J Miller

Dan,

I did watch you're video finally. It only took my dial up an hour and half to down load it. Not gonna give you any crap at all. Matter of fact I learned something from it. The shape of the insides aren't completely compatible with the 306 machine.

About your tubing belt, I've tried both aquarium and O2 tubing on my treadles and just could not get it to work. It kept stretching and eventually would slip so bad I couldn't sew. That was with the 66 and 9W7 and those are some of the easiest machines to turn. What did you do to keep that from happening? Or have you used it enough yet?

Next question - I've read that machines such as the 306 and 319s are difficult to treadle because of the internal mechanics. What has been your experiences with that?


I've got a two tone, blue and wood, treadle I got from Macybaby I'm going to turn into a "modern(ish)" machine treadle, so your experiences do interest me.


Joe

tessagin

Great video!

roserips

Enjoyed watching your video. I do so enjoy treadleing sounded like yours was bumping on something though since mine are quieter and smother to run.

greywuuf

Joe,
I don't know what "enough" is to make the belt stretch and quit working. I am not a prolific seamster by any means but I did make the the purple gown for my daughter ( pictures are in my albums ) entirely on this machine / treadle / belt combo. this belt was supposed to be a " lets see if this old machine works" thing until a proper belt could be ordered. its been two years and it works well enough a proper belt has never been ordered. Maybe my treadle wheel is old and rough enough that it is "grippier" than your nice pretty ones ?

I suppose "technically" they would have to be. more stuff, more motion, more friction. practically I don't notice it. my machine is cleaned lubed and adjusted within an inch of its life and well " runs like a sewing machine" there is a youtube video of a lady doing incredibly Fast and continuous FMQ and satin embroidery stitch with the fancy cams on a 226 in a treadle ( very odd Japanese made singer machine ) and I notice she is using a clear plastic belt of some kind as well. I have grown quite fond of my 306 in a treadle.

Dan

greywuuf

Oh Man!, I just told Joe he could not rag on me about that!.... mine is an older treadle with the Wooden arm that connects the foot pedal to the wheel. and there is ONE screw that the head is messed up on ... the one you have to tip the treadle over to get to.... that allows you to adjust the play out of the wood/metal connection.... and I have yet to stop using my machine long enough to tear into that. yes there is some play there and every time to pedal goes up in the back... the arm "clicks" or "clunks" due to that play I will fix it, just not sure when.

J Miller

Interesting. I didn't sew nearly as much as you when I had the tubular belts. They'd work for a short time then stretch. I'd tighten them up, same thing. I also found I'd have to run them tighter than normal to not slip in the first place. I don't know the why of it.

I did try an experiment, I put a rubber band in the belt grove of one of the machines. That helped the top, but then the big wheel slipped. I gave up then.

I suppose it's possible the belt surface on the treadle and machines I've used is much slicker than yours. It is a viable explanation.

As for the clunking on the pitman arm I've got a couple with metal arms that do that too. Eventually I get around to cleaning and oiling them.

I have a Chinese replacement pitman arm assemble I got from Australia that actually has a spring loaded plunger in it that prevents the clunking. I like it. But I'm not gonna buy any more unless I find them in the US. The postage is too steep.

Joe

greywuuf

one last really quick video,

this one called "Clunk"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wimzg1PvM6Y&feature=youtu.be

mjhaess

Thanks..I have an old singer that needs a belt and that looks easy to install...

Stitchnripper

Enjoyed the videos very much. Thanks for posting.

Freaky_Quilts_Dragon

Neat!

I too have found that rubber/plastic tubing has to be pretty tight to run a sewing machine. I use Auto vacuum tubing - the only tubing the near by auto shop had that was long enough - which is a bit wider than the usual 3/16" and has much thicker walls than the gas line hose I was originally going to try. It's made from rubber very similar to tire inner tubing. With the thicker walls it seems to take to treadle belts very well, I've had very little trouble with it stretching out.

Though, since it is wider than the usual belt, it does tend to ride ON rather than IN the grove on the hand wheel, but this hasn't been a problem, just an oddity.

I've also thought about wrapping a rubber band around the wheel to keep the belt from slipping. My slippage is on the cabinet's flywheel though, and I haven't found rubber bands that big yet