dikman

The logical assumption is that someone else did it for the OP. If that is the case then I would hope they didn't touch anything else 'cos if they couldn't even fit the handwheel correctly then they shouldn't be touching the machine at all.

I'm not a great fan of leather carving (personal thing) but that is beautifully executed! The definition of the carving is superb. Which brings me to a question - do you wet form the holster to the gun? The reason I ask is that in my limited experience with stamping I've found it's very easy to lose definition by wet molding after the stamping, but yours doesn't appear to have lost anything.

Thanks for that Bob. It's nice to know there was a genuine reason (just sounded a bit strange as no mention was made of slipping).

"The 2 lock nuts have an extended barrel on and are probably done up." Thanks Rocky, that makes sense (I like to know these things ).

I'm really at a bit of a loss as to why, on a brand new, unused machine, you feel the need to check this one particular part. What makes you think that it's not fitted correctly?

I agree about the screw, Constabulary, but from what I can see all that is going to do is vary the amount of pressure required on the foot pedal to engage the clutch, and that's simply an adjustment to suit the operator. It's not going to make it any smoother. Does it work ok now, or is there an actual problem? I just noticed two screws/bolts in the top picture (right at the top) which I presume are for adjusting the angle of the clutch to ensure it's parallel to the motor part of the clutch assembly. Hard to tell, but it looks like they're locknutted screws but the locknuts aren't engaged? Like I said, hard to tell.

As JLS said, it will look "unfinished" (and a bit cheap) if the lining suddenly stops. It might not normally be highly visible, but if someone gives the work a close inspection and sees the lining only covering part of the work they might think it's a bit "amateurish"? As for finishing the flesh side, the wooden burnisher I made (fits on my grinder) has a fairly wide flat area and I've experimented with running the flesh side over it, either dampening it slightly or applying a bit of wax, and it does give a slightly flatter finish with a very slight sheen. But normally I don't do anything to the flesh side other than stain it.

Mike, I fiddled with my 211G166 but the best I could get was about 5spi. I think the feed eccentric would need to be changed completely to get any better - and that's not a job I intend taking on! My 111WSV77 will give me 3 1/2 spi, even though the number wheel is only marked down to 5. Looking at 3 1/2 spi, however, with #138 thread, looks a bit "odd" to me and I don't think my '77 will handle heavier thread.

Madmax, that looks like it's in better condition than mine! No, there's no cap it's just an optical delusion caused by the camera angle. It looks just like yours, in fact from the front the machines look identical. The 155 is probably the pick of the bunch for leatherwork.

I was going to make one (pretty simple design) but then found one on ebay (from China) cheap enough that it wasn't worth my while making it. I had to modify it, however, as the two wooden bars were actually one piece with a slot cut about 2/3 the length.I could see that would be an issue so continued the cut to separate the pieces, fitted an adjustment screw at the end and a spring inside the bars to keep them apart. Works fine so far, but I think I'll do Red's mod with the dowels. And it was less than 1/2 the cost of the "proper" one.

I had a quick look at that manual you posted, Mike, and the major difference that I could see between the 566 and the 166 is that the 566 is an auto-oiler?

Madmax, I don't think you're derailing the thread. My idea was to have a single thread about the SV machines so that someone who acquires one (or wants to know about the SV designation) could hopefully find, in one place, the sum total of knowledge about just what that designation means (and then realise how little is known about them!). I too wondered about using serial numbers, but given the lack of records for W machines, the fact that no-one is really certain just how SV machines fit into Singer's timeline and the huge number of models and sub-classes that Singer made I figured it probably wouldn't work. Plus what Lumendoodle and Constabulary said makes sense - they probably just had huge inventories and grabbed what they needed to make something up.

The Singer 111W152 is obviously an older machine, it has 3/8" clearance under the foot, 5 spi and no reverse (no big deal). It should handle up to #138 thread. Parts should be fairly easy to find. Couple it with a servo and speed reducer and it will have plenty of grunt.

This got me curious (again) about my WSV77. I haven't used it much, but the other day, while sewing, I thought that the presser foot clearance didn't seem to be what I remembered. So I decided to adjust it, but just couldn't seem to get much clearance. Knowing lots more about Singers (and machines in general) now than I did when I bought it I started delving into what adjustments I could find. Low and behold I found a driving eccentric on the main shaft that was coupled to the presser foot lift. (I didn't realise what it was when I first got the machine). The adjustment looked like it was in a fair way, plus the screws were a bit loose, so I wondered if it had been slowly re-adjusting itself! Anyhow, I cranked it out to maximum, readjusted the needlebar/presser bar gap and checked the lift clearance - 3/8". I then checked the stitch length - 3 1/2 spi. The specs for the 111W152 - 153 are 3/8" lift and 5 spi, the 154 is 1/2" lift and 5 spi, the 155 is 1/2" lift and 3 1/2 spi, So I may have found the major difference with the WSV - it has the 3/8" lift of the 152 - 153 but the 3 1/2 spi of the 155 (although the numbers on the stitch wheel stop at 5 it goes to a measured 3 1/2 spi. I suspect that I can increase the foot clearance by readjusting the presser bar height but that would probably reduce the foot pressure on thin leather. I'm guessing that 3/8" is the nominal clearance for this machine.

If you grind off the feet then depending on the grit you use you can get either a smooth polished foot or a rougher finish to give a bit of grip. I find a belt grinder very useful for re-shaping feet.

