Just picked up a Consew 206RB-2 for $300

[myjtp]

This weekend has been a jackpot of sewing machines!! First I got the REX 26-188 for $50 and now a Consew 206RB-2 for $300 but I swear I’m officially done......  The consew was ultimately what I was looking for and figured the Rex would tide me over.. now do I keep the Rex or sell that?  

I’ve ordered a servo already so going to use that for the consew. What needle and thread will the consew hold for leather belts?

Thanks so much I’ve learned so much here (and spent money )

Edited October 14, 2018 by myjtp

[JLSleather]

SOmebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that consew is a 135x16 needle, prolly range size from like 16 to 22 or 23.  Thread maybe size 42 to 138?  You STEALIN again

Seriously, I owe ya a beer for NOT telling my wife about any of this.. she LOVES to buy stuff whether I need it or not!

Congrats!

[JJN]

You scored! That Consew is a solid machine that has tons of parts and accessories available for it. If it were me, I would sell the Rex unless you want it for working on non-leather materials that won't get marred by the teeth on the foot. You may never be 'officially done' buying machines though. It is hard to pass up a nice machine when the price is right. It is always handy to have an extra machine set up for a specific task like binding.

[R8R]

Keep the Rex. It will be good for binding, zippers, or other things you want to set and forget and not have to swap over on the Consew. It's a good little machine, kind of like a big brother version of the Sailrite mini walker.

The Consew will take standard 111W style feet so you have about ..well, ALL the options for feet really. You can buy full sets of cheap feet on Ebay for whatever you want to do.

135x16 (leather) or 135x17 (fabric) needles.

Get the best servo you can afford for it and you're golden. 

[dikman]

Man, the planets really aligned for you!! That is a good buy, as JLS said should handle up to #138 thread/23 needle. For what you paid for the Rex I'd keep it (if you've got the room). Now just try and stop looking for bargains!

[myjtp]

Alright, I just got home and unpacked everything the guy used to sew upholstery and seats and just gave me a big tub of extras what is all this stuff? and I found a BIG pair of scissors in there too! Anything else worth keeping or chuck it?

 

I see the top of the machine has some battle wounds but they are built like a Sherman tank so not too worried about it.  It spins perfectly but I'm going to oil it down and maybe check the grease ( time to look up some youtube videos! )

3 hours ago, JLSleather said:

SOmebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that consew is a 135x16 needle, prolly range size from like 16 to 22 or 23.  Thread maybe size 42 to 138?  You STEALIN again

Seriously, I owe ya a beer for NOT telling my wife about any of this.. she LOVES to buy stuff whether I need it or not!

Congrats!

HA! Ill be sure to fly under the radar if I find any more deals so she won't be tempted and Ill take that beer! 

[myjtp]

48 minutes ago, R8R said:

Keep the Rex. It will be good for binding, zippers, or other things you want to set and forget and not have to swap over on the Consew. It's a good little machine, kind of like a big brother version of the Sailrite mini walker.

The Consew will take standard 111W style feet so you have about ..well, ALL the options for feet really. You can buy full sets of cheap feet on Ebay for whatever you want to do.

135x16 (leather) or 135x17 (fabric) needles.

Get the best servo you can afford for it and you're golden. 

That’s an excellent point I want to setup the consew to just sew snake skin and ostrich and other skins into an 8oz veg tan belt and leave it be just keep it as a work horse and then keep the Rex to do seats and thick canvas materials  for $50 bucks it’s a no brained now I just need to convince the wife to let me keep both! I ordered the cheapy Rex servo from amazon for $100 what is the best servo FOR THE MONEY that is for the consew to run on?

[R8R]

3 minutes ago, myjtp said:

what is the best servo FOR THE MONEY that is for the consew to run on?

I've used everything from a very old clutch motor with clay disks for the clutch surfaces, to some nice modern servos with a bunch of bells and whistles. Hands down the best I've used for the money is this one:

https://store.keysew.com/sp-1100-npfl

It is unflinchingly strong, has a starting rotation of 100 rpm and has very accurate needle positioning. I'm using it on my Juki 2810 and it's damn near perfect. No speed reducer required.

 

Vote for runner up would be the Reliable Sewquiet or the Sailrite Workhorse (same motor, different packaging). Good slow speed control and decent build quality. 

 

[myjtp]

17 minutes ago, R8R said:

I've used everything from a very old clutch motor with clay disks for the clutch surfaces, to some nice modern servos with a bunch of bells and whistles. Hands down the best I've used for the money is this one:

https://store.keysew.com/sp-1100-npfl

It is unflinchingly strong, has a starting rotation of 100 rpm and has very accurate needle positioning. I'm using it on my Juki 2810 and it's damn near perfect. No speed reducer required.

