servo motor on vintage domestic sewing machine

[Mike124]

First of all I am a new member to this site so, Hi to everyone. I am new to leatherwork and I was thinking.....has anybody ever put a servo motor and speed reduction pulley system on a vintage domestic sewing machine. I obtained a 1954 Necchi Mira machine that runs like a champ, but is lacking in power that is needed. I will just be using it for maybe a couple of pieces of 4-5 oz and less. I can now work through a piece of 4-5 pull up chrome tan and apiece of 4-5 oz veg tan if I put flesh side of chrome tan to the feed dogs. Should I just save this money and apply it to a walking foot machine? ....any thoughts ,suggestions and experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

NOTE: I know this is a domestic machine but it seems to be well built and no plastic except for on the light bulb holder. It will sew through much heavier pieces but I don't want to abuse this machine. Thanks again, Mike. I posted this in how do I do that but figured it was the wrong place.

[SARK9]

Short answer- The main good which will come from this approach is:  You will already have purchased the servo motor you will want later in your hand. You'll have to come up with a way to adapt the handwheel to a 3L V-belt to take advantage of the added power.....see below.

While the Mira is one of the better domestics and uses the "high shank" presser foot, the feed/transport and presser foot spring are going to be the next weakest link and will always make professional workmanship a risky proposition.

I've done something similar to an old Pfaff 260 which had a 'sploded motor and the dreaded *stapled fabric motor belt disintegration syndrome*... both motor and belt are pretty much unique to this model and at the time, were pretty dang scarce and $$$. I turned a nice steel "universal" handwheel pulley for it, which had a groove which would still accommodate the "stock" motor belt in the correct position inside the top cover, but also had a groove for the common 3/16" domestic V-belt,  PLUS I machined a groove for a standard 3L motor belt located outboard. I set up a motor mount to use a 1.5 amp domestic motor I had laying around and a reduction gear driving the tiny motor pulley these machines use. It worked pretty well for what I needed it to do, which was attach a heavy fabric reflective panel to a K9 vest made of 1000D Cordura with a narrow zig-zag stich around the border. I later attached a Consew brushless CSM 1000 "servo" motor (with the remote mountable control lever) to it, which was dead easy to do,  and it worked well, but then bought a like-new Singer 20U33 and rendered it all silly.

-DC

 

 

 

 

[rodneywt1180b]

If you're limiting yourself to garment weight leather you might get away with using a domestic machine.  The other limits you're going to run into would be thread, needle and stitch length sizes.

As much as I like vintage domestic machines (I have around 30 in my collection), you're better off long term buying a machine designed for leather.

[DonInReno]

Hi and welcome.

To anyone thinking of an industrial on a tight budget I suggest you think of them as three distinct parts that don’t have to be purchased together - head, table and motor.

The head of a simple drop feed industrial can be dirt cheap - $50 to $100 is common, especially for vintage machines.   Keep in mind many people selling vintage sewing machines have no use for it - it belonged to a relative who passed, a wife that left, or was left behind in a rental.   About every six months I see a complete functional industrial with table and clutch motor listed as free.   Heck, this past year there was even a complete walking foot industrial being given away.

Unless there was something special about it, $100 would be the max for a simple sewer in working condition - a near new simple sewer with servo motor can be had for $200 in many areas, so don’t pay too much for one.   Needle feed machines sew heavier material better, but they are not as good for leather as a walking foot - a good deal on these range between $50 and $150 (if someone isn’t a sewer that don’t see the difference between a drop feed machine and needle feed.)

For the cheapest walking foot industrial, there are two kinds - old obsolete models that are true walking foot machines, but parts are nonexistent, and then there are old factory machines that have been around the block a few times and may need the common wear parts updated.    An obsolete machine will be cheaper up front, but has no long term value.   An old factory machine like 111w155 Singer has more value since it’s easily repairable and will be worth as much in 20 years as it is today.

Tables often pop up for $50 all the time and usually include a high speed clutch motor.   Free listings are not uncommon.   Heck, I’ve given away a table about every other year and there are many others who would rather give it away than try to find a dumpster for it.

Servo motors are relatively new so there’s no getting around having to buy one for full price, although that is starting to change, and prices are pretty reasonable.

A commercial speed reducer will rarely show up used, but two pulleys, two pillow block bearings and a short shaft can be fairly easily made into one....if you enjoy messing around with such things.   

....that’s a long winded way of suggesting you can probably afford an industrial and that’s a better use of time and effort.

Edited December 25, 2020 by DonInReno

[Mike124]

SARK9, Rodneywt1180b, and DonInReno...Thanks for your input and advice. I will be looking for a different machine.