dikman

Unfortunately, I don't have the contacts to smuggle one in. (Not saying that's what you did, of course).

Found a video on youtube where a chap fitted a drill chuck to the bottom of the ram to hold tools, looks like a good use for an old chuck. Got me thinking, as I have an old chuck that is a bit too worn for the drill press but would be fine for this. Looks like I'm back to drilling a hole in the end of the ram!!

Well done, it's always satisfying to work something out yourself, and as you said, just think what you've learned!

As I mentioned elsewhere, with regard to importing a 441 head unit only, I went through a long process trying to bring one in at a good price and found it couldn't be done (not as an individual). A fellow member on here, in the US, went through the same process and found likewise, it simply wasn't worth the trouble for the few dollars saved. If you were a business, buying a container load at a time, then you would doubtless get them at a better price per unit and all the other costs - shipping, customs etc - would also work out significantly less due to economies-of-scale. But for an individual it's simply not worth the effort. Some Chinese companies I contacted were offering "warranty support" but just how effective that would be is probably open to conjecture, plus those offering support were invariably at the high end price-wise. Adjusting and timing a machine is no big deal and you would have to assume that any such machine you brought in would need that done. The problem would be if you have broken/damaged parts, so you have to be able to buy it cheap enough to offset the possibility that you may have to source such parts locally. I have yet to see any figures that demonstrate it is viable/cost effective for an individual to bring in a sewing machine from China.

This is what I ended up with. The "inserts" are pretty easy to make from cylindrical scrap bits and I'll make a few with different size holes which should take most punches, rivet setters etc. As you can see similar to jimi's and Rocky's.

Now that IS an interesting concept.

Personally, I think brush motors are smoother at lower speed but unfortunately most of the servos are now brushless.

Jimi, that's the concept I'm working on. Constabulary, you can never have too many tools! When I bought the press he also had one of those smallish table saws, so I jokingly offered $20, he said $30 so I took it! It won't handle big panels, of course, but will come in handy for smaller bits of wood.

If you want both a needle positioner and a speed reducer have the dealer fit it to make sure it will work as some servos can't work with both. Personally, I can't see the point of having both, as Wiz said if you have a speed reducer you should be able to control it sufficiently well to stop it where you want.

Thanks Brian. I'm working on a "negative" image of yours, for want of a better term. I've got a short cylinder to weld to the bottom of the ram, a short piece of thick-walled pipe fits over it and is held on by a couple of locking screws. I will the fit different inserts into the cylinder. The inserts will have different size holes in them to take different diameter fittings and a single screw through the pipe and insert will lock the tool in place. I then just have to make an insert and drill it to whatever size I need to fit something new. I've got 3 other presses with fittings for rivets, snaps etc but this one I want to be able to fit hole punches, cutters etc.as well. I'll post some photos when it's finished. What sort of pressure has that thing got? It looks big!

Referring to the noise, sometimes the mind plays tricks on us, and when you haven't used something (particularly mechanical) for a while and come back to it you can suddenly notice a noise that was always there but you weren't aware of it before. And walking foot machines are a bit noisy simply because of their nature. It sounds ok to me. Oiling - use the oil holes but take off all the removable covers and basically oil any parts that contact each other, slide, rotate etc. Look for little holes in the castings above shafts where you can drip in oil.

It does, mike, but I would have to fabricate a jig to hold it vertical and square - too much trouble. I'm going to explore the idea of a round piece welded to the end, it has possibilities.

Now that looks nice!! Any idea what sort of pressure it can exert? Might be a bit much for leatherwork. The ram is too big to fit in my lathe or my drill press so I have no way of accurately drilling a hole in the bottom, although the idea might still work if I make a short extension piece (round, maybe), drill and tap it and then weld it to the bottom of the ram. I could attach fittings using the threaded end or make attachments to fit over the round extension, which would also allow rotary adjustment if needed. It has a long travel so I could sacrifice a couple of inches if necessary. If I make it round and match it the internal diameter of some metal pipe then I'll have a ready made source for making attachments.

I didn't want to drill out the ram to accept stamping tools, rivet setters etc, but drilling and tapping a smaller hole to fit attachments might work - if the ram will fit in my lathe to get a vertical hole. I've found a large steel plate to use as a base, the idea of a fence is a good one. I've got a bit of pondering to do.

I would assume that's the case.

My Norton told me the same thing (security certificate out-of-date), I just told it the site was ok.

The ?? after 487 sums it up, we need a lot more info to provide any help - photos are always a big help, along with make and model.

Charlie, are you saying you could order an industrial sewing machine today, from China, and have it delivered for 25% of the local dealer cost? I would love to see your figures, please, as my last effort, after contacting about 10 different companies (via Alibaba) and speaking with customs brokers would have resulted in a saving of only a few dollars (I posted the figures elsewhere), although if I bought the cheapest available I could have saved maybe a couple of hundred. I'm sure there are quite a few on here who would like to know exactly how to go about this, and I'd love to know where I apparently went wrong.

After looking at a couple of youtube vids I've decided not to bother with a magnet, I'm going to make some "holders" that will clamp to the press so that I can attach different sizes of punches, stamps etc. A bit more work but should let me use heavier punches to cut slots and big holes. I just have to find some square tubing that's a nice fit on the ram. Plus I have to make a flat base to replace the round thingy it came with. Lots of possibilities here.

Actually, jimi, I didn't buy it with anything in particular in mind, I just couldn't let it go! Toxo, good video, looks like I'll need to buy some bigger magnets. First thing I've got to do is strip it down to reduce the weight to move it, just about broke my back getting it out of the car. And then figure out where I'm going to put it.

I finally found an arbor press - 2 ton! Son-in-law asked me to go with him to pick up some tools from a deceased estate - bench mount belt sander, drill press, small lathe, scroll saw - 1 hour trip. While there I asked the guy what else had for sale, he showed me an old grinder (English, solid, but it sounded like it had dry bearings) and an arbor press. I took one look, said how much, $50 and I said sold!! I've been looking for one of these for ages but have never seen a 2 tonner, they're usually 1 ton. And it's bloody heavy!!!!!!!

Another + for the riveting. That is going to be a tricky thing to sew and will be fiddly to do. If you're going to be "mass-producing" them you want it to be simple and quick.

Now that is an interesting looking machine, appears to have some sort of home-made fitting on the left?

Great buy! As NCArcher said, they don't seem to come up too often. I recall one for sale here over a year ago and they wanted double that price!!!

That lathe should be quite useful. I have a "medium" sized metal lathe (I'm sometimes surprised how useful it is!) and bought one of those generic Chinese "mini" lathes off ebay. A small lathe is a very handy tool.