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How to Slow Down Your Sewing Machine

100K views 64 replies 13 participants last post by  DanTwoLakes 
#1 ·
When I first started trying to use my Juki industrial machine, I had a major problem with the machine's speed. My Juki has a clutch motor, and it was set up to sew too fast for me. The treadle on a clutch motor equipped machine doesn't provide for much speed control at all - it's more like an on-off switch. The treadle basically just engages or disengages the clutch - that's it. While you can "slip" the clutch a bit to get you started, that builds up a lot of heat and can eventually damage the clutch.

I quickly found out that I wasn't the only one who had this problem. DanTwoLakes, Hotrodders' resident upholstery guru and moderator to the stars, told us how to solve the problem by doing a simple motor pulley swap.

Probably the most commonly suggested fix for this type of thing is to replace the clutch motor with a servo motor that has variable speed control. That's fine if you have the money to invest (and it is a good investment,) but what if you're a mope like me who doesn't have the $180 to spend on a new motor right now? The answer is to change out the pulley on the clutch motor for a smaller pulley.

Yes, a smaller one. I know that some are saying that a smaller pulley will make the machine run faster. People immediately think of a 10-speed bicycle - you move the chain down to the smaller pulley on the rear sprocket to make the bicycle go faster. That's true - but when you do that, do you suddenly start pedaling faster or slower? That's the point. Think instead of the FRONT sprockets on a 10-speed. When you move the chain down to the smaller front sprocket, you pedal faster, but move slower.

To sum up this point, it's all in where you provide the power, not in where the power ends up. If the chain on our imaginary bicycle is on the smaller front sprocket (where we provide the power) the bike moves at a slow speed. If we move the chain up to the larger sprocket and pedal at the same speed, the bike moves faster. Conversely, if we move the chain down to the smaller sprocket and pedal at the same speed, the bike moves slower. The same is true with the pulleys on the sewing machine. The motor spins at the same RPM no matter what size pulley it has on it. By switching down to the smaller pulley, the machine will run slower.

Keep in mind that when you swap pulleys, you'll also have to get a smaller belt. In my case I swapped out the 3 1/2 inch diameter motor pulley for a 1 3/4 inch diameter pulley, and swapped from the 45 inch belt to a 42 inch belt. It slowed down the machine considerably, and gave me better control all around. You most likely won't get the exact belt you need on the first try. Luckily the hardware store I went to let me exchange the belt with no problem. The motor can be adjusted to take up some slack, much in the same way you would tighten the belt on an alternator or similar, but it won't take out much more than an inch of slack.

Here's a video I found that demonstrates how to slow down the speed on your industrial sewing machine with a clutch motor by swapping out the pulley on the motor, changing the belt, and adjusting the belt tension.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UikRXbzLfHw&NR

The guy who shot this video is in Mexico, and he's done several upholstery videos. He uses subtitles to communicate, and there are a few typos, but you will get what he's saying. I've found that I have to pause the video in spots to read the subtitle - you'll see what I mean.

I got my pulley and belt at my local hardware store, and the whole modification cost less than $20. The two things you need to know going into the store is the shaft size on your motor (most are 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch) and the belt width. I took my old belt in with me and matched the pulley width to the old belt, then matched the width of the new belt to the new pulley. Have some idea as to how small a pulley you want to get, but remember that the smaller you go, the slower your machine will run. I went with a 1 3/4 inch diameter pulley, but I probably could have gone smaller - maybe 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 inch diameter. I'm used to this set-up now, so it doesn't matter to me anymore, but your mileage may vary.

No matter how small of a pulley you swap down to, keep the old pulley and belt, just in case you want to change them back some time down the road.

In summary, a smaller pulley on your clutch motor will slow down your industrial sewing machine, giving you better control, and improve the quality of your work - all for about $20. It's a great modification to your machine for those who are learning to sew or just starting out and can't immediately afford to upgrade to a servo motor with variable speed control.
 
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#27 ·
Any home sewing machine will sew through 4 or 5 single layers of just about anything. What they won't do is sew two layers of sew foam and two layers of fabric together. Why? Because the home machine is only drop feed, and it will not let you put that much thickness under its foot, which makes it worthless for sewing auto upholstery. An industrial machine is compound feed and will let you put 1/2" under the foot. If you're planning on doing anything more than sewing a simple bench seat cover, the home machine won't do it.
 
#28 ·
Dan,I'm missing something I guess,thanks for input.
The foot gap on this old Kenmore dose go up 1/2in. open when I push the lever all up,it dose not have under table control or even a table for that matter. If I only move the foot lift lever to it's first arm click then it's only 1/4in. open.
Thinking that i'll need to make a table or use my 440-2 table to hold Kenmore in place,and for sure there is less room under machine body,so harder to pass stuff through.
Not planning on using it for lots of work,just interior in my son rod and my own.
I'm going to run into some unseen prob ?:confused:
 
#29 · (Edited)
All you need to know is that to do auto upholstery, your Kenmore home sewing machine will not do everything you need to be able to do. If it could, don't you think I would be using one to save money? I do this for a living, and trying to do auto upholstery with a home sewing machine does not work, it's as simple as that. You can use whatever you want to do your interior and believe whatever you want about the abilities of your $5.00 sewing machine, but I've been doing this for 38 years and I will guarantee you it will not be able to do all it needs to do to complete anything but the most basic sewing in a car interior.

