cdthayer

Hi Reuben, Since you’re talking about repairs and alterations instead of new fabrication, you need an hourly rate for that type of activity. With some of the things customers drag in to the shop for repairs, we seldom actually know how long the repair or alteration is going to take until it’s done. Those jobs need to be quoted by whatever time is required, instead of a finished amount. Sure, we’ll have an idea, and will quote them an estimate, but repairs/alterations are a whole different world from fabricating. You’ll be surprised by what they bring to you to repair and at how “well” (or not) that they want you to “repair” it. They won’t always want the best fix. An example could be repairing a harness or strap just to get by for a couple of days until a new one comes in to replace it, then they’ll discard the old one. Fix it as good as the customer wants it done. We went through a process to determine our hourly rate. When my wife and I opened our little shop 6 years ago, I looked up information on the median income of the area and found it to be $10/hr. So, that was our first labor rate for about a year to get going, but “median income” usually reflects wages for a warm body only, and no buildings, tools, or equipment. We own our building, all of our equipment, and our inventory, so no pressure to meet a loan payment. That helps. We don’t have any employees either. Each year, we’ve increased our labor rate a little. We’ve added additional/better equipment along the way, and we’re becoming more experienced every year. We’re at $18/hr now, or 30 cents per minute, plus materials. No extra charge for thread. We have our rate posted on our website, so everyone pays the same rate. Now, I have done some repairs for friends in the past and just for the heck of it, let them pay me what they thought it was worth to them. I quit doing that. I started feeling guilty for being overpaid by some and shocked at how worthless my work was to others. I’m not complaining. It taught me something that I needed to know about my friends. To help implement our prorated hourly rate, I bought some little battery-powered kitchen timers and have them at our various work stations. When we start a repair or alteration that is not on our flat rate list, we start and stop the timer as we do the job. It works real well, when we remember to push the buttons. We tried having a $3 minimum for the first 2 or 3 years, but dropped it. It didn’t allow for those little jobs that took less than 10 minutes to have them back on their way. Simply charging the regular timed rate makes the customer feel good and is good advertising. Charging a minimum just made it seem like we were trying to gouge them at times, (as in “Three dollars!!! And it only took you 3 minutes?”). When the customer gets to thinking that since you charge $1/minute, then that must mean that your rate is $60/hour, which in this area at least, is too much. No telling how much money our $3 minimum cost us by scaring away potential return customers. CD in Oklahoma

Grizz, I have one that I picked up for my Singer 29K70 somewhere along the line that is similar to the description that Gump gave you. I don’t know who made it, but it works pretty well for converting to a flatbed, even though the table is about an inch below the arm and there’s a gap on both sides of the arm. I think the original owner made it or modified it that way on purpose. On light-weight fabrics or leather, it will hold up the garment, but still allow the sleeve to be slid over the arm for a ways. I don’t use my machine for a flatbed much. I need to replace the hooks on it with different ones that will let the pillar end of the top hang down further. My use of the table is usually to help support a garment while sliding a sleeve over the arm, so I need it to be slightly below the arm all of the way across so I can get further into the sleeve. CD in Oklahoma

I have two machines with casters under them, a Consew 225 electric and a Singer 29K70 treadle. Our shop is so small that I occasionally have to roll a machine out into the alley or onto the sidewalk for larger repair jobs. Also, we don't use either machine daily, so the castors help with storage. The casters on the Consew 225 all swivel, making it very unstable when free-standing. Most of the time it's placed against a wall to keep it from running away or "wiggling" while in use. Part of the wiggling can probably be attributed to the light-weight caster brackets used on this machine. They have a little flex in them. My casters are a homemade application by a previous owner. I built a primitive "trolley" out of 1x4s to go under my Singer 29K70. I put swivel casters on the handwheel end, and rigid casters under the other end. It's almost always free-standing when used, but remains fairly stable with this setup. CD in Oklahoma

I really like that setup! The peddles should give absolute control of the stitches, without the “run backwards” problem that can occur with a treadle. Tell him I’m impressed and really enjoy seeing his ingenuity. Thanks. CD in Oklahoma

