dikman

"Shoplifters"?

Might have to try using bits of towel myself, as I've found that the first touch of the foam usually drops a bit too much liquid. Have you used Moccasin Brown? I was wondering how that would go, as it didn't look too bad the one time I tried it.

Wax would definitely be the way to go. If you search the 'net you'll find lots of info on making/blending waxes, depending on what you want to achieve. (And some of them smell good too). Lanolin is a good additive for rust prevention, and is not only natural but good for your skin. A beeswax and lanolin mixture would be a good starting point, and a bit of olive oil could be added too (many claim you should only use extra virgin oil). Mutton tallow is another very good additive, and isn't hard to make if you can't buy it. The beauty of the stuff that I've mentioned is that they're all natural and don't go rancid! Johnson's Paste Wax is one that is used for all sorts of things besides floors - used in various boolit lube concoctions, for one - and is highly regarded, in general, by reloaders. (Unfortunately, it's not obtainable here in Oz, although many have looked for it). Blending waxes is a fascinating subject in itself.

Tannin, I read the same thing about using a lump of lead - one of these days I'll get around to making one. I bought an A4 green cutting board from a discount shop, but felt it was a bit small so bought another one and glued them side-by-side onto a flat board. They're not true "self-healing", being so cheap, but should be adequate for my needs. I also have a hardwood log for punching on. I tried one of those poly kitchen cutting boards, but find that the log is better as it has more mass. (I ran a belt sander over the end first, to give me a flat, smooth surface). I also have a piece of glass, should I need a flat surface for using wet and dry paper. The glass is from one of those modern-style scales that you stand on, so is pretty tough! The scales died, so I stripped off all the bits to give me a nice smooth, rounded piece of tough glass (I don't like throwing things out unless they absolutely can't be re-cycled somehow).

It would probably remove the marks, but I suspect it could have some "interesting" effects on the dye.

While what you are doing is of no practical use to me, since I'm only using the servo on a sewing machine and it's perfectly adequate for that use, it had already occurred to me that these motors could have other uses - like on a lathe. In that case some form of speed control, other than the lever system they come with, would be needed - basically a simple rheostat should suffice. So yep, I for one am interested to see what you come up with. Ron, you make a valid point. I just figured that, as a matter of cost expediency, if a factory is producing these control boards then the logical thing is for the "manufacturer" of the servos to source the boards already built rather than go to the expense of building their own. The fact that the controls/display all appear to be functionally similar lends some weight to such a thought. However, I can't say for certain that is the case.

Uwe, thanks for those part numbers, I managed to source the two feet locally (generic,about Aus$28 each, but the guy said I wouldn't want to know the Pfaff price!) but they couldn't help with the feed dog/needle plate. As you suggested, I contacted Kwok Hing directly and they said they would send me an invoice (shipping is dearer than the parts!). I have a feeling that with these parts, and once I get the speed under control, this is going to be a very nice machine to use.

I thik I'll stick to my plain steel needles.......

The listed needle size for my 51W59 appears to be made of the same stuff. I went to a shop that specialises in industrial machines, told them what I wanted and they came up with an equivalent size that they sold.

JB52, I forgot to mention that if you do any mods please post them here. Although I'm happy enough with mine, I'm an inveterate tinkerer and if you come up with something useful.......

Trace, I had issues with the hook sometimes catching individual strands in the thread (Singer 51W59). I found that when I had adjusted the hook timing I wasn't accurate enough and the needle bar was too high. Once I lowered the needle bar (a little more than the figure in the manual - we're talking a mm or so here) it was fine. I'm not saying that this is your problem, but it demonstrates how critical the timing is. You need to get the manual and read it lots of times to understand the timing setup.

JB52, have a look here....http://www.aliexpress.com/sewing-machine-servo-motor_reviews.html Some of these look awfully similar to the Consew CSM-1000. I bought the 7th. one down, and after tweaking the parameters in the controller I don't have any issues with slow speed control. The "style" of the controller appears to vary with different models/manufacturers, but I would guess that the innards are the same. edit: I just did a bit more looking, and this one looks almost identical to the Consew - http://www.aliexpress.com/item/500W-AC-110V-240V-brushless-Servo-motor-with-internal-needle-positioner-for-all-kinds-of-industry/1548752350.html

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.