To all of you: Slowing down an industrial sewing machine so that it barely moves, no matter how you do it, because you think it's a substitute for learning how to operate the machine correctly is a waste of time. No matter how slow you go, and that includes turning the hand wheel stitch by stitch, it will not give you the tiniest amount of expertise with any sewing machine, and especially an industrial sewing machine. If you think you can learn in 2 days what it has taken me a lifetime to learn, you are sadly mistaken. When you first started driving a car did they slow the engine down so the car would only go 1/2 mile an hour? No, because that wouldn't help you learn to drive in the real world at all, would it?
 
#30 ·
Thanks Dan,I'm sure your right from your years of back ground you have.
The input really dose helps hobbieist like my self ,not spend too much time playing with the wrong stuff for too long.
For now I have both types of sewing machines,so it maybe I'll mix and match the work as I learn more and toss the $5 one at some point. :cool:
 
#31 ·
I am mounting this speed reducer pulley on my Consew 255-RB3 to make it double duty for sewing thicker leather projects. My father had this setup on his machine. The pulley acts as a flywheel and it will sew slowly through anything. The reducer combined with the servo motor makes for a very versatile machine. It does help that I got the pulley setup from my father and I have a fabrication shop to make the motor stand.





 
#32 ·
Follow up on the setup I posted above. I tried it out yesterday. It is great for going through thick leather, especially more than one layer. The speed-reducer pulley setup acts as a flywheel though. The motor can't stop it quickly at all because of the rotating mass involved. So, I removed it from my machine and am using the Sewquiet 4000 motor by itself. It works great for upholstery projects. I'll use something else for the occasional leather work that I do.
 
#34 ·
I'll post pic's tomorrow of my Consew 206rb5 that I just bought and am driving with a HF drill motor. You may laugh now, but it may not be so funny when you see it. For $60 you can have a drive system that will kill any gear reduction servo motor on the market. If you don't need real fast speed, this will give you maximum control.

(No brag, just fact) Walter Breanen
 
#35 · (Edited)
No brag, just fact? And his name is Walter Brennan. And you have what, like 2 minutes of experience on an industrial sewing machine? My suggestion to you is to listen to somebody who has actually sewed two pieces of fabric together for a living.

Why do you people think you have come up with a better mousetrap when THOUSANDS of other people with THOUSANDS of hours of experience haven't come to the same conclusion as you?

This is what I've done for a living for my entire life, 38 years worth. You have done it as a hobby for 45 seconds and you have all the answers?

Learn to use the sewing machine you have. There is nothing more valuable than EXPERIENCE.

You can't buy a sewing machine, and slow it down to a crawl, and expect to be an expert after 2 hours.

Slow the machine down? How about learning to use it just like it is?

Doesn't anybody want to know how to do that?

I'm sorry, but you are ALL way out of line.
Post on any other forum and see if your ideas get anywhere.Post on Body /Exterior and see how far you get promoting painting a car with a brush. You want advice from professionals, but you'd rather take 1 minute of advice and then do what you think will help you do something professionals have trouble with?

I give up. I am frustrated to the Nth degree. You get world class advice and you spit in my face. Why on earth would I spend my free time to give you THE BEST ADVICE IN THE WORLD to have you post some ridiculous bull spit as gospel truth?
 
#36 ·
welcome to my world dan :( exactly why i have stopped posting in the body forum. i for one am glad your here and appreciate your time. i should have a machine soon as a friend is a rep for a trim supplier. looking for a deal on a used one. we are gathering up scraps to start with. if i can manage not to sew my fingers together maybe i can learn to be a sticther .
ignore the google warriors . they don't stay around long.

i spewed coffee at the hf drill motor. only thing worth carring out of hf is the cash register.
 
#38 ·
I have to agree. Learn to use the tool as designed for the job. These machines have been around for more than my life time and that is a long time. The tweeks and perks have long since be tried and tested. I am a mech eng and would have a hard time improving these things. I did work in the textile industry...I was told on the first day that everything related to the industry had already been invented by the Egyptians but if I could find something useful in the closet and apply it to today's industry that would be all that was expected. haha

Come on, use the machine for what it is made for like it was made. I'm a rank beginner and Dan has helped with every post. Listen to the master. Yes, I have sewed my finger, sewed a shirt sleeve to the project, sewed a couple feet with a broken thread and few other humorous things but I'm learning. I also have completed a complicated headliner, a heavy vinyl cover for my big generator as well as for the small one, a race car seat cover, repaired my welding gloves and leather jacket, I even made a couple dog leashes.

