Jeff51

The red stuff is felt that is an oil wick - oiling point. I made the mistake of thinking it was some kind of leftover fluff. I had to make a new one. Here's a link to a youtube video. All the Best, Jeff https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNdDlOA_bo0

Wiz, As always you are a great help. I did indeed check a new price. For a few hundred bucks more - new in the box with warranty. All three seem overpriced to me. Thanks, Jeff

Pfaff 145 – 545 and Cowboy Questions These two Pfaffs are for sale semi locally 150 miles away. The asking price for the 145 is $750 and $850 for the 545. Naturally they have crappy pictures of the machines. As do all Craigs list pictures. The 145 The 545 What are the differences in the two models? Are these prices reasonable? What should I be aware of as possible problems with these Pfaffs? There is also a Cowboy cylinder arm machine with an asking price of $2100. Claims to be essentially brand new. Naturally they don’t list a model number. To me, it doesn't seem to match any of the current Cowboy machines exactly. But I’m guessing it’s an older version of the 3200(?) Thoughts on this one? Of course a question or two to the seller would clear that up. Just wanted to take advantage of all the helpful folk here to see if any of these were worth perusing. Thank You, All the Best, Jeff

Thank you for the replys. I had planned on getting the smaller pulley to slow things down further. The info about the number of poles was informative. Never considered that aspect of it. The ones I had been looking at had 9 poles. Other than the Family Sew FS-550s, Sailright, and the Reliable Sewquiet are there any other brands that are known to be good performers? Thanks again, All the Best, Jeff

Thanks Wiz for the quick response. With the digital servos are they basically all the same? The needle positioning ability seems like a handy feature. I'm at the tire kicking phase of looking for a machine. Not much available locally. And unfortunately most dealers are 300 miles away or so. Did find a good deal on a Techsew 1660, but decided to pass on it because a cylinder arm will be more versatile. I'd just end up replacing it eventually. Thanks again, All the Best, Jeff

I’ve been looking at servo motors on Amazon. I see conflicting statements in the reviews. Some seem to indicate that the servo speed jumps from 0rpm up to the setting on the servo control. Or, the speed jumps from 0 to 400rpm (for example) then is variable up to the set point on the controller. Meaning there is no option to run the servo at slow speeds – IE just a few RPMs. Others seem to indicate that the serve will run from 0rpm variable up to the speed set on the controller. I realize that most Amazon reviews are to be taken with a huge lump of salt… Which is correct? The Mophorn brand seems to offer quite a few options at very reasonable prices. For example: Amazon Morphon Servo Any of you have any experience with this brand? Thanks for the help, All the Best, Jeff

Thanks for the responses. I'm not sure my eyes, or patience, is up to wrapping and measuring like that. kgg, testing strength is an interesting idea. I have a spring tester I built for measuring recoil springs that could work for this. If I give it a try, I'll report back. Thanks again, All the Best, Jeff

So, faced with a pile of thread of unknown origins… What is a correct method of measuring the thread size? I have been making a loop so that I can place two strands side by side in my calibers. I close the jaws until I feel moderate resistance. Then take a reading or three. Using this method, I’ve been seeing 0.0045 to 0.0055 for typical home sewing machine thread. 0.007 to 0.009 for some “heavy duty” thread. And 0.012 for some C & C upholstery thread. Which I take to be Tex70. There are others that don’t quite fit any of the standard sized listed for conventional thread types. I bought some Tex90 from Amazon (my first mistake). Measured 0.0095. Not even close to the 0.0133. So back it went. I’m now lurking on thread exchange for some proper string. Are there variations of thickness depending on the manufacturer and thread type as they relate to standard sizing? So, tell me if my method is sound, and if not, what should I be doing? I've lurked for years and learned just how much I don't know. Such a wonderful source of information. I'm a complete noobe at this, so other basic questions will follow. Thanks for the help, All the Best, Jeff

Well, for my first POST, a Public Service Announcement. WD has issued a notice that ALL users of My Book Live external drives UNPLUG IT NOW!. That is unplug it from the internet. A security breach is possible that allows a remote command to be issued to web attached drives to do a factory reset. Basically erasing all the data on the drive. Ars Technica goes into the details. ARS Technica Western Digital Data Loss So if you have a WD drive with an Ethernet connection. Unplug that sucker right now. All the Best, Jeff And another article from Bleepingcomputer Bleeping computer - Western Digital Data Loss