Weird and frustrating obstacle Setting up shoe patcher

[Tastech]

Just wondering . Do these machines perform as crappy as they look ? Man where is the workmanship in those machines . Looks like it was made by a one armed and one eyed grandmother with an irritable bowel  living in a dumpster .

[chuck123wapati]

9 minutes ago, Tastech said:

Just wondering . Do these machines perform as crappy as they look ? Man where is the workmanship in those machines . Looks like it was made by a one armed and one eyed grandmother with an irritable bowel  living in a dumpster .

actually they work well if you know how to finish the manufacturing process. They cost about a hundred bucks so workmanship isn't figured into cost.

[Tastech]

 That thread tension bracket looks like it was bent by using someones teeth  or put in a vise and beaten over with a hammer .  I wonder what they could do with 200 bucks or even 3 . Still cheap .

 The mechanical concept reminds me of an old werthiemer.  I am not very familiar with either but they have some things in common.

This old werthhiemer was going for $1200  And i passed it up because the seller would not budge $1 .  I so out of spite i knocked it back . In hindsight it is a beautiful machine and worthy of a full restoration .  

 

[Southerngunner]

Everyone can't afford to drop 3 to 5 grand or more for a sewing machine. I bought one when I finally decided that hand stitching wasn't working any more. I gave it to my daughter for a no power required sticher. 

It took a lot of tinkering to get it to work but if you don't push the limits its a good inexpensive option to sew  with.good luck.

Edited May 3, 2024 by Southerngunner

[GerryR]

2 hours ago, Tastech said:

Just wondering . Do these machines perform as crappy as they look ? Man where is the workmanship in those machines . Looks like it was made by a one armed and one eyed grandmother with an irritable bowel  living in a dumpster .

Actually, I had very little clean-up to do on my cast iron unit, which I then motorized.  It sews better and has a higher lift capacity than a 153W103 Singer that I had.  It sewed so well that I sold the Singer.  I also came across a cast aluminum version of the patcher, which was a little more refined, that I made into a portable version (picture attached) that sewed just as well.  The downside is the small bobbin size, but for what I do, it is no issue.  (more pictures here: 

 

Edited May 3, 2024 by GerryR

[kgg]

3 hours ago, Tastech said:

Just wondering . Do these machines perform as crappy as they look ? Man where is the workmanship in those machines . Looks like it was made by a one armed and one eyed grandmother with an irritable bowel  living in a dumpster .

That is why I fondly refer to them as a " Tinkers Delight ". They do have their place but you need to be willing to put the effort into getting them running right and presentable.

kgg 

[Mulesaw]

On 5/3/2024 at 3:18 PM, Annikita said:

So, here's the issue I'm talking about. I should have posted this first. The bearing that is typically supposed to fit the inner groove (according to the manuals/videos I've seen) can't possibly align with the groove properly. It fits the outer groove when I try to put everything together, but I think it may be inhibiting the wheel from moving properly?

 

I have been looking a bit more on your picture. 

The bearing for the main shaft looks as though it is seated just a smidge deeper than the casting. If you put a ruler across you would be able to see if the ruler touches the main casting instead of touching the bearing.

If that is the case, then whenever you mount the flywheel, it will bind on those edges and make it difficult to turn. If any washers accompanied the machine, you could try to put one on the shaft. It would probably need to have a "keyhole" shape, so that it could slide over the protruding part of the shaft. 

Please let us know if you manage to sort it out :-)

Good luck

Brgds Jonas

[AlZilla]

On 5/3/2024 at 1:23 PM, kgg said:

That is why I fondly refer to them as a " Tinkers Delight ". They do have their place but you need to be willing to put the effort into getting them running right and presentable.

kgg 

I get that these things have a following.  But I just can't make myself buy something when the seller and I both understand that it doesn't work.

[GerryR]

11 minutes ago, AlZilla said:

I get that these things have a following.  But I just can't make myself buy something when the seller and I both understand that it doesn't work.

Much of the work done on these machines is for appearance sake, trying to make them look better.  I have had a couple of these and they work "out-of-the-box."  I can easily sew up to 20 oz. leather with these machines.  Maybe I got the luck-of-the draw, but I think they get a bad rap because of their looks and price.  What would you expect to get for ~$100. 00 these days?  On the one I have presently, I did convert it to the 135x system for more needle options. Even that was very easy to accomplish.  It still is the cheapest way to get into "machine" sewing of leather though not as elegant as other machines, unless someone just gives you a machine.  

[chuck123wapati]

40 minutes ago, AlZilla said:

I get that these things have a following.  But I just can't make myself buy something when the seller and I both understand that it doesn't work.

 

It took me about two hours to clean up the wear surfaces and lube it up. Most of the work was on the foot, the teeth are  when they should be  but It worked great even with the crap mono thread sent with it. All sewing machines need to set up for the job after that and this is no different. You can set them up to sew 2 oz to 20 oz pretty easily i even sew canvas with mine.