Hi
Its MIKE in Australia
Well, I made up some pulleys for my Consew 226-r2 ... it now runs at about 3 stitches per second , rather than ... very fast .
I bought an old lathe recently and I turned up some small M section V belt pulleys . The M section seems to be the standard V belt size for these machines . The difference is amazing . I made a small 35mm diam . pulley for the motor,( 15mm hole ) this drives a 150mm pulley ..other end is another 35mm which drives the sewing head .
It mooches along so slowly now ... much more control
I used standard ball bearings on the shaft I turned up..only $3 for each bearing ...
If anyone wants a small M section pulley .. let me know .. I can bore it to any dimension .
MIKE
Pics?
Sounds interesting. How's the torque? Any pictures? Too bad you didn't think of taking a before and after VIDEO! ;D
I took my speed reducer off my sewing machine last month. I felt like I did when I took the training wheels off my bicycle, last year. (Just kidding about the 'last year' part.)
I sew a lot faster, obviously, and I am able to do everything that I could with the reducer.
I began to teach myself how to sew 6 years ago. The reducer made everything so much easier. I wonder if that that's the best way for anyone to learn on their own?
Gene
I don't know about that Gene, but I know I like my servo motor. I can dial up the speed anytime I want! ;D Most of my sewing has been more intricate practice, but when I want to run welt or make long straight runs it's nice to have the option to increase the speed easily.
I learned to stitch in the time before Servo motors. You either suffered the learning curve and learned to manage the pulley and motor your machine had or you looked for another job, lol.
But decreasing the size of the machine's pulley is a a sure-fire way to slow that sucker down for pretty short "cabbage". You can also tinker with the linkage between the treadle and the motor. All of those things help. But, IMO, there is no substitute for practice. You have to learn how to effectively work the machine you sit behind every day! There is no substitute for time, patience, and experience.
With a clutch motor you learn how to manipulate the treadle to move the needle one stitch at a time. You make mistakes, but you get over it, you learn from it, and you master the machine that is effectively your "partner". There is no magic to make that happen.
Don't get me wrong, I have two, state-of-the-art machines in my shop, both with Servo motors and I love them. But a Servo motor is not the cure-all for inexperience. Remember this! Never be afraid to move the wheel by hand to get the job done quicky and accurately in tight spot. And practice, practice, practice... with time and repetition comes speed and accuracy.
(Trust me, I used to get paid by the piece... before Servo motors! how do you think I paid for my cars, my house, and saved the money to buy brand new machines? ;) )
Bobbin,
;D So your telling me to practice, and that I don't need a servo motor, but that you yourself have two?
<sarcasm>I guess you are either telling us this is bad advice or you that you need to practice yourself!</sarcasm>
What gives? :D
BTW, me, I can hardly sew a straight stitch at any speed. LOL. But I can do what I need to with most of these machines.
Without a doubt, the practice is the most important! ;D Even with the servo, I feel better every time I sit down in front of it.
Greg, Servos are wonderful and I believe they are the wave of the future (esp. with respect to energy requirements). But they are an expensive way to slow down a machine that is already equipped with a functional clutch motor. Pulleys and treadle adjustments are frequently cheaper and as effective. And there is no substitute for time in front of a machine and practice.
And it takes a fair amount of time to develop a feel for the treadle and reaction time of every machine you have. I have 4 other commercial machines, all with clutch motors and have been sewing professionally for over 30 yrs. In that time I've trained countless stitchers to work "at rate" or efficiently and safely on skill appropriate projects within a week of being hired, so I know from whence I speak.
Quote from: bobbin on July 25, 2010, 03:16:31 am
In that time I've trained countless stitchers to work "at rate" or efficiently and safely on skill appropriate projects within a week of being hired, so I know from whence I speak.
And that's one of the many reasons I come on here; I want to share an learn from others here. I rely on my customers and folks here to learn what they want, and what they value and to learn from their experience. Hopefully by the way I presented my post you can see that I was trying to have a bit of fun with you. Sometimes that does not come across well in text.
The fact is, inexpensive servo motors, say under $200, are new to the market. Prior to that, some form a a standard clutch motor has been the mainstay for many, many decades. Although I will say an old Amco and Singer motor is a lot better than some of the new crap clutch motors on the market. But that story is also history as well.
