Consew 206RB-5 Speed Reducer?

[shoepatcher]

Michael Simards, the Adler and Pfaff dealer in Canada, told a guy I am helping out because they would not even though he bought the machine from them.   They DO NOT put speed reducers on machines with Servos.  Said they do not need them!   AHH??  Are you kidding me.!!!!  Bob at Toledo, Steve at Cobra and Allen at Weaver have been putting speed reducers on harness weight  machines with  servos for years.  I know for a fact that they never put any speed reducer on any Adler 205 they sold to the Goalie companies in Canada be it with a servo or clutch motor.   Try sewing a Adler 205 with a clutch motor and no speed reducer.   No good control of the machine, I can tell you!   Moral of this story.  YOU NEVER KNOW IT ALL AND YOU LEARN THINGS EVERYDAY!!  Some dealers think they know it all.  Fortunately, our dealers on this site are very knowledgeable and do listen.

glenn

Edited December 17, 2020 by shoepatcher
grammar

[herbworff]

I know this post is a little old but here is what I did to my new Consew 206 RB-5 with the CSM 550 Servo.  1st changed motor pulley to 45 mm - still too fast.  2nd changed hand wheel to a 6", 1/2" bore die cast pulley - still too fast for my liking.  I have a Consew 225 that I put a Sewpro 500 gr from Toledo on several years ago.  I retired the 225 & replaced the CSM 550 on the 206 RB-5 with the Sewpro 500 gr (3:1 reduction geared), 45mm pulley & 6" pulley on the machine.  What a difference!  Slooooow & control & torque.  The Sewpro bolted right up & a 44" 3L belt.  Punched through 4 layers of dry 6 oz veg tan (7/16") at slow speed.  Some day I will get the box reducer & a better servo.  I really don't like the CSM 550 servo but maybe with the box reducer setup it will work better.  The 6" die cast pulley has 3 spokes - not the safest.  I have been searching for a solid 6" cast iron to no avail.  Seams when you go this large they all have spokes & 1/2" bore is hard to find .  Hope this helps but not every one has a spare Sewpro 500gr laying around.

[Wizcrafts]

7 hours ago, herbworff said:

Hope this helps but not every one has a spare Sewpro 500gr laying around.

I used to have a National walking foot machine that I installed a Sewpro 500GR on. I wish I hadn't sold it. The machine sewed all the way up to 7/16 inch using System 190 needles, or 3/8 inch with System 135x16. That motor with its built in reducer let me sew 1 stitch per second into veg or chrome tan leather with no help needed on the balance wheel.

The reason there aren't many around is because the people who built them went on lunch break and never came back to work. ;-) Actually, they had an overheating problem due to the cases warping from the heat and torsion stresses. Rather than beef up the construction, they closed the factory.

[DrmCa]

On 12/8/2020 at 11:58 AM, MtlBiker said:

He said he's never heard of anyone wanting to slow down the 206RB-5 and he also said that you cannot change the motor pulley.

He's talking out of his rear end. Tar and feathers in order. Talk to a different dealer.

I have a small pulley on my Family 550 servo that your Consew is a clone of. It stitches at the lowest 350 just fine. The pulley came from a Hitachi clutch motor that was on my Juki DDL when I got it. This is why I love the old-style Family 550 with a keyed shaft instead of the new Rex etc with a threaded shaft: they used to be compatible with clutch motors.

On 12/8/2020 at 7:08 PM, Wizcrafts said:

There used to be a dealer named Toronto Industrial Sewing Machines.

Do you mean General Industrial Sewing Machines? GSM Sewing? If you do, then the name of the owner is Neal, and he is indeed very knowledgeable and helpful person.

Edited November 11, 2021 by DrmCa

[Wizcrafts]

5 hours ago, DrmCa said:

He's talking out of his rear end. Tar and feathers in order. Talk to a different dealer.

I have a small pulley on my Family 550 servo that your Consew is a clone of. It stitches at the lowest 350 just fine. The pulley came from a Hitachi clutch motor that was on my Juki DDL when I got it. This is why I love the old-style Family 550 with a keyed shaft instead of the new Rex etc with a threaded shaft: they used to be compatible with clutch motors.

Do you mean General Industrial Sewing Machines? GSM Sewing? If you do, then the name of the owner is Neal, and he is indeed very knowledgeable and helpful person.

