dikman

You are indeed a whiz! Thanks for that. A fur machine......I think I should buy it just so that I can say "I have a fur machine".

Must be rarer than I thought. For those who don't know, it's been described as a bag stitcher, or a single needle/single thread overlocker-type stitch (!). It has a horizontal needle, no bobbin, and an oscillating arm that sticks out over the needle and has a hook on the end to grab the thread. The product being sewn is held, and fed, between two large horizontal wheels that rotate. The guy said I could have it for $100 (hook needs repairing), which includes the table and clutch motor, but I can't for the life of me figure out what I could use it for.

I decided that the smallish pulley (3") on the handwheel really had to go! So after a bit of messing around on the lathe with one of the alloy pulleys that seem to be commonly available for sewing machines (in this case a 4 1/4") I managed to get a bigger working pulley to fit on the handwheel. This made quite a difference, although still not up to the control of a servo, of course. This gives me a ratio of 2.5:1, (the original must have been close to 1:1) and I reckon that if I couple this to a servo I should have excellent slow speed control.

My last servo cost $250 ($205 without the needle sync) and that was pretty much the best value that I could find (out of China). My pulley reducer cost $0, because I used what I already had. I suspect that I'll end up buying another servo, however, as experience has shown me that even with a pulley reducer clutch motors can be a pain.

Can anyone enlighten me about this wee beastie? Google doesn't turn up anything (except the one for sale on Gumtree). Does it have any use in leatherwork?

I tried it out today, with a small (45mm) pulley on the motor, but it's still too difficult to control for my needs. I'll either have to make a pulley reduction thingy, or buy another servo motor. Part of the problem, I think, is the pulley on the handwheel is too small but it won't be easy to fit a bigger one.

Thanks for that list, jimi, it's been added to the growing collection of paperwork for this machine. I can't measure the needle bar yet, as both of my digital calipers have a flat battery!!! The part numbers on mine are - feed dog 46497B (no Pfaff marking), inner foot Pfaff 5.0B, 4C629 and outer foot Pfaff 8.0 A/B, 40432. I've attached a photo of the feed dog, and looking at it under strong magnification it may have been ground down, although why they would go so far down if they only wanted to remove the teeth I don't know. The part no. on the feed dog may mean it's a non-genuine part? The other part no's, while Pfaff, don't appear to line up with their current numbering system. I'm thinking that I might drop into the sewing machine place in town sometime, as he mentioned sourcing generic feet, and see what he can come up with (looks like I'll need the inner/outer feet, feed dog and needle plate). I'll make up a new cover plate for the arm, as the two threaded pins on the existing one have been brazed on, so I'll leave that intact.

I should have known that, as my (domestic) Singer 201K does exactly that. Because my industrial Singers don't do it, it didn't occur to me that another manufacturer would still use it on bigger machines. Dohhh. Nope, no hole in the casting that I can see.

Great stuff, fellas, lots of good info here. Sark9, that (lower) cylinder arm definitely appears to be identical to mine, right down to the shape of the cover plate and various screw holes. Your machine looks to be in excellent condition, btw. Eric, that's because I took the needle out to check the size and obviously put it in backwards (just to see if anyone is paying attention....). Jimi, you're right, the tension screw is missing (hadn't got that far to realize it!), but I should be able to find something suitable from my spares. Thanks for the great photos. The feed dog doesn't look as though it ever had teeth, if someone ground them off they did an awfully neat job on it! I found the serial no. this morning - 4994398. How does this relate to yours? Uwe/jimi, that Kwok Hing site looks like where I need to go. Photo of the needle bar. Does that help?

I'll take a couple of photos tomorrow, jimi. A couple of things I've found so far - mine has a disengeable pulley, there is a knob on the handwheel that releases the pulley (I'm not quite sure why it would be needed, unless it's a primitive form of release if the needle jams, and it appears that it was not normally fitted) and there is no automatic thread tension release when the presser foot is lifted, mine has a small lever on the tension assembly that you flick up to release tension. That, and the fact that there is no "H" marking on it makes me think mine might be a pretty early model?

I was just looking at it, and I reckon it is a compound feed. I set it to the largest stitch and turned it over by hand and the needle definitely moved back and forth along with the inner foot, and you're right about the feed dog, it oscillates back and forth in a horizontal plane. The reason I wasn't sure initially is that reading the documentation that I could find was a bit confusing, as it certainly gave the impression that it wasn't a compound feed. I'm even happier with my purchase, now that I know it's a compound feed. I've found a place in China that sells a set of "welt feet" for a reasonable price (I'm assuming that these are standard feet, but I'll have to do a bit more research first). DrmCa - or anyone with a non-binder setup - could you post a couple of photos of the needle plate/feet area, please? This will give me an idea of just what I may need to do to restore mine to that condition. Even if I have to spend a bit for the bits, I think it will be worth it, considering how little I paid for it.

I posted a couple here - http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=66106 Let me know if you want specific areas.

Thanks Uwe, you've done well . That's exactly the model I just bought, complete with binder. Interestingly, the label plate on mine says 335-17B, second line just has L, no H to indicate foot lift.

