machine help

[Azarl]

Hi

I suffer from Parkinson's and my wife & I thought that leatherworking would be excellent therapy - good call on her part :).  We set up a small garden workshop but I think I got the wrong sewing machine. Looking around and talking to the UK distributors, I purchased a Cowboy 335 (Hightex7335) back in April.

This is a lovely machine, but my condition limits my reaction time and even on the slowest speed  I cannot keep up with it (I've sewed my thumb a couple of times :)). I have been sewing manually using an awl for the last 6 months and could do with some help here. I am thinking that a manual machine (hand-cranked?)  may be a better option as that is something I can control much better. Can anybody suggest a machine please for general work and where I can purchase one - I see loads on eBay but know nothing about them.

Thanks

 

[Constabulary]

is your machine already slowed down with a speed reducer?

Edited November 20, 2019 by Constabulary

[chrisash]

This video may help explain what a speed reducer is and does also if your using a clutch motor then changing it for a servo motor will also give you far more control for in the UK just over £100

 

Edited November 20, 2019 by chrisash

[Azarl]

Thank you both. I have both a speed reducer and servo. My control over my hands and feet is an insurmountable issue for electronics. If only for safety, I really think I need to go manual

 

[zuludog]

I don't know if this is any help, but -

A friend of a friend makes sails, boat covers etc from cotton canvas and synthetic. He uses an old Singer treadle machine, which he prefers to electric as he says it gives him more control. But I'm afraid that only you can decide whether you will have sufficient strength and co-ordination to operate it

This sort of problem has been posted before, and suggestions have included fixing an awl blade in the chuck of a small drill press - similar sort of machines are used to press down dies and makers mark stamps onto leather.

Or to get a small Dremel in a drill press stand of some kind; or a small pillar drill There are other makes, including Proxxon, which is more expensive. Surf t'Net and see what's available. Those two would only make one hole at a time, and you would have to do the sewing by hand.

If necessary you could probably have the pillar drill adapted to use a foot switch, though you would still need to pull it down by hand

Edit - have tou thought about using a stitching chisel?

Edited November 20, 2019 by zuludog

[billybopp]

@azarl given your situation, I think I'd consider one of two things to try first:  A further speed reduction using your current servo, or contact your Cowboy dealer and see if they can come up with a hand-crank for your machine.  Or, even better, if they can come up with a MUCH bigger wheel for the handcrank, that would also  drastically slow down the machine when using the servo:  Best of both worlds!

Just some food for thought!

- Bill

[kgg]

Some good options have been suggested by others. From a manual prospective I think you are down to the Cowboy Outlaw, Tippmann Boss , a older Singer 29k with the side crank or a Chinese patcher.

kgg

[Azarl]

Thank you - I'll let you know how I get on

[RockyAussie]

If the 335 does the work they way you want it may pay to try and adapt it to suit your needs. A singer patcher has a nice front or end handwheel control system but they tend to not stitch that nicely compared to most sewing machines. Not at least without years of practice any ways. At the base on a 335 there is a lot of free room for bolting on attachments and I would think if you were to have a talk with a sewing machine repair man it may be possible to come up with a way to bring a pulley and belt to the bottom front and construct a right angle gear arrangement to mount a hand wheel onto at the front. I don't know much about Parkinson's  but I think that means that you are not able to always control the muscles reliably as you would want. Whether you used a motor to slow it down or not would probably not make it much safer for you to use. I have seen many other people on here that for one reason or another would like to have hand control machines and I think that if you come up with something (adapter kit) there would be a fair bit of market interest. There are many little right angle reduction gearboxes available online now days sooo .....maybe not so hard. 