I’ve used a Dremel Cut-off Disk to shorten the posts on regular Tandy/Leather Factory Line 24 Snaps before. Worked fairly good, but I had a tendency to cut them off shorter than I should have and then they tended to split when I set them. A better choice for me is to use Dritz Line 24 Snaps in thin materials. They have a shorter post to begin with and are available at most sewing centers. I’ve only seen them in Nickel finish though.... CD in Oklahoma

Check your Virginia State Government website. I used the State of Oklahoma site to learn what our state requirements were. CD in Oklahoma

I would think that grinding material off of the toe of the blade, essentially moving the leather contact area of the toe towards the heel, to remove the worn area of the blade tip would be the only way I can think of to do it. Basically, remove the worn tip and establish a new cutting/contact area back along the blade that hasn’t been in contact with the leather before. I haven’t ever tried it, so I might be totally wrong. CD in Oklahoma

I believe that 3048 is a Singer part number for their 108x1 needles. Singer class 114 and model 257-1 machines call for that needle. The class 114 machines are mostly button attachment machines. I don’t know what the 257-1 machine does. CD in Oklahoma

From what I understand, the “SV” stood for “Special Version”. The “7” may be part of the special version aspect, so there may not have ever been a “regular” 96K7. Singer modified machines quite often to meet special customer needs, and there may not have been many 96KSV7 machines made. What is the serial number on your machine? My Singer 96-40 (AE120698) does not have reverse or backtack. CD in Oklahoma

If your old belt is still good, but you need a shorter one, you can cut the V-belt and take a piece out like fitting a round leather belt on the old boot patchers. Cut a chunk out and put the ends back together with a hog ring. My Singer 20U33 V-belt is done that way, and it works just fine. Saves buying a new belt, and having to figure out the length. Just fit the old belt to the new pulley. CD in Oklahoma

Look for "Cotton Duck Cloth". It comes in different weights (#8, #10, etc) to get the thickness that you want. CD in Oklahoma

I get that with some V92 threads on my Consew 225, but not with other threads. I think it’s the thread. CD in Oklahoma thayerrags.com

Very nice post! CD in Oklahoma

We have a 20U33 that we set up for straight stitching Denim Jeans hems. That’s about all we use it for, although I’d like to take advantage of the Zigzag capability of the machine, so I’m setting up an old Singer 95-40 for hemming so I can put the zz plate, dogs, and foot back on it. The 20U33 is not as “industrial” as it looks (IMO), and isn’t built nearly as stout as the old Singers. It’ll do denim or duck ok, but we haven’t tried leather of any kind on it, since we have other machines for that. CD in Oklahoma

Anything that changes the flow of the upper thread while sewing can cause stitches to skip. If the loop is not created properly, and at the right time, the hook won't be able to catch it. Old grooves from previous use may have been made by continuously using a thread size smaller then you're now using, and could inhibit the flow of your thread. I try to "wallow" out any deep groove I find on my machines with a small rat-tail file or Dremel tool, since the item that has a groove worn into it is essentially worn out anyway. Sometimes I can get a little more use out of it by removing a small amount of additional material that could cause the groove to pinch or restrict the thread. Thread take-up lever eyes get grooves in them too. I'd use a larger needle than a 16 with 69 thread, but then I tend to over-size my needle to my thread size anyway. An embroidered patch tends to hide the over-sized hole that I'm making (that the thread doesn't fill up), whereas sewing stitches straight onto leather would not. CD in Oklahoma

Try putting a workbench or table as close as you can at the left end of your 29-4 to help hold the bulk of your garment up to sewing level. Sometimes the weight of the rest of the garment hanging down can cause those pleats. CD in Oklahoma thayerrags.com

Hi James, There were two sizes of hand wheels that came out on the 31-15s. The Singer parts manual shows a large 6-spoke wheel #2135 and a smaller 5-spoke wheel #12358. I'm not sure if they are readily interchangeable, but I only see one hand wheel collar in the parts book. I have two 31-15s, one with each size hand wheel. In appears that the older model 31-15s that originally came out in a treadle stand or a convertible treadle/electric stand may have had the larger wheel to accommodate treadle users that started the machine with a hand motion. I haven't actually tried swapping the hand wheels on my 31-15s, but I know the larger one won't work on a Singer 96-40, because I did try that. CD in Oklahoma thayerrags.com

