kgg

I would put a servo motor with the highest HP that I could find. I would be looking at digital speed controller rather then the turn the knob speed controller having the lowest start-up speed and the highest startup torque. Some servo motors claim to have a start-up speed of 100rpm, others at 300rpm and others don't readily list it. Finding the start-up torque may also take some research as suppliers generally don't list the value but a general rule of thumb would be the higher the HP the greater the available torque. I would also prefer a brush-less servo motor over one with brushes. Most suppliers rate their motors in watts (1HP is approximately 745 watts). My top two choices if I were in the market for another servo motor would be: 1. Brushless Digital 12-coil DC Servo motor Sewquiet 6000sm from Reliable (550 watt, costing $169 US or $232 Canadian) 2. Brushless Digital ??-coil D.C. Servo Motor from the Leather Machine Company (600watt, cost ??) kgg

Damn that's expensive, that works out to $2225 US or $2988 Canadian plus the cost of a compressor. kgg

From reading an older post "Artisan Toro 3000 vs Aerostitch vs Adler 205" back in 2009 from Henry Veenhoven who was a dealer in Toronto, Canada. " As to why they were discontinued, they made 1000 of them originally and then were going to redesign the machine with a longer cylinder. But the sales numbers did not warrant ordering another 1000 castings because the sales just did not justify the investment. They were selling hundreds of BOSS machines a month so it didn't make sense to put out so much money for castings when they could barely keep up with the BOSS production. " This was in a post "Artisan Toro 3000 vs Aerostitch vs Adler 205" back in 2009. Personally I would have not considered the machine not from a performance point or cost point of view but rather the associated vibrations / noise of having to have a compressor running in the room. kgg

Ah, it's getting bad when I cann't read my own writing, must be the long Victoria Day weekend. Yes, it should have been American & Efird. When I checked the spool the funny thing is the label indicates it was made in Canada and dyed in the USA. So from that the dying process occurs after the thread is manufactured. The thread was a 1lb spool of Anefil Nylon T135 (V138,Tkt20) black bonded nylon. kgg

I guess we all need to be more conscious of thread / stitching problems when they occur and eventually they will. We need to not only suspect the normal culprits but the direction of how the thread twists as it is spooled off. This can affect tension not only for the top thread but the bobbin thread particularly nearing the end of what is left on the bobbin and when we are pushing any machine to it's normal sewing limits or beyond. It would be nice to know who the manufacture(s) of the thread, the thread sizes and type were. kgg

Nice clean design, like it. kgg

The thread in the video is indeed coming off counter clockwise. Your comment on noting the un-spooling direction of the thread sparked me to do a quick checked of my spools of threads, which I really didn't pay much attention to in the past. What I found was: 1. My no name probably cheap Chinese 8 oz black and white nylon comes off clockwise. 2. All my Coats thread various colours (nylon and polyester) comes off their 1 lb spools clockwise. 3. My American & Efiro black nylon thread comes off counter clockwise. From this it is obvious that different manufacturers are spooling their thread differently, may have something to do with thread size, thread type, spool size or some technical spec. Maybe one of the dealers could do a quick check and see if their thread in different thread sizes comes off the spool differently. For me the direction of how it comes off the spool doesn't seem pose a problem but more related to the size of the spool, 8 oz vs 1 lb with my problem child being the 8 oz spool. kgg

Depends on how many layers and how thick. I think a walking foot machine would probably be the best in being able to keep the layers together and from slipping around. You maybe able to even get away with a portable walking foot for the occasional use. Something like the Reliable Barracuda on the low end of new ($500 at Home Depot) or Sailrite LS-1at the expensive new end ($1300 from Sailrite) and then there is always the used market. If you would like a industrial machine I think you would need to consider something similar to the Juki 1181N. kgg

If it works as the ad says and Maxsold in Canada is pretty good about that, it could be a decent buy for someone. The high bid on it this morning was $26.00, hell that's not even a mornings worth of smokes. Yea, I use to smoke for 50 plus years, most of the time 4 packs a day. Just decided to give it up one day two years ago and save a couple of bucks not for health reasons. kgg

Sorry about that the link should be: Nakajima: https://maxsold.maxsold.com/auction/16055/item/vintage-nakajima-leather-sewing-machine-c-1490188/ kgg

