CarolinaMoon Report post Posted June 9, 2017 I'm a newbie......looking for some advice. Bought a Sailrite and made a couple of bags but not happy with the Sailrite which I plan to sell. So, bought a refurbishered Pfaff 145 Walking foot with a clutch motor. Speed is hard to control so have a servo motor on order. Now, I'm reading about speed reducers. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikermutt07 Report post Posted June 9, 2017 Most do run both the reducer and servo. I don't own a machine yet, but have done a lot of reading. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davidmadd Report post Posted June 9, 2017 I was in the same position and no matter how hard I tried I could not get a consistent slow speed! I tried to improve matters by removing the soft, grabby cork clutch lining and fitting a harder lining material. This did improve matters but still not perfect. I did make up a speed reducer, a large driven pulley wheel affixed to and driving a small driver to the sewing machine. This was much better but still not perfect. I have been playing on and off for some time with developing a system which uses a DC Treadmill motor to drive the machine. This uses an electronic control PC board to allow the speed to be controlled via a potentiometer. Low speed, high torque. The problem was getting a potentiometer in a foot pedal configuration and I ended up making one using plastic gear wheels and corresponding rack. I've just got this working this week and am now able to start off at zero revs, built up to whatever speed I want or hold at a very slow speed. The one problem I have is that there is a certain amount of overun when coming down the speed range but a hand on the balance wheel is proving effective at controlling that over run. However I am trialling it on a Singer 45K which has a large balance wheel so builds up a large amount of inertia so when I trial it on a smaller machine I don't expect to get such a problem with over run. For belts I use polyurethane round belt. You buy this by the yard, or metre, and cut it to length and join the ends together with heat. I know how frustrating it is to not have a belt that fits at a critical time so always keep a spare metre or two in a drawer for such events! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark842 Report post Posted June 9, 2017 The speed controller will allow for slow speed by itself that is much more controllable than a clutch motor. What the speed reducer does is allow super slow high torque sewing. I've found that on machines that I'm sewing upholstery thickness leather up to about 6-7 ounce on an oil tanned or softer leather I don't need a speed reducer as the slowest setting on the speed controller is ample. I've also been sewing for years so your mileage may vary. Just keep in mind should you go with a speed reducer, it requires a little more room under your sewing table for installation. It usually requires moving your speed controller over a little so you can line up the pulleys. Unless your jumping right into a high volume situation where you have to produce a lot right away, or your planning on sewing 1/2" and up thickness veg tan I would install the speed controller and practice with it awhile. A good sign that your work requires a reducer is if while sewing your project on the slow setting the needle cannot make it through the material on its own or is straining the motor. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CarolinaMoon Report post Posted June 27, 2017 Thanks everyone for the replies. My husband did install a speed reducer and I am better able to control my top stitching. I do believe that the old adage....."practice makes perfect" holds true. I need more practice! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
