miscellaneous tips, advice, and cautions

[dw]

Nasser,

Looks like you worked out the bead/welt in the center of the top...?

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[dearbone]

DW,

Yes i did and there wasn't much to it, but don't ask me to explain,i wish i had taken some pictures, Once in a while a challenge (trick)like this appear,but with an exception of some of Lobb pattern makers tricks,i usually can sort them out and in this case the flap center seam needed some 10mm underlay allowance and sewn grain to grain to the quarter,it might not be easy to visualize until have the pieces in front of you.

Regards
Nasser

[paul]

I agree Nasser, I really wish you had taken pictures too!

But it looks like it came out really clean.

Thank you to Carole, for a good question, and thank you Nasser for your answer and example.

Paul

[dearbone]

My apology,I need to correct myself and say the flap center seam grain side sewn to the inside quarter center flesh side,so basically the flap is extended about 10mm and the quarter is sewn to it from the top,(the thread is hidden in the binding edge)this is what makes this seam so unorthodox.

Nasser

[carole]

Nassar and Frank

Thanks for your replies, they are very helpful and have made me think! Also to Nassar for the photo, which is exactly what I was striving for.

Nassar- do you have a source for the hooks you supply the clients? I would have thought they were impossible to get in this day and age.

Upon reflection, there were several reasons why mine were unsuccessful but I love this style of boot and can't wait to try another version.

Thanks also to everyone for the warm welcome!

[dearbone]

Carole,

you are very welcome,Do i have a source for hooks? Well,I bought most of mine on eBay form mainly American suppliers and some from antique stores here in Toronto,They are rare,but not impossible to find.
BTW,a good working button hole machine can produce better result and this technique is used when only a hole punch and a sewing machine are available.

Nasser

[kieran_ionescu]

Not sure if this is the most appropriate category for this question-

What do people use to oil their various machines?

I figure the oil for a line finisher is not the same for the guts of a sewing machine and different still from a 5 in 1... and so on. I'm curious what people have found to be the best for various applications.

Thanks,
Kieran

[das]

Kieran,

For older low-speed (black) Singer sewing machines with all those oil ports, I use 30W motor oil--the NON-detergent stuff. Same for Landis L stitcher, MacKay 88, 5-in-1, etc. On toothed gears, slow moving parts, and cam-ways, I use black Valvoline general purpose auto wheel bearing grease. For higher-speed, newer (grey) Singers, just good clear lightweight sewing machine oil. If you have older clutch motors, check them for grease fittings--metal nipples here and there. You might need a cheap hardware store grease gun filled with cartridges of all-purpose black grease to fill those.

Be sure your oil ports are clear and clean first. A little spritz of aerosol brake cleaner squirted in the holes with the red extension pipe will flush-out the old dried oil, and accumulated muck can be picked out with a wooden tooth pick. You need to make sure the oil is getting through the oil journals and into the bearing surfaces.

"The oil can is your machines' best friend..."--Old shoemaker I knew.

[tmattimore]

Ditto to D.A. Oil is cheaper then parts.
Tom

[johnl]

Be careful with the older machines. There are industrial mills lathes motors etc. that are older that have what appear to be grease fittings on them. They will even accept a grease gun. Problem is that those fittings are really for oil. There are oil guns that fit these, or you can adapt a grease gun to do it. Many machines have been greased in the past when they really require oil. Careful research and old manuals should be consulted. I would not just assume grease.

[kieran_ionescu]

Thanks so much.

D.A.- for the underbelly on my pfaff 491 where the toothed gears and slow moving parts are- this is where grease makes sense as opposed to oil?

Bests,
Kieran

[das]

John,

Good caveat! I didn't know that. Thanks. I only discovered the grease fittings on an ancient Singer clutch motor that was already caked with old hardened grease. In this case I'd think oil would run out and drip all over the floor? How can one easily tell which is called for without the manual?

Kieran,

Grease on gears, yes, as oil, even heavy 30W will run off and not stay put. Even a little Vaseline petrolium jelly applied with your finger tip might do it.

[johnl]

D.A.
This is one of the mysterys of the universe. I did not know this either until I started taking machine shop classes at night, and becoming a presence on a forum call practical machinist. There were discussions on there and in class about some of these older machines and their need for oil versus grease. Others have assumed the fitting were for grease and shot it to them with the result of all the oil passages etc. over time getting plugged up and blocked. Resulted in some expensive repairs in some cases. For more info than you probably want to know, go to www. practicalmachinist.com and do a search on oiling machines, oil fittings etc. Many a bridgeport mill has been damaged according to the info there.
Of course open gears etc. are not subject to that.
I have an old 608 Rivett metal lathe. The motor has lines leading to it with "grease fittings" that I was greasing up just like others before me. I found out that it cost a little over $300 to rebuild the motor. A careful review of some old manuals from the internet had me flushing out several other fittings and flooding with oil.
I am not saying that sewing machines etc. have the same thing, but I think I would be careful-- you never know. Some of the old old motors had open style oilers, you lifted the lid and squited oil in on the babbit bearings. Others might have fittings that look like grease. Myself, now I would have a tendency to try oil, but I know of no real way to tell short of reading a manual, or asking someone like an old time repairman.
John

[johnl]

Below is an example I copied from the other website talking about oil vs grease

The experts will be along in a moment, but mainly, the "grease" the tag refers to isn't a grease (as in the semisolid stuff) it's an oil.

