dikman

I've figured out the two thread sizes - the edge binder nut is an M4 x 0.7 pitch and the pressor tension is M5 x 1.0. I have a lot of (assorted) metric bolts used in various electronic/communications assemblies/racks/panels etc, and not one of them has that particular combination of size and pitch. It appears that, at least in that particular industry, they are not "standard" sizes (e.g. M5 only comes in 0.8 pitch and I have to go to M6 to get 1.0 pitch). My tap and die set covers M4 x 0.7, but not M5 x 1.0. At least I now know what I'm looking at.

Yep, those Chinese patchers aren't the prettiest thing around, but they are designed to be a simple, no-frills, inexpensive machine that will work anywhere and be relatively easy to fix if something should go wrong. Where I am used 29K patchers don't appear to be very common (I haven't come across one for sale in the year that I've been looking for machines) so I bought a Chinese one. It required a bit of work to clean it up and mod it slightly, but all that took was time and no cost.

Thanks guys. I've already run into the issue with Singer, so I bought a couple of cheap machines and gutted them for parts. There are two bits I'm looking to fix at the moment on the Pfaff (it's an old model, btw, not the one in the parts list that Uwe provided), one is the screw on the top that adjusts the presser foot tension, the other relates to the edge binder - one of the brass "nuts" is missing, and while I can easily turn a new one I can't match the thread size of the existing bolt! A 3/16" Whitworth actually almost fits the top adjustment screw, it screws in ok (with no forcing) and does work, but I can feel that it's not quite a perfect fit. Judging by that chart, Uwe, it appears that there is significantly more variation in screw threads than I realised! (My life was somewhat simpler before I got into sewing machines - I usually needed either Whitworth, very occasionally a BA thread, metric - reasonably standard size/pitch - and, in the case of old firearms, the US system of sizing. Now I'm faced with all manner of weird thread sizes. ).

My Pfaff 335 needs one ot two bits replaced, but I'm blowed if I can figure out the metal thread system used. Being a European machine I assumed it would be metric, but while I have a large assortment of metric screws, nuts and bolts (and a few taps and dies) I've had a devil of a time trying to match the threads used. Anyone know for sure what they use?

Actually, the epoxy idea is a good one. Make sure the feet are thoroughly degreased (acetone should be suitable for cleaning) and use a good quality epoxy - JB weld or Devcon. Once it's set it can be shaped and smoothed if necessary. Might be easier for you than trying to grind off the feet.

Excellent job, Constabulary, I've added it to my growing collection of paperwork!

And so it begins...... .

Eddie, you can pick up suitable used machines on Gumtree, BUT you need to know what you're doing. There are a myriad of "industrial" sewing machines out there, but the vast majority aren't suitable for sewing the sort of leather that we want to use. You really do need, as a minimum, a walking foot machine, ideally with a servo motor if you can afford it. If it's not a walking foot then don't consider it. It's quite a steep learning curve, for a newcomer, to come to grips with understanding industrial leather sewing machines. (Personal experience talking here). I was given a Singer, and then bought another used Singer and a Pfaff. I have spent a considerable amount of time (and some money) since then to get them to what I consider a usable stage. Now, I'm quite happy to do this, because I like tinkering, but this is what can happen when buying used. Also, some used machines have ridiculous prices attached to them (these are usually the ones that remain unsold). Yes, new machines are pretty expensive here (compared to o/s) but at least you will be getting a machine that will work without having to spend time and money sorting it out and will be a known quantity in what it can do. Plus, if you should have issues then you'll have expert help to sort it out, unlike used where you're basically on your own.

Yep, it has a binding attachment (don't know how I missed that!). As Constabulary said, you may need to replace the needle plate, feed dog and the feet if you want to use it for "normal" sewing. You need to check that out first and make sure you can get the parts needed.

Certainly looks pretty good - been repainted?

I still prefer my piece of rope . As LumpenDoodle said, it's idiot proof (probably why I like it). No maths, no calculators, don't even need to log onto the computer to use it. Rope of the correct diameter, however, will be better than string as it will fill the pulley grooves. (The guy at one shop had a measuring device that basically stretched the belt/rope/whatever between two half pulleys, mounted on a ruler. That way he could read off the exact size that I needed). Anyway, maths makes my brains hurt.....