If someone is interested and in the Los Angeles, California area I seen on Maxsold.com that their are a couple of sewing machines being auctioned. They are listed as a Consew model 100 and a Nakajima model 280L (walking foot). I just noticed as I was browsing around and should go real cheap. I have no association whatsoever with either the seller or the auction site. The links are: Consew: https://maxsold.maxsold.com/auction/16055/item/vintage-sewing-machine-and-table-by-consew-c-1490187/ Nakajima: https://maxsold.maxsold.com/auction/16055/item/vintage-sewing-machine-and-table-by-consew-c-1490187/ kgg

A lot of potential customers have what I call the Walmart mentality they not only want it now but cheap.They assume you have a warehouse full of isles and shelves of similar items at different price points just ripe for the picking NOW. My email reply would be "Gone fishing, have a nice day." kgg

I think you are going to need at least two machines to do the range of work you mentioned. Maybe a Juki DNU-1541S or similar for the upholstery weight items and a Cobra class 4 type machine for sheath / holster work. Sewing Gold have a good set of videos on youtube that maybe of interest. Machines that do good work on the lighter weight stuff won't be able to handle the heavy and the ones that have the punching power to handle the heavy stuff would probably tearup the light stuff without always having to fiddle around with it's setup. kgg

Been quite awhile dikman since I had a young child running around, one was enough and no grand kids thanks be to gxx. Next time I am at the hardware store I will check to see what other alternatives are around. kgg

Free trade is not the same as fair trade. When a country has a lower wage to create a product/service then the designation country the exporting company from that country has an unfair advantage. With China I would suspect the average wage is probably about 1/4 or less of that paid in the US or Canada for any particular industry. Free trade I think could be even worst if it was strictly up to the free market to sort out. There still needs to be checks and balances in place to offset standard of living discrepancies to put everyone on a level playing field. Look at what happened in the textile / garment industry for all tense and purposes it was destroyed in North America. kgg

OK, what are you using 1mm thread for. That is like Tex 600. I think that would be more for hand stitching items. The machine you mention I think is only rated for Tex 135 (V138) or Tex 210 (V210). kgg

It is going to be very interesting to see what happens as people/manufacturers become whelped off the less expensive materials/products from China that for a lot of items have a short serviceable life span. Everything from a simple screw to highly technical equipment. What ever happened to washers that lasted 15 years not 5 years? With the tariffs increasing I would guess some company's will move their manufacturing to the US or other countries not effected / less effected by the tariffs while some other products/materials will just be sourced from other non/lesser tariffed countries. Personally I like to source materials/products made in my own province where possible, then the rest of Canada, then the US and then I move on from there. Example I needed a 100 running yards of 5' wide Sherpa in a particular weight, density and with a particular stiffness to the back. No manufacturers left in Canada, cost way to prohibitive in the US with only two manufacturers left and the Chinese material was of much lesser quality then what I would consider. I considered the Chinese material as a one of use then throw it away type product. My supplier tracked down a South American supplier that meet what I wanted at a reasonable price, costing less then the US product and much more then the Chinese. Sometimes purchasing products made in Canada can be frustrating as sometimes they are cheaper to buy in the US. Example is a gas tank for my friends Toyota 4x4 with the replacement tank made in Quebec. It was cheaper to purchase the Quebec made tank in upper New York State, tagged as made in Quebec, even with paying the higher rate of exchange, duty and transporting it back to Canada. Go figure. kgg

Thanks dikman the discs were actually purchase at Homedepot. They are normally used for being screwed to the bottoms of chair legs but they were 1" (25mm) outside diameter which is the inside diameter of the plastic shafts of the 8 oz and 1 lb spools that I have. The spools do slide snugly over them and they grip / hold nicely but a real bearing with a rubber ring, which I couldn't find, would be much better. Maybe the next time I get a chance I will look in a hobby shop for a wheel and tire from a toy like a hot wheels might work better.