This is the machine. While discussing the possibility of getting replacement feet at my local industrial machine place, he suggested just using the existing feet and slide the binder out of the way. The previous owner said he tried that, and it did work. Looking at it, however, I reckon I need to make a new plate to replace the long one that has the binder mounted on it (pretty easy, as it's just a flat piece and aluminium should work) and I will also need a new needle plate. A bit trickier, but I should be able to work something out. It came with a Consew clutch motor, which doesn't look too old, and a quick try before I dismantled it showed that it had pretty good slow speed control (unlike the motor that came with the Singer). I figure that fitting a smaller pulley will give me adequate control without having to resort to a servo motor. Not at all bad for $250 .

Very ingenious. How about a photo of the foot pedal arrangement? Curious, you know.

Today I swapped over my Chinese Servo motor, with a very small pulley, to the 166. It's like a completely different machine! I can now start very slow and it will chug away at a nice relaxed pace, giving me almost complete control over it. I reckon I can get away without using a pulley reducer. It went through 1/4" of reasonably hard veg without any problems, just using the fabric needle that came with it. Now I just have to try some thread in it.

Got it! Or will have when I pick it up this afternoon. . He wanted $495, I offered $200 (because I didn't really need it) and we agreed on $250. I figure that's a bargain, as all I need to do (hopefully) is replace the feet - plus I'll have an edge binder if I ever need one.

Thanks, DrmCa. I'll have a word to him about it, I think. I don't really need it, but it's a nice looking little machine and if the price is right.......(I think I'm getting the collecting bug!!).

A bit more searching was inconclusive. It is a walking foot, but I don't think it's a compound feed i.e. the needle only goes up and down (I think)? The reason I'm asking is that if it's usable to me I may be able to get it at a good price, as in its present form he doesn't see it selling easily and said to make him an offer. (Having just bought the other machine may help - plus he also rides a Moto-Guzzi too ).

When I picked up my 211G166 today the guy showed me what else he had for sale. One was a Pfaff binding machine, which he no longer uses. Looking at it I figured it was a walking foot, but the feet looked quite peculiar to me as they were for binding. He said that he suspected this one might be hard to sell, and it was open to offers. It's a nice cylinder arm, but we were both wondering if the feet can be changed to a more conventional style and use it as a normal walking foot. Anyone know? If so, what sort of leather/needle/thread would it be good for?

Picked it up today, I had to completely dismantle it all to get it in my car and then re-assemble it when I got home (which included figuring how to put castors on it so that I can move it around in my shed). I know my back is going to complain tomorrow as those clutch motors are heavy!! Came with 14 bobbins, which was a nice bonus, and runs well - but is almost uncontrollable for my needs! Once it's started I can feather it down fairly slow, but the initial start is sudden and fast. This is with a 3" pulley fitted (it came with a 4"). Tomorrow I'll swap over the servo motor from my other machine and try that, although I suspect I'll probably have to make another speed reduction pulley as well. The bonus is that I can fit the needle synchronizer adapter that came with the motor (couldn't be fitted to the other Singer). I had a quick look at the innards, everything looks lubricated but I'll spend more time on that tomorrow. I've got the service book and the parts listing, bought some needles on the way home (size 18 and 22 to start with) and figure I'm just about set to have some fun. I had a look at the 132-K6 while I was there - it's quite a beast, but I think this one will suit my needs better.

New machine , new post.

Unfortunately, DrmCa, you are looking at it from a Canadian perspective. Trust me, $475 (Australian) is an extremely good price for a walking foot machine, let alone a compound feed. Used prices generally start around the $900 mark - and then go up!! There are 211G166's for sale at $1800 and up. Australia is a relatively small market, compared to Canada, the US and UK and while there are lots of industrial sewers for sale, even where I am (some at pretty good prices) walkers are rare. I missed out on two because I hesitated and didn't realise how quickly they can go. What makes this one even better is that it's been maintained and serviced by a sewing machine company and has a relatively new motor fitted. As for the Seiko, it works (the mother still uses it occasionally) but the mother said it had a timing issue (and she would know, as she used it for making leather jackets for years), so I consider that a real bargain. Pity it's so far away.......

I may have just found the answer to my last question, after re-reading whiz's sticky. The 211G has a compound feed, the K6 has a snap feed, so the 211G would appear to be the better choice for me.

Amazing how quickly things can change. I rang the woman and said I'd take it, and then a few minutes later I was checking Gumtree (selling site) and saw 3 walking foot machines for sale here! A Mitsubishi, a Singer 132-K6 ($800) and a Singer 211G-166 ($490). A bit of searching and I thought the 211G-166 might suit me nicely. I rang the chap and he said the Mitsi had already gone and he'd had a few calls about the Singer. Quick decision time........I said I'd take it ($475). I'll pick it up tomorrow, and he said he'd keep the K6 until then and give me the choice of either one. I then rang the woman about the Seiko and she was very understanding as it just saved me a 1,000 mile round trip. I gave her the model number and suggested she re-advertise it as a walking foot (shouldn't have much trouble selling it at that price. If it was closer I'd still buy it anyway!). So, you experts, is the K6 that much better than the 211G-166? I mainly want it for belts/gunbelts and holsters, although I realise that I'll probably still have to handstitch the holsters where they are double thickness along the edge.