First sewing machine

[toxo]

Like dikman I've replaced the hand wheel on both my machines and it works like a charm. Can't see why it's not promoted more on here. Perhaps forum loyalty? All I know is a 250mm pulley on my Adler 69 with a 550w Jack  motor with a 40mm pulley gives all the torque I'll ever need, I can do one stitch at a time and use a Jack needle positioner, Cost around £30, time to do? about an hour. I know matt had trouble with his synchro and I did as well until I found the set screw was moving. Due to the extra width of the 250mm pulley the original synchro bolt wasn't long enough and I had to get an extra bit for that which I think was around £12. Now I can stop up/down at will. There's a post with a video somewhere on here along with the bill for the parts.

It does amuse me when I read about extra shafts and pulleys and pillow blocks that take about a week to put together.

[DonInReno]

You’re in quite a good situation - either way will be a very nice setup.   The drop down menu for motor options on that Keystone package shows a lower price on the reducer. 

The speed someone sews at varies not only on the type of product, but also personal preference - I sew at a relaxed pace in general, but many projects are new to me so I’m extra careful about material alignment and placing each stitch.  For this style a 5:1 reducer is my favorite, but I also have a 7:1 reducer that was overkill, but still worked just fine. 

On the other hand a friend of mine sews a lot of belts and dog collars - she can whip em out quick and doesn’t want anything that slows down the machine too much.

If you go with a big motor you may not need a reducer....

 

[hanns]

21 minutes ago, DonInReno said:

You’re in quite a good situation - either way will be a very nice setup.   The drop down menu for motor options on that Keystone package shows a lower price on the reducer. 

...

The speed someone sews at varies not only on the type of product, but also personal preference

Although my work is similar to your friend's, I'm personally a klutz so I'll be doing things very deliberately - especially early on when learning the machine.

Hmm, $10 difference is negligible. My inclination is toward the 1100 for slow speed torque out of the gate and ability to easily ramp up should I ever want to by pressing a few buttons.

Again, appreciate your input. It's helping me scope this down to what I believe will be a very nice setup that handles what I normally do now, with plenty of headroom to spare.

[dikman]

16 hours ago, kgg said:

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.

kgg

I stand (or at the moment sit) corrected then. I based my statement on my experiences and those knob-control brush-type servos aren't common here in Oz whereas the generic brushless are everywhere! When you can find a knob-control unit they are expensive!

[DonInReno]

8 hours ago, toxo said:

Like dikman I've replaced the hand wheel on both my machines and it works like a charm. Can't see why it's not promoted more on here. 

I’ve also wondered why many people are hesitant to get rid of the factory hand wheel.

Personally I like a big cast iron hand wheel, especially if it looks like a vintage factory part.  

 

 

 

[kgg]

13 hours ago, dikman said:

When you can find a knob-control unit they are expensive!

Funny how things differ.

kgg

[chrisash]

There should be a good market for largen broken machine handwheels but you seldom see them advertised

Just did a quick check on Ebay.com and far more brushless servos; than the brushed ones but prices seemed to be about the same apart from some very low Enduro motors at $30 

sewing machine servo motor | eBay

[BelleH]

Hanns - Just wondering what you decided to do about a machine.  Did you purchase one?  I too am on the hunt and I see that your original requirements/wants are similar to mine so thought I'd ask for an update on your search and/or purchase.  Thanks!

 

[hanns]

On 4/12/2021 at 4:41 PM, BelleH said:

Hanns - Just wondering what you decided to do about a machine.  Did you purchase one?  I too am on the hunt and I see that your original requirements/wants are similar to mine so thought I'd ask for an update on your search and/or purchase.  Thanks!

I ended up going with the Thor GC1541S-SRG package from Sunny Sewing Machines. It's a 1541S clone with dual tensioners (similar to the 1508) and a top-mounted foot height adjustment knob like the 1541-7. This particular kit also comes set up with a 550W brushed servo (the same one that comes standard on a lot of machines) and a speed reducer. The main reason I chose this machine over the name brand Juki is because it is specced to support larger thread sizes. Spec says TEX 270. I was skeptical, but I've now tried it myself and it works beautifully for my purposes, albeit with limited bobbin capacity for such a thick thread. Tonight I'm going to slap a 45mm pulley on the motor (comes with a 75mm by default) and see if I can get the speed down a little more.

Also, my dealings with Sunny Sewing Machines have been positive. The first machine they shipped was dropped in transit. I took pictures, rejected the shipment, and Sunny sent a replacement a few days later. They've been very responsive, and I was supported even after the sale when things went wrong.

This machine (and probably any of the 1541 type machines I'd imagine), does *amazingly well* for my purposes. It goes through two layers of 8-10 oz bridle leather like it's not even there. Bridle + layers of chrome tan? No problem. I've experimented with a bunch of needles and the Organ NW leather needles (and probably others) give the stitches a nice slant very reminiscent of saddle stitching. I'm very happy with it so far.

I've attached some photos of different tests so you can see what I mean. One is 8-10 oz bridle + 2 layers of 4 oz deer. The other shows off the slant effect.

Edited April 15, 2021 by hanns
Add photos

[BelleH]

4 hours ago, hanns said:

I ended up going with the Thor GC1541S-SRG package from Sunny Sewing Machines. 

Thank you very much for the information - including the detailed description and the pictures.  I'm in the early stages of my search and this helps a lot since it provides me information for comparing machines and also a "review" from someone that doesn't have a vested interest in selling a machine.