dikman

Nice choice of pulleys, unfortunately for me the price of shipping ($85!!!) is a minor problem. The largest I found out of China is a 120mm (free shipping), so I figured mounting that on a shaft with a 45 mm should give me some speed reduction and coupled with a servo with another 45 mm on it will give the Singer a bit more low end grunt. It's not too bad now, but it won't do any harm to fit the reducer.

The beauty of this is that there's no hassles trying to mount a speed reducer and line up the belts. The servo motor's pulley is less than 2", so this combo gives me lots of low end grunt. So far the Pfaff seems to love it. I figure if it's good enough for some of the bigger machines to have a large pulley, it's good enough for the little Pfaff! All it cost me was $12 for a bigger belt. I just wish I could do the same to the Singer 166, but I can't, so I'm in the process of making a speed reducer (I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how to mount it).

I was going to suggest the same thing. I have a small gas torch (happens to be a Dremel, but there are plenty of others out there) that gives a pencil thin flame. That will let you get it exactly where you want it, without flame splashing around everywhere. As Wiz said, heat it up, tap it a bit, let it cool and see if you can wriggle the screw back and forth (just work it slowly). If you have any of that "cold in a can" freezing spray you could try heating it and then zapping it with the cold straight away, sometimes that can help break the seal. A bit rough, but you could also try holding the screwdriver in place, twisting and tapping that with a hammer. While not as effective as an impact driver, it may help to start it moving (might not do the screwdriver much good, though).

The pulley is from one of my "bits and pieces" boxes - the one for pulleys and bearings. As to where it originally came from, I've got no idea! It's fairly heavy cast steel, so gives a bit of a flywheel effect. When I removed the existing pulley/handwheel it left a 1/2" shaft, which just happened to be the size of this pulley (I have a nice alloy one that I intended to use - same size - but it has a large centre hole and I would have to make a sleeve for it. This seemed easier). Might look a bit odd, but it works. As for pushing the limits size-wise with the leather, yep, I'm under no illusions about what I'll be able to do with the machine. It's more a matter of experimenting to find its limits. It has no problems pushing a needle through the thick stuff, but actually sewing a stitch may be a different matter. If I can use 138 thread through slightly thinner stuff then I'll be happy with that.

I'm with Uwe. If you didn't release the linkages first they would have bent when the table was dropped, and if you did release them then they need to be re-aligned to reduce the rather acute angles showing on the first photo. The linkages look pretty simple.

Looking at the first photo, the adjusting bolts appear to be at their maximum height. If it won't move, I'd suggest removing the machine first (to take some of the weight off the table) and then start fiddling around with the bolts. There's a fair bit of adjustment available, so no real reason it can't be lowered. As TT said, don't forget to disconnect the pedal linkage first. As for the motor, did you get any paperwork with it?

The mailman dropped my Kwok Hing needle plate and feed dog off today. The feed dog didn't quite fit (!), but a bit of work on the belt grinder fixed that. I had already mounted a servo to it, and coupled with an 8" pulley on the head it crawls along nicely. I ran a piece of 1/4" leather through it and it punched the holes without any effort, so figured I'd better try some stitching. I loaded some #69 white thread on the bobbin and ran some brown #69 through the needle. The machine came with a size 21 fabric needle, as it had been used, with #69 thread, for binding some sort of nylon/cordura material so I just used that needle. Max stitch length, one layer of 9 oz veg and the stitches looked great. I shortened the stitch length and ran it through and again it looked good. Next thing was to double the thickness - and this was where I came undone! The second scrap piece I used tapered down to a narrow end, it started stitching well and then "twang", one busted needle! (I'm getting quite good at breaking needles). The problem was, I think, that I got too close to the edge and the lack of support, combined with me feeding the leather pushed the needle slightly out of alignment. No big deal, though, as until it broke it was sewing well. It went through 5/16" of leather as though it wasn't there and the stitches looked pretty good too. Reverse feed also worked fine, putting the needle right into each hole. This looks like it's going to be a very nice machine to use, and I'm feeling pretty good about my purchase. Earlier I had referred to it as a compound feed, but I guess because it has a smooth feed dog that really makes it a needle feed?

Ruger, you've got me thinking now. I sand mine on a belt sander and occasionally have issues if the belt isn't real thick (it tends to wobble about a bit!). Because Don referred to it for hand sanding my brain didn't equate it's use with a belt sander too! A lightweight version for holding while using a belt sander....hmmmm.

I wouldn't say there's not much interest, Don, you've had 134 views. I always like seeing other members' DIY projects, and this is one that I shall file away.

I forgot to mention that I bought one with the needle positioner attachment (cost more). I've fitted it to the 166, but I'm not really sure that it's necessary. If the machine is being used very slow, then it's no trouble to stop it where you need to. This positioner gives an extra stitch to the down position when you take your foot off the pedal, which means it's necessary to allow for this when stopping. There doesn't seem to be any adjustment that I can tweak, unfortunately. Other than that, all is good!

Hi Skylark, this is the place I bought mine from, mainly because they had a warehouse here in Australia - If you go to www.aliexpress.com and search on sewing machine motor you'll find lots and lots. Many are the same motor, just different stores, and the prices will vary of course. Spend some time getting familiar with what's available as they come in 110v and 220v and hp varies too. Mine are 550w, roughly 3/4 hp. Edit: blast, I had to delete part of the address 'cos it linked to my account!! The company I used is Lishiu Skyrit Import and Export.

Do you have a manual for it? That should tell you how to adjust things. If not, this one for a Juki should do - http://keysew.com/Webpages/DemoImages/Juki_LU-563_Instruction_Keyfooter.pdf. Of course, some of these machines, while great for medium to heavy stuff aren't really designed for thin material.

