R8R

Btw the synchro adapter is DA part number 0667 105100. $20 part. It's also spec for the 867 but it fits in the 669. However, there is no access to a set screw for it, so just wrapped some tape on it and it's pressed in there. Seems fine. Once I get this whole thing together I'll make a big post about the setup. Leaving town Monday so it might not be for another week or so.

Things are getting interesting. Ever notice no matter how many v-belts you have, they are too short or too long. ALWAYS.

Cheap generic feet and other accessories avail for this machine all over ebay, etc, just like the rest of the mini walker machines (Reliable Barracuda, etc) The motor Sailrite specs on these is the real star here and it will push pretty much any upholstery class machine to the limit of what it can do. Holsters though? Nope. Belts and wallets and such yeah but these machines max out there. I would give a +1 vote to Wiz's suggestion of the Artisan portable setup for the 3200 BT machine. They are decent machines and that setup is specifically for tradeshows, events, rodeos and the like. If you were to lug a machine around to sew holsters and sheaths, and you didn't want to hand crank it, that would fit the bill.

"Servo motor" can mean literally dozens of different motors. There is no one stock motor for the 1508NH unless it's an actual stock Juki motor. We need details. You generally want to: 1) Have a motor with some type of slow speed control, either in a menu system or speed potentiometer knob 2) Have the smallest pulley you can fit onto your particular motor 3) Possibly add a reducer wheel like that Techsew one or similar. Those are sold all over the place. The one Keystone sells is of excellent quality, with nice sealed bearings - https://store.keysew.com/parts/sewing-parts/sr-2

I'm 6'4" so my sit down table on the Juki flat bed machine is as high as it will go, like 32" or more? Can't remember exactly. I keep the machines high enough that I'm not slouching or cranking my neck downward too much. My other machines have the ergo stands so I can have them up or down as fits. I use DW 9000 series drum stools instead of standard chairs. I am a drummer, so they just feel right. I can have them up at max height (much higher than at my drum kit actually) and go from sit to stand quickly. Kinda like a task style chair. They don't roll around and they are back-less so they keep me upright.

Wet/dry type sandpaper, saturated with sewing oil. Works great. Start with very fine and work up to polishing grades like 1500 and 2000 grit. Or yeah... new hook.

I ordered it from Campbell-Randall with a binder package (carrier plate, feed dogs, feet, etc) but some of those parts are on a long back order from DA, so I had them send out the standard parts in the meantime. Those should arrive any day. Also ordered the rear motor mount that usually comes with the upgraded models, this will allow me to mount the motor above the table with a very short belt. Also scored a 40mm pulley for the servo. It's a damn nice machine. Can't wait to actually use it!

We've had this discussion on the forums here for awhile. Narrow cylinder arm machine that can sew heavier thread. There are not many out there. The most common narrow cylinder machine is the Pfaff 335 and various clones. I have the Mauser version. It struggles with 69 thread on occasion. Maybe 92 if I plead with it. 138 is right out. The Adler 669 seems to be the one everyone agrees is narrow but can handle heavier thread, so that's what I ended up getting. It just landed in my shop and I'm waiting on some backordered parts, but its very nice and can sew 138 or maybe even 207 with tweaks. It's expensive though. A Juki DSC-246 is a beefier narrow cylinder machine but they are infrequently available used and new they are north of $4k. There are some clones out there but...well let's just say I will not go down that road again. So there it is from my recent foray into narrow arm machines. I sew mostly heavy nylons and other synthetics with some leather trims. It seems the machine choices out there are "Heavy duty, narrow, or cheaper...pick two"

Well so far it looks like I just need a "plug" to go into the end of the shaft for the synchro to bolt on to. It's a weird design that there is no way to screw a standard synchro on there. These are designed to take a mounted sensor behind the main pulley (for Efka servo motor controllers) I can probably just wrap the end of a standard synchro stud with tape and jam it in there. Synchros don't need much to hold on, they don't bear any load really. I might visit the local machinist and have something turned for it out of nylon or delrin. Maybe a handlebar plug? In the mean time I am waiting on some back ordered parts that didn't ship with the machine (a motor mount and some other stuff). Once I get it all bolted up in the next week or two I'll post up some pics and a little review. It will have a binder package installed and the motor is a nice Seiko HVP-70 servo I picked up on eBay, which will bolt directly to the back of the machine. I'm keeping it knee lift for now.

