dikman

Hi Melrose, I don't suppose you happen to be in Melrose, in SA? Or is the name just co-incidence? Yep, get rid of all the machinery underneath the table! Small pulleys (45mm) can be bought off ebay, as can speed reducers, although they might have to come from China. Another possibility is to replace the handwheel with a large pulley, which will give the same effect as a reducer. Some don't like it because it doesn't "look" right. If the table is basically in good condition I'd clean it using steel wool, which should retain some of the patina, and give it a coat of varnish. MY 2c worth.

Stop thinking so much, Constabulary, you'll give yourself a headache!

Good luck with that! A sewing machine specialist place would probably know if their particular motors would work, but I doubt if many vendors who sell these generic servos would even know what a speed reducer is!!

I stand (or at the moment sit) corrected then. I based my statement on my experiences and those knob-control brush-type servos aren't common here in Oz whereas the generic brushless are everywhere! When you can find a knob-control unit they are expensive!

Yes, pretty well all of the generic servos out of China are brushless and have been for a few years. That Sailrite servo is a nice compact all-in-one unit BUT if you mount it under the table you will have to get down on your knees and scrabble around under the table every time you want to make any adjustments to the controller.

If you intend motorising it then why bother with the handwheel? It already has a pulley fitted.

That is quite an impressive piece of mechnical wizardry! That original needle looks like it was designed to sew several layers of plywood!!!

Pretty well sums it up, I think.

$120?? Can you provide a link so we know which machine you are referring to? And what do you want to sew?

Bow, both machines, to all intents and purposes, are the same. As Northmount said finding a local (closest) dealer is probably the thing you should be looking at to give you support if needed.

The older model 335 has approx. 8mm under the foot, I believe the newer model has a bit more. It sounds like you should be looking for a machine that has at least 12mm under the foot.

A servo is definitely the way to go, as kgg said try it as is first and if it still doesn't give you the control you want then add a speed reducer. I found a needle positioner wasn't really much use for my style of sewing (slow!) as I can control the needle without one, plus some of them don't work when a speed reducer is fitted.

I haven't used them a lot but no problems when I did.

Simple and elegant.

Constab, I think you'd better go easy on the restorations, too much solvent sniffing!

They look great, Riem. You did very well with the HDPE, it's not as easy as you think to fuse it together and it burns pretty easily if overheated. If you can find someone with a lathe sometime they'll only need skimming to finish them off.

Always nice to see someone re-purposing old gear. When I've used those pulleys I had to drill and tap them for setscrews to tighten against the shaft. I also noticed that 120mm appears to be the largest most of those sellers have, once you start looking for bigger ones they're harder to find - and considerably dearer!

Wiz beat me to it. The way that machine works the thread is dragged under and around the bobbin during the stitch cycle and I doubt there is sufficient clearance within the bobbin assembly for thread that thick.

Just curious, what size thread are you using?

Thanks mate, that looks very useful, better than trying to find various washers etc with the correct radius.

I really like that approach, it looks very smooth and elegant.

Full marks for your perseverance!

That definitely has a knock!! Makes me itchy to pull it apart and find out what is knocking.

Not on a clicker but I have a VFD on my lathe and on my belt grinder. I replaced the single phase motors with three phase, running on our standard 230v single phase, and they work well.

Yep, done that too with a pulley off my old Honda Accord, worked well.