Suggestion for a new sub-forum

[Snakeoil]

This is how I started this post over in Leather Sewing Machines:

"My max stitch length is about 8 SPI. My understanding from reading here is the bellcrank is normally worn and is the root cause for the reduced stitch length. I was looking at the machine today and it would appear that to replace the bellcrank the head has to come off the top arm first. I see 4 screws that look like they hold it in place. Looking for some guidance here. Have only the parts diagrams as a guide.

I also wonder about the gib and clamp that sets the stitch length. There appears to be some play between the foot bar and the bell crank. I would expect their to be some since the foot bar moves relative to the bell crank. But the fore/aft play must contribute to reduction in stitch length. Is play in that gib/stitch regulator clamp relative to the foot bar normal, or do I need to replace the gib and regulator as well?"

I took a break and tried searching the site for the answers before posting this. Did not have a lot of luck. But doing some previous Google searches for info, Google had directed me to posts here that were good. So, I went to Google and searched for bell crank replacement and similar topics. EUREKA!! Found several old threads that had links to total strip down and rebuild reports, photos of Constabulary's 29K71 Barn Find rebuild and more. Pretty much all the various questions and ideas I've pondered since getting my 29K70 were asked and answered in what I found. And I'm sure there is more here. So, that's just a tip for newbies. Use Google or similar search engines to find threads here. Seems to work better than the site search feature.

As a newbie here, I'd like to make a suggestion. I've been a vintage motorcycle restoration guy for some time and motorcycle forums have done this and it works very well. Dedicate a sub-forum under Leather Sewing Machines to purely machine rebuilding threads. It will provide a very easy to find and use resource for those who need to make a repair or have an old machine they want to dig into. Questions within rebuild threads are okay if they serve to clarify or add detail. They should not take the rebuild thread off on a tangent.

I'm not trying to complicate things here or make more work for moderators. I just think doing this would add value to the site.

I had started to post this under Leather Sewing Machines, but realized it was probably better to post here.

Respectfully submitted,

Rob

[toxo]

The easiest answer is to get the webmaster to get the search feature to recognise quotation marks which would look for phrases instead of just individual words.

[Tejas]

Frequently I think that that in general the searches provided by web sites are not very good. Accordingly, I almost never use them. Instead I use google and the "site" keyword, as in:

[search subject, which might include quotes for phrases or other arcane google search syntax] site leatherworker.com

 

[mikesc]

Use
site:leatherworker.net whatever you are looking for
or
site:example.com whatever you are looking for

"On site" search is very resource ( CPU and RAM ) intensive ..slows the site ( any site ) server down to do it..and not all webmasters have the option to write their own search algorithms ( even if they know how, or wanted to ) especially on forum software..They depends on "plugins" from the forum software.

So..use
site:example.com ( or whatever the site's name is )
followed by
whatever the thing you are searching for..
Works on Google, Bing , Yahoo!, Yandex, DDG, Qwant etc ..even Baidu .
You do not need to use "quote marks" with them .. they will use stemming ( or similar ) to try to give results that are what you were looking for, and results that are close...Search is complex.

Edited February 7, 2020 by mikesc

[Constabulary]

beside the search options and BTT - the "restoration sub forum" idea came up earlier already. Not exactly sure but I think it came from Evo160K but the idea never has been discussed really. It´s up to the moderators... I´m the last who would say no - so I´m in! 

[toxo]

On 2/7/2020 at 10:56 PM, mikesc said:

Use
site:leatherworker.net whatever you are looking for
or
site:example.com whatever you are looking for

"On site" search is very resource ( CPU and RAM ) intensive ..slows the site ( any site ) server down to do it..and not all webmasters have the option to write their own search algorithms ( even if they know how, or wanted to ) especially on forum software..They depends on "plugins" from the forum software.

So..use
site:example.com ( or whatever the site's name is )
followed by
whatever the thing you are searching for..
Works on Google, Bing , Yahoo!, Yandex, DDG, Qwant etc ..even Baidu .
You do not need to use "quote marks" with them .. they will use stemming ( or similar ) to try to give results that are what you were looking for, and results that are close...Search is complex.

