First sewing machine

[hanns]

1 hour ago, DonInReno said:

There’s more than a little marketing with all the claims of slow speed performance in the servos.    
 

The sailrite motor is a rebranded Reliable sewquiet motor.

https://reliablecorporation.com/products/sewquiet-6000sm-servomotor

 

Good to know! This is one of the things that makes navigating the sewing machine world, uh, interesting. Clones and rebrands of rebrands lol. But the Workhorse or SewQuiet motor does seem to do the job well in third party tests I've seen regardless of the marketing.

Shop "local" to me (not really, but it's not like there's an industrial sewing machine dealer on every corner) has a refurbished Juki 1541 non-S for under-budget. Also a refurb Consew 226 for just under a grand. I'm waiting to hear back from them, but whenever I do I'll ask about those and what they recommend for the best slow speed performance.

Edited March 6, 2021 by hanns

[kgg]

6 hours ago, dikman said:

Yes, pretty well all of the generic servos out of China are brushless and have been for a few years.

Sorry dikeman, I have to disagree. Most of what is being supplied by the dealers in North America appear to be servo motors that have the small knob speed dial and they come with a spare set of brushes. There are a few dealers like Reliable and Sailrite that offer the 12 coil brushless servo motors and Consew also has a brushless series of motors but I couldn't fine information as to how many coils they have. I suspect 6 or 9 coils. The more coils equals a better brushless motor. My thought is for most use if a brush motor is properly broken in under no load, it should provide a lot of decent service.

 

3 hours ago, hanns said:

Shop "local" to me (not really, but it's not like there's an industrial sewing machine dealer on every corner) has a refurbished Juki 1541 non-S for under-budget. Also a refurb Consew 226 for just under a grand.

I would pass on the Juki 1541 for the main fact that it doesn't have the safety mechanism. When you jam the machine up at some point not having that feature could be a costly mistake. I would also pass on the Consew 226 unless it is in the 500 to 600 dollar range. That would put it at about 40 percent of a new equivalent, Consew 206 Rb-5, at around the $1400 mark. Also if I am not mistake the 226 has a smaller bobbin. Some things to consider.

kgg

[JJN]

Work out a deal for the 1541s with Keystone where you pick it up to eliminate their shipping cost and trade that cost for an upgrade to the Reliable brushless motor. They have them.

[hanns]

7 hours ago, kgg said:

Most of what is being supplied by the dealers in North America appear to be servo motors that have the small knob speed dial and they come with a spare set of brushes.

These are the motors I keep seeing everywhere on new machines, so I was confused when I kept being told everything's brushless now.

7 hours ago, kgg said:

I would pass on the Juki 1541 for the main fact that it doesn't have the safety mechanism. When you jam the machine up at some point not having that feature could be a costly mistake.

Is this a problem unique to the 1541? Or do all the other machines already have some kind of safety mechanism and don't need a special model for it?

6 hours ago, JJN said:

Work out a deal for the 1541s with Keystone where you pick it up to eliminate their shipping cost and trade that cost for an upgrade to the Reliable brushless motor. They have them.

That's a good idea. I would actually like to visit in person to see how the machine works and discuss options before buying, but I'm not sure if they have in-store operations right now due to covid. I'm waiting to hear back on that.

Edited March 6, 2021 by hanns

[hanns]

Researching the motors Keystone has, this seems interesting. Basically the same promise as the SewQuiet, but more powerful and detached control box.

Video I found demonstrating it:

 

[kgg]

1 hour ago, hanns said:

Is this a problem unique to the 1541? Or do all the other machines already have some kind of safety mechanism and don't need a special model for it?

This not unique to the Juki 1541 they just gave the consumer an option to save a 100 bucks over the 1541"S" and are willing to run the risk. There are a lot of machines both brand name and clones that do not have this feature. Since you mention the Sailrite Fabricator in your original post, if I am not mistaken, the Sailrite Fabricator does not appear to have a safety mechanism (clutch) that can be reset as easily. Sailrite approached the problem by using basically a shear pin on the sewing machines drive pulley that would need to be replaced should a problem occur. Which is fine if you have a spare laying around.  Maybe just me but I think just being able to depress a button and hand wheel to reset the safety mechanism (clutch) is easier with little down time after you clear the jam.

kgg

[DonInReno]

I have purchased that sew pro 1100 motor from Keystone after the recommendations from a few members here that have tried a number of servos including the Reliable.   The 1100 watts makes this a big powerful motor with great low speed torque.   It appears all the 1100 watt motors on the market are nearly identical in appearance and price - probably the same manufacturer.   Even though it comes with a needle positioner, when used with a speed reducer, it isn’t needed - there’s enough control to simply stop the needle wherever you want it to stop.

The only catch with this motor is the $300ish price.     At this price most low speed sewers would be better off with a $150 servo and speed reducer.    

Edit:  I tried to find the discussion of the 1100 watt motor, but it’s buried in one of the “which servo to get” posts.   The servo posts from the past few years are worth reading - a lot of wisdom.

Edited March 6, 2021 by DonInReno

[hanns]

17 minutes ago, DonInReno said:

The only catch with this motor is the $300ish price.     At this price most low speed sewers would be better off with a $150 servo and speed reducer.

This is something else I was thinking about: cheap motor with a reducer vs expensive motor without. If the motor dies, swap in another cheap one. Reducer is just a big wheel - not likely to die. Might be a more robust long-term setup for a similar up-front cost.

19 minutes ago, DonInReno said:

The servo posts from the past few years are worth reading - a lot of wisdom.

I'll see if I can dig those up and point my research in that direction since the "which machine to get" question seems to be coalescing around the 1541S, both here and in my other research as a machine that would handle my current needs and provide some room to grow.

25 minutes ago, kgg said:

Maybe just me but I think just being able to depress a button and hand wheel to reset the safety mechanism (clutch) is easier with little down time after you clear the jam.

Particularly for me, who has no experience using sewing machines other than practicing some hems on our old Singer home machine right now. I'm likely to screw this up! Okay, I'm sold on the safety mechanism.

[DonInReno]

The trick to searching for posts here is to use google, but add site:leatherworker.net

I found the post that convinced me to buy the motor:

 

[hanns]

26 minutes ago, DonInReno said:

The trick to searching for posts here is to use google, but add site:leatherworker.net

I found the post that convinced me to buy the motor:

 

Thanks! I appreciate you taking the time to dig that up and the tip on searching. I had a read-through and I have to admit, I really like the idea of a beefy motor with high torque at very slow speeds to keep the setup simple.

Earlier you said:

1 hour ago, DonInReno said:

The only catch with this motor is the $300ish price.     At this price most low speed sewers would be better off with a $150 servo and speed reducer.   

A reducer from Keystone costs $186: https://store.keysew.com/parts/sewing-parts/sr-2

Add $130-150 for a motor, and you're well over the cost of the SP-1100-NPFL. So the only real advantage I can think of is if the motor dies, your replacement cost isn't as much. Are there other advantages to the reducer setup you're thinking of? I'll go through the other threads, but figured I'd ask since you mentioned it.