Members llucas Posted February 17, 2016 Author Members Report Posted February 17, 2016 (edited) Murphy's law strikes. The servo and speed reducing pulley arrived. However, the servo is designed to hang to the left side -- presumably for a flatbed machine. So, if I hang the motor in the same place as the current clutch motor the dial and activation lever will be on the back side instead of the front side like the clutch motor. It has a reverse switch, so that is not the issue. My clutch motor hangs to the right side. So does the reducer pulley hang underneath the hand wheel of the machine on the front side of the table (as does the current clutch motor) and the servo toward the back of the table, or do I put the servo in the same place as the clutch motor and the pulley toward the back and elongate the slot in the table for the belt, which will then come in from the back side of the table instead of directly below as it is now. Anyone have any photos? Edited February 17, 2016 by llucas Quote
Uwe Posted February 17, 2016 Report Posted February 17, 2016 (edited) That sounds oddly familiar! My switch to a servo motor was a bit of a puzzle as well. When I got my new servo motor and tried to figure out how to mount it, the controls either faced towards the back or they faced forward and were inaccessible directly behind my stand's support column. I made my own speed reducer and a new table top, so this is the setup I ended up with : Come to think of it (and seeing the commercial speed reducer in one of the pictures), I may have ended up making my own speed reducer because I couldn't figure out an elegant way to use the commercial speed reducer that came with the machine with the new servo motor. I recommend doing an upside-down trial layout on a piece of wood or a table to figure out how things should line up. You won't be tilting the machine head back, so it doesn't really matter if the speed reducer is directly below the hand wheel or even towards the front a little. The machine is solid, bolted to the table and won't go anywhere. Pick a layout that allows you to reach the motor controls easily and adjust both belt tensions without too many headaches. Edited February 17, 2016 by Uwe Quote Uwe (pronounced "OOH-vuh" ) Links: Videos
Members llucas Posted February 18, 2016 Author Members Report Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) O.k., the servo and speed reducer are installed! Wow! What a difference! I would say it is down to about two stitches per second pedal to the metal on the lowest setting. I am able to slow it slightly more with the foot pedal, but it is inconsistent. I would like to slow it down a little more. The servo has a three inch pulley -- would a two inch pulley on the servo make any appreciable difference? Here is a quick sample. Ignore the dark holes where the needle penetrates. I got heavy handed with the oil Still working on stitch length in reverse and positioning. The first three stitches are ok in reverse, but they get longer after that point. And try as I may otherwise, the stitch in reverse lays beside the primary stitch. Because of the thickness of the thread (347)? Also, I have to rotate the stitch length lever about a dozen times to add a stitch per inch or reduce a stitch per inch. Is that normal? It seems like a lot of rotating the lever for minimal results. Edited February 18, 2016 by llucas Quote
Uwe Posted February 18, 2016 Report Posted February 18, 2016 Looking pretty good right there. How about some pictures of your motor and speed reducer installation? I have no idea what model of servo motor, pulley or speed reducer you have. Don't make us guess or pull every single detail out of you. Quote Uwe (pronounced "OOH-vuh" ) Links: Videos
Members llucas Posted February 19, 2016 Author Members Report Posted February 19, 2016 Looking pretty good right there. How about some pictures of your motor and speed reducer installation? I have no idea what model of servo motor, pulley or speed reducer you have. Don't make us guess or pull every single detail out of you. It is a mess in the work area at the moment. I'll clean up a bit and take a few photos of the Beast's new heart. Quote
Members llucas Posted February 19, 2016 Author Members Report Posted February 19, 2016 This has been quite a journey for a sewing machine novice, lol. It is like driving a Ford and changing the oil on occasion to rebuilding a Mercedes Benz. Quote
Members llucas Posted February 19, 2016 Author Members Report Posted February 19, 2016 Looking pretty good right there. How about some pictures of your motor and speed reducer installation? I have no idea what model of servo motor, pulley or speed reducer you have. Don't make us guess or pull every single detail out of you. By the way, Uwe, I tried your trick of hooking a 10 oz can to the bobbin string to adjust the tension. It worked like a charm. Quote
Members llucas Posted February 26, 2016 Author Members Report Posted February 26, 2016 (edited) Looking pretty good right there. How about some pictures of your motor and speed reducer installation? I have no idea what model of servo motor, pulley or speed reducer you have. Don't make us guess or pull every single detail out of you. I have been ill for a few days, but did get some photos of the conversion today. The drive belt did go straight down and slightly to the left toward the front of the table, although the machine drive belt shroud is designed for the belt to go toward the back of the table -- to the right in this photo. I elongated the slot toward the back of the table. I then placed the speed reducer upside down on top of the table and lined it up with the hand wheel pulley. The motor was placed upside down on the table toward the front and aligned with the small belt to the large pulley on the reducer. After measuring, I simply marked where the bolts were to go -- different from where the old clutch motor hung. Holes were bored and everything was lined up underneath the table and bolted down and tensioned. Works great! The belt shroud now fits properly, whereas originally the bolts on the left were adjusted to allow the belt to go straight down awkwardly: The difference in speed and control over the old clutch motor is dramatic. The pulley on the servo is 3". If I put a 50mm pulley on it (slightly less than 2"), will the speed be further reduced? The bobbin winder was mounted to use the belt in its former configuration. Now that the belt is fully covered by the shroud, I will need to get a sewing machine motor and make a separate bobbin winder. Thanks for all the help on this rebuild project. Here is the beast. It looks rough but is smooth as butter in its function. Almost time to move it out of the garage where I have been working on it. Edited February 26, 2016 by llucas Quote
Members llucas Posted February 26, 2016 Author Members Report Posted February 26, 2016 (edited) I am thinking about re-laminating the top and refinishing the table base, complete with new foot pedals. Originally this machine had a chain for the presser foot tension release foot pedal. I will restore that to original as well. I am enjoying the project, but now that it is functional it is time to make some belts and holsters. I cut some straps for belts from the double shoulder veg tan today, measured and glued them together. The true test of the sewing machine project is coming soon. Edited February 26, 2016 by llucas Quote
Members llucas Posted February 26, 2016 Author Members Report Posted February 26, 2016 (edited) Another quick question. There is a protrusion on the bottom of the middle presser foot that presses the top stitch into the leather. It leaves a flaw at the beginning of the stitch line where it starts -- a little line. Any problem if I grind this off? I plan to continue using a hand cut grooved stitch line top and bottom to keep the stitches flush and don't need the foot to press the stitch into the leather. Edited February 26, 2016 by llucas Quote
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