DonInReno

On the top, the tensioners are the same as single needle machines that sew 138 size thread. On the bottom end it gets a little more complicated. Some, especially the older models, use the same hooks as are found on walking foot single needle machines and they will sew up to 138 as well. However, some are set up for lighter weigh fabrics and the hooks may max out at 92 or even 69 size thread. The walking foot machines are more likely to be set up for thicker thread, while the needle feed may be set up for heavy canvas or very light fabric. Also watch out for retired factory machines that were used with binders - for instance mine spent its entire life sewing canvas straps of some kind and the binding attachment protected the bed from obvious wear. These machines can have paint that looks brand new, but the mechanicals may be worn out. Mine had been rebuilt many times, but all the replacement parts were high quality so I was lucky. Its always a good idea to sew on a potential machine with the thread and leather you intend to use. If that’s not possible I force myself to reduce the top dollar by 25% or so. If the needle set is not the width you want to use, a cheap import set will run $50 to $75, so factor that in.

Machines with small hand wheels always seem a bit fast with the industry standard 3:1 ratio reducer. Definitely try a small drive pulley if you don’t already have one, then a different servo as Wiz has suggested. If that still doesn’t get it slowed down enough, you could install a larger handwheel, or cobble together a 5:1 reducer.

French seams do look nice! While a walking foot dual needle machine will feed better over seams and whatnot, the old singer needle feed machines are about 30% cheaper and are commonly used in upholstery. These would be the 112w140 or 212g140, or other variant. The needle helps pull the material along, helping the feed dog. Every once in a while I’ll see one for under $200. The slightly newer bullnose 212 machines have an automatic, or semiautomatic oiling system that was better for production sewing, but there is no other advantage over the 112 series machines. I’ll probably eventually get rid of mine and upgrade to a walking foot dual needle, but the needle feed was cheap and a good introduction to dual needle machines.

It’s always a good idea to start experimenting with electrolysis by treating old rusty tools and bolts to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t. If not done carefully you can ruin the entire machine - there is a good amount of misinformation online saying only rust is removed and it doesn’t damage the metal. Electrolysis is removing metal - the trick is to only remove as little as possible. Many instructions online over simplify the process and just say hook it up and leave overnight. The size of power supply and concentration of electrolyte in the water change the speed at which metal is removed by a factor of 10x or 20x. The chemical process is straightforward - metal is eroded from the negatively charged side and deposited on the positive. The machine is hooked to the negative and a scrap of metal is hooked to the positive. Water has to have an electrolyte of some sort for the electrons to pass - salt, baking soda, lye and any number of substances will work, but washing soda (sodium carbonate) is typically listed as ideal for this purpose. Lye has the additional benefit of removing paint and degreasing - if chemical burns or worse life altering injuries can be avoided. In a 5 gallon bucket I just add a roughly measured cup of washing soda. The smaller the power supply the slower the process will be - I have a small 12v car charger for longer overnight soaks and a small 115v arc welder that works quickly at 28v and many times the amperage. The bubbles given off in the process are flammable so do this outside. For me, the key to getting the best results is in the size and placement of the positive electrode as well as the negative electrical connection to the machine. Electricity follows the path of least resistance - if a shaft is frozen and the connection is made to the machines base and the positive electrode is nowhere near the shaft then nothing helpful will happen. Much better to energize the shaft on one side of the rust and place the positive electrode near the other side of the rust. This is something you need to develop a feel for by experimenting on other items before using it on your machine. Rusted/frozen areas need to be degreased prior to soaking - oil is a barrier to the electrolyte. All the penetrating oil that has been applied should be flushed out as much as possible. Avoid break cleaner because it can remove paint. A soak in dish washer detergent and hot water works well to degrease, but will dull the paint somewhat. Periodically the item has to be taken out and wire brushed to judge progress - it’s unreasonable to expect this to be a simple matter of soaking until it’s all rust free. It’s aways fun to learn a new tool to use with old machines, but as with many things, this is easy to do, but difficult to do well without practice. Screws and shafts will still need to be removed with heat - there’s no way around getting a propane torch and developing a feel for how much heat and where to put it. Honestly, if you really like the machine you’re working on, find a low value rusted up machine to practice on. As with anything new, it’s always a good idea to not practice on the machine you’re trying to save. As much as possible try not to put pressure to move one part by putting more than normal pressure on a different part. For instance if the needle bar is stuck, don’t crank hard on the handwheel to free it up, but rather find a safe way to tap on it directly with a wood, brass or aluminum block of some kind. Keep up the good work - we look forward to seeing it sewing again!

