Union Lockstitch Speed

[Round Brim Hat]

So I have my lockstitch set up and it does run. Have to order a few parts yet but nothing major. I have a problem though its extremely fast. Much faster than I'm comfortable with by a long shot. Some people have mentioned about making a speed reducer for it. So does anyone know how slow can it go while still working properly?

Thanks

[Wizcrafts]

Can't you feather the clutch? I was able to feather mine down to about 1 or 2 stitches per second.

[Wizcrafts]

I can pass on another tip for ULS owners. Did you know that you can motor-sew single stitches on your machine? Here's how...

First, get married to the machine so you know her moods. Learn to feather the clutch for 1 or 2 stitches per second. This is a prerequisite to single stitching. You may have to back off the clutch screw almost all the way to get lots of free play before the asbestos clutch engages the flywheel. With the free play set to an amount you can feel with your foot, hold onto the hand wheel, then slowly press down on the Go pedal. There is a point where the clutch will begin to contact the inside of the flywheel. As you reach that point you should feel the clutch with your right hand on the wheel. Line up the awl, then take your hand off the wheel until it sews one stitch, then grab the wheel again. Doing this allows you to power through anything, at one stitch as needed speed. I used this technique a lot in repairs and when sewing fishtails onto gunbelts.

[Round Brim Hat]

I can play with it to get it to feather some yes. Theres going to be a huge learning curve to this machine thats for sure.

[Wizcrafts]

Don't forget to back off the clutch stop screw on the outside center of the flywheel. Set it to give the amount of free motion that gives your toe the best control over the clutch. All feet and ankles are not the same. Some pivot more than others before tension sets in.

[oltoot]

FYI here is a fair shot of the setup that has served me since 1975. I still need to slip the clutch for some things but only rarely. If I had it to do over again, I would mount the shaft a little lower so that I could put an even bigger pulley on it. If my motor were a servo I wouldn't need to slip the clutch. As you can see I have a separate little motor for a bobbin winder. The pillow blocks, pulleys etc are all farm supply store stuff. I did have a keyed shaft made to eliminate any pulley slippage but could do without it. About every 10 years a pulley cracks and the whole thing needs to be taken down to replace it but I'm plumb tickled with the end result. Sewing saddle skirts, harness tugs etc I can run with the hammer down without worrying about all the potential high speed issues.

[Round Brim Hat]

FYI here is a fair shot of the setup that has served me since 1975. I still need to slip the clutch for some things but only rarely. If I had it to do over again, I would mount the shaft a little lower so that I could put an even bigger pulley on it. If my motor were a servo I wouldn't need to slip the clutch. As you can see I have a separate little motor for a bobbin winder. The pillow blocks, pulleys etc are all farm supply store stuff. I did have a keyed shaft made to eliminate any pulley slippage but could do without it. About every 10 years a pulley cracks and the whole thing needs to be taken down to replace it but I'm plumb tickled with the end result. Sewing saddle skirts, harness tugs etc I can run with the hammer down without worrying about all the potential high speed issues.

How much slower do you think your running now compared to the factory set up?

[DrmCa]

And there is always Family servo motor w/ small pulley option.

[oltoot]

way slower. when I got mine it was advertised as capable of 800 spm. I think my wide open is about 300 now. I was never even close to that hand sewing.