cdthayer
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Posts posted by cdthayer
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I like the idea.
CD in Oklahoma -
I do repairs and alterations to large fabric items. On one occasion, I re-sewed every top stitch on a mesh swimming pool cover that was about 30x20 feet in size. The mesh fabric and the webbing lattice straps were all good, just the stitching thread had all failed with age. It had 1 1/2” webbing straps top and bottom to sandwich the webbing on centerlines of about every five feet both length-wise and width-wise. Each webbing had three stitch lines across its width.
I don’t know when the next job is going to come in that requires an extra large table, so I opted not to go to the expense of buying or building a large sewing table knowing it might set for long periods of time not being used. And then there’s the problem of housing a structure that large.
For the pool cover job (and a couple of truck tarp jobs), I rigged up a temporary table each time just for the job. I set my regular Singer H-leg Power Stand (111W153) up out on my patio, and assembled temporary table surfaces both ways from the needle. I just used whatever scraps that I could come up with, including an old bench, a metal door, an old treadle stand, a couple of saw horses, a sheet of used roofing tin, a couple of 1x6 boards, and a large tub. It isn’t pretty, but it gets the job done. I sloped the surfaces from high to low to help with feeding the fabric. More time was spent rolling, rerolling, and positioning the item than actually sewing. I could sew about five feet before I had to get up and reposition things. I had no helpers.
BTW- I’ve heard that a Whitetail Deer got tangled up in it this past winter and did some damage to the mesh fabric before they could get her out of it, so I may be seeing it again sometime.
CD in Oklahoma
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Welcome to the LW Forum, idahopatchlady.
Are you setting up a “mobile shop” to follow the rally events? Or a brick and mortar shop at one site? What machines are you planning to use for sewing on patches?
My wife and I sew embroidered patches on garments at our B&M shop in SW Oklahoma, but have never taken our service mobile. We use a Consew 225 and a Singer 29K70 for the bulk of our patch sewing.
We’ve had patches sewn onto our motorcycle vests at a variety of rally sites, but only as customers. The machines that they each used were as varied as the rally sites themselves.
CD in Oklahoma -
That machine looks more like a Singer Model 27 than a 25, Flanman.
The 27 takes a common household needle 15x1, 2020, HAx1, or 130-705H.
CD in Oklahoma -
Eric was one of the Life-savers here at LW that helped me with my Singer 111G156 a while back. Thanks again Eric.
CD in Oklahoma -
Congratulations! A Singer 16-188 is on my “Want List”, but only to play with. I want to see how one works in a treadle.
I treadled my Singer 111W153 a little bit, but while it would treadle just fine with nothing under the foot, when I tried sewing a couple of pieces of 6-8oz Oak-tanned leather together, I felt like I was putting too much pressure on the foot pedal and pitman rod. I was afraid that I might break something, so I quit.
I understand that the 16-188 was used in the Singer industrial treadle stands prior to electrification.
CD in Oklahoma -
Do you have a treadle Singer 31-15 SantaFeMarie?
CD in Oklahoma -
It would be neat to have Wilma on the $20.
CD in Oklahoma -
...and make sure that your bobbin is not over-loaded with thread, binding the bobbin feed.
CD in Oklahoma -
I still am unable to quote previous posts, but to answer the question posed by SantaFeMarie, my main 1939 Singer 31-15 is in a modified industrial treadle. Basically, it’s a regular-sized industrial treadle with the top shortened to trim it down for storage and transport.
I use Tex90 bonded polyester thread with a size 18 16x87 universal needle. It is fitted with the #12263 small roller foot, feed dog, and needle plate set. I don’t ever change thread size or the presser foot, only thread colors. I use the machine for repairs and small projects made of vinyl, thin billboard vinyl, canvas, and thin leather or imitation leather. I also use it to recycle used billboard vinyl into fitted outdoor equipment covers. The repairs usually require a lot of hand-wheeling, but I get to use the treadle for the long runs of seams and hems on the billboard vinyl equipment covers.
I have a 1951 Singer 31-15 that I’ve experimented a little with, rigged with an earlier style handwheel (largest) and a steering wheel spinner knob acting as a handcrank. I use the same thread and needle combination, but it has a standard presser foot, NP, and FD set on it. It’s more “portable” than the treadle, but I still have to use an old wheel chair to pack it around. I haven’t gotten to use it much yet.
I haven’t ever used either of my 31-15 machines in a power stand.
CD in Oklahoma
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[Posted 20 March 2015 - 02:16 AM by RavenAus....Is there any way to slow the machine down without large outlay? I'd prefer not to spend too much as I really don't have it to spare.]
It’s probably a little slower than you’re looking for, but I slowed my Singer 111G156 down without much outlay of money. I put an automotive steering wheel spinner knob on it. The slow speed control is fantastic!
I needed to reattach the (poorly designed) strap onto a purse that the thread had failed at the attachment point. And, I wanted to carefully place my needle in the original holes of the initial sew line to avoid further damage to the vinyl material. Another problem, was the bobbin thread needed to go into a shallow pocket of the purse design, so by using my machine as a tabletop machine instead of in its powerstand, I was able to provide sort of “freearm” effect that the purse could bend around to make the stitching possible.
CD in Oklahoma
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Posted 14 March 2015 - 08:31 PM by tossik....I came across the opportunity of picking this machine up for $200.
Did you buy the machine?