Wow - a wire EDM should make short work of it! Great work! Your project has me reconsidering a worn out patcher - in the past I’ve steered clear of them because of gear issues.

Good job on your progress! Your measurements show a pressure angle of 9.2 degrees, while many/most older gears were 14.5 degree and most gears used today are 20 degree. Obviously non of the readily available involute-profile gear cutter tooling would be of any use - probably why it’s rare to find anyone who has done this. I find the tooth profile on the rack interesting - involute-profile racks have straight sides where the pinion actually makes contact, where the slight curve on the upper portion of the tooth shows these are pretty unique compared to most older gears profiles. I’m wondering out loud if this is a cycloidal-profile style of gear such as was used in clockmaking. On the following page it mentions that on pinions with few teeth the involute-profile becomes difficult to manufacture, and cycloidal makes more sense. https://www.csparks.com/watchmaking/CycloidalGears/index.jxl Looking forward to seeing progress!

For a number of years I've been surprised that someone in a home shop hasn't started producing replacement gears - my guess is the labor costs are just too much to have a reasonably priced part, not to mention there is more to getting a worn out machine to work than just changing gears. There are a number of good introduction videos for cutting gears and racks. However, as Mr. Pete says in one of his videos, all it takes to machine a $10 replacement gear is a $5000 milling machine, $2000 in tooling and an entire weekend of messing around with setup. Gears can be made in many different configurations and sizes - as with Singer's tendency to build machines with oddball screw sizes, my guess is their gear patterns are slightly off from any standard size. It can be confusing at first sorting out all the information, but just keep in mind metric gears use a different system of measurement and cutter geometry, so ignore that and just look to old school American standard gear information. All Machinist Handbooks have sections on cutting and measuring gears that would be helpful for anyone serious about getting set up to make gears. Still, a machinist could come close to oddball gears with readily available tooling and fudging the dimensions for a one-off set of gears if the machine was in front of him. That's the most expensive route. Fully machined gear racks and rough length pinion material is readily available. Using these a machinist would not have to cut the actual gears, but would still have to machine the dimensions to retrofit them to the machine - not a trivial task. I know of at least one person who has replaced the entire lower arm with one machined from from a solid bar of steel along with new gears and rack as described above. This was definitely more a matter of bragging rights and the enjoyment of machining, rather than something for profit since the time involved must have been significant. The high strength epoxies are often used to attach wear strips to worn out parts in industry as an alternative to more invasive repairs. As CowboyBob mentioned, brass strips are often used on a worn rack to reduce clearance between gears. Likewise, it wouldn't be impossible to epoxy a partial cylindrical metal band to reduce clearance in the hook area, but the time involved would be prohibitive and the wear is not in an even circle so it would have to be machined round for the shim to have any chance of working correctly. Having said all that, I'm humbled by clock makers that would simply cut, file and fit all the gears by hand - the skill set and time requirements are quite impressive. My prediction is that the proliferation of higher and higher precision CNC machines for the home shop will produce a regular Ebay or Etsy supply of gears for these old machines in the near future.

If your current machines didn’t break needles and had more power to sew threw thicker seams would that solve your problem? If so, you may just want to get an industrial flat bed without a walking foot. Juki ddl 8700 machines are well under $1000 brand new. On the used market they often sell for $400 in new condition with servo motor. If you have more time than money, the older ddl machines like 555, 5550, 8300, 870 sew just as well as the new ones - I’d say a made in Japan ddl 555 in good shape is even better than one of the new ones that are made in China - and these crop up for under $200. Unfortunately the older ones typically won’t have a servo unless it’s been replaced, and the older tables definitely look more dated than a nice white one from a 870 or 8700. On the used market, if you wait for one of a average price or below, there is no reason you can’t use it for a year or two and turn around and sell it for as much as you purchased it for. Any of these, or similar machines from other manufacturers, are a huge bang for the buck and a great way to get your feet wet.

Ouch! That’s a bummer, but you’re not alone - many of us have had that sinking feeling in the gut from breaking a cast iron part and that’s just part of the learning curve. Old machines can be very hard to get parts for so I’d almost plan on having the broken part repaired - in this case it won’t be a difficult/expensive repair.