What I did on mine, is I use way oil on the sliding parts (ways, natch) and grease (actual tube grease) on the rotating parts (handwheel shafts, knee screw, leadscrews, etc.

For the head, I don't know the exact corresponding oil, but generally speaking, it's a hypoid bevel gear, so if it were me, I'd use conventional gear oil.

I modified a trigger oil can to pump oil into the "grease" fittings- it works, but it's a little wimpy when it comes time to try to force oil into near-sliding contact ways. Greg modded a small grease gun to hold oil, and that give him more pressure to do the job.

__________________________________`


The table is a bit more complicated. As designed it has Zerk fittings (look just like grease fittings but they're meant for oil). Oil guns with mating Zerks are difficult to find, and those that are available have a less than stellar reputation.

I just squirt way oil on the underside of the table, moving it out to all four extreme positions, before I use the machine and occasionally during use. Unless you're doing production work (I'm not) this should be sufficient.

If a previous owner filled the Zerks with grease, this may be your only option unless you want to clean out the lube system inside the table.

[lancepryor]

Kieran:

I have PDF's of the user manual and the parts list for the 491; they have been really useful to me in taking apart and putting my Pfaff back together, and in attempting to tweak it. If you would like, I would be happy to e-mail you (and anyone else who would like them) copies of these docs. The gears on the bottom do call for a grease; it is specified as a Pfaff grease, but the US Pfaff folks, IIRC, don't have it.

Lance

[kieran_ionescu]

Lance,

Thanks for the offer. I actually have that manual. My assumption is that the grease is probably similar to the bearing grease DA described above, but is Pfaff branded(got to make their money where they can). Again, thanks.

Kieran

[das]

Kieran & John,

The all purpose black wheel bearing grease is not very stiff (less viscous than Vaseline)--more like a stiff clingy oil that doesn't run. I've used it in all sorts of applications (worm gears in old oscillating fans) and when the parts are spinning it slips and slides with great ease, almost like a liquid.

Non-detergent 30-W motor oil is somewhat clingy, but in some applications is will drip or run out. I made a sheet metal drip-pan to slip under my Landis "L", and filled it with that kitty-litter-like stuff gas stations used to soak up oil spills. That machine likes 30-W, but it does drip and leak out onto the floor after time.

I messed with way-oil once (the pink stuff?), but it was no more clingy than 30-W, and cost more.

BTW, the rack boxes on Singer 29K class patchers can be "tightened" (actually the gear-lash reduced) by packing the rack box with the wheel bearing grease instead of any oil. It keeps the driving pinion and the follower pinion from slapping around loosely. If the driving pinion has too much lash, the shuttle carrier (oscillating) will keep going beyond its best timed position. This is much worse on the older 29-4s, which are usually on their last legs wear-wise, dating from the very early 1900s.

[tjburr]

I am looking at making a pair of Jodhpurs and I was interested in how others would normally make the straps that go around the shoe.

Are straps like this usually beaded on both the front and back pieces of leather? If so, are there any tricks to making the edges of these beads line up on both sides after sewing? This is the part I have found particularly challenging in the past when I have made straps beading both front and back.


Terry
HCC Member

[das]

Thanks Terry, you jogged my memory: anybody have a lead on those long oblong brass grommet thingies used on some Jodhpur boots for the strap to pass though? I don't need a hundred, but if they are no longer being made I might "hoard" some

[erickgeer]

Terry,

I would expect a nicer strap to get folded along both edges on the "upper", with the lining sewn and then trimmed like a plain top-line. Unless you are mimicking a specific shoe- I "think" this is standard. A courser boot might have raw edges like the straps on a tanker style duty boot.

Al,

I would browse the Ohio Travel Bag catalog- I think I recall seeing the long grommets in there. Otherwise I've sent some people successfully to Rome Fastener for various closure findings.

BTW how did the search for boot hooks go?

Hope this helps,

Erick

[das]

Erick,

No joy yet. The oblong thingies I want are 1-piece, not 2-piece luggage-type.

[tjburr]

Al,

Now you have me wondering what the "oblong thingies" are used for.

Do you have a picture of a Jodhpur showing how the strap passes through them, or possibly a little description?

Thanks
Terry
HCC Member

[das]

Terry,

Some (not all) Jodhpur boots have the ankle straps passing through a slot punched in the edge of the tongue. These brass grommet thingies are basically "eyelets" in a slot shape, say for a 3/4" slot. Sorry, no pix to send.

If you go onto John Lobb's (London) website I think there are some ankle strap Jodhpurs on their gallery, but not with brass slotted grommets???

[tjburr]

Erick,

I was re-reading your post on making the strap while working on the pattern more my Jodhpur and realized I had forgot to thank youu in my previous post.

Thanks for the advice. I make so few straps that I was not sure how to make the best finished look.

Terry

[amuckart]

Al,

Are the things on this page any good for the oblong eyelets you're after?
http://www.stimpson.com/oblong_barrel.htm