I would consider that a good deal. It’s a good heavy duty machine comparable to the 111W155, with just a slightly lower foot lift. I paid over $300 for mine, but the shipping was a steal. (It was in the garage 2 doors down the street from me.)
With a few adjustments and a couple of missing/damaged parts replaced, it sews like a stripped ape. Of course, that could be because of the 3470 RPM clutch motor in its power stand. (The speed was a plus when I re-sewed all of the seams on a large swimming pool cover.)
CD in Oklahoma -
Tom, I have IE11. I looked back through my posts here at LW and found that my quote problems began a little over a year ago.
My browser settings are:
Security: Medium High, protected mode enabled.
Privacy: Medium, but my Popup Blocker is enabled. I added this site to be allowed, but it hasn’t made any difference. I’d like to keep the blocker on if I can.
Java: For some reason, my Java wasn’t enabled, so I enabled that, but it hasn’t made any difference.
I guess I’ll just have to live with it. It keeps me from babbling too much anyway.
CD in Oklahoma -
Thanks for trying to help, but it still won’t work.
I’m using Microsoft Internet Explorer.
In the screen shots below,
1 - I clicked on “MultiQuote” and got this additional button.
2 - I clicked on “Reply to 1 quoted post(s)” and got this screen.
3 - I clicked on “MORE REPLY OPTIONS”, and got this empty text editor.
CD in Oklahoma
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Thanks for that information TwinOaks. Maybe that explains why the quote quit working for me a few months ago. I tried to quote your post, and got a blank text field. I haven’t posted much in the past year or so, partly because I can no longer quote text that I want shown with my response or question.
CD in Oklahoma -
Looks good.
CD in Oklahoma -
I’ve used steering wheel spinner knobs (necker knob, Brodie knob) on a few of mine to make them handcranks. They can be taken off later if the machine is motorized again.
CD in Oklahoma
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Mom & Pop retail brick & mortar shops are dying off like the dinosaur. It’s one of the reasons that small retail space is becoming more affordable. Small retail shops are just “scratch & sniff” showrooms nowadays, so that buyers can get the feel for what they want and then go online to make their purchases. I think that the days of having the customer come to us is about over. Even though the USA is one of the most mobile societies in the world these days, very little of the mobility is for shopping for anything more than groceries or the cheapest gas. Online and event shopping is growing by leaps and bounds.
I would urge you to look into doing a road show for making retail sales, and only use physical space for production. Renting physical space for production (or repairs) makes more sense to me than retail, since it doesn’t have to be pretty, just functional. And the nice thing about having a mobile store is that you can go to where the buyers will be. And you can move around to get new eyes on your products all of the time. Sure, you’ll still have plenty of “looky-loos”, but only for short periods of time, not all of the time when you’re trying to get some work done.
And if you consider the mobile sales effort as purely advertising at those venues that don’t produce a lot of sales, and whatever sales you did get as just helping with the expenses (of that advertising), you’ll be more inclined to sign up and head out for the next event. I think that you’ll have better luck, even with the business plan that you are considering (with consignments), to take your product to the customer instead of waiting for them to come to you. Remote sales and internet sales both take the product to the customer.
CD in Oklahoma -
One cause easy to check is the hook tip. Pull the bobbin and shuttle out of it and feel the point of the hook with the end of your finger. It should have a definite “pointed” feel to it, as opposed to a “smooth” rounded-off feel. When they get blunt from wear or being dropped, they begin missing stitches. A new shuttle should be available for it.
CD in Oklahoma -
If you’ve put a new after-market center foot on it lately, check for a burr under the bottom where the needle hole was drilled. I had one that the slag didn’t get removed from the thread channel where the stitch line exits the foot to the back.
I thought that the thread was fraying at the needle eye, but it was the foot doing it.
CD in Oklahoma -
I've got to find the right screw first.....
Thanks for your idea. It may be the way I have to go on this.
CD in Oklahoma -
I’ve wondered about using Loctite on it. I haven’t used the stuff much, but I understand that one color hardens and another color is supposed to stay softer. I think I’ll dig through my parts bins for a replacement screw before I use any gunk in it. The hook on it is still in fair shape, so I’d like to get some more use out of it if I can. I generally only use one size of thread in this machine, so even if the “soft” stuff seizes the screw in place over time, I could probably still use the shuttle. I just wouldn’t be able to remove the spring to clean under it or replace it.
But for Alex, he might only have the one shuttle to work with, so he’d probably like to hear from someone that has had success with it. That is, if he discovers that his tension screw is backing off like mine is. When I start a sewing line the stitch looks good, and then slowly I can see the lower thread begin appearing more and more until the top thread is a straight line and the bottom thread becomes loops. When I remove the shuttle, the tension screw is loose.
CD in Oklahoma -
Alex, it sounds to me like the tension screw in your shuttle is backing off on its own as you sew. I have one like that for my 1943 Singer 29K70. The screw won’t stay where I set it. I switched to a different shuttle until I can figure something out on it.
It’s not a split screw that can be spread with a narrow knife blade like some shuttles and bobbin cases have, so I’m trying to figure out some other way to increase drag on the screw.
CD in Oklahoma -
Looks like a good project to me.
CD in Oklahoma
Has Anyone Built Their Own Industrial Sewing Tables? --Can You Critique My Idea?
in Leather Sewing Machines
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The previous owner of my Consew 225 power stand used brackets to make the stand mobile, but only raised the stand less than an inch. I don’t know where the brackets were sourced.
CD in Oklahoma