I have a plastic tub that will hold an entire machine and have let machines set in vinegar (a mild acid) and also have also used the tub with electrolysis to remove rust. Either method will remove rust, but there is a big difference between dry rust and oily rust - oil acts as a barrier and greatly increases or flat out prevents the rust from ever getting enough contact with the liquid to loosen the rust. Take two rusty bolts - oil one up and leave one dry and try the rust removal process of your choice and it quickly becomes clear parts need to be degreased as much as possible. Of the two methods I favor electrolysis because it’s possible to focus the flow of current through the specific part that’s frozen. Either method will leave noticeable pits in the metal if used long enough. There is no guarantee that the frozen up parts will come free before the rest of the machine begins to show objectionable pits. It’s much harder to loosen up parts rusted together than it is to remove surface rust. Either method is not a simple soak - it’s soaked a while, then all the loose rust should be wire brushed and then let it soak some more. If you don’t periodically wire brush the rust, there will be more pits in the less rusty spots before the thicker rust has been loosened. I will stop when the surface rust is removed, but any frozen parts will still be frozen. To finish freeing up parts I’m a big fan of a propane torch and brass hammer - heating and tapping over and over until there is movement. I do know at least one guy who will let a rusty machine like yours set in the electrolysis tank until it’s free, but up close he must have a lot of pitting. On the plus side he’s never had one that didn’t loosen up. It looks like a great project! Keep us up to date as you sort it out!

That’s exciting getting your new machine up and running! I’ve never seen how people carry canoes so had to google it to be able to visualize what you were talking about - now it makes perfect sense. As much as I like heavy waxed canvas I think you’re right about using the plain canvas for a light weight bag. Our trip will be in August - our oldest is engaged and we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting her in person, so most of the trip will be based on an itinerary they have for us. He’s just learning to use a smoker so we will probably be smoking way too much meat as we work out some kinks in his technique and equipment.

Yes, that roller will help a lot. I always assumed it came as original equipment, but looking at an old parts manual it doesn't show the roller. It also is worth checking that the knee lifter is attached to your table in the correct location. If it's offset too far away, the linkages will still adjust so it's usable, but extra force is required. You can have less movement and extra force, or more movement and less force, at least to a small degree. The vertical rod with the flat oval on top is generally adjusted so it's as near to straight up and down as possible half way through it's travel, but as long as it's not at the far limits either way they seem to work fine. After the roller is installed, if it still seems much stiffer than it should be I'd look at where the external lever enters the machine for damage to the end of that shaft. I've never broken one, but I did buy an old factory machine that had the very tip of that lever repaired. If the tip was cracked or bent and dragging to the side, metal on metal internally could greatly increase resistance. Also, the internal link that the lever activates can be damaged or binding.

Isn't it strange that OD poly thread is so uncommon?! I did notice Bigduck canvas has 92 bonded poly when I was checking out a few things there. Your post reminded me of a line of packs that I couldn't quite remember, but thought they were quite innovative, building on the old roots of this design. This morning I ran across Frost River packs and I think those are the ones I was thinking of. Quite a nice selection, but what caught my eye were some interesting upgrades of various kinds throughout the designs of their various packs. It makes me want to order some OD canvas and make a matching set of storage bags for behind the seat of the pickup! If the canvas isn't waxed you may find a basting tape of 1/4" to 3/8" to be helpful in holding seams together just prior to sewing. I avoided it for years, and don't use it on everything, but for the times you just wish a seam or bit of leather would lay flat and stay in place while it's sewn it can be nice. I know more and more folks will use a hand stapler to join edges and pull staples out after it's sewn, but I just can't get myself to use that technique.

If you only buy one thread for the Consew, 92 weight is very versatile and is used in all sorts of upholstery and canvas work. Personally I like the looks of more pronounced thread and generally use 138 as my go-to for canvas projects, but 92 is strong enough for most things and usually hides well. This type of bag is often sewn with nothing other than ball point fabric needles since the leather is rather soft and not terribly thick, but mainly because leather needles aren't the best when attaching leather to canvas. I'm sure there's a specialized needle for this application, but if you are just getting your feet wet there's no need for anything special until you see a finished pack. I'm not sure why you would use the Necchi on any parts of this kind of bag if you already have a 226r. It sounds like a fun project - you're sure to learn a lot on it! Best of luck! edit: I forgot to mention that there's a lot of difference between the various canvases available - duck is stiffer so it would be preferred in a bag like this, but the stiffness varies from supplier to supplier, as does the surface finish. This kind of bag often benefits from a stiffer back to help it hold it's shape, beit double layer, stiffener between layers, etc. If it's intended as a fashion bag with softer canvas I wouldn't know the firsts thing about that.

