Custom Stand for a Singer Class 7

[mbnaegle]

I have a Singer Class 7 that came in a lot purchase and I'm thinking about setting it up to keep in the back of the shop for odd jobs. It has gotten a little rusty sitting idle, but was a working machine before the prior owner let his shop sit idle, so I'm not too worried about getting it stitching again. It was on a generic 24"x48" table top, no cut out for the machine to sit in, K-legs and a clutch motor, but since this is a machine that won't see regular use, and space is always a premium, I'm thinking about making a custom compact stand for it.

I'm imagining something that is all welded steel and similar to the pedestal type stands used with most cylinder arm harness stitchers, but instead of a table top it would have an angle iron box for the machine to nest into that is welded to the stand. It won't have a leg on the left so even though it's not a cylinder arm, I could get a large loop around the business end of the base if needed. If I decide I need some table space around the machine, I'll make some fold-out leaf's around it. The stand would only be as big as the base of the machine, perhaps a little bigger at the bottom to give it some stability, and have a speed reducing jackshaft built into the frame.

I'm curious if anyone has made a similar stand for a Class 7 before? All the stands I've seen were generic plywood top and sheet metal legs, or the original cast iron treadle stands. A true treadle stand is another possibility I'm considering. I'd still base it off of the custom welded stand, but with a pump or crank treadle and base flywheel. I've got a cast iron base flywheel saved from a Singer 97-10 a long time ago that I might put towards this project. It isn't really necessary if I stick with an electric motor drive, but the inertia makes a big difference when pedaling through heavy material (I've got a Landis 3 with the original treadle stand). Most of the home-made treadle stands I've seen were made for lighter weight machines and often based on bicycle cranks.

I'll post pics as I get into this project but figured I'd start picking your brains.

I'll add too, I'm not planning on using this machine for leather, though it might occasionally see some. I'm a needle-n-awl machine guy, but of course closed eye machines are the way to go with webbing and similar materials, which is where this machine comes in.

Edited June 1 by mbnaegle

[amuckart]

I wouldn’t want to have something the weight of a 7-class on a stand with that small a footprint. 
the 7-class has a whole lot more mass out on the left than something like a 441. I’d want cantilevers and a good size footprint for the stand. 
it wouldn’t need to be the size of a full table, but anything less than, say, twice the size of the machine seems risky.

[mbnaegle]

11 minutes ago, amuckart said:

I wouldn’t want to have something the weight of a 7-class on a stand with that small a footprint. 
the 7-class has a whole lot more mass out on the left than something like a 441. I’d want cantilevers and a good size footprint for the stand. 
it wouldn’t need to be the size of a full table, but anything less than, say, twice the size of the machine seems risky.

Agreed. The machine's footprint measures approx. 10"x25" not counting the handwheel projecting on the right side, which is 14" diameter. I think the base of the stand should be a minimum of 18" deep. Width-wise, I think it's less likely to tip but an extra 3-4" on the left and 6 to 8" on the left should help. I think making the bottom of the stand heavier than the top would help bring the machines center of gravity down as well.

I doubt I'll make the stand a treadle as the cranks and pedals are more fabrication than I want to get into right now. Putting it on wheels would be more useful, but that does increase the need for a wide stable base.

Edited June 3 by mbnaegle

[Mulesaw]

If you are only going to use it on special occasions, another option is to simply mount in on a plywood plate just a bit larger than the footprint, and then move it to your work bench when you need to use it.

It will be a beast to move though. and it will require a hefty shelf to hold it when it is not in use. 

You could clamp it to the work bench top when you needed to use it, and maybe just run it using a small domestic sewing machine motor. The pulley on the flywheel is approx 6" in diameter as far as I remember, so the speed wouldn't be too high. The power might be a bit low depending on how many layers of webbing you'd be sewing. Or you could add a small rubber wheel to the sewing machine motor, and run it as a friction drive, directly to the outside of the flywheel.

No matter what you do, it is still a fantastic machine with plenty of ompfh to sew those big projects that come by on occasion.
I think the last project for mine was repairing the jib on a schooner. 🙂

Brgds Jonas