gowlerk

Ok, then. Obviously it's time to go back to the future. All that has once been will be once again. We need a pyrotechnic pin puller. One that could not interfere with the normal operation of the ripcord in any way. Although I'm sure it has already been explored and rejected. All I know for sure is that an AAD with a potential failure mode like a trapped reserve is not acceptable. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

The rig came to me with a factory installed Cypres setup. I put the owner's Argus back into it (after a battery change of course) The manual has Cypres approval in it, but not Vigil, or Argus, or M2. I needed 51/4 inches of closing loop, but it did have a Super Raver 249 to squeeze into it. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Thanks Rob, now I just need to know if I can put the Argus back in it. Obviously permission to install it has not been withdrawn. Not surprising since no one ever authorized it. What about putting newer AADs in orphaned rigs? Talk about a grey area! Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

As you can see by looking at the response here, The Answer Is: "entirely personal preference" Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

In Canada we use a confidential system for filing AIM (Accident, Incident, Malfunction) reports. It is enforced by the fact that if you do not file one in a timely fashion you can not access the CSPA insurance or defense fund. We ensure confidentiality by a policy of receiving the report, stripping the needed data from it, and then destroying it. That is the only way to ensure that it can't ever be accessed by a lawyer or any other officer of any court. Once years ago when I was on the CSPA BoD I was called to testify at an Inquest into a local fatality. They wanted to know why CSPA would destroy the report filed by the principals of the DZ. They were VERY unhappy when I explained to them that the policy was in place to give people confidence that it could never be subpenaed. I would say that the Judge's complexion darkened several shades when he realized the logic of the policy. This teaches two lessons. First, it is possible to protect reports but still gather good statistics. And second, if you want people to give you information you need to protect them and make it worth their while. You can always preach that it is for the good of the sport that you want info, but in reality why should I stick my neck out if you can't protect me? Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