Edited November 20, 2019 by RockyAussie
missed word

[Azarl]

13 hours ago, RockyAussie said:

If the 335 does the work they way you want it may pay to try and adapt it to suit your needs. A singer patcher has a nice front or end handwheel control system but they tend to not stitch that nicely compared to most sewing machines. Not at least without years of practice any ways. At the base on a 335 there is a lot of free room for bolting on attachments and I would think if you were to have a talk with a sewing machine repair man it may be possible to come up with a way to bring a pulley and belt to the bottom front and construct a right angle gear arrangement to mount a hand wheel onto at the front. I don't know much about Parkinson's  but I think that means that you are not able to always control the muscles reliably as you would want. Whether you used a motor to slow it down or not would probably not make it much safer for you to use. I have seen many other people on here that for one reason or another would like to have hand control machines and I think that if you come up with something (adapter kit) there would be a fair bit of market interest. There are many little right angle reduction gearboxes available online now days sooo .....maybe not so hard. 

Thanks - that  is a good idea - I'll look into hand adapting

[Azarl]

A new friend with a Singer 29K has kindly offered to let me try his machine so I'm going over to Manchester tomorrow to try it out.

[RockyAussie]

12 hours ago, Azarl said:

A new friend with a Singer 29K has kindly offered to let me try his machine so I'm going over to Manchester tomorrow to try it out.

Very good idea. That should help to see if that motion can do what you want or not safely. If it is in a foot treadle you may want to try it with out the belt connected as well if he is willing.

[Northmount]

@Azarl Moved your post to Leather Sewing Machines.

I would seriously look at putting a crank or large handwheel on your machine if I was in your circumstances.

Tom

 

[dikman]

If you already have a servo and speed reducer then replacing the handwheel with a large pulley as well will slow it down significantly. I got one down to 1 stitch every 2.5 secs by doing this. Of course, if you feel that a motor drive is potentially dangerous in your situation then a handcrank is probably the way to go. Replacing the handwheel with a large pulley and mounting a handle near the rim also works.

[RockyAussie]

I was thinking that a bolting a box something like this one in the link below, mounted on the front of the 335  perhaps to some angle iron would allow a pulley to line up with the machines top pulley and a hand wheel of sorts connected to the front. One off a patcher would be great but probably a little overkill. http://www.screw-jack.com/tiny-right-angle-gear-box.html

[DonInReno]

Adding a larger handwheel with knob for hand cranking is very easy for most machines.
Any cast iron handwheel with decent thickness can be drilled and tapped for such a thing. 

[Constabulary]

13 hours ago, RockyAussie said:

I was thinking that a bolting a box something like this one in the link below, mounted on the front of the 335  perhaps to some angle iron would allow a pulley to line up with the machines top pulley and a hand wheel of sorts connected to the front. One off a patcher would be great but probably a little overkill. http://www.screw-jack.com/tiny-right-angle-gear-box.html

Thats a cool idea for a hand crank machine!!!!  

[Azarl]

I managed to try a Singer 29K and found I could use a hand crank easily. Using a vintage, manual machine like this provides quite a satisfying experience. I think I will try and find a good machine and sell my own - the idea of working with a vintage machine is very appealing Thanks for all the help everybody  - what a great resource this forum is.

Next stop - eBay

 

 

Edited November 28, 2019 by Azarl
Spelling

[kgg]

I am so glad that you found the Singer 29k to be usable and put some enjoyment back in sewing stuff. The only other suggestion I can offer is maybe fitting the Singer 29k pr similar machine with a table top extension similar too something like Harry Rogers shows in his youtube video called "Simple DIY Conversion Singer 29k Patcher Cylinder Arm to Flatbed".

kgg

[Frodo]

I am using a 1924 singer,  that i mounted a motor with foot control on

half the time I just hand crank it,  it gives me the control that i want,

and when i hit a long straight  run.  i give it the juice

 

 

[Azarl]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On 11/28/2019 at 3:41 PM, Frodo said:

I am using a 1924 singer,  that i mounted a motor with foot control on

half the time I just hand crank it,  it gives me the control that i want,

and when i hit a long straight  run.  i give it the juice

Perfect - thank you for the idea