How To "test Drive" A Used Industrial Machine.

[gottaknow]

Really good advice here. I'll mention one additional thing. When I evaluate a machine for a private party, I always look for screwdriver marks or other tool damage. That doesn't count the screws you expect to see wear on like needle set, throat plate, presser feet etc. A case in point was the machine I did for Venator. By removing just the end cover, almost every screw inside had damage. To me that says someone was doing stuff they shouldn't have been. Turns out that machine had serious issues.

Regards, Eric

[LumpenDoodle2]

I was just about to post what gottaknow said. My first industrial machine had been fiddled with big time, and the timing was way out. It was when I removed the top plate, and looked at the screws holding the camshaft in place, that I found out how much tinkering had been done.

The head of every screw was chewed, and some were not even tightened down properly. No wonder the previous owner couldn't get it to sew.

I had no idea what I was buying, but it only cost me £30, so I didn't mind taking a chance with it.

[Cascabel]

Always bear in mind that there is no such thing as an "Industrial Strength" machine, and just because it is made of cast iron, and painted black does not make it a real industrial machine. Many of them are Grandma's old sewing machine that showed up at a yard sale. EBAY and Craigslist sellers lie !! The old domestic machines are excellent within their limitations, but none of them are real "Leather" or "Industrial" machines. A simple way to tell is that if the motor is the size of a man's fist, and attached to the back of the machine, it is a domestic machine. Real industrial machines have a motor the about the size of your head mounted underneath the table. And real industrial machines are NEVER designed to fold down into the cabinet like a domestic. They are much too heavy !!

[mikesc]

Speaking of the motor ( clutch type ), not only must it run, but some of them don't have any of the usual adjustments, despite being genuine clutch motors for sewing machines..It is very easy to switch it on, sew, test everything, buy the machine, get it home and then discover this lack of adjusters..I recently bought a singer 211u166a, runs great, only one old lady owner from new, always used for no heavier than 3 to 4 oz chrome tan garment leather..I looked it over carefully, test sewed etc, paid the lady and split the head from the table, put both in the car and brought it home and set it up..

Yesterday I set out to change the pulley for smaller one, ( the motor is a Singer clutch motor type 1135 , 370w, 1400rpm ) took off the old pulley ( 122mm, that is about a 5" ), discovered that the shaft is tapered like the EFKA variostop clutch motor on my Juki..So, I took the 45mm pulley off my Juki to see if it would fit, it does, great..

So, you're thinking, where is the problem ?

I'm crouched down under the table, and suddenly , I think .."Where the **** is the belt tension adjustment bolt on this motor ?"..

It doesn't have one, it isn't missing, or fallen off, it has absolutely no provision for one,never did, it fixes under the table like every other clutch industrial sewing machine motor I've ever seen, 3 bolts in the classic configuration, with the machine on a pivot bolt with it's axis parallel with the head ( I've seen a lot of machines for sewing textiles, not seen so many set up for leather ), but I've never seen a motor with no belt tension adjuster bolt bolt built on, nor any flange that says one was ever fitted, so no way to adjust any belt tension ( I can make something to do that easily enough ) but it is weird, and it totally escaped my attention when I bought the machine..It also has no way to adjust the "free play" before the clutch "bites", no adjustment bolt on the case to do that either..

Eventually it is going to get a servo motor, so it is no big deal..but it is weird, and because it ran quietly, and smoothly, I just took a quick look when buying it and went" Oh yeah, clutch motor" and never thought to confirm that it had a belt tension adjuster, or a clutch free play adjuster, because they all do..don't they..except when they don't

Oh, and if the motor has been converted from 3 phase to run on single phase domestic electricity, make sure it has been done safely, my Juki when I bought it, was testimony to how "not to convert from 3 phase to single phase safely", it ran, but the person who had hacked the "conversion" together had no concept of earthing / grounding electrical machinery for safe use, some things you'd be best touching with only electrically insulated gloves, take one of those screwdrivers that tells you if there is current leakage with you, or a test meter, and make sure the "bargain" isn't going to bite you ( or worse ) before you sit down to test it. .

Edited March 10, 2016 by mikesc

[Sonydaze]

Most of my sewing machines have been found via Craigslist ads. Some worked great and some didn't work when I bought them. I live a long ways from an industrial sewing machine mechanic, so I have have become reasonably adept at fixing and tuning them. (I am also lucky to be mechanically inclined.) Probably the most indispensable machine in my shop is a Juki LK-1900HS shape tacker. It wouldn't sew (and I couldn't see what was wrong) when I bought it but the price negotiated was excellent and I took a chance. It took a bit but I got it figured out....they sew poorly unless they are well lubricated and it needed a new hook. If I hadn't taken a chance on the shape tacker, I would still be bar tacking the hard way.

I think the where and how you buy a machine should be determined somewhat by your ability to fix problems with it and how available/expensive service is if you can't. If the machine is going to be important to maintaining your production and you are not adept at servicing it, you may want to purchase from a dealer that will provide service and troubleshooting advise.

Machines that have been unused for awhile are often very dry and need oiling. This affects how they feel when hand turned as well as how they sound. I like to bring oil and see how the feel/sound changes about 10 minutes after being oiled. I also pay attention to see if the wear on the foot treadle matches the story about how much the machine has been used....

[nascenta]

Thank you for that Sonydaze. Does it matter what oil you use to lub these things? What do you use?

[Sonydaze]

I buy gallon jugs of sewing machine oil from an industrial sewing machine supplier. My guess is that it is probably 10 weight mineral oil. Someone else here likely knows for sure if I am correct.

[Cascabel]

I have gotten gallon jugs of sewing machine oil on ebay fairly inexpensively.

[gottaknow]

You often hear the descriptions of industrial machines having come from a factory. Since the majority of folks have never seen a factory, let alone on how we run the machines, I took a bit of video showing one of my binders in action. This is a common machine that you would see for sale in the secondary market. It's a Singer 153K301. It's set up with a right angle binder that we're using to finish the inside seams of one of the carry bags we make. This bag is made for shotgun shells. The fabric is our heavy Tin Cloth. You can see the wax buildup on the feet. This machine runs this speed for 8 hours a day. There's a big difference between a machine that has worked hard in a factory and one that has been abused. This machine is pampered so it can do what it does. I would sell it to anyone here with confidence so it could live out it's days with a servo motor going slowwww. That's not to say all factory machines are decent. I've seen some nightmares that appear on the secondary market.

Regards, Eric

[Wizcrafts]

Eric;

I'd like to put my name in for that machine if they decide to retire it!