dikman

I've been studying the Meanea holster on the front of Packing Iron as I've been contemplating trying to copy it. Yours is an excellent representation of it, well done!

The servo you have looks to be a pretty generic type so if you can find instructions for similar machines it might help? I fitted a "generic" servo to a Singer, small pulley on the motor, large pulley to replace the handwheel and a home-made pulley reducer - I got one stitch every 3 seconds! That is a bit extreme, of course, but shows what can be done. If you want slow speed control a speed reducer is a must, and will be cheaper than a Ho Hsing motor.

Yep, looks to be the same thing, just a different colour and label. I had another hand unit that looked the same, other than a yet another colour and label. For occasional use these are fine and at the price if they eventually die it hasn't cost you much (and you still have all the bits to use with the next one ). I keep the battery Dremel and an Ozito down in my leatherwork shed. I use the drum sander and a small wooden burnishing bit I made to get into tight places. The Dremel 4000 is hanging over my workbench in the garage as I find it handy for all sorts of finicky jobs.

It would be made in China. I bought a Detroit bench grinder from them, which is made in China. Total Tools, in my experience have been great to deal with. The kit you show looks pretty good for the money, it's got lots of bits with it. I have two Ozitos, which work fine, although the handpiece on the flexible extension gets hot fairly quickly. I recently bought a Dremel 4000 at a good price from Cash Converters, mainly because the flexible shaft and handpiece are heavier duty than the "clones". I also have a Dremel battery operated unit which works fine but battery tools are only good for quick jobs. You could try and find a used Dremel on Gumtree, Cash Converters (search their website to save running around), or any pawn shops in your area. Avoid the Dremel 3000 as they have had a high failure rate due to the design of the wiring connections inside. Oh, and the good thing about the Ozito is they have a 3 year warranty and Bunnings generally don't hassle over warranty issues.

That's different. Very nice.

#3 looks to be a pretty clean machine, nicely set up and with a servo (something you would have to allow for on the other machines).

A very nice summary of electrolysis, Don. If you use salt for the electrolyte it generates hydrogen (just so you know). If you run copper wire to various parts of the machine and common them to the negative electrode it may spread the electrolysis effect more evenly around the machine but as Don said it's important to make sure you've got a good clean metal-to-metal contact. A lower voltage may take longer but it will be more gentle, even 12v is considered high by some. For the positive electrode any scrap steel will be fine and using several pieces around the edge of the tub, commoned together, will help given that this is a complex shape to clean. For something like this the Evaporust-type cleaner would be ideal, as it will not harm any of the metal, only the rust, but unfortunately the quantity required would make it very expensive here in Oz (even the Repco one, at half the price, would likely be a couple hundred $$). I suppose you could always use a sand-blast cabinet if it's that bad! (Just joking).

You mention using 346 thread, obviously a heavy thread which means you're looking at something like 441-class machine. Definitely not portable! If the Tippman is doing what you want then perhaps you could give the neighbour some earplugs?

Very nice work. I'm not a fan of lacing holsters (purely based on the aesthetics) but this one looks pretty good.

No. You obviously have a clutch motor, which is a single phase induction motor. There is no known easy/cheap way to slow these down electronically. The best way to control a sewing machine is with a servo motor, fortunately they are relatively cheap these days. An alternative, if you want to keep the clutch motor, is via pulleys. Fit the smallest pulley you can to the motor and make/buy a speed reducer to fit between the motor and the machine head. Not as effective as a servo, of course.

You made that jacket with a Speedy Stitcher???? To say I'm impressed is an understatement!

It's looking a lot better than it was! Localised heat/pin-point heat is a good method for loosening stuck screws, along with tapping the screwdriver. A good home-made penetrating oil is auto trans fluid and acetone, mixed 50:50. Sounds like you've got a pretty good idea of what you're doing, I look forward to some progress reports.

Yes, Evapo-rust is expensive here in Oz (prohibitively so, in my opinion) but there is a similar product sold by Repco at about half the price. Given how solid some of that rust looks electrolysis and wire brushing is probably the best way to start. Don's suggestion about vinegar is also a good one.

A quick google search only comes up with a 537, which is a domestic machine. I had a Necchi once, beautifully made (and looking) machine, all metal housing, but it had a plastic cam stack inside that cracked! That was the end of that machine.

I'm gobsmacked! Drooling everywhere! I guess Christmas came early for you.

You're definitely overthinking this! I agree with MikeRock, it should be more than adequate to clean up the blade.

I like that. Nicely done.

A couple more thoughts. The handle is held on with a pin, probably brass, I would carefully knock out that pin and remove the handle. There will probably be a bit of rust on the tang too. The handle can be re-fitted later with a bit of epoxy. Once you've got most of the rust removed coat it with a rust converter (phosphoric acid), this should neutralize the small amounts of rust left in the pits and seal it. Grind back the broken corner to give you a point, then sand/polish the blade to the finish you want (a scotchbrite pad might even be enough), refit the handle and sharpen it. Done. Enjoy the blade. Don't overthink this.

For only $26 I think it's worth persevering with it! I'm sure you will end up with a usable blade. As for your last statement I understand where you're coming from but it's not necessarily the case, it will depend on the manufacturer. The older blades would have been plain carbon steel (hence the rust) but there are many steels available these days that are better, with greater edge-holding and toughness. Personally, I am fond of carbon steel, even though it requires more care, and that knife of yours has a great patina which reflects its age.

Ok, if you want to make big changes to the shape then yes, you're in for a lot of slow sanding/grinding, given that it's already hardened. There are lots of photos of different shapes that came up when I did a google search some time ago. As for your last statement, sharp and shiny is achievable, world peace not so likely.

I would have expected some change after all that time. I did it using lead sheet as the anode and it worked pretty quickly. As for the broken tip, I would grind the flat/straight part to bring it to a point again. You could use an angle grinder or a bench grinder if you don't have a belt sander. The trick is to take it slowly and keep cooling the metal.

With electrolysis a high current will, of course, work quicker but the general recommendation is to use a lower current over a longer time (less than 1 amp). You can also use plain salt as the electrolyte but this will generate hydrogen so only do it outside. Probably the safest way, if you don't want to risk affecting other metal, is to use something like Evapo-rust. It's relatively harmless and will only attack the rust. If the pitting extends to the cutting edge there's really not much you can do about it, just sharpen it as best you can. You should end up with a tool with a bit of character.

Yep, all finished and it seems fine. I don't know why I didn't finish off this thread (sorry about that, chief). I'll take a photo later of the final product. Reading back on this it was a lot of bloody work!!! Edit:I just found a photo of the finished maul, I must have forgotten to post it. I made the handle out of wood segments because it was easier than using stacked leather.

How about powdercoating the metal parts?

That whole machine needs a good soaking in Evapo-Rust!!