sure it's the same. No big deal if it's not, but you'll have to drill new holes. If you can get someone to help you then you can probably remove the old motor without flipping the table. Remove the belt and all the electrical bits and let them hang down, loosen the bolts and while someone is holding the motor up remove the right hand bolt, the motor should then slide out from the other two bolts.

I just got around to watching the video, and yes, I wouldn't last long with that infernal beeping! That's really bizarre.

That's good. My homemade burnisher (a bit like TT's) is attached to a grinder motor that runs at 3450 rpm and works fine.

That speed control mentioned earlier may not work with your motor. That control is meant for brush-type motors (as used in most power tools, hence their reference to a router). Most AC motors are induction types and if you use that controller it will probably go poof!

Thanks Ralf, if so seems pretty expensive for a speed reducer?

Darren, thanks for the comment on the serial numbers, all good info.

A very interesting setup. I have a vague recollection of seeing something similar to that small cylindrical device but I can't remember! My guess is a small motor to drive some sort of adjustment inside the main motor? Anyhow, my recommendation, with something that old, is don't touch it! Generally the insulation on old things like that will be deteriorating and will fall apart if moved too much. That servo JLS has should suit you fine and you'll find the speed adjustment knob will be easier to use than messing around with the settings like mine has. Looks like a good deal. Fit that and it'll be like a new machine . A couple of photos of mine, which is a fairly generic China made servo (I have three of them and so far had no issues). Two are 500w and one is a 750w, and to be honest the 500w has more than enough power for my needs.

An extra 500 Euros for a "tuned" servo motor? Wonder what an earth a "tuned" servo motor is, first time I've heard of that in all my searching.

Well, he's had many years using it so it's no wonder he can handle it. My first effort with a clutch motor was scary, to say the least! I quickly realised that it wasn't going to work for me. There are two or three vendors on this site who will no doubt be able to help you out with supplying a servo motor (I'm assuming you don't want to to order one via ebay/China). The controller is simply the device that controls the servo, I won't bother you with the technical details.Some servos may be an all-in-one unit with the motor, some may have a separate controller and motor, but they all do the same thing. A needle positioner allows the machine to stop with the needle either up or down, depending on the setting, when you take your foot of the pedal. I don't think too many on here use them. I bought one but decided I didn't really like it, I'm sewing slow enough that's it's easy to stop the needle just where I want it. Fitting a speed reducer as well as a servo will allow you to get very slow speeds with lots of torque, but may not be necessary for your needs. Start with a servo first (easiest) and fit a speed reducer later if you think you need it.

I don't think those internally geared models are available anymore? (Probably too expensive to make compared to a DC servo motor). My servos, from China, basically have two settings that I can adjust using the digital display - one sets the max speed and one sets the startup speed (I think, haven't got the book handy). Both settings affect each other to some extent, but between them and the speed reducers that I've fitted I can get the machines to run as slow, or fast, as I want. Probably the same basic type as yours, Mike.

Yep, nice looking machine. Looks very much like a 111 head dropped onto a cylinder arm base. I like it. As Mike said, it would probably be easier to just paint the base, if you can find a close match to the paint.

Glad to hear the 155 is working. I can't help with the 153's as I don't know anything about them. My usual process is to download as many manuals/parts lists as I can find on the various models and then start looking for differences. That's how I came to the conclusion that my 111WSV77 is closest to a 111W153. I'll be interested in what you find out.

Oldnslow, it looks more like it was the "original" that the Chinese patchers are based on. This appears to be a bit more refined. Very nice looking machine.

If you've never sewn on a machine like this before (and I assume you mean an industrial machine?) then you have a steep learning curve ahead. Starting with a twin needle machine is probably not a good idea, as Uwe said. I must say though that it looks like a nice machine, being a Seiko and a walking foot. If you only want to have one machine then a cylinder arm is probably the most versatile, and a servo will let you learn to use it without having to fight a clutch motor. Wiz's sticky at the top is a good place to start learning about industrial sewing machines.

Makes sense, or at least as much as anything can with these machines. If a "special" machine proved to be of worthwhile design it makes sense that it would be put into production. Of course, trying to figure out which SV became which model(s) could be a bit of a problem. Due to the records of the K factory surviving it may be possible to work out some of these, but the W machines will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to do with any degree of certainty.

Josh, thanks for the detailed response, most informative. And yes, I did notice the edges before, very nice indeed. Much like I'm sort of doing (but I've got a little way to go yet). I prefer trying to get good edges with a "natural" finish as I don't want to use edge coats/colours - while they look "sharp" they still look somewhat artificial to me, my aim is to try and get my holsters/belts so that they will age gracefully as they get used (and probably abused!).