So no excuse for not standing up that tandem... Ha! As you know tandems don't fall down. They just sometimes choose to be tail draggers! Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Thank you very much. I searched and could not find that page for some reason. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I can tell you that 241 class machines are high speed machines designed for manufacturing of clothing, especially shirts ect. They are fine machines, but not well suited to heavy materials used in rigging. 111 class machines are compound feed and are better for heavy work. Many of them are walking foot machines, but not the sub class w100. It is a combination of needle feed and drop feed. This means it advances the material on the bottom by feed dog like your 20u, and from the top by having the needle move back and forth while entering and exiting the work. This helps to sew more layers without them slipping. It would be a good complement to your 20u, but it does not have reverse. You may consider looking for a walking foot (alternating presser foot) machine as it would feed material even better, but they are in higher demand and usually sell for higher prices. Here is a link to a manual for a 111w100: http://parts.singerco.com/IPinstManuals/111W100.pdf I hope this helps Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I'm looking for one. I'm not looking to pay $25 for a .pdf file. Can anyone help? Thanks Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Neatness is often overrated I largely agree with that. As long as the lines are straight and stowed properly the main reason for neatness is to control the volume in that tiny bag! gowlerk Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I have a cheap solution. Go to Walmart, buy some hollow knitting needles in various sizes. Cut them, smooth the open end, and use them. If walmart no longer carries good quality aluminum knitting needles,just plastic ones, you may need to go to a craft store. Or use heat to melt a hole in the plastic, or drill a hole. This should be a small fraction of the para-gear price, but won't be curved, or nice stainless. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Old Singer 31-15 were not actually "painted" in the sense we think of it now. They were "Japanned." A process involving dipping into a liquid mixture of oil based products and then baked for several hours. This is roughly the same process Henry Ford used on Model Ts. Which is why they were available in any colour you wanted, as long as it was black. These oscillating shuttle machines are indeed almost indestructible. Soaking them in kerosene is the recommended cure for any build up of old gummy oil that may be causing binding. After drying it off, just oil it with good quality sewing machine oil and off you go for the next several decades. You will love the servo motor when you install it. No more grabby clutch, and you can slow it down as much as you want. You don't need it running at 1700 SPM unless you are running a sweat shop. After you learn more about sewing you will find yourself wanting two things. Reverse, and some form of compound feed. But in the meantime you will enjoy your new Singer The Kenmore for $75 dollars is actually worth maybe ten. You can find cheap zigzag machines like that all day long at thrift shops for almost nothing. If you would like to spend 75-100 look for a Singer 401 as someone has already mentioned. Or a Pfaff 130, 230 0r 360. These are all domestic machines that will do a nice zigzag and are reliable, but not heavy duty. If anyone tries to sell you a machine described as "Industrial strength", just walk away. No machine that does not have a large motor hanging down under it's table is even remotely industrial. I refurbish domestic machines and sell them on ebay. I don't hype them, and I only sell stuff made before about 1960. If you want advice on domestic type machines I can help. I also own 3 industrials , but I don't know enough about them to give you as good advice as some others here can. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Yes, lead shot is expensive, nearly $2 a pound. If you live in the USA you can order it here: http://www.rotometals.com/Lead-Shot-s/64.htm I just can't seem to make it "clicky" Ken Gowler Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Getting back to your original problem. I have a 20u73 and will say two things about ZZ sewing versus SS sewing. First, get the bottom tension correct first. By correct I mean the least you can get away with. Also, does your bobbin case have a pig tail to guide the thread through? If not get one, this will help a lot with ZZ. Generally you will need to use a little less top tension with ZZ, but that has to do with how the stitch sets, and is probably not causing the shredding. The most likely way to correct your problem is simply to use a larger needle. This may be a problem because 20us are only designed to use up to a size 18. My machine has a needle clamp that will accept a size 20 or even a 22, but I needed to adjust the needle to hook relationship to make the machine sew properly. Once you do this the machine will probably not work correctly with smaller (12-14) size needles, but should be good for 16 and larger. Since E thread is the smallest you will use, this should be ok. Size 18 needles are to small for any rigging work other than sewing canopy material, so you need to get the machine set up for larger needles. If you need any help with this PM me and I will try to help. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Those usually sell on Ebay for about 150 to 200. Head only. I've never seen a treadled one before. You can get a new motor and controller for about 50. Or just take a used one from an old sewing machine. Pfaff 130s are generally considered desirable and reliable and are in demand by boat owners for sail repair. They often will mount a hand crank to them and not use a motor. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Go to the UPT website. Download and check out the parts catalog. Have a good look through it and learn what you can. You will find about 10 choices or ripcords for V3s. 5 each of RSL and non RSL types. After you become thoroughly confused phone them up. They will ask you a couple of questions, and then tell you what you need and how to get it. They have absolutely fabulous customer service, and I guarantee no question is too stupid to ask. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Thank you all for your answers. I think I've got the idea now. What I'm taking away from this is that if the right machine at the right price comes along, needle feed should be adequate for the amount I would use it. But a walking foot machine is preferable if it is available. Thanks Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Simple Jerry, needle feed means the needle moves back and forth to help feed, drop feed is less intuitive, but just means feed dogs. And you have answered my question just fine thank you. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I jumped one of those once. It belonged to a guy I know who weighed about 260 lbs. We used it to do Mr. Bill jumps, one with me hanging on (about 180 lbs.) and then one with him hanging on to me. The uppers were howling and I ended up landing 2 miles away going backwards trying to hold the whole time. It truly is a goliath canopy. Back to your question. I see that ad on ebay as well. And I do tandems as well. I would just say that I would consider it wrong to use a canopy that was not specifically designed for tandems with paying customers that don't know any better. However, I would be willing to use it to take you for a ride if you bring it around to my home DZ in Canada! Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I'm implying that very rarely have I ever seen you pass up an opportunity to share all of your vast knowledge! Nothing wrong with getting a great deal. I would pay the man and be on my way in a heart beat. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

***I don't think the guy realized the value of the machine. And some how or other you managed to resist the urge to explain it to him? Hard to believe. But seriously I'm thinking if I am patient a good machine will come to me cheaply as well. At least I hope so. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Jerry, That looks like a nice setup. The Consew 339 is definatly on my watch list. But I am wondering about the 212 you had. They come in different versions, some with and some without walking foot. Which was yours? Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Hi Rob, Yea, that's about what I thought the answer would be. It all depends. I'm guessing if you only had room for one machine you would likely opt for walking foot then. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Me again, Just to be clear, I fully understand the difference between the different feed types. I'm only wondering about whether or not people find needle feed to be adequate, or if walking feet are much better and worth the extra money in a two needle machine. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

In researching what kind of machine to look for I've managed to come up with several models of Brother, Juki, Consew, and Singers to consider. They all seem to be based on the Singer 212 model. Except the Pfaffs, but I'm not going there. What I am wondering about is compound feed, (drop and needle feed) versus triple feed, (with the addition of walking foot). What do most riggers use, and is there a lot of need to go with triple feed? Thanks Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.