dikman

Good link, Tejas, excellent section on the 111W155 (and clones). I might print that out for reference.

Well done. Did you get the one with reverse and a servo?

(Actually, Dwight, I have no idea what those other terms mean, it took me ages to figure out pancake wasn't something you eat!).

Rocky, (although I must admit I'm partial to a nice single malt - no juice, of course).

I've hand stitched by pre-punching the holes using a #21 needle to give me even spacing and then used an awl to widen the holes for stitching. I'm assuming this is what Sticks intends to do?

Arich, that was where I started my "journey" into the wonderful and arcane world of industrial sewing machines! I made and fitted a speed reducer to my first machine, and then fitted a larger pulley to the handwheel. I still couldn't control it to suit my needs. I now have three servos plus speed reducers on two of them and a very large (8") pulley replacing the handwheel on the third machine (the Pfaff 335). As MM said the speed reducer coupled with the servo is the way to go, as it will give very slow speed and more torque, although with what you want to sew I'm sure a servo alone will be adequate.

I reckon you've made the right choice . That will get you off to a good start.

You may be fine with just a servo, depending on the servo and the settings it has. Try it first and then fit a speed reducer if needed. If you've never tried a machine with a clutch motor it'll probably scare the pants off you the first time! Trust us, a servo is money well spent.

Nice carving. Looks much nicer than roses!

I must admit if I saw that I'd probably remove it too! Pipe cleaners....who'd of thought?

Agree with showing the location (personally I think it should be compulsory). I bought a Pfaff 335, which as Constabulary said was set up for edge binding. It can be used for normal stitching as is, but isn't ideal. It cost me about $200 to get all the bits I needed to convert it back to a normal feed (plus a bit of work). Another thing to consider is the motor. The chances are that the Pfaff will come with a clutch motor, which is not the best for a newcomer to start with (I changed mine to a servo = extra cost). The chances are that the Cowboy will come with a servo motor which will give you much better low speed control. If you can afford it I'd go with the Cowboy. Parts will also be cheaper and easier to obtain.

Yes, forgot to say - good idea.

A chrome-painted sewing machine - very funky .

I was wondering that myself.....

oldnslow, I'm not quite sure what the problem is, I reckon it looks great.

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.