dikman

For it's intended purpose it looks good. Plenty of protection for the revolver and the high top should ensure it doesn't fall out too easily. And no point making it fancy as it's bound to get knocked around a bit I reckon.

If you already have a servo and speed reducer then replacing the handwheel with a large pulley as well will slow it down significantly. I got one down to 1 stitch every 2.5 secs by doing this. Of course, if you feel that a motor drive is potentially dangerous in your situation then a handcrank is probably the way to go. Replacing the handwheel with a large pulley and mounting a handle near the rim also works.

Like tt I've cut a couple of tables down so that they are only as wide as the metal frame underneath. Works well.

Ahh, but that's the beauty of doing something like that as, within reason, it doesn't have to be a perfect, neat job because it's going to be ground down. Someone broke an extractor lug off my Uberti 1866 while (helpfully) removing a stuck boolit so not knowing any better () I built up a blob of weld and slowly ground and filed it until it was a good fit. Still working and saved me a heap of $.

Ok, now I understand. Sewing that curved part may be a bit of an issue on a machine, depending whether you can flex it open a bit to sew. You will probably need a holster needleplate, or maybe a stirrup would be better for that? I guess the best way will be to make a dummy section from scrap (not a whole holster) and try it first?

I haven't done that particular part but I don't see any reason that it couldn't be done.

That rig looks very nice. There's no right way or wrong way to make holsters, you use whatever method works for you. I find that if I don't wet mine it's extremely difficult to get it to fold over, plus the wetting/drying process actually makes it "set" quite rigid and I can easily make the holster with zero retention if needed, plus it keeps its shape. It would certainly be easier if I didn't have to wet it. If you're gluing the two layers then I can't see why you'd want to stitch them first?

One possibility is to put the whole thing up on thingiverse, but that depends whether you want to make it publicly available.

Normal practice is to glue the liner to the outer layer. Once you've formed the shape (usually wet-formed) then it is stitched.

Simple solution Bert - leave her home when you buy a machine.

My recent research into buying a 441 from China indicates the head could be around 70-80 kgs so at least 150 lbs. Again, from what I can find out the head castings are probably all the same with the difference being how they are finished off by the individual factory and fitted out. Theoretically all the parts should be interchangeable (one seller actually advertises that Juki 441 parts will fit their machine) - but I wouldn't like to guarantee it! As for a servo, there are many available, it all depends how much you want to spend or if you want a particular type/brand. Exciting times ahead!

Assuming those Paff's were working somebody got an absolute bargain.

I did that with every machine I bought, although not having a trailer meant completely dismantling the table too! It should be pretty obvious how things fit together. Definitely let the head ride in comfort, it's the most important part. If it's got a clutch motor I'd take it off too as it's a lot of dead weight to be attached to a table that could be bouncing around in a trailer. Looks like a good buy.

sbrownn, I think the references to UV were to my comments on my GPS sunshade "melting" on the car dashboard, not your excellent creation. My apologies for sidetracking your post (I have a habit of hijacking threads ). As for showing wear, that's the beauty of leather it ages gracefully as it's used.

Any idea what the Pfaff went for, out of curiosity?

Hmm, never come across that stuff before. I thought UV generally took time to affect material (my floors certainly took months to fade!!). This happened within a couple of hours. The dashboard top in a car here in Oz gets bloody hot in the sun!

That is very generous of you, given the time you would have put in developing them. The bag looks very nice. A heat gun wouldn't be much use as it would tend to heat the whole thing and soften it. As an aside, I recently used PLA to make a shade to fit on my Garmin GPS in the car. The .stl came from thingiverse and it fitted well. My wife took the car out and left it parked in the sun, it wasn't an overly hot day, about 26*C. I went up to the car about 2 hours later and the shade was soft and sagging!! Bugger!

As a repository of knowledge for all things leatherwork this has to be THE site to come to. This is doubly so when it comes to industrial sewing machines, I seriously doubt if there is anywhere else that has such a wide experience base to call on and that is freely available to all.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I made a replacement arm cover plate from a piece of aluminium.

http://www.kwokhing.com/pfaff/ I bought the 206-04 plate and feed dog and the KP335W, in hindsight I should have bought the N071. You'll have to email them for prices, there's an enquiry form on their website. I figured that the cost didn't matter much as it meant I could at least use it as a normal machine.

Yes, need a new feed dog too.

Based on those measurements there shouldn't be too many issues fitting it. I have an assortment of pulleys (45 mm, 65mm, 75, 120 and 140) that I can use on the reducer shaft to the head so I can fine-tune the final drive ratio. It's amazing how many pulleys I've accumulated since getting into this sewing machine thing! I've also just fitted a steel channel underneath to reinforce the table against the extra weight. Still waiting for the shipping quote, I just hope the Chinese are quicker at actual shipping than working out a quote!!!!

I did that to my Pfaff 335. I needed a new needle plate and both feet, which I bought from Kwok Hing. I think I replaced the feed dog too, but I'll have to check on that (memory gets a bit confused these days ).

Excellent! Thanks Brian. I intend to replace my 335 with this machine, I've swapped the motor for a 750w that I used on another machine and fitted a speed reducer (3:1). These measurements will enable me to make sure that the belt will clear the slot and give me an idea if any of my existing belts will fit.

I was wondering if someone with one of these could do me a favour please? I would like to know the distance from the tabletop to the centre of the main (pulley) shaft and the diameter of the pulley itself (not the handwheel part), also, the distance centre to centre of the four mounting bolts.