 

Vote for runner up would be the Reliable Sewquiet or the Sailrite Workhorse (same motor, different packaging). Good slow speed control and decent build quality. 

Looks like the sp-1100 is the clear winner by a long shot with tons more power. That will be my next motor after I mess around with the cheapy Rex servo motor.

[CowboyBob]

12 hours ago, myjtp said:

Looks like the sp-1100 is the clear winner by a long shot with tons more power. That will be my next motor after I mess around with the cheapy Rex servo motor.

The Rex is a good motor to bad they don't put a 2" pulley on it.

[dikman]

I've no doubt that the sp-1100 is a good motor, but 1 1/2 hp seems a bit of overkill on the Consew.

[Pintodeluxe]

I like the 206rb-1's and rb-2's.  Good dependable machines.  They are quite easy to tune as well.  Takes 135x16 needles.  

[bikermutt07]

I have only been playing with my RB-1, but it is handling 207 thread just fine. It may be pushing the range but I don't think so...

@CowboyBob has the rb-5 's listed to take 207 on his site. 

[R8R]

1 hour ago, dikman said:

I've no doubt that the sp-1100 is a good motor, but 1 1/2 hp seems a bit of overkill on the Consew.

It's the slow control that I like, but yeah overkill never hurt either.

 

[myjtp]

Umm... i'm so glad I watched this youtube video

The oil case at the bottom was BONE DRY! thank goodness i haven't run it yet because I was waiting for my servo to come in that's coming in tomorrow! So i just drenched the entire inside in oil any part i could see moving i oiled it down.  I even check the top wick and it was bone dry so i filled it up with oil as well.  Has anyone replaced the grease in their Consew 206 yet?  Im thinking of checking mine what grease do you guys use?

 

[garypl]

I replaced the grease in my 206RB-4 - used wheel bearing grease because that’s what I had on hand.

Gary

[bikermutt07]

Kind of funny how Sewing machines can seem to just fall from the sky sometimes.

[R8R]

Synco Super-Lube. Only grease I used on all the big machines I maintained when I worked in screen printing. We had zero problems with lubrication failures.

 

[CowboyBob]

11 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

I have only been playing with my RB-1, but it is handling 207 thread just fine. It may be pushing the range but I don't think so...

@CowboyBob has the rb-5 's listed to take 207 on his site. 

When you use #207 in the needle be sure to put #138 in the bobbin.Or you'll never get the bobbin thread to pull up.

[koreric75]

On 10/14/2018 at 5:15 PM, myjtp said:

Alright, I just got home and unpacked everything the guy used to sew upholstery and seats and just gave me a big tub of extras what is all this stuff? and I found a BIG pair of scissors in there too! Anything else worth keeping or chuck it?

If you don't need that handy junior i'd be interested 

 

1 hour ago, CowboyBob said:

When you use #207 in the needle be sure to put #138 in the bobbin.Or you'll never get the bobbin thread to pull up.

I definitely agree with this...the adler will sew #207 top just fine, but will not pull it up consistently...#207 top and #138 bottom makes a beautiful stitch and for belts, sheaths or other light duty items is plenty strong.

[myjtp]

4 hours ago, CowboyBob said:

When you use #207 in the needle be sure to put #138 in the bobbin.Or you'll never get the bobbin thread to pull up.

Excellent!! now what needle should i use thread is already sorted :D 

[CowboyBob]

If your sewing leather you want a leather point 135x16D size#23 for 207 thread.

Here's a chart for different sizes of thread; https://www.tolindsewmach.com/thread-chart.html

[myjtp]

2 hours ago, CowboyBob said:

If your sewing leather you want a leather point 135x16D size#23 for 207 thread.

Here's a chart for different sizes of thread; https://www.tolindsewmach.com/thread-chart.html

Are these the needles i need? SCHMETZ 50pcs Size 18 20 21 23 24 135x17 DPx17 Walking Foot Sewing Machine Needle - $16.38

https://amzn.to/2CORkbL

[CowboyBob]

Those 135x17 are for cloth...order what I wrote 135x16D like I said is for leather.If you can't find them we have them in stock in all sizes.

Edited October 16, 2018 by CowboyBob

[myjtp]

I went to tractor supply co. And found a 6” OD .5” bore and fits perfectly on the Consew but the belt seems a bit too thin do I need a wider belt? And is this set on the machine properly or do I need to add any washers to take up the gap a bit?