G'day Skylark (your name makes me think of the classic "Skylark" series of SF books by E.E.Smith). A servo motor is generally a smaller, lighter DC motor that is controlled electronically via a control box. They are generally programmable, to some extent, so that you can set the maximum speed you want and also the startup speed. They are also available in different sizes (horse power). They will give you much better slow speed control than a clutch motor and only run when you press the foot pedal, unlike a clutch motor which is running all the time. If you're happy with your machine as it is then that's good, but if it's too fast to control how you'd like to then it may be worth considering fitting one. The motor should be a straight swap, using the same mounting holes, and the control box/on-off switch screws to the bottom of the table. You might need a new v-belt (longer or shorter). In my case I've bought two via Aliexpress (Chinese ebay), as like most things in this country, they're expensive to buy here. I fitted small (1 3/4") pulleys to the motors to slow the output down as much as possible, and in the case of the Pfaff I fitted a very large (8") pulley to the machine. All this has given me crawling speed at the needle! I can't fit a larger pulley to the Singer, due to its design, so may fit a speed reduction pulley set to it as well as the servo. As you can see, and I've slowly found out, industrial sewing machines can be a lot more complex than you'd expect.

I've been messing around with speed reducers (pulley system) and they do help, but a servo is far better, in my opinion, when it comes to control. I've just fitted one to my Pfaff 335, after experimenting with various pulleys with the clutch motor. I used a small 1 3/4" pulley on the motor, fitted a large 8" pulley on the machine itself and once I tweaked the settings in the servo I got it to crawl along! Top speed is also quite slow, which is fine by me. Fitting a larger pulley on the machine helps immensely, as it slows things down while giving more torque. On some machines it's difficult (if not impossible) to fit a larger pulley - my Singer G166 is one that I can't fit one to - so a speed reducer may be a good idea. I intend to build one for the Singer eventually, to go with the servo on it.

Castineira, no, I don't have a 48 series machine. I have a 51W59, and that also proved difficult to find information about. The 47W manual Evo has listed above appears very similar to yours, and I'm wondering if the 48W6 is basically the left-hand version of the 47W?

Nice idea - unfortunately, some of my bobbins are aluminium (I'm still looking for an aluminium magnet, they're pretty elusive).

Stu, I share your sentiments and know where you're coming from. If you already have the materials then it's worth a try, and if it doesn't work all you have lost is a bit of time but gained more valuable experience in the process. Forge welding the sawz-all blade could be tricky, due to it being on the thin side. Do you have access to a MIG welder? I reckon that if you forge the blade to the required oval shape and then just tack weld the join that might be enough (the MIG will give better control than an arc welder). Then tack weld the blade to the pipe (shaped to match the oval) to act as a handle and if there's any distortion caused by the welding, which should be minimal, it should be an easy matter to put it back in the forge and re-shape it. Another possibility may be using an old kitchen knife (preferably non-stainless) - from a thrift shop, maybe - and reshaping the blade, then welding it to a suitable handle. Or the blade from an old pair of (small) garden shears. The beauty of a forge, as you know, is the ability to work with old/used/scrap steel and re-shape it to make something useful.

Nicely done, Uwe . I'll keep this in mind should I decide to build a table for mine. (The custom label/engraving is a nice touch).

Good point, Colt, and probably true. Time is generally important to businesses, they will want machines that can run fast so the oiler will work as it should. The hobbyist, or person wanting to set up a small business from home, and has specific needs would be of no concern to the manufacturer, as it's such a small, niche market. At least with older machines we know that they have to be oiled manually, so won't be lulled into a false sense of security by a machine that has an auto-oiler so you don't have to worry about manual oiling. (Theoretically.....).

Stu, a sawz-all blade could be worth a try. If you can make the "handle" from pipe to the right size/shape, then shape your cutting edge and tack weld it to the handle that might work.

You're right, I couldn't find anything more than you've mentioned (other than the W indicates it was made in Bridgeport, USA). It's a cute little machine, and the outside is certainly in pretty good condition. If there is a good coating of oil on the internal parts then at least it's been kept lubricated, so may not have much wear on the parts. It looks like the bobbin case is missing (or did you remove it?).

Sorry, it's not my intention to argue the point (If I wanted to do that I'd start a thread on what oil to use - I love oil threads!!!). Reading the manual, coupled with what wiz said, just got the "analytical juices" going (I was told, once, that I have a knack at analysing something and seeing the possible negatives). I've no doubt that it is a high speed oiler, and for many people that wouldn't be a problem, but if someone buys one and proceeds to use it almost exclusively for real low-speed (crawling) work, I can see the potential for problems, as they may just assume that because it's an auto-oiler they don't have to worry about it. In this case it shouldn't be an issue for you, as you understand what's happening. As for your question about if it will do what you want, as wiz said the specs are pretty much the same as the 206RB, so either one should be adequate. One thing, though, is to possibly allow for a servo motor if you can, as they really are much nicer to use for slow speed work than a clutch motor.

Good point about the error code for power! I suspect that the reality is the programmers didn't consider that a speed reducer might be used with a servo - after all, a servo should be able to give the control without the need for a reducer.

There's any number of steels available that can be hardened, but Stu is trying to do it as simply as possible. Using any of the tool steels to form into a large oblong shape would be a lot of work for most of us amateur blacksmiths, whereas the pipe basically just needs to be shaped and ground. What are you using to punch on, Stu? That will have a bearing on how long the cutting edge will last (I'm using a hardwood log, as I've found the mass of the thing makes a big difference when punching things).