dikman

I'll pick it up tomorrow, although I'm still not completely sure just what it is! The seller couldn't quite make out the model number, as it's all pretty grotty, but it sort of looks like it says 111WSV77 - and if anyone can find out anything about this particular model I'll be very impressed! The closest I can find is a youtube reference to a 111WSV71 - but that one is a needle feed, whereas this one appears to be a compound feed. I spent lots of time searching the 'net for any reference to it, and had to get the seller to email me some photos of the foot assembly to confirm it had two feet, needle bar and feed dog (she had no idea what I was talking about). The youtube video made reference to the SV as being "Special Variance", a special model made for the military and being made with extra heavy/hardened materials. If so, it sounds like a good buy for $150 . It's been sitting for a couple of years, but she said that the motor works and the needle moves (always a good start) but it will probably need a good cleaning and lubing. The table appears to be a "home-made" job, all welded square tubing, so I'll have to take an angle grinder to cut the legs off to get it in my car. Hard to tell from the photo, but it looks like it might have a speed reducer fitted too (clutch motor). My wife asked if I really need it, I said in all honesty no, but at that price it's a bargain for a 111 series walking foot.

I'm with TinkerTailor and use a soldering iron with a fine tip. That way I don't have to worry about the flame getting where it shouldn't, it gives very precise control and it's possible to fuse the end to the adjacent thread (if you're careful).

Not to mention the glue for sticking leather......wheeee.......

Further to Wiz's fishing analogy, when I got into fishing many, many years ago I soon learned that there is no one rod/reel for all occasions and ended up building several different style of rods. Being a relative newbie to industrial sewing machines, I spent a lot of time on the Singer post machine that I was given and slowly realised that it was designed for a fairly specific type of sewing, and no matter how much I wanted it to do heavier leather it simply wasn't going to work! I knew I would need another machine, but there was no way I was going to get rid of the one I had. Like the fishing rods, I knew that I would need different machines for different jobs and also knew that if I already had a good machine I'd be pretty stupid to get rid of it. So once you get a good machine, unless you absolutely have to don't get rid of it!!! The down side, unfortunately, is that they take up room so, as Darren said, I got out the hammer and nails (or in this case the impact driver and angle grinder!).

The Weaver motor appears to be an FESM550-type. From my observations, most of the Chinese servos have similar specs and the main differences appear to be in the housing/mounting system used. One thing I found is that my needle positioner won't work with my Chinese digital servo, if I fit a speed reducer as well. No big deal as I simply removed the positioner (I'd rather have the reducer). As you're new to this, Uwe makes great sense when he says to stick with a (known) local vendor as it should give you peace-of-mind with your purchase.

Well spotted, I didn't see that. Guess we'll never really know why it was done.

I must admit that I'm surprised that it's not 15 mm (particularly as it appears to be your basic Chinese servo). We live and learn. The keyway is pretty standard, and is the same on all my Chinese-bought pulleys, plus the locally bought ones (same thing) and also the two generic clutch motor pulleys. As there's only 2 mm difference, you could try some thin sheet tin or aluminium to sleeve the shaft, cutting a slot for the key. If you can get a snug fit then it should be pretty close to centred and tightening the nut should lock it in place. Considering that you don't intend running at high speed it should work fine.

My first thought was "they don't know what they're talking about!" Unless they had that motor specifically made for them (unlikely, as it's similar to several other brands for sale on AliExpress) then the shaft will be 15 mm. I also have two generic clutch motors, both a few years old, and both have 15 mm shafts. Like I said, the guy at the shop (who has been in business a long time) said that 15 mm is pretty much a standard shaft size for industrial-type sewing machine motors. Don't take their word for it, remove the pulley and measure the shaft, that way we'll both know.

To the best of my knowledge they are all the same size. If it is listed for a sewing machine it should be the correct size (my local industrial sewing machine shop told me this). I've ordered several different diameter pulleys from China (ebay) and they are all the same shaft diameter.

What a wife! She deserves a .

Nothing wrong with more toys!! Although.....I started off handstitching, and was pretty happy with that, but one thing led to another and I now have 3 industrial machines and am currently building a shed to put them in (so that I can actually use them!). So be warned.....

Kangaroo? It's relatively thin and tough.

I don't know anything about the Family Sew other than what I've read here, but the price is pretty good for a servo, and if you are likely to be varying the speed a bit then the knob control will be much better than the little push buttons, as Art said. The other one is pretty typical of a plethora of servo motors coming out of China. They seem to be constantly trying different ways of housing them! I wouldn't pay much attention to phrases like "Step Stitching Technology" (what does that really mean?) it sounds to me like a bit of advertising jargon. I bought the optional needle synchronizer with my first servo from China, but took it off. I set it to stop needle down, but found that when I took my foot off the pedal it gave one more stitch so that it could stop needle down. If you don't allow for this when sewing then you end up with an extra stitch. Very annoying. Mine is on a 211G166 and I have also fitted a smaller (1 3/4") pulley to the motor and a speed reduction pulley in order to get the slow speed/torque that I wanted.

Welcome to the wonderful world of industrial sewing machines! I too soon learned that if I didn't hold onto the two threads it created a wonderful mess!

Vinculus, the Chinese servo should be a straight swap for the existing motor (mounting points the same). The only thing you may have to do is buy a replacement belt as the pulley spacing may change slightly. I notice it comes with a 75 mm pulley (most do) but you can pick up a 45 mm replacement pulley pretty cheap on ebay from China. I strongly suggest you consider getting one - I fitted them to my two servos - as it will help with getting the lower speeds. Sandyt, an impressive job with the pulley on the G166. I tried the same thing on mine, but found that the design of the existing handwheel created a problem - the handwheel has a sleeve, for want of a better word, as part of the wheel, that fits inside the main bearing on the head. Without that sleeve I found the main shaft could oscillate, which was not a good thing! So I didn't fit a larger pulley. Curious how you did it.

Sark, I'm guessing that the second photo is the "before"? Either that, or you've gone overboard with the "used look". My three used tables are a bit the worse for wear. I toyed with the idea of refurbishing them, but decided it was more trouble than it was worth. Your idea of picking up a cheap one is actually a good one, and as you point out could be less than the materials required to build one from scratch.

Can't argue with the price, Rayban. Elthoma, that looks like it's meant for winding coils for electronics, judging by the fact it has a counter. Neat idea using a drill chuck.

Being in the good ole US of A as you are, I've no doubt that you won't have too much trouble finding used ones, unfortunately here in Sth Oz they definitely are rare! Nope, not a common mod that I'm aware of, or a flaw. Most users that I've come across use them as is. Whilst it's not exactly a work of art, I actually quite like it because it is so different to anything else I have (very "agricultural").

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...... .