Hmm...

Or for that money you could get their Fabricator machine and some aftermarket smooth feed pieces and have a more capable machine. The little one looks good for tight spaces, but for $1500? Dunno.

Down the road you won't care about the extra shipping. Its a great motor and it's priced well for what it does.

Nope. I mean, maybe? Occasionally? It doesn't climb well. It doesn't climb at all really. It's great for small items. Purses, slippers, makeup bags, wallets, small cylindrical items, etc. It doesn't like thick assemblies.

Uh....This is industrial sewing...until you've put in the time and have dealt with the learning curve, keep a bottle of aspirin handy.

I do mostly heavy duty nylons and some leather trims. I mostly use my Juki 2810. I shopped for a Juki 246, new price at my local dealer was $4600 USD. I ended up ordering a clone, which was a nightmare. (returned it) I found a Mauser (Pfaff) 335 locally and while it works great for small projects, it is in no way suited for heavy sewing. It is best suited to thinner assemblies and small articles. I have a Adler 669 on order, it was about the same price as the Juki 246. I will be posting a full review here on LW once it arrives. It has a similar capacity to the 2810 but with a small diameter cylinder arm, which should make it perfect for my needs.

Artisan 1508-10H (Juki 1508NH copy) is a less expensive alternate for a flatbed. The motor is decent and the table is very nice. 38mm needle stroke and will sew at least a 207 (up to 277 claimed). The CB3200 with a flatbed will give you lots of options but at some point you will need to stage out more than one machine to cover what you need to do.

SP-1100NPFL motor has to be the best value out there right now. With a 50mm pulley I think it's the perfect motor for any walking foot machine, especially for the price.

Also, alternate from one screw to the other. Sometimes with needle plates loosening one screw even a small amount will unlock the other screw that seemed frozen.

One more vote for PB blaster. Also consider a right-angle offset screw driver. It allows you to really set the screw bit squared into the slot and gives greater torque. I use the small ratcheting one by General Tools and it's a life saver.

If it sews well $700 is not a bad price, even for a machine with no auto functions, and it comes with the converter already. All the bells and whistles are a bonus if and when you need them. Needle positioning, auto backtack and foot lift are actually handy to have. If it was like $1400 or more I would pass, but $700 is doable. Not the *best* choice for a first machine, but a nice machine regardless.

This thread explains it pretty well:

Remember that even a 2" locking caster will raise the table up a few inches. Often the treadle cross arms will need to be lowered with blocks or pieces of tubing to make them comfortable to use.

I did a general search for the HVP-70 and found some other iterations (for Adler machines, etc). This looks to be a general motor platform that is programmed (firmware?) by Ho Hsing for various manufacturers/models, with different parameters highlighted depending on the iteration. Found this one for an Adler 271 with MANY more parameter entries than the Seiko: http://www.vadana.nl/media/files/PDF durkopp adler/271 272/AC servo motor.pdf Parameter 118 toggled "ON" switches it to "Converting to a clutch motor selection". That worked, positioning turns off and it's a vanilla motor. Weird to phrase it as "clutch motor" though.

The Ho Hsing G60 can go as low as 100 spm (according to the manual) and the Jack is about 200? So yeah it would be slightly better, and the price difference is less than the cost of a speed reducer. I am not one to ask though, as I have a curiosity problem when it comes to motors. If I even remotely think one will work better than what I have, I'll try it. My current favorite is the Seiko HVP-70 I picked up cheap on ebay. It's actually made by Ho Hsing. It does everything and the parameter settings chart is endless. 50 spm low speed start, and it's quiet.

My experience (outside of sewing) is that nylon tends to have slightly better elasticity whereas polyester has lower elongation in general - it can be stretched and "broken in" and does not lose tension after. Example - in screen printing, polyester monofilament mesh is the most common used woven mesh material as it can be tensioned, work-hardened and re-tensioned so as to produce a dimensionally stable stencil. Nylon on the other hand is used when some elasticity and flexibility is desired, such as for printing 3D objects and irregular surfaces, such as containers and bottles. Another example is most modern drum heads are made of polyester film (1 or 2 ply). This makes for a head that can be tuned to a pitch, broken in, and will maintain it's pitch. Nylon films would be a nightmare! Kevlar mesh is also used, laminated with polyester films for some heads that are under high tension, such as for drum corps use. Just my $0.02