Dismantling a Rapid E outsole stitcher machine head from table for transport - HOW?!

[Vinculus]

15 hours ago, 480volt said:

You an expat American? Don’t know who else would use “suicide knob”.

Haha, nah. I just love using idioms and local terms. I have a lot of American internet acquaintances and also study folklore (vocational group culture), so I suck it up like a sponge and use it in my everyday conversations.

 

15 hours ago, Ogoki said:

CB554 bonded nylon thread is commonly used.  Not sure if that would look too modern for you. I do remember the maximum stitch length looking longer than that....  Water on the workpiece and a little bit of hand pressure can help it along, but I guess that's difficult if you're cranking it manually...

I'll look into that. One of the guys at the Viberg boot factory is also going to let me know what they use. It looks like a semi-beefy twisted thread of some kind with a matte finish, so it can't be nylon, I think. As far as the stitch length goes, I'm not too upset. In general I prefer slightly higher SPI for a clean and nice sole stitch. The length is similar to what you'd find on a pair of Tricker's or other English makers' sole stitching.

10 hours ago, shoes said:

Vinculus, how much is that in USD ? Here in the states, that is a $4,000-6,000 machine in good running shape. I'm thinking you "stole" it!!! Good score.

It's about $380. Fully aware that it's a complete steal and thrilled knowing that fact, haha. You couldn't give one of these away for free just a few years back here in Finland because no one made or bought stitched construction footwear for a loooong time, but now it's getting popular again. Normally you can find them for $2200 and up here now, so the deal I got is still amazing even on the basis of a national pricing trend. I've looked at the Rapid A (gray paint) and C (green paint) and Model 309 (red paint), but settled on the Rapid E. The A and C are way too big and crude, the 309 too small. As mentioned earlier, there is a rare Pedersen Rapid II (grayish blue paint) that is right in the middle between Model 309 and Rapid E. Would've loved to get my hands on that one, but there's just one cobbler in the whole country who owns one. And I think he's taking it with him to the grave, haha.

[480volt]

5 hours ago, Vinculus said:

Haha, nah. I just love using idioms and local terms. I have a lot of American internet acquaintances and also study folklore (vocational group culture), so I suck it up like a sponge and use it in my everyday conversations.

10-4

[Ogoki]

7 hours ago, Vinculus said:

I'll look into that. One of the guys at the Viberg boot factory is also going to let me know what they use. It looks like a semi-beefy twisted thread of some kind with a matte finish, so it can't be nylon, I think.

Actually, it doesn't look shiny once stitched.  I would be surprised if Viberg used anything else, but let us know.

I can't imagine paying $4000-6000 for an outsole stitcher.  Working Landis stitchers typically go for 600-700 dollars around here.  One sold for 300 recently.  Rapid Es aren't as common, so maybe a little more...

[Vinculus]

36 minutes ago, Ogoki said:

Actually, it doesn't look shiny once stitched.  I would be surprised if Viberg used anything else, but let us know.

I can't imagine paying $4000-6000 for an outsole stitcher.  Working Landis stitchers typically go for 600-700 dollars around here.  One sold for 300 recently.  Rapid Es aren't as common, so maybe a little more...

Ah, good to know. Will definitely see if I can't get hold of some of that then.

Yeah me neither. Maybe Canadians and Northern Europeans are spoiled with outsole stitchers

[Vinculus]

I tried test stitching the inner stitchdown row on a trial shoe yesterday. It went to hell  Thread just kept breaking on me, which hasn't happened on any of the dry runs on my sample piece. Back to the drawing board, a.k.a waiting for the new thread to arrive. The Ritza 25 just seems too heavily waxed and the machine doesn't want to pull it through smoothly, so it just breaks instead.

[Ogoki]

Darn!  Yeah, that's one thing I learned:  You can do all the trial runs you want with sample pieces, but it's a whole different ballgame when you stitch a boot!

Edited November 29, 2017 by Ogoki

[Vinculus]

Yup! I actually went back and rethreaded the stitcher differently; not going through the "tube" with the clamp all the way at the back of the machine stand that holds the thread back before going into the tension wheel. That seems to have solved the thread breakage issue. It says you're supposed to go through the wax pot if you're using waxed top thread, but since my wax pot is clogged and there is a rotten thread in there, I just skipped it and went straight up from the thread spool through two guide holes and into the tension wheel. Seems to be working much better with this specific thread. Also set the bobbin thread tension to an absolute minimum, and now the stitches are both longer and nicer looking.

[GPaudler]

Thanks Vinculus. I'm not likely to ever make a shoe, but I find this fascinating and look forward to more photos and descriptions of the process!

Gary

 

[Vinculus]

Hi guys. I took a second look at the plaque on the motor of the stitcher today. Notice how it says 220/380V on the label below the HP:

This leads me to believe the motor can be run at 220V as well, the standard domestic voltage in my country. But the power plug is three-phase, the black one is for the bobbin/wax heater and the red three-phase is for the motor: 

Notice also how the on/off switch has been replaced. The ugly gray brick is the new switch. Any ideas how I can get this up and running on 220V? It seems a bit counterintuitive that the motor itself is three-phased but is marked to still be able to run on regular single phase 220V current? I really have no idea about all of this, which is why I need your help.

Oh, and I stitched some soles by handcranking it. Some tension issues still to figure out, but I'm getting there!

[Constabulary]

2 hours ago, Vinculus said:

Notice also how the on/off switch has been replaced. The ugly gray brick is the new switch. Any ideas how I can get this up and running on 220V? It seems a bit counterintuitive that the motor itself is three-phased but is marked to still be able to run on regular single phase 220V current? I really have no idea about all of this, which is why I need your help.

Hope this helps: