Slow down pulleys

[timtheboatguy]

Those are cool! What kind of stiching do you use these machines on; intricate projects like motorcycle seats??

[BigJohn]

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

[Darren Henry]

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.

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.

[mike802]

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.

[Mojo]

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