As usual, you taught me something new Mike but I thought we were talking about the search engine on this site. If resources are a consideration then just junk it if it's not fit for purpose. Maybe I'm not using it correctly but I'm fed up trawling through loads of posts containing say "leather"  or "needles" when I ask for "Leather needles". Some sites use quote marks to search for a phrase such as Ebay. Ebay is also happy with the minus sign - as in walking foot presser feet -domestic which will omit anything using the word domestic.

[mikesc]

Question of budget..
Ebay has a lot more money to spend on ultra high spec servers ,and coders, devs etc than Leatherworker.net does..
Quotes..means match exactly what is within the quotes..But Ebay, Google and others silently add in a.. return close matches etc ..which means using a lot more processing power , CPU cycles, server Ram, more complex coding, more leccy etc..

Given that on some days, at any one moment, there may be simultaneously up to 500 people on here..all of whom are being served images, some of whom are commenting ( takes computer resources to allow comments and accept uploaded images etc, and to serve pages ) servers are expensive to run..The more resources that they use, the more expensive they are to run..Ebay et al make a lot of gross profit, their net ( after paying for infrastructure and so on..servers etc..is pretty good too ) ..This board runs commercial software ( it has to be paid for ) and so does the server..They are not cheap..The site is not making Ebay kind of profit margins..search with bells and whistles cost more..both in "up front" costs and in server resources..

If a large number of the people using the site paid..then Johanna might be able to afford to upgrade just a little on the server AFAIK the forum software is the latest version of it..meanwhile..you are getting it all for free..and complaining that you don't think that it is fit for purpose?..

As usual, you taught me something new Mike but I thought we were talking about the search engine on this site. If resources are a consideration then just junk it if it's not fit for purpose. Maybe I'm not using it correctly but I'm fed up trawling through loads of posts containing say "leather" or "needles" when I ask for "Leather needles". Some sites use quote marks to search for a phrase such as Ebay. Ebay is also happy with the minus sign - as in walking foot presser feet -domestic which will omit anything using the word domestic.

On any of my sites you'd have just earned an IP ban.* with no warning..


I know sites where the annual membership is in the hundreds of dollars ( and in some cases thousands ) to access anything other than a few 'taster pages"..and there are still some sponsors ads..and they are in my experience nowhere near as useful a resource as leatherworker.net is for those wishing to learn and ask advice from pros and experienced hobbyists.

*My opinions only..I do not speak, nor claim to speak for Johanna.

I forgot something..every time that you look at a page on a website..it costs that website owner money..that is called bandwidth..you'd know that if you ran your own website(s) ..bandwidth bills ( depending on where the site is hosted ) can get big quickly, they are on top of server rental charges and software rental charges..

Edited February 9, 2020 by mikesc

[Northmount]

Using google or other search engines helps reduce the load on this server.  These companies with billions $ can afford to index all the pages on sites like this, provide higher level faster searches and use all the common formatting to yield the performance and expectations that people have that servers should be able to do anything and everything in the blink of an eye.

As mikesc points our, use google or other search engines "site:whatever-site whatever items" you are looking for.  It's to your advantage, and to the advantage of other users here, to offload that stuff to the money people.

Tom

 

[toxo]

11 hours ago, Northmount said:

Using google or other search engines helps reduce the load on this server.  These companies with billions $ can afford to index all the pages on sites like this, provide higher level faster searches and use all the common formatting to yield the performance and expectations that people have that servers should be able to do anything and everything in the blink of an eye.

As mikesc points our, use google or other search engines "site:whatever-site whatever items" you are looking for.  It's to your advantage, and to the advantage of other users here, to offload that stuff to the money people.

Tom

 

Thanks for the education guys. I hadn't thought about it from that angle but the principle remains the same. Why not ditch the search box, save Johanna some money and force everybody to use outside search engines?