Hard To Turn Consew 206 By Hand.

[chris989]

I just bought new consew 206. I searched but could not find a post about this so I am sorry if this is a duplicate. I bought it online and not local because my local shop wasn't very professional and I did not trust it. I call back to were I bought it and I am told all machines are hard to turn.

At first the machine was so tight it could not roll pass the timing marks (when the needle and presser foot is on a down stroke) when running slow. it would bind and the belt would just spin. I noticed the presser feet were only rising about 1.5 mm so I adjusted that to the max height.

Next I loosened the presser feet adjustment six full turns. I cannot rotate the machine by hand with the belt not in place. Prior, I could not rotate the machine without a full grip and a ton of effort.

My biggest issue is, with the belt installed, ( I have a family 550 servo and a 5-1 reducer) I can barely turn the machine to position the needle. I am a semi novice so sometimes I still hand crank that last stitch at a corner.

Question, Is this the nature of all servo motors to actually feel like it is braked when not running? It is hard to turn just the servo by hand not even hooked to the machine.

I have not tried it without the reducer,,, I am guessing it is making it that much harder to turn the tight servo motor.

Is there an accessory wheel that is larger?

At my fabric store they have a 206 and it is super easy to turn but it is a clutch motor.

Would a sew quiet 5000 be the same?

This is only my second machine so sorry for the simpleton question.

Thanks in advance,

Chris

[Constabulary]

slip of the V-belts off and try to turn the hand wheel again if it goes easier then the fault is not the machine. Any try if you can turn the motor pulley and speed reducer pulley easily so you can narrow the fault. Beside of that oil the machine according to the manual.

[Constabulary]

sorry - seems I did not read carefully...

Maybe the hand wheel too tight. The Hand wheel should be attached to the shaft with 2 set screws (one screw sits in a V notch or a flattened spot) and at the end of the shaft in the middle of the hand wheel there should be an adjustment screw which presses the hand wheel toward the machine body. Loosen the two set screws and the adjustment screw and try to pull back the hand wheel may 1mm or so and then see if it goes lighter. If yes adjust the screw the way that the hand wheel is as close to the machine body as possible but should be still easy to turn.

Thats what I´d try at first at the machines beside the oiling.

I dont know this particular motor but mine is easy to turn by hand.

Edited September 13, 2014 by Constabulary

[chris989]

Thank you for the suggestions, The machine was set up from the dealer and oiled well. I am not sure how well they tuned it?

With zero belts installed the machine cranks easily unitl the presser foot touches the feed dog. Then it takes a full grip to and effort to turn the machine. Almost like it is binding somewhere. I only have a floor model to compare it to but mine is harder to turn than the floor model withe thread, fabric and belts installed.

THe wheel is already moved back as you suggested. My only other machine was a small Sailrite. I never noticed this kind of binding in that machine, but then it had a much larger wheel on the machine that was easy to grip and the size gave me a mechanical avantage over the motor.

Can a larger wheel be installed? the belt are could remain the same but something larger for my hand to grab?

[Ferg]

From your description, you probably need to do some adjusting in the height of feet on the "full" down motion. You should not be tight on the feed dogs.

When you have the head "UP" from the table so you can see the underneath works, there is a set screw toward the left side making it possible to adjust the fed dogs. You can loosen the screw and see the dogs move up and down. Only move a slight bit to see if that helps your situation. With that problem you need to do a little experimenting to get the proper adjustment.

Wiz may step in here for you, he knows this machine forward and backwards. I have a 206 RB5.

ferg

[Northmount]

In addition to the comments above, servo motors normally have a brake. When the pedal is completely released, the servo motor's brake is on, so yes it is even harder to turn against the brake. Press the pedal slightly to release the brake.

There is another thread of posts about disconnecting or removing the brake if it is not needed. Typically for most of us, we go slow so don't really need the brake.

Tom

[Wizcrafts]

First of all, the Family Sew 550s motors have a brake that stops the motor when the control arm is fully up. You have to barely touch the pedal to release the (cork) brake. I actually removed the brake from one of my FS-550 motors, to make hand cranking easier. Just watch out for motor run-on if you sew fast.

The Consew 206RB should turn freely when you spin the hand wheel. Something is mis-adjusted on yours. As Ferg suggested, it could be the feed dog raising up and hitting the throat plate. Check that by unscrewing the throat plate and pulling it off. Rotate the wheel and see if the binding is gone. If so, lower the feed dog at its highest point. You'll need to flip the head over on the table to get to the bolt that adjusts the lift of the feeder. Use a large, flat blade screwdriver and lots of arm. When the dog has been lowered enough that it doesn't hit the bottom of the throat plate, tighten it back down.

If it's not the feed dog that's binding, it could be that you have set the lift of the outer presser foot too high. There are two places I know of that the crank arms for the presser foot can hit and cause binding. One is against the alternating foot shaft, inside the head. The other is against the opening on the back of the head, where the crank protrudes. Try lowering the lift on the curved slot behind the head. If the binding stops with less lift, the machine needs to be readjusted to allow the normal full alternating lift to happen. Contact your seller for an adjuster's manual to assist you. Or, ask them if they can email the instructions, or talk you through it. This is not a trivial adjustment and damage can happen if it's done wrong.

Was this sold by an eBay dealer? They are usually sensitive to feedback and problem reports.

[chris989]

Here is a short video of what i am talking about. If anyone can comment on this i would appreciate it. With it this way it is impossible to control the needle position.

http://s1338.photobucket.com/user/cecil989/media/7781%20radcliff%20st%20las%20vegas%20nv%2089123/consew/MOV06625_zps1f1769f0.mp4.html

[chris989]

Wiz,

I bought from a brick and mortar shop in southern california. When i called him, and sent the same video, he said all of his machines are like that. .. I was going to buy at my local shop but the man insisted that no one makes a speed reducer pulley. It was at that point i thought i better look elsewhere.

I removed the throat plate, it is not that, It is when the presser foot strikes the feed dog. If i leave the foot raised, I can turn the machine easily. Foot down,,, it binds at the moment they touch. I am not sure what the downward pressure on the foot should be. I already loosened the setting, not sure if i should keep going. I do not want to go to far and have something pop put of place????

Thanks,

Chris

[Ferg]

I think from your video the feed dogs are too high in relationship to the presser feet. I definitely would not continue to force the rotation of the the machine until this is properly adjusted.

BTW: The man telling you this is normal is full of it.

You can actually adjust the dogs until they are not above the throat plate at all without doing any harm. Do this adjustment then test until it is correct for your material. You can easily return adjustment to original position.

There are several other things to try. I feel more info is needed to keep you from doing something to the machine.

ferg