I have one of the Singer Industrial "Combination" Treadle stands (either/or foot power or industrial motor) that originally had a 31-15 in it, but now has my wife's 96-40 in it for FM quilting. The 2-piece pitman rod has a connecting nut in it to switch between rods for flywheel or electric power. The top and both wings were not usable, so it has a modern (older style plywood) industrial top on it. I also have a regular industrial treadle (foot power only) stand that the top and wings were missing or junk. I'm wanting to set it up with multiple tops to run light industrial (31 & 95 series) machines and household machines both on it. Just getting started on that project. I know of one other Singer industrial stand nearby with good top and wings, and not being used, but I can't get them to give me a price on it. It's the only other one that I've seen in person. They're not easy to find. Your UFA is the oldest one that I've heard of so far. I have a non-working 1894 model (bent upper shaft) that's the oldest one that I've seen in person. I'd like to find a non-working stand for it, just to have a display unit, but haven't found the barn, shed, basement or scrap pile that it's in yet.... CD in Oklahoma thayerrags.com

One of my Singer 29K70 machines is missing the darning tension assy. It's been broken off, with the end of the stud still in the head. My other machine has the darning tension assy still on it. Neither of them have the "T" that you're talking about, and the 29K70 User Manual doesn't show or mention the "T" in the illustration and text about threading the machine for darning. I've never tried darning with my machine, so I'm not familiar with how it works. May be time to experiment with that.... Maybe your 29K72 didn't require the "T" either? CD in Oklahoma thayerrags.com

Hi suem, I have a Singer 29K70 that had two "stiff spots" in the 360 degree rotation of the upper feed. It would rotate the full circle, but had those two spots that aggravated the heck out of me. It's something that you could check on yours. I probably don't have the proper terminology for things, but the press pin in the top of the cylinder sticks out on both ends, and rotates closely to the lower hex nut on the feed adjustment shaft directly behind the cylinder from the operator. The jam nut was turned with the widest point sticking out in the path where the pin rotates around, and the pin on mine was rubbing against the nut shoulder. I simply adjusted the jam nuts very slightly so that the lower one had the flat portion of the nut facing the pin path. CD in Oklahoma thayerrags.com

Nice looking old Singers! Good job! CD in Oklahoma thayerrags.com

I recommend that you use a new needle when you make your adjustments. CD in Oklahoma thayerrags.com

Denise, I realize now that I forgot to mention the other reason for letting that 30-pack air out on the patio. I was in the process of making enough room in the beer fridge (Redneck term for the 2nd refrigerator in most Redneck homes) by "getting rid" of the last 30-pack that was in there. It looks like you're getting some good information from some computer savvy folks, so I'll try to keep this brief. The term "crosslinking between categories" can be misinterpreted by those in some circles around these parts (especially when it comes to who's related to who), so I'd kind'a shy away from using that term when talking to Rednecks. No harm done, just an FYI. My Win-ders PC has a 4-speed (SP4), but I seldom cruise around the net in anything higher than second gear (SP2). I don't know, I just like the "laid-back" approach, I guess. As far as I can tell, my 3rd gear (SP3) is faster than my 2nd gear (SP2), but I could be wrong. On some sites (which I really cain't mention here), I slow way down to Granny Gear (SP1) so I don't miss anything (my wife said that I really needed to quit looking at those kind of sites). Here's hoping you find the speed that you want. (Ooops, I gotta be careful about using the term "find the speed" around here....) CD in Oklahoma thayerrags.com

This may not be much help, but I just opened a 30-pack out on the patio and while I'm waiting for the Quickstop smell of deep fried chicken gizzards to air out of it a little, I had a thought. Maybe since it's a Canadian version of high (er) speed internet, it's having to index all of us Rednecks down here in the States. Since it's not the American version that already has it built-in, it's got to figure out how to converse with those of us that are still using the old slow DSL and "Win-ders". It may take a while to index us all. I'm the one with the two flag poles in the front yard (American Flag lighted at night if somebody doesn't trip over the extension cord), two pickup trucks and a 16-foot carhauler trailer in the driveway (no cars), and a riding lawnmower without a hood on it. Once it figgers out how to translate everything so that we can understand what you're typing on your keyboard, you'll be good to go! Give it a little time. There's a lot of us Rednecks to index...... CD in Oklahoma thayerrags.com