Which is what I said a few posts back.......so it must work. The parts list shows two grub screws holding the handwheel on, spaced around the wheel. If it still won't budge you could try tapping it GENTLY with a rubber/plastic hammer. Failing that it may need a pulley remover to exert some pull on it. As for the belt guard, in the parts manual it looks like you should still be able to change the belt without having to remove it. Art, you're a bit of a worry........

Art is right, it will work ok like that but it's probably better to have the thread coming in at the rear (I'd prefer to keep the thread away from the handwheel). I doubt if too many servos would come with belts, mainly because you don't know what size belt you'll need until it's installed. I ran a piece of rope around the pulleys and tied it off with cable ties where it overlapped. Armed with this I went to autoparts stores until I found the right size. I also used the same trick when I needed a very small belt for a speed reducer setup. Figuring carparts stores were unlikely to have anything that small, I went to an industrial sewing machine shop.

Art, I didn't mean to imply that Ed "invented" the stuff. You are quite right in that it was originally a Frankford Arsenal product, but apparently the original recipe was difficult to reproduce. Ed came up with his concoction which is generally acknowledged as being a reasonable (modern) approximation of the original formulation. No, this would be called "Art's Green", 'cos you developed the variant . Enough of guns (for now), back to sewing machines.......

I knew my oil comments were bound to get a reaction. Regarding 3 in 1 oil, it's now owned by the WD-40 company and the formulation changed some time ago. It's now basically just a heavy napthenic oil with a tiny bit of naptha (less than 3%) added, no different to many other mineral oils. The term "mineral oil" can also cause some confusion, as most oils (car oils etc.) are termed mineral.There are also pharmaceutical-grade mineral oils, which are obviously different to car oils, and I suspect it's this grade that some members are actually referring to. Ballistol is one, which is widely used by firearms owners and can apparently also be used on cuts and grazes!!!! It is also a water-soluble oil. The newer generation lightweight car oils (0-20W, for instance) could be worth considering. These are designed to be thin and like most car oils to resist forming varnish - if it can do this in a hostile engine environment then it certainly won't happen in a sewing machine. Staining could be an issue, I guess, but that will be possible with virtually anything you use. I didn't mention WD-40, as while it does lubricate it has no long-term properties, as TT pointed out. Art, the mixture you're referring to is generally called Ed's Red by the firearms fraternity (which I suspect you already know?). I make mine without the acetone due to the nasty affect it can have on stock finishes, and use it to clean my muzzleloaders. Looking up the MSDS for oils, and then cross-checking the CAS numbers for the ingredients used, can be most interesting (although time-consuming). That will show what you're really using, and quite often it's different to the impression given by the manufacturers' advertising.

MG, this is based on my removing/replacing 3 clutch motors. Basic tools - a couple of spanners, because you don't know the size of the nuts you can either take a set of spanners or a couple of adjustable wrenches, a medium to biggish one for the nuts holding the motor on and a smaller one for the bolts on the pedal-motor linkage. A couple of screwdrivers to remove the switch box. It will be held on with either slotted or Philips head screws (use long shank if you can, just in case). Pair of pliers to remove any cable clips. Procedure - unplug power cord (!) and remove switch box. Remove any clips holding the power cable to the table. Disconnect pedal linkage. Remove drive belt. Loosen the three nuts holding the motor on and let the motor hang down on the bolts. While supporting the motor remove the single nut at the front then slide the motor out from the remaining two bolts. Done. As for the oil question (I love oil questions!!!!) at the risk of starting a flaming war if you've got 3-in-1 oil handy use that. Much is written about oils, and much of what is written is irrelevant (and oft-times rubbish). Basically, all you really want is a thinnish oil. Auto Trans Fluid is actually quite good as a thin oil (it was originally developed as a replacement for Sperm Whale oil, which is considered by many to be one of the better lubricating oils - but obviously you can't get it any more). Just don't get yourself into a knot over oils as most of them aren't anything special (regardless of what the manufacturer might tell you - MSDS is your friend ).

You make a good point about the simple approach, TT. Uwe's is a very neat, professional approach, using relatively easy-to-obtain parts, mine perhaps a little less professional but certainly more complex due to the additional work involved in modifying bits (not for the less mechanically inclined, shall we say). Using a domestic sewing machine motor (and yes, I've already bought a couple of cheap old Singers which I junked for spare parts, so fairly easy to obtain) and coupling it to a standard bobbin winder (like I used) might be an easy way to make one.