Will post some pics soon.. sorry for the delay .
MIKE
'
pics of my pulley system MIKE
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/morrispu/folding003.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/morrispu/folding002.jpg
Wow! Nice... Are you a former machinist? That's nice work there...
June
Hi Mike: Here is the pulley system that I made...really slows it down.
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv726%2Fndav8r%2Fth_SewingmachineSpeedReducer002b.jpg&hash=9a4a58a833f288d00ad341e2ba18b9a3) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v726/ndav8r/SewingmachineSpeedReducer002b.jpg)
I have this on one of my 206rb Consews, and on the other I have the smallest drive pulley (1 1/2"?) on the other machine.
Gale.
Both look great, and if you are to do it yourselfer, work exaclty like the speed reducers on the market. If you are an off the shelf kind of guy, this is exaclty how the on the market speed reducers work. Not any better or worse, and may cost as little as the custom made parts would depending on what you do and how you make it.
Those are cool! What kind of stiching do you use these machines on; intricate projects like motorcycle seats??
Just a word of warning my Norton anti virus tells me a Morris mans pictures on Photobucket are contaminated by a Virus called "downloader" ! I'm not very up on this but I think I'll heed the warning and stay away.
Big John
QuoteYou can also tinker with the linkage between the treadle and the motor. All of those things help. But, IMO, there is no substitute for practice.
No disrespect Bobbin; You're dead right that any skill will improve with practice. However, only good practice is effective. If you keep beating your head against a machine that is not set up correctly, you are wasting your time and re-enforcing bad habits. That "tinkering" with the linkage is only the beginning, but the machine has to be set up and addressed correctly ( see volumes 5-8 of my rants on that LOL). I've been tackin' rags for over 15 years after making shoes for 5 years and I have yet to work in a shop that didn't have at least one machine that no one liked or that wouldn't "behave" until I re-set it. The rub is that until you have the experience you really aren't sure what to re-set it to. sewing machine tables are almost infinitely adjustable and have to fit the operator. And the operator has to has to be in the right place/position. You wouldn't borrow some one's car and blame yourself that you can't see behind you because you didn't adjust the mirrors, or grind off some gears 'cause you can't get the clutch to the floor, now would you? Approach it just like getting into a new vehicle. Pretend you have no muscles , only skeleton and joints and get your joints over the machine's and have everything where it is comfortable to reach and the best visibility.
QUICK CHECKLIST:
>Is the table a comfortable height? ( loosen the 4 bolts and re-set. Set your chair first and take a look)
>Straight behind the needle?
>chair set so that thigh is parallel to floor? ( just behind the knee should be off the chair a wee bit)
>Lower leg perpendicular?
>Ankle over the pivot point of the treadle?
>angle of the treadle comfortable? ( adjust bracket between the two rods)
>degree of travel required to engage clutch okay? (move the top rod to one of the other holes on the clutch arm)
>Amount of resistance comfortable? (adjust wing nut on shaft above clutch arm)
>Is the knee lift "right there" on a comfortable part of your body without accidentally getting engaged?
I'm not discounting servos, speed reducers, or anything else. I'm just saying one has to have the basic corner stones covered to make a decisions that's right for them, and to make any practice worthwhile.
Well. I am also one of those poor souls who grew up without the internet. I never even knew servos existed until like maybe last year. I would have loved to slow my Adler down, way down about 24 years ago when I first started. I just had to give her a little clutch and turn it by hand when I needed to go slow. I think what made a big difference was the machine finally broke in enough to allow me to sew slowly. Or maybe the machine and I just met in the middle. I still use the clutch and hand turning when in really tight corners, or intricate fancy top stitching, I don't see that changing even with a servo.
Mike, I think the vast majority of us when we first started stitching found that our machines ran at speeds like a fighter jet.
My first machine scared the hell out of me the first time I pushed that pedal and it was a 900 spm machine. My new Chandler is a 3,300 spm machine and it flies. I have the dial set on the number 2 setting but when I am doing long straight stretches I will turn it up full bore.
I have never had the chance to sew on a clutch motor machine. Thankfully Bob talked me into the servo when I bought my new machine from him. I heard they can be a little jumpy when first started. :)
I think comfort with your machine comes with what you are used to.
Chris