Taming the beast

Doreen

Kathleen,

They can be scary critters at first. Ok. Here's where we fall back to what we tell beginning sewers with their first machines. ;) Get some scraps out of your trashcan and practice.

What I found with my Singer industrial straight stitch is that I **Can** sew slowly if I want to. ;) That's what the scraps are for. I know you got the machine because it has more power and will handle what you work with easier and faster. But you need to walk before you run. Don't put your foot all the way at the back/top of the pedal. Put your toes in the middle. That gained me a lot more control over my beasty. ;) Also remember that if you drop your heels down hard on the front (closest edge to you as you sit in front of it) of the pedal, it will stop Right Now. But if you have your heels on the "brakes" you won't be able to turn the handwheel and move the needle.

It takes a while to get used to this type of machine. You'll get it. What did it for me was practice sewing on really long strips. I'd go h*ll bent for leather, then slow down, then speed up, then slow down till it was stitching veeerrry slooowwlllyyyy. ;) I can get it down to one stitch at a time now. Just play...er...I mean practice with it and you will amaze yourself. ;)

Have fun!!

Sharon

---oh! I have a stiletto that I got from Nancy's Notions. That works for me like Penny's awl. Too, you might try it without the walking foot and see what that gets you.

In article , mamahays of Comcast Online uttered

I find that I do best on an industrial if I have my feet one forward, one back on the pedal, the way I do on a treadle - but then that's just me. YMMV.

On 2005-03-30 snipped-for-privacy@thischarter.net said: >Newsgroups: alt.sewing >So I finally took the plunge and bought myself a commercial machine >for making skid boots (the finished product can be seen at my >website linked in my sig below). I got a re-built Consew, model >226R-1. Got it set up this afternoon and am trying to get used to >it. Frankly, I'm scared of it. It takes off so fast with the >merest touch of the foot pedal. I'm struggling to re-train my lead >foot. WARNING: This answer comes from a Recovering Engineer / mechanic. It looks more complicated than it really is.

I had the same problem with my Bernina 217. These machines use a constant-speed motor (you push a switch button and the motor hums into life, right?) and a foot-operated clutch. Slow sewing requires slipping the clutch. Mine had a pulley on the power unit that gave a maximum (clutch fully engaged) speed around 2000 stitches per minute, way too fast for me to control. I bought an adjustable pulley of the type commonly used on a hot-air furnace blower drive, the smallest size available, and had to machine its bore bigger to fit the shaft on the motor unit, a simple 5 or 10 minute job on a lathe. (A good machinist can be a wonderful friend to have!) I can now adjust my maximum speed (and clutch-slipping speeds) to a comfortable range.

The drive belt is a vee belt, right? This fix won't work on other types of belts (they require you to substitute a smaller fixed-size pulley). A vee belt needs a lot of slack or the clutch binds and the speed control works poorly. I occasionally dribble a bit of sewing machine oil into where the shaft goes into the clutch bearing housing.

Tom Willmon Mountainair, (mid) New Mexico, USA

Net-Tamer V 1.12.0 - Registered

You can have the dealer put the smallest available pulley on the motor, 1.5 inch diameter. That will slow you maximum speed way down. This is good until you get used to it then you can put the larger pulley back on. They do feather with practice you like one poster mention get the scraps and practice.

stabilize things with this machine. Is there something better, or do I

just need to learn to hold things in place with my fingers? Surely pinning is out of the question? Kathleen Hansen

and for your finger's sake please use a sewing awl, a stiletto, an ice pick, a chop stick, a long pin, a seam ripper point, even a tooth pick before you use your fingers to hold things in place while sewing. Believe me, you'd rather change needles than take your dripping finger to the emergency room and wait a week to clean the blood off your sewing til your huge bandage is feduced from off of the finger.

Kathleen Hansen Z-Control Skid Boots Leg armor for gonzo dogs!

Heh. No way. There is no seam allowance. I'm stitching around the margins of 1" velcro, and attaching leather reinforcement with edge stitching.

Kathleen Hansen Z-Control Skid Boots Leg armor for gonzo dogs!

After a couple of hours of practice I seem to be getting the knack of modulating my speed. I've printed out your suggestions, and Ron's, for further study.

Kathleen Hansen Z-Control Skid Boots Leg armor for gonzo dogs!

flat bladed tweezers. There is no equivilant out there for pulling out threads. Clothilde used to sell them for $3.

penny

Kathleen replies: Heh. No way. There is no seam allowance. I'm stitching around the margins of 1" velcro, and attaching leather reinforcement with edge stitching.

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Thanks. Interesting looking tool, I've never seen one like it real life.

Gluing is my favourite method, but I cant imagine it being quick if youre doing production.

NT

though I often tell myself that taking a minute extra saves a lot of ripping. LOL