Hi all and thanks for everyone's reply re: good service/sales people in New England. Looking at different machines..Is a 1/2 Hp too fast?
Nora
Hi Nora;
I'm sure one of the machine experts (Gregg, Bob, etc.) can answer you with more detail; but I don't think the HP determines speed as much as 'punching power'... but I could be wrong.
Cheers,
howard
Motor HP has no influence on the speed of the motor. Your motor speed is commonly going to be either 1725 RPM or 3450 RPM. HP has to do with the strength of the machine and not the speed. But, if you want to split hairs here.....if you are sewing heavy leather with a 1/3 HP motor? Then yes, HP will play into the overall sewing speed because you would need a stronger motor to "maintain" motor speed/sewing speed and to help prevent motor stall.
The only machines I have with a 1/3HP motor are both very old; one is a Singer 31-15, the other is a rotary take up W&G. , both are 1725rpm machines. Not "high speed" by a long shot, but for machines that are not "self-oilers" and without rotary hooks they shouldn't be expected to be!
The other 2 clutch motors I have are both 1/2HP and both are 3450rpm motors. Very quick, very trappy: a W&G 5 thread overlock and a US Blindstitch; the latter requires manual oiling which I perform every time I use it (not a daily occurence).
The 2 machines with Servos are full function and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure how their "powerpacks" relate to the standard offering in clutch motors. I have a few oiling points that must be addressed manually on the 1541N7, and I do that every 2-3 days, or according to usage.
"Speed" has a lot to do with pulley size, too; it's not all about HP or rpms.