Don't forget a good straight edges. I have three that I use a lot, one is a salvage piece flat Aluminium about 64" long x 4" flat for clamping to the worktable for long cuts / markings, another is a 48" T-square (normally used for marking drywall) and the one I use a lot is a 36"x 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" Aluminium angle iron for marking/cutting. kgg

Battleax I think is onto something. Not only will the mechanic be able to help get it running correctly but to give the machine a good go over to determine if there are any other issues. kgg

Thanks Gymnast, originally it was to try and figure out how to solve a problem. Me being me was it something I was or wasn't doing, was it the machine, was it the needle, thread or the thread path. Then it just seemed to take on a life of it's own. I think that a lot of the tension of thread on the spool has to do with mostly the manufacturing process everything from dying / drying to putting it actually on the spools which can varying slightly from one run to the next as well from one manufacturer to the next. Some can be overcome by changing the tension on the thread at the horizontal thread guide ( located between the vertical thread pin and the main tension disc ). Changing the number and direction the thread is threaded through the 4 holes in the horizontal thread guide and the 2 holes in the vertical guide pin. I will have to at some point fiddle with this just to see if there is any noticeable difference. I did a quick look at the newer Singer 44xx series and yes they do take the thread from the end of the horizontally mounted small spool. To me they are using the oversized end cap to secure the spool in place while guiding and lifting the thread slightly above the body of the spool as it comes off the spool. This series also has a vertical pin that can be used for mounting thread for the bobbin winder and suspect could also be used for the needle thread. I just don't know if with thread that is either bonded or non bonded below V69 on such small spools has much twisting or spring back to worry about and maybe of no concern for the domestic user. kgg

If possible it would be helpful if you could post a couple of pictures of the part that fell off and your thread path or a link to a video. That way someone my be able to give you some ideas as to what is going on with your new machine. kgg

As request by dikman the following are some photo's of my semi final more refined thread stand that has eliminated the problems I was having with the 8 oz spools of bonded nylon thread particularly the black. This thread stand allows for upwards of 5 - 1 lb or 8 oz spools to be configured in a small space replacing the standard 2 spool thread stand with a straighter thread flow to the thread pin on top of the sewing machine. The thread stand can be clamped to any location on the table. For this exercise my versions are clamped on the front while the standard thread stand is in the background in it's normal mounting position with 2 spools on its platform. Photo 1. Shows a inexpensive method of allowing the spool to spin horizontally while reducing the overall surface contact of the interior of the spool shaft on the horizontal supporting rod. These two rub discs have a metal centre, are slightly bevelled on one end and grip fairly tightly the interior of the plastic shaft of either 8 oz or 1 lb spools. Photo 2. Shows a inexpensive method of individually preventing the three 1lb thread spools from moving around on the main thread spool platform. They are copper pipe straps with a hole drilled in the centre which can be adjusted up or down to properly grab the interior of the plastic shaft of either 8 oz or 1 lb spools. The platform is 3m board with 3mm high density rubber glued to it. Photo 3. Shows a 8 oz and a 1 lb spool placed on the horizontal supporting rod as well as the main horizontal thread take-off and thread guide eyes. Photo 4. Shows the first version of the thread stand just concentrating on solving the uncoiling problem that I was having with 8 0z bonded nylon. Photo 5. Shows the newer version on the left and the first version on the right. The height over the top of the 1 lb spools to the horizontal main thread take-off is approximated 1.5 times the 1 lb spool height which can be increased to approximated 3 times or deceased as need. As a side note I am thinking about getting a 5 or 6 string serger and think this thread stand arrangement or some other hair brain variant may work. I hate the thread arrangement and multi rods on sergers. Seems to me to be a waste of space and should be mounted on the right hand side of the serger with a more direct access to the tensioners. Thoughts, comments or discussion are always welcomed and encouraged. kgg

While on this topic I do have a question. What ever happened to the Windham Cub? kgg

The one arm bandits are good machines for what they were designed for and appeal /needed by a limited group of users. I think it is going to depend on what you are planning on doing with the machine. 1. How thick a leather you are going to be using it to sew, wallet /upholstery weight or holster weight or a combination? In my option a machine that does a good job with wallet /upholstery weight material will not work on holster weight and a machine that does good work on thick holster weight material would probably chew the hell out of wallet /upholstery weight material without having to make changes to adjustments which in itself could be frustrating. 2. Doing most all your at home / work with electricity readily available or on the road / shows where it is either none existent or stretchy or off grid? If most of your work is done where electricity is available then go with a regular machine capable of doing your stuff as your productivity would be greater and look for a used one for the occasional use on the road or vis versa. For me pulling that lever every time would be just too frustrating a task particularly knowing that I am never going hit the jackpot. kgg