If a little bit of overkill...... . Having said that, I now have two of these wee beasties spare (including an old Singer that may almost rate as a classic model). The idea of a burnisher had already occurred to me, but the biggest problem I have is finding somewhere to mount it!!

Sounds like a good outcome to me.

Cool. Relatively simple and uncomplicated approach, TT .

TT, nah, no showdown, just ideas for other people, which is why you should post yours. What suits me, of course, might not necessarily suit others. Mlapaglia, I've seen one or two advertised, but I think they only suit domestic-size bobbins. Mine is currently set for the smaller (Singer/Pfaff) bobbins, but it wouldn't be hard to modify it for larger ones.

Or to be more precise, variations on Uwe's excellent post - http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=66003. My first effort should have been much the same as Uwe's, as the motor appeared to be very similar, but unfortunately the gearing is different and mine was very slow in comparison. It still worked fine at winding bobbins, but due to the time it took I figured I would need to fit a cut-off microswitch to turn off the motor when it was wound. This wasn't going to be particularly difficult, but then I started wondering if there was a better way (and maybe I should speed it up a bit). I was looking at the "standard" winders that come with most industrial machines and I thought "there's a possibility". I have three, and on one of them the driving wheel is held on by a screw, so easy to remove. Also the "split axle" system they use to hold on the bobbin only fits one size, and I needed something that could take different sizes. I removed the axle and turned up a new, longer one on the lathe and threaded the bobbin end to take a wingnut. That solved the different size bobbin issue. Now, how to drive it. I have accumulated quite a few pulleys in my efforts to slow down my machines, so I used a 110mm pulley, drilled and tapped it for a locking screw and then turned a reducing sleeve down to fit it onto the motor shaft. That worked well, so next I turned down a small pulley, barely bigger than the bobbin shaft, to suit a small v-belt from a junked domestic Singer (or might have been from the Necchi, I can't remember). Once it was all put together it actually worked as I'd hoped (!), with the normal mechanical shut-off operating once the bobbin is full. The speed is such that while it's faster it's not enough to warrant a speed control (although I've ordered one anyway, for $2.70 it's not worth the trouble building one!). I'm still thinking of fitting a micro-switch to the shut-off arm so that it turns off the motor when the bobbin is full, but I'll wait and see if it's really necessary (I suspect not). I should add that this doesn't wind at lightning speed because that's not what I wanted. Building a fast winder would have been easy as I have numerous motors that would have worked, I just prefer something that is more controllable. So thanks Uwe for the idea.

Someone tried to weld the ferrule? Good grief!! JCUK, the idea of wrapping the handle is probably your simplest option. You can even use your sewing thread if you want to. Fishing rods use thread wrapping to hold on the guides and as decorative wraps, so you could get some nice coloured thread from a fishing tackle supply place. The thread is usually sealed afterward, often with a clear two-part epoxy or acrylic resin. Knife and sword handles are sometimes wrapped with wire wrap - one method is to tightly twist two thin strands together and use the resultant twisted wire as the wrap, but because your wrap area is pretty small I'd go with thread myself. Lots of options, and it needn't be expensive. Nor need it be difficult.

fasn8ya, my Pfaff 335 didn't have a pin, it has a manual lever to release thread tension. On the advice of a member I removed the tensioning unit and lo and behold, there was a hole behind it for a pin. I found a suitable piece of rod that fitted the hole and by operating the foot lift lever I could work out how long the rod needed to be, cut it to length and I then had automatic tension release. Might be worth having a look if you can remove the tensioner (one screw on mine is all that held the plate on).

That's what's known as a teaser, TT. I, for one, look forward to some details? In the meantime this is the initial device that I cobbled together (it lacks the finish of Uwe's, mainly because I wanted to see if it would work first). Which it does, but it's slower than Uwe's. To speed it up would require using a pulley converter on the output shaft, which seems to defeat the purpose of gearing the motor down in the first place, or removing the gearbox completely, which then creates more problems as the gearbox housing is the actual mounting point for the motor assembly. While it winds ok, if using #69 thread it would take a while to wind, which means I'll need to fit a cut-off switch so that it stops when wound (then it would be a "set and forget" device). I reckon a micro-switch, set so that the arm trips when the bobbin is full (like the mechanical arm on a normal winder) should work. I do have some smaller 24v motors, but they are high speed and may not have the torque when running slow. More experimenting, I suppose. But at the moment I now have a slow speed, high torque winder.