The Upholstery Forum

I have a Consew machine, it’s pretty basic but it was what I could afford at the time, and for the most part, it gets the job done, but I have a heck of a time trying to control the speed of it. I’m wondering if there are machines that have more specific speed controls than just the pedal? If any of the higher end machines allow you to lock or cap the speed? It seems like it would be a handy feature. If I really need to go slow I’ll often hand turn it, but with arthritis in my shoulders that tends to get old pretty quickly.
If I was to invest in another machine can anyone recommend something that has superior speed control?

Lots of options, guessing you have a clutch motor? Post pics. I'd reccommed replacing with a servo. There are things you can do to tame the clutch but it's often not enough unless you put a speed reducer on it and they can be as much or more than a servo.

Adding a larger pulley on the handwheel and or a smaller on the motor will help slow it down. Also a bit more controversial, you can grease the clutch plate to get a more controlled slip and adjust the linkage so you can again feather the clutch to control the speed better. I've greased a few clutches and it helps a bit but does not seem to cause any trouble when you do want to engage it to full speed. I agree, post some pics of your rig including the linkage from the motor/clutch assembly to the foot pedal.

If you have a clutch motor I would highly recommend getting a servo motor.

Sorry for the delayed response. Things got hectic for a bit

OK, so my machine is a Consew P1206RB-1, it has a servo motor and the manual that came with it doesn't go into much detail other than the basic setup.

There's a dial on the motor, which I've played around with a bit, but I'm still none the wiser to what it actually does.

The pedal just seems overly touchy at times, you never really know how quickly it's going to take off.

So the dial on the servo limits the top speed. Turn clockwise to go slower. The dials are usually poorly calibrated so turning all the way down to 350 rpm's may actually be zero rpm's. If that is the case turn counter clockwise one click at a time until it engages. If it is still too fast, the addition of a speed reducer will allow you to crawl at painfully slow speeds. They are about $150

Yeah I second what Adam said I would turn that dial down to 660 or 350 and see how you like it.

I have found the best servo motors to buy have a digital controller that allows you to adjust speed and needle position. Mine can be cranked up to the highest speed yet still crawl one stitch at a time when needed. Don’t know if you can add one to your motor but if you can they are well worth it.

That is very similar to my Juki LU-1508N. Just set the RPM down as far as you are comfortable and usually it just takes some slow and steady pressure on the pedal to get the desired speed. It took me a while to get comfortable with mine but now I love it. Good Luck!