I'll get a servo motor soon but for now I have just a 1 3/4 pulley which works just fine. Still plenty fast but does a nice job.

Dan, please keep the tips coming for those of us who sit in the front row of your class. We take notes and study them when we get home for our lessons.

Thanks for your help, Dan
 
#39 ·
slodat said:
Follow up on the setup I posted above. I tried it out yesterday. It is great for going through thick leather, especially more than one layer. The speed-reducer pulley setup acts as a flywheel though. The motor can't stop it quickly at all because of the rotating mass involved. So, I removed it from my machine and am using the Sewquiet 4000 motor by itself. It works great for upholstery projects. I'll use something else for the occasional leather work that I do.
The SewQuiet 4000 will do exactly what you want it to do without doing anything to it. All you need to do is learn how to use the foot pedal. A servo motor has constant torque throughout the speed range, so you have just as much torque at one stitch a minute as you do at 3300 stitches a minute. Why not just turn the wheel by hand?
 
#43 ·
That's not a knee switch, it's the knee lift for the foot, it's just been extended out in front of the cart the machine is on. It looks like there's a foot pedal on the other end of the wire coming from the drill that you can see in the first picture. It also looks like there is a pick-up on the gear next to the pulley that would provide the feed back to give the drill variable control. There's no other reason for there to be a gear there.
 
#45 ·
1/2" Drill

Sorry, meant to in include one of the pedal. The pedal is a cheep on/off that I put the drill trigger into. Was very easy to do. The gear looking thing is a one way clutch from a starter motor. The teeth do nothing but could not be removed. It was needed so that you can turn the hand wheel freely.

A gear reduced servo motor would possibly work better, but I am not sure exactly how except that max speed is about as fast as a home machine. It will go through 8 layers of expanded vinyl with 207 thread at a stitch every 15 seconds and not complain at all. Anyway, for $55 total just another option.


 
#46 ·
A stitch every 15 seconds? Why not just turn the wheel by hand?

Once more comes my question: Why not just learn to use the machine like it was intended?
 
#47 ·
Once more comes my question: Why not just learn to use the machine like it was intended?

Well I guess you could. And that would be fine. And really makes allot more sense too. But, then, there would be no point in having a thread titled "How to slow down your sewing machine". Or I guess you could still have a thread titled "How to slow down your sewing machine while still learning to use the machine like it was intended". Now that would be cool! :welcome:
 
#48 ·
The way to slow the machine down and still have it work like it should is to put a smaller pulley on the sewing machine's motor, and/or use a servo motor. Then when you got better at operating the machine you could go back to a larger pulley. My servo motors come with two different pulleys, one is 100mm and the other is 90mm. Cutting the diameter down to 45mm cuts the speed in half. Adjusting the servo motor's controls and learning to operate the foot pedal would make the machine crawl if you wanted it to.

If you look back at the first few posts of this thread that's what you'll find. Both of those suggestions have been offered here dozens of times in a dozen different threads. They are the simplest ways to go about it.

I'll ask again: When you first learned to drive did you use the car just like it was made or did you put a go cart engine under the hood?
 
#49 ·
Dan, there's no reason to get upset because I used an unorthodox way of powering my machine. It's not like I took a perfectly good servo motor off it and replaced it with a drill. But even if I had, so what? I bought the head and needed a way to power it. This way was cheaper and I'll bet if you used it, you would not think it was a "Go cart engine in a car". And I can put a larger pulley on it also to make it go faster just like the servo motor. But that really doesn't matter because it works for me just fine. If everyone else thinks it's the dumbest thing they ever saw, well, that's OK. You’re certainly not going to hurt me feelings.

It's just that sometimes, reading how someone did one thing, gives you ideas on how to do something else. Someone might say "that's a dumb way to power a sewing machine, but that would work great for my bead roller". Or whatever.

Anyway, if I offended you, I am sorry. Your "How to" articles and info on this forum are a HUGE source of great info for many people including myself.

Thank you

Paul
 
#50 ·
You're not offending me at all. You are perfectly free to power your sewing machine any way you want. I think it would do you well not to say things like .... "For $60 you can have a drive system that will kill any gear reduction servo motor on the market. If you don't need real fast speed, this will give you maximum control." .... Your power system, as ingenious as it is, will not out perform a clutch motor, much less a servo motor. My point in this whole discussion is to point out that learning to use the sewing machine as it was designed is a better alternative. Sure you can slow the machine down at first to get the hang of using it, but learning to slip the clutch or being able to control the machine with the foot pedal is the ultimate goal.
While nobody, myself included, needs to sew super fast, slowing the machine down so that it barely crawls is a waste of a good sewing machine. If you wanted to sew one stitch every 15 seconds, you could do that with the hand wheel and saved yourself the $60, and all the time and energy that went along with it.
 
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