Wanted Merrow Eccentric Stitch Cams

[David Bruce]

I 'm looking for some eccentric stitch cams for my Merrow machine. They are the little slotted barrels like this one. The part number is 6-82. If you have some for sale please let me know.

[AlexanderDyer]

Hi David Bruce;

That picture is of an old merrow that I refurbished along with a couple of others at the time. The Merrow company is still in business and they will sell you any part that you wish. You can find their phone number on the website. http://www.merrow.com/

Have fun with it.

Alexander Dyer

[Ferg]

Now that is a neat little machine. How much do they cost?

Ferg

[Ferg]

Anyone who likes machinery of any kind, visit this company web site for some truly interesting work. http://www.merrow.com/

Ferg

[AlexanderDyer]

These old ones can usually be picked up for 200 to 400 dollars. Parts are affordable. The newer ones can run up to a couple thousand depending on the configuration.

[David Bruce]

Here's my Merrow machine from 1925. It's not meant for leather but can sew light garment weight leather and canvas.

[David Bruce]

On 1/26/2019 at 4:07 PM, AlexanderDyer said:

Hi David Bruce;

That picture is of an old merrow that I refurbished along with a couple of others at the time. The Merrow company is still in business and they will sell you any part that you wish. You can find their phone number on the website. http://www.merrow.com/

Have fun with it.

Alexander Dyer

Hi Alexander, I just realized that my reply never posted. Your videos have been very helpful, thanks for posting them. With regards to contacting Merrow for parts, I spoke with them and they told me to reach out to a dealer since they don't sell parts direct. It took a while but I found a dealer that had the parts that I needed in stock (eccentric feed cams). They ranged in price but averaged around $20 including shipping. It is rare to find a company that still makes parts for a machine let alone one this old and in the US no less! My machine was made between 1924-25 according to Merrow.

To answer Ferg's question, pricing varies. Like a lot of vintage sewing and leatherworking machines, prices seem to keep increasing. I feel like it's ebay driving private sellers to ask often ridiculous prices for things but, I guess it's whatever folks are willing to pay. I was fortunate to get mine complete with the original table, lamp, motor, manual, tools and a few accessories for $180. At the same time there was another one for sale in my city for $600. It was a slightly different configuration but essentially the same machine and only for the head.

Back to Alexander, what thread do you run through these machines? I read that Merrow floss is recommended but it's hard to find so I ordered some Madeira Rayon. I'm using #12 for the upper looper and #40 for the needle and lower looper along with a 36 cam (for patch borders). I'm hoping to add these patches to some of my leather items.

[AlexanderDyer]

That is a very nice looking setup you have there and you got it for a great price.

I am no thread expert but I can tell you what I have run. I have run Tex 35 cotton in a four thread merrow and it did great. I have run Tex 27 and Tex 40 spun polyester in other machines to good effect as well. I think thread can make a big difference in the end product so I think it comes down to some trial and error. How did the rayon do for you?

[David Bruce]

On 2/16/2019 at 2:26 PM, AlexanderDyer said:

That is a very nice looking setup you have there and you got it for a great price.

I am no thread expert but I can tell you what I have run. I have run Tex 35 cotton in a four thread merrow and it did great. I have run Tex 27 and Tex 40 spun polyester in other machines to good effect as well. I think thread can make a big difference in the end product so I think it comes down to some trial and error. How did the rayon do for you?

It was better than the Madeira 12 but it's still not filling well enough so I'm going to try floss.