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I just acquired a Consew 206RB-3 in near mint condition for $250.00 and am beside myself excited! I have not used a walking foot machine prior to this and am wondering about any and all things related to it. I am thinking a Servo motor might be the way for me to go but don't know what model or where to purchase? I am planning on sewing heavier fabrics and leather. I have been reading everything I can get my hands on most of which has been online. I do have operators manuals for ever Consew 206RB except the 3, (my model of course). I have gone over the entire machine and everything seems to be working as it should. I'm not certain but it looks like the oil wicks on the top of the machine may have gotten shredded, (I've included some photos). I have been searching online for replacement oil wicks and haven't found any. Does anyone have a source for those? Also are there supposed to be any wicks in or around the needle bar area? Is there anyone out there that lives in the Lexington, Kentucky or Ohio that may have sources for supplies like thread, needles and etc., or even online sources that can help someone like myself new to this kind of machine? Any help or advice greatly appreciated. Thanks, Heidi ,

I am a hobbiest gun belt and holster maker, but arrived at the place where I needed a sewing machine. After the last gun belt and many hours of hand stitching I swore I would never do another one without being able to machine stitch it. Totally sick of hand stitching belts, today I picked up an old Adler 205-374 cylinder arm machine that was used by a feedshop to repair saddles. The walking foot lift lever and foot pedal was frozen up. I took the faceplate off, sprayed with chemtool, cleaned it up and lubricated. The walking foot lift lever and pedal now work fine. I threaded it up and tried it, but of course it needs some more work as everything tangled up and ended up in the bobbin area. I will finish cleaning everything up, lube everything and attempt to adjust it. Anyone know where I can find a service manual for this model? Also, assuming it will return to good working condition, was $500 a good price? Apart from being rode hard and put away wet, all the tolerances seem tight. Also, I read on the forum that Weaver has a dvd on operating the Adler 205-370 series. Anyone have a copy they want to sell? A few more novice questions related to sewing machines: what size thread and needle for gun belts and holsters using this Adler? The gun belts are approximately 1/4" thick of two layers of 8-9 oz leather. Same for the pancake holsters. As a novice I have been hand stitching using waxed thread from tandy. I picked up some 270 nylon thread from a friend, but this seems kind of thin compared to the waxed tandy thread I have been using. Great forum.