dikman

Wiz and Constabulary are right about the handwheel, but not for the reason Wiz mentioned. The handwheel casting on my 211 has a "protrusion" that actually slides inside the main body casting and acts as a bushing around the main shaft. Without this the main shaft can flop around a bit! Not a good thing. I had to make a reducer for mine as I couldn't use a larger pulley.

Ok, I missed the bit about the 15-91. No comparison, of course, this one is a proper industrial machine. The service manual is readily available, as are spare feet. As long as you don't want to sew holsters (!) this should be a useful machine - assuming it works ok then $300 is a great price imo. A lot of that rust will probably rub of with a bit of care.

Whichever model it is it should be more than adequate for those jobs.

A difficult decision. As long as it's working then it could be an interesting restoration/cleanup job for only $300. You can buy a cheaper servo to replace the motor, you don't have to necessarily buy the best. If you don't want to start accumulating machines () and only want to get maybe one more then it would be better to pass and work out exactly what you want and look for that.

Thanks heydox, looks great! I've turned mine down to just over 2 3/4" long x 2 1/4" diameter. I might keep this one parallel sided but I can see me making another one (or two?) after this is finished, probably like yours. I'm turning a piece of steel plate down for the end piece which should give a bit of weight forward. GRod, you can make it from a mold but it's just a little trickier to get the final smooth finish, I've found a lathe makes it much easier and shaping this stuff is fun, it turns beautifully! There's a youtube video of someone using a wood lathe to make theirs. The good thing about this is that all the turnings/shavings can be re-used for the next project.

My servos have ordinary rocker switches on the front panels, they work fine and I can't see the need for anything different.

Thanks Bill. This is obviously too big to use as-is but I'm unsure how much to remove. The explanation for having a taper makes sense, I just have to work out whether it will suit me. I'm guessing the head at about 2" diameter and the length about 2 1/2"? I'll use threaded rod through the head and turn a metal end piece to give some weight (and bling ) and use stacked leather to make the handle.

Table and legs don't look too bad. At the very least you want to turn it over by hand and make sure the needle/feet/feed dog all move properly, without any binding/scraping noises. As for the motor, even if it works I would consider it a liability (unless you're experienced you won't be able to control it!).

I've decided to make a maul (mainly because I don't have one ). I was going to use Delrin for the head because I have some, but after reading about it I had second thoughts (it's tough but apparently can be on the brittle side) so HDPE seemed like the obvious choice. After melting down some (lots!) of milk containers I ended up with this. It measures 90 x 60 mm (3 1/2" x 2 1/4"). My question is what is the optimum size of the head for using on stamps? For those who have , for example, Barry King mauls what are the head sizes? And is there any real advantage in having a tapered head?

If you don't have a manual, try this - https://www.manualslib.com/manual/364313/Singer-111w152.html?page=2#manual Foot lift should be 3/8".

jsullivan, what appears to be the problem(s)? Which machine did you buy? What were your expectations of the machine? I'm sure that members here will be more than happy to try and help you resolve the issues you're having. Perhaps if you start a new thread about this?

Ok, that looks better with the needle in, so not too big. The feed dog is the slotted piece that the thread disappears into, it normally moves back and forth with the needle in it, as well as up and down, in other words in an elliptical motion. If it is adjusted too high then as JLS suggested it will be pushing the leather up against the presser foot. With the feet up turn the handwheel until the feed dog is at its highest point and post a photo.

Looks to me like the hole in the inner presser foot is way too big for the needle/thread.

No problems with fitting a servo to this machine. As Floyd said, you can fit a speed reducer or swap the handwheel for a larger pulley (which is what I did on my Pfaff 335).

Looks very nice indeed.

I noticed that when sewing 12 mm of leather it stopped feeding partway through, too much of a load I would think. " Yes, the seller states they’ll be switching it back to regular operation. " I'd want to find out exactly what he means by that, just what parts are going to be restored.

It's a common enough mistake that many new to sewing machines make - the assumption that one machine can do it all. The general upholstery-class walking foot machine is actually quite a versatile machine - until holsters are mentioned! There is no escaping the fact that a heavy duty machine is needed for them, but such a machine isn't much use for lighter materials. I hand stitch my holsters because my machines can't handle either the thread/needle size or thickness of materials that are needed (I have stitched a couple of heavy belts, using #138 thread, and it doesn't look too bad, but holsters no way). If you're going to do this as a "business" then you'll need to fork out for a 441-class or similar, as well as an upholstery class machine. Those two will get you started. Oh, and I wouldn't suggest a cheap shoe patcher as they are not intended for what you want to do - production-type runs. You will not be happy with the results as they cannot handle heavy enough thread/needles or be able to penetrate holster-thickness leather.

Looks very similar to a Pfaff 335? The arm and binding attachment certainly looks like the Pfaff version. As Wiz pointed out, being a binder it's highly likely that the feed dog only moves back and forth and may be smooth. It could be a handy machine to have (if the price is right), but perhaps not if it's going to be your only machine.

That's a big difference in thread size and would seem to suggest it's not simply a clone?

I recently printed and made a model of the Liberator from Blakes 7 (something I've wanted for a very long time), it's a complex shape but the designer had separated it into components that when printed didn't require supports, and provision was made to use pins to join components. That is how any 3D printed design should be done and yes, superglue (and epoxy) work well on PLA.

That ad lists shipping as $451 worldwide!

JKH, I see nothing wrong with your approach. You had a set of feet that were useless to you, so if you have the ability and the equipment to make them work, why not? I've re-ground a few feet to make them work/fit particular machines (sometimes other manufacturers' feet don't quite want to fit!!!).

Mark, I see no reason why that wouldn't work, but if it was me I'd be looking at some way of attaching a pulley to that handwheel, that way you'll have a choice of pulleys for the motor and can use standard belts. Have a look at second-hand/used machinery places and see if you can find a cheap pulley (that's how I found one of mine, I saw it and thought "that looks like it might be useful" - and it was!). The shaft size won't matter because you'll be modifying it. I used a pulley off a car airconditioning unit by drilling and tapping the handwheel on one of my machines, like Bob suggested.

They sound like interesting motors to play with, but the biggest issue I see is getting a suitable power supply to run them.

People trying to go from hand stitching to machine stitching invariably face the same problem - trying to achieve the same look on the finished product. It can't be done unless you go to a big, heavy duty machine that will take larger thread. In this case you may get it to sew with #138 thread but the bobbin won't have much capacity for that thread (I doubt if you'll get a run around a belt out of it). The minimum you're looking at to achieve that is an upholstery-grade machine, and the finished quality will be much better using such a machine.