dikman

Yep, I noticed that too. If both machines are the same price I would take the bottom (newer) one. I think it has slightly more lift under the feet?

Yes, I've noticed that, but by the same token you are generally recommending reliable dealers to newbies who are new to the subject. Once one gains knowledge then they can make (hopefully) informed decisions and take risks in buying machines. I'm not sure that qualifies as a "vested interest".

Indeed.

If it's now sewing ok why would you need to change any parts?

The thread comes out of the hole at the right and should go BEHIND the little collar, not in front.. The thread bunching up on the bottom is an indication that you're losing top thread tension.

Apologies! I posted in the wrong thread.

Wykoni, after reading Wiz's reply it may sound daunting, but it's not that bad. Like anything new it takes time to become familiar with it. There are many videos on youtube about this class of machine and plenty of excellent help here. You won't regret getting one and funnily enough I found the big machine to be easier to use and more forgiving than my smaller machines (there's something nice about a big needle and thick thread ). Learning how to set it up is probably the hardest part.

I'm perplexed why anyone would want to run a clutch/pulley unit on a treadle machine.

What Wiz said. Some time ago a member in the US looked into importing a machine direct from China and he found that any likely savings would be minimal and it just wasn't worth the trouble. I found the same thing here in Australia. Better to buy from a reputable dealer.

I'm assuming it's a single phase clutch motor, in which case a VFD won't work, it will only work with a 3-phase motor. Which means you will have to buy a new motor + the VFD. Then you will have to make up a fitting to adapt the remote potentiometer on the VFD to work with a foot pedal to give you a speed control. As Jimi said you're better off just buying a servo, they are a bolt-on replacement and will give you what you want with a lot less messing around.

If you ever have trouble removing the loctite'd screws just apply a little heat from a pinpoint flame, it should be enough to loosen the bond. Won't need much.

Jimi, that is a pretty remarkable effort making those Akai plugs! Brian, the new printer makes the "old" one look like a little toy.

"Apparently there are different versions of the CB-4500 floating around different parts of the world. I have yet to see one with pre-drilled holes for mounting an edge guide." Mine came with the holes already there, I just had to make an adapter plate. I just assumed it was the same on all CB4500's. Hence my post.

Yes, very nice. Your other work looks good too.

It already has holes drilled and tapped in the back.

As Wiz alluded to earlier, the "bursting" problem is pretty much unavoidable when sewing leather on a machine (it's the nature of the beast). You can reduce it somewhat by playing with needle size but you won't eliminate it. The only way to get a nice hole appearance on both sides is to hand stitch! Theoretically using a pointed needle should provide the best result visually because it's not cutting the leather, and on thin leather this should work, but on thicker leather it may create problems with trying to pull the thread back up through the leather. Sewing leather on a machine is always about compromise. If you're a perfectionist then hand stitching is the only way to go.

Love it! I'm not showing the grandkids because then I'll have to make some.

You're full of bright ideas, aren't you? (Well, full of something...). Some on youtube use the coloured caps to make a multicoloured object, looks pretty cool.

Thanks for the info Dave. Spyros, I used the milk jug thing too. I did a bit of experimenting with the plastic and like everything it's not quite as simple as you'd think! If you get it too hot it burns, and if you try to melt it too thick, or the temp is wrong, it might not fuse in the middle. I've used an oven, hot air gun and gas torch (requires very delicate application!!) to melt the stuff. When you get it right it's nice stuff though, and turns quite nicely on a lathe. I still have a large container of cut up bottles waiting to be used.

Maybe a scotchbrite scourer instead of steel wool? Dave, that looks bloody nice, mate. You said the head is polyurethane, is it any particular type?

I've experimented with melting various waxes, using pure gum turpentine as a thinning agent, but what I've found is that over time the turps appears to "come out" of the mix and leaves a fairly hard black deposit in the container.

I stripped (kept the pulleys and shafts) and junked two, both old Singers that were potentially dangerous due to the age and condition of the wiring. I gave one of the more "modern" style to a mate to experiment with and sold two on gumtree for $20! Turned out the guy who bought them had a couple of machines he was repairing and needed the motors, so at least they were being used. I had visions of using them but it was just too hard to convert them into something usable and they were just taking up room in my shed.

I can't see any practical benefit for texturing the head. If you look at the one on the right you can see where the texturing has worn off from use.

The hole won't be seen once it's all assembled, so no-one will ever know, and it could always have epoxy put down the hole to fill in the gaps. It looks so nice that it would be a shame not to use it.

Unfortunately you don't just buy a remote unit made up (at least not from the store). It consists of a potentiometer (I used 10 kohms), a knob, a switch and a box to mount it in, all of which are available from Jaycar, if they're handy, or online. Some of the VFD's have a removable control panel but I don't think it's a good idea to try and mount it remotely. I used a 3-way switch to give me forward and reverse but after wiring it up it struck me as pretty pointless having the grinding belt going backwards!! I'll probably replace it with a simple on-off switch. Pity we don't live closer, instead of 3,000 kms or so, but I'm happy to help in any way I can. If you get stuck with the remote bit I can make you one and send it up. I've been looking at the cheaper VFD's on ebay and all of them that I looked at had 220v input and 318v for the 3-phase, and while they obviously work we use 240v and 415v for 3-phase - which the one I bought from Conon is rated for. I'm thinking that I should buy another one of those for the lathe (I'm undecided). I noticed that the lathe motor has a squeak, which is not good.