Over the weekend I was surprised to see a Singer 132k6 that sold in Modesto a few weeks ago - I’m still bummed I missed seeing it sooner!

That spreadsheet is a great idea - Very cool!

Thanks for the info!

That’s interesting - you are probably right about home based businesses. Maybe all these machines that have popped up lately are a result of something local - maybe someone bought a bunch at an auction and are trickling them out little by little.

This fall I have a family trip to the outer banks - hopefully there will be a few extra days to look around the state and pick up a machine or two.

I tend to scan for inexpensive walking foot machines and last year there were fewer that came up for sale in my region than normal - makes sense since many people were staying home. Today it seems there are old Singers everywhere - for years a 111w155 and clutch motor would eventually sell for $350 to $450, now multiple machines are sitting unsold for weeks at $250. More machines have come up for sale in the last few months than the last 5 years combined - strange times indeed. Prices will eventually go back up to normal, but for someone looking for a basic old walking foot this might be the best time in decades to pick one up. Im curious if flat bed machines are falling out of the sky in other regions as well?

As to the type of servo, I think you will find more votes for the Family sew motor than any other in older posts here. It isn’t perfect, but it’s inexpensive and works. The Consew 3000 also works and is more compact, but don’t confuse the brand name with quality. The new Consew motors are very cheaply made.

Once the stitch length button is depressed you turn the handwheel to adjust the stitch length. It’s not uncommon to have the parts somewhat stuck from old dried oil if the machine hasn’t been used in a long while. Heating the parts under the bed with a hair drier until hot to the touch will usually free up the stitch length mechanism. The stitch length might show through the sight window cast into the upper part of the head, but the length shown is often not the actual length. There’s an adjustment to correct this, but most people seem to just set it and forget it. As far as feet go, there are smooth bottom feet for leather and grooved feet for fabric. The foot that will often be left on the machine for general use just has the left portion of the foot. A right foot is often used for zippers. The normal foot with both left and right fingers is good for general flat canvas seams with lots of room for the full size foot. Depending on what you like to sew, it can be handy to have an extra compact inner foot, often with a cutout so the front of the needle can be seen directly. If you enjoy tinkering, some people grind down feet to match their personal preferences, but most sizes and shapes are readily available with a little searching. Quality of generic imported feet vary greatly so don’t be surprised if some feet aren’t perfectly shaped or point a little one way or the other. I often buy two sets from different suppliers knowing one will probably be noticeably better than the other. For most adjustments one of the well done videos is much more useful than any of the manuals. Uwe makes some of the best and most of the important adjustments can be found in one of his videos. For instance his hook timing video for the Consew 225 also applies to your machine, the 111w155, 111w156, Juki 562, 563, and a dozen others that use this type of hook.

I don't know why, but it always makes me feel good when a parts machine is brought back from the dead - good job!

Great machine and a great price! If you look closely at information on both Juki lu-562 and Singer 111w155 (as well as others) you will notice these are all the same design as the 226 and adjustment information and parts/accessories are essentially identical. There's a US Army riggers manual that has more detailed information, but there are tons of videos that are probably more helpful. TM 10-3530-202-24 Operational And Field Maintenance Manual: Sewing Machines For The Repair Of Parachutes And Allied Equipment, Singer Models... : United States. Department of the Army : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

A lot of upholstery-weight leather is sewn with a common ball point fabric needle and 92 weight thread. I'd recommend just using what you have until there is a specific need to change the look of the stitches or you get interested in heavier weight leather. On YouTube, the channel Cechaflo has an extensive selection of automotive upholstery sewing videos that are well worth checking out if you have a specific project. Just watching the use of brushed on contact adhesive by someone who knows what they are doing will shed a lot of light on how difficult items are wrapped in leather. If you ever get a chance to go to a well stocked industrial fabric store it's well worth the drive. The one close to me buys a lot of remnants in random lengths as well as a good stock of the more common fabrics. There is an automotive carpet section, automotive leathers, upholstery leather, upholstery fabric, industrial synthetics, outdoor synthetics, marine vinyl, upholstery vinyl, foam of all kinds, canvas of all kinds, all sizes of zippers and upholstery related hardware, etc. and that's just the half I like looking through - the other half of the warehouse is normal clothing fabrics. These are the places upholstery shops shop at. Para gear has high quality hardware and sewing supplies - mostly skydiving stuff, but I find something interesting every time I thumb through the catalog! Para Gear - Skydiving Gear? Parachutes? Shop ParaGear.com!