Cheyenne, welcome to the forum. It's probably the best resource for learning about leather and leather sewing machines - but there is a lot to learn! To a large extent the machine you need will be determined by how thick you want to sew. A heavy duty machine isn't going to be much use on lighter stuff and conversely something that will handle lightweight materials will definitely struggle (or die!) on heavy leather. Will you need a flat bed or cylinder arm? Another factor is the thread size you want to use. I would hazard a guess that a Singer 111/211 class, Consew 206, Juki 563 etc might be a reasonable starting point. Parts aren't too hard to find for them, but most will probably come with a clutch motor (not the easiest to master for someone just starting out) but servo (DC) motors aren't that expensive and are pretty easy to fit. And yes, consider Wiz's thread as the starting point for your journey.

So the SV designation goes back a lot further than I thought, judging by that extract for the 34KSV5.

Yeah, I suspect I'll end up refurbishing this one at some point as it has a fair bit of rust on it. Of all my machines this one is probably in the worst condition. I'll have to start compiling a list, and availability, of parts first.

It's a real pity that the records from the Bridgeport factory don't exist, as it makes it extremely difficult (if not impossible) to try and date the W machines, or even try to put them in some sort of context. As to my machine, part of me says to strip it and refurbish it and another part says to leave it as is.

That's one of the big problems with this subject, Gregg, there have been quite a few statements made about the SV designation but they are almost impossible to confirm. I'm guilty of believing something that someone stated (about a 111WSV71) until, as I learned more, I realised that he was probably only repeating something that he himself had heard but actually had no idea himself. As far as I can figure SV's were made before, probably during and after WWII, but that doesn't necessarily mean that your statement is incorrect. Just another piece of the puzzle. Meantime, a couple of photos of my 111WSV77. I'm guessing that the additional number plate suggests it may have been part of a very large company.

Actually, graywolf, it's probably worth mentioning that again. I don't really consider that as speculation, as that very thing is mentioned in my original post. It certainly seems that some (probably not all) SV machines were considered good enough to put into production. Jimi, nice find on that 45KSV100 corner stitcher. I always wondered what a machine would look like that could do that sort of stitching. Looks like I need to spend more time looking through the needlebar site. I might as well repeat what I've posted elsewhere, as the info is relevant to this thread. My 111WSV77 looks the same as the 111W151-153 machines. The part numbers are all different (at least those that I could check) but it appears to match the specs of the 111W153 (foot lift/clearance/stitch length etc). I can't see any obvious differences, nor are there signs of anything else having been fitted - which doesn't mean something wasn't attached, of course. I'll try and get a couple of photos later (but the only difference to the W153 is the designation plate ).

The subject of Singer's SV machines came up (again) in a couple of recent posts, so I thought I'd put in what little I know under it's own topic. If anyone knows anything about them (preferably fact, not speculation) please feel free to add to the meagre knowledge available. I found this at the ISMACS site - " This list, published in 1926, reflects the sheer variety of available machines and the myriad purposes for which they were intended – from aeroplane hangars and balloons to vests and wrappers. And if there wasn’t a machine to do what you wanted, they’d build a SV (Special Variety) for you. " And then there's this, from needlebar.org (antique sewing machine forum) - http://needlebar.org/cm/displayimage.php?pid=8462 It is beneath the front cover of a 15KSV83, which it states has "certain hardened parts". "SV - Special Variety Machines This is the cover and description of a Kilbowie Special Variety machine for Artisans, Tailoring and Light Industrial use. The machine stands up to hard wear and constant usage. "It is fitted with certain hardened parts and, for greater production, a high speed band wheel of 17" is supplied with treadle operated machines. A special table is also supplied which provides more working space to enable the operator to handle the sewing of clothing, etc., with greater ease." "There are hundreds (maybe even a thousand) Singer KSV and SV varieties of sub-models. They are Special Variety industrial machines because there are so many nuances and specialized requirements in the sewn products industry eg not simply with hardened parts. Many of them had the model numbers re-assigned to new numbers. And there is no logical pattern to it. Here are a few examples: 16KSV3 became 16K121 32KSV3 became 32K6 45KSV58 became 45K67 Sometimes a large manufacturer will have a specialized requirement for a machine. They ask Singer if they can make a machine to their specs and they order a bunch of them. Sometimes other manufacturers might be making a similar product or see that they too could use this feature. So then they might place an order for them. So it's not just the military or specially hardened parts. It can be anything that is different from the standard model. e.g. a machine might be set up to sew only a particular notion from a single vendor." I found the reference to the re-numbering particularly interesting, because I'd noticed (and Darren Brosowski also mentioned it in another post) that SV machines seemed to have low numbering in the particular class they're in, numbering below where the "normal" models start. Somewhere I came across a list of Singer models and classes, and within that list were many SV models, with W, K and G lettering indicating they were made all over the place! Unfortunately I'm blowed if I can find it again!!

I'd guess no, being an SV machine? Singer made SV variants on many models/classes and I have yet to find any info on what the idea behind them was. Some supposition about them, but nothing that really explains it - and I am yet to find a proper manual for any SV machine. All quite intriguing.

As I mentioned earlier, the "SV" models appear to be a very big unknown. I have thus far been unable to find any paperwork for these models or to determine why they even made them, such is the complete lack of information concerning them. In my case I have a 111WSV77. As far as I can determine by looking at the parts list and manuals for various 111-class machines it appears to match up with a 111W153 (there are no differences that I can find) BUT none of the part numbers on the machine match the part numbers for the 151, 2, 3 or 5. I suppose I should add that it only cost me $150 Australian . The table was useless and it was powered by what looked like an old washing machine motor (!) but I consider it well worth the money just for the head unit.

Co-incidentally I just this morning fitted my roller foot to the Singer 331K4. The foot assembly appears to be identical to yours (except it's black so probably goes faster ). The hardest part was getting the foot bar out so that I could clean off the buildup of grunge on the bar - all these other bits fell out when I removed it! Took a bit of tweaking to get it adjusted right but looks like it should work ok. The feed dog and needle plate look the same as yours too.