Seiko SK-6 followed me home

[SARK9]

I picked up one of these next-level upholstery type machines over the holidays....just in case I needed a bigger hole punched in something! 

The machine was sitting in a rather crude sawed hole in a too-narrow "standard" industrial table....the first order of business was to clean out the inletting to allow clearance for the machine to tilt back, and rout the table top for the usual hinges. Next, the motor that came with it was physically too large to allow the foot-lift chain's connection to function....I swapped it with one of my older Consew CS-1000's (with the optical gradient controller), then relocated the pedals to suit. I popped in a spare 9-1/2" X 2" reducer pulley, which with the nice large handwheel pulley and a 2" motor pulley should yield about a 7:1 ratio.  Slow it is! The backside of the machine is a pretty curvy landscape....I'd appreciate some input from one of the folks here with a Singer 132K* or similar for advice on where to locate the head rest peg in the table, or  what part of the machine head seems to be the best support area for this sorta heavy item to rest on. I'll make up a new table for it after it warms up enough to paint and use contact cement.

-DC

Edited December 29, 2018 by SARK9

[dikman]

That looks to be in excellent condition!! You've done well.The only thing that I can see wrong with the table is the colour!

[DFH]

That is a good looking machine !   I see that you are in SWVA I have a place in Nickelsville  Are you any where near there ?

[DonInReno]

Nice!

It still amazes me that the 132k6 and various clones have not been as popular in the US as they are in Australia and England.   

 

[Constabulary]

Looks like drop feed variant w/o jump foot - then the machine takes the same presser feet as the Singer 45K / GA5-1.

BTW  - do you need an oil drip pan & bobbin winder? 

[SARK9]

Dikman quoth: "The only thing that I can see wrong with the table is the colour!"   The std. 20" wide table top is a bit too narrow for a heavy machine with a bed width of around 10"....it crowds things, particularly on the underside, plus who needs an excuse to make a new top?

@DFH-->  Nicklesville is around an hour away,  pretty much right down the road.

@DonInReno Did you see the "official specs" from the Seiko manual I copied? Needle DDX1 #18 to #29, Seriously? My charts show that needle size is good for a ridiculous sized thread, though the thread specs show it tops out with #5/T-350. Whoa.  I'm not exactly sure what converts to the #00 size....The machine came with some diamond point needles,  and I've got some fabric needles on the way. I'll have to see it work with T-70 to believe that one.

@Constabulary Good info on the presser feet, I only have the one that came with it. I have a sort of universal standalone bobbin winder made up with opposed cones on the shaft that handles anything from my 29K bobbins thru this machine's monsters...the drip pan would be nice, but dang! From Germany? Sounds like a bunch of postage stamps would give their life for that one! If you still have a 132K with a head rest peg, I'd love to see a picture of it tilted back to show how the "factory" intended for the machine head to be supported.

-DC

 

 

 

 

[jimi]

That looks like it is in great condition, well done.

[Constabulary]

my plate is not an original 132K plate - I have modified a 96K table because the plate was so nice and vintage (original Singer actually).

The peg I´m using came form a different machine and I´m using the original hole of the former 96K setup cause I don´t wanted to drill new holes into this nice old plate. I´ll post some pictures later.

I´ll send you an PM bcs. of the drip pan.

[Nessmuk1]

I like it!

[SARK9]

Seiko SK-6 Minor tune up and stitching test- 

I bought a selection of needles and needle types, plus some heavy thread to get the machine adjusted and confirm it would function reliably at the upper end of its capacity. First go was with a #24 RP needle and T270 thread top/T210 bottom.  Material sewn was a rectangle of 3/8" very firm "stall mat rubber" wrapped in about 10 layers of 1000D Cordura. Total thickness measured 0.456" or about 11.6mm.  This seems to be about the max practical foot lift before the main tension discs unload. I'll look around for any tips or tricks to increase the machine's lift capacity a slight bit more. The machine did a good job on the upper stitch, but needed more upper tension as the knots were just visible on the underside. Of more concern was about 4 skipped stitches right at the beginning of the test. I looked at the hook/needle proximity and the needle eye seemed quite a bit too close to the hook point....checking the needle bar showed a small difference in patina around the clamp, suggesting the needle bar had slipped up at some point and needed to be reset and tightened. Without a service guide I just watched the loop form and lowered the bar to what I would consider a typical relationship to the hook point. I increased the upper tension about a full twist.  Hand cycling detected no hard bits making contact. 

I switched over to some T-350 top thread/T270 bobbin thread and a #26 needle.  The machine seemed to stitch quite well and feed pretty uniformly with the heavier thread and needle after the adjustments. The machine is making a VERY nice tight stitch now. I DO miss the reverse levers I've become addicted to but this gives me an excuse to do the "flip it 180" lock stitch technique. Top side stitching left picture, bottom on right. You can see the second test with the 350/270 thread on the bottom since the 277 bobbin thread was white on the 2nd run:

 

-DC

 

Edited January 12, 2019 by SARK9