I used to buy machines, parts and accessories from Neal and his Dad. GISM was very good to me when I was just getting into industrial sewing machines. If I was still on that side of the border they would be my go to dealer.

[MainiacMatt]

On 12/8/2020 at 11:58 AM, MtlBiker said:

Just spoke with my Consew dealer, who is supposedly the Consew distributor for Eastern Canada.  I must say, I was less than impressed.  He said he's never heard of anyone wanting to slow down the 206RB-5 and he also said that you cannot change the motor pulley. 

I know this is an old thread, but I thought it was funny that I just had a dealer in New England tell me pretty much the same thing...  "can't change the pulley on Consew CSM550-1 servo motor" & "no need to put a speed reducer on a Consew 206RB-5"

Guy seems to only deal with larger commercial outfits and only sells industrial machines.  

So the mystery continues.

[Constabulary]

No mystery. It depends on what you sew (leather or fabric....) and how experienced you are as a sewer / seamstress. Speed reducers are not a must have but they make things (sewing machines) easy to master speedwise.

I have speed reducers on all my 5 sewing machine setups. I still can go from crazy slow (leather or short seams as on box tacks on 1" webbing straps / ~10mm thick f.i.) to quite fast (loooong seams on canvas, sunbrella...) even with the speed reducers.

Just a personal preference and IMO it makes the machines more versatile. If you don´t need a SR you don´t need one but I prefer them.

Run your machine w/o a SR and if it is too fast change the pulley if still to fast and you need more torque (for thick materials) add a speed reducer.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Constabulary

[DonInReno]

Lol

[Wizcrafts]

2 hours ago, MainiacMatt said:

I know this is an old thread, but I thought it was funny that I just had a dealer in New England tell me pretty much the same thing...  "can't change the pulley on Consew CSM550-1 servo motor" & "no need to put a speed reducer on a Consew 206RB-5"

Guy seems to only deal with larger commercial outfits and only sells industrial machines.  

So the mystery continues.

There is an explanation for this dealer's viewpoint. People sewing veg-tan leather projects and very part time sewers tend to sew slow to avoid overheating the needle and to get better control over the very visible stitches. Precision sewing at slow speeds is easier to get right and keep your picky customers happy. Furthermore, walking foot machines tend to be clunky due to all the moving crank shafts and interconnecting couplers. Running the machine fast without fine tuning it for speed make let it shake parts loose and things off the sewing table.

Now, lets take the same sewing machine and set it up in a marine repairs or upholstery sewing shop. First of all, they will remove any speed reducer that was installed. Second, they will remove a small pulley and replace it with one that is at least 3 to 4 inches diameter. This lets the machine run close to 1:1 with the motor.

The next step might be to reduce the alternating foot height to the minimum setting. The lower the alternating height, the smoother the operation. Next, the machine will be thoroughly over oiled and left overnight with a doubled rag under the feet and head area. Then, before running it for real, the feet will be equalized on the floor to stabilize the table. When the operator sits down with a 20 foot long seam that is stapled together outside the stitchline, he or she will hold back the starting threads, then run a n inch or so forward, then backward, then he/she will floor it until they reach the end, slowing down for corners. The last inch will be backtacked, the work will be passed to the next person and any oil cleaned off the table. In upholstery and marine sewing, and banner sewing, time is money. Nobody is going to pick up a 20 foot or longer vinyl or awning material thing and look at the stitchline unless it is a show piece. The operator just makes sure the knots are balanced and the two ends are locked in.

Industrial sewing machine dealers tend to sell more machines to shops that sew long flat items, like couch and chair covers, sails, Bimini covers, tarps and banners than to leather crafters. Thankfully, we have a few dedicated leather sewing machine dealers who support this forum and sell specialized machines for our trade. They understand the craters' need to sew slow. They offer motors with tiny pulleys and speed reducers that they preinstall and setup correctly.

[MainiacMatt]

6 hours ago, Constabulary said:

I have speed reducers on all my 5 sewing machine setups. I still can go from crazy slow (leather or short seams as on box tacks on 1" webbing straps / ~10mm thick f.i.) to quite fast (loooong seams on canvas, sunbrella...) even with the speed reducers.

Just a personal preference and IMO it makes the machines more versatile. If you don´t need a SR you don´t need one but I prefer one  

I priced a box style speed reducer today.  $240 shipped. 
I suspect I’ll be buying it at the same time I buy the machine, and install looks like a no brainer. 

Edited January 26, 2023 by MainiacMatt