Cheap Shoe Patcher with torque mods 

Thanks for the kind words Larry.

I've got a LOT of trial and error in tuning that thing. Adjusting timing, thread tension (both main and bobbin tension), needle height, etc... I still break the occasional thread though, it's never perfect, but I can usually knock out a foot or so reliably without issue.

Since eBay links die, my recommendation is to go to eBay and type in "shoe patcher", then search from there. I just did that and found the listing for the largest pulley and extended shaft: www.ebay.com/itm/224623770789?hash=item344c9ebca5:g:DHMAAOSwRv1gtmVM&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoEdgJxpsTfKtOFfVTi4LGE6tsLLxO30Ec43wBR4IP1axeYSjb8RhwjevAHTyyHkTeEqNd7UfpdVCpu9Mkpz8QH7hlTMCKzDkX0rmBPbggu5qAplaufg2lDDSW9MOGrA1ew0O7Y5pUaaESVicXUVOFlkmB6c%2FUS83EVr4%2BZ9aGRInqlLiNOOeqihJkAcqkzPDqQYRslGEbNwpU%2BunW9RZZ2U%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-DtpaXUYQ

Same for the servo motor. Search for "sewing machine servo motor": www.ebay.com/itm/165943440769?hash=item26a2fff581:g:X8kAAOSwzudiaPQs&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA8JdHIKf3kFVIC07OyBGZDUaKkWEFCLbo%2F2wiVVi8I8LLbvl1tw7sm%2FTYoTgchZ5tFVBd6QxXzVG93kRbrdHGVKhE6IYaGxRvOM7l1px8dJUpOe5SwLE6u306LL%2Fe8%2FHSjQPCf%2Bjm6Of7y7FgIT7aCGISFHq9rOUzFLJVKpXlXzWCXLhe1mLlzi2LxtTeUqsGVFUEXm6554EM5mmTHhzbJBd6LKBp7UWyZqFRwbDiUHczy6141PAoUiE1to%2BYcnH%2F%2Fr6%2FirSg2LDXfpa%2FQKqO7jTqGY1QDNQzSiaK8sty3u1EJpE6j7vUVeDF99Qv1bBwDA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBM1oK6pdRh

For the rest, I used McMaster Carr. Go to their website and search for "V-belt pulley" www.mcmaster.com/products/pulleys/v-belt-pulleys-8/ and search for bearings and shafts the same way to fit the pulleys.

Thank you.

Lo compré en eBay, pero Amazon también los vende. Todas las piezas las compré en eBay y McMaster Carr también.

Yes, the pulley on the motor is 45mm (import for a 12mm shaft), which is belted to a 10" pulley from McMaster Carr. Through the secondary shaft is a 3" pulley (also from McMaster Carr), which is belted to the 11.5" pulley from that eBay kit.

Oh yes, it throttles from a minimum of 200 RPM at the output shaft up to whatever speed you set as max. My throttle sweep controls the RPM range over the whole sweep regardless of where I set the max, but I don't set the max too high because I'm worried this machine will blow apart at high speeds.

@@shortattentionspangarage1312 ok, thank you for responding and sharing. I recently got my hands on this style of shoe patcher and so far I love it. It seems to be a very capable machine if you’re patient and willing to tinker around with it. I have been looking at motorizing it so I can free up a hand for material management.

Just sandpaper and my finger. 240 grit to be specific.

You could do that with a Singer Heavy Duty machine. Nylon webbing is easy to sew.

Sorry for the delay with my reply. The thread is the 137 size Poly thread from Tandy Leather, and the needles are Groz-Beckert part number 718682. Be advised, those needles are perfect for the 137 thread but they do NOT have a flat spot on the shank so you have to manually adjust the needle bar of the machine to properly set the depth and scarf location.

U can use 138 and 207 with a 23 size needle

Sorry, but not really. I'm a visual engineer, in that my designs are very improvisional. They work, and meet a design thesis, but getting the end game is more important than the specifics of the parts leading to the final product. For this, it was basically a servo motor and controller, pulleys, bearings, and shafts to get maximum torque with minimal speed at the slowest setting, and parts from eBay and McMaster Carr.

no he wears contacts

This was more fun. 😁

Yeah but using the pulley system keeps the torque level up on the output. Many electric motors lose quite a bit of their “push” at low rpms and might not allow him to keep punching through the leather nice and slow. That in turn would require more pedal get started and then it’s “off to the races” and just like that he’s made 5 or 6 stitches when he only needs/wants one.

@@MrIgottap it's just moving needle up an down at very low speed shouldn't require more torque? I can make a machine spin crazy to stopped with voltage by adjustment of voltage regulator! Try it!

@@TimBarnett-pl9kd not this thing, it has a fluctuation in the load through it’s cycle. Try turning one by hand and you will understand, the force (torque) required to complete one cycle is not smooth and even. That’s why using a gear box or pulley system would help the motor “tractor” through things.

0:59 says it all, he’s using the pulleys to make it slower than it originally was all while not messing with a voltage regulator. Plus don’t things start to get hot when lowering rpm’s by “dropping voltage”?

@@MrIgottap Correct on all points. These cheap shoe patchers are very crudely designed and even 200 rpm directly applied to the shaft would blow it apart. I needed to step it WAYYYY down, and I wanted articulate control with full torque at the slowest speeds. Also worth mentioning, these servo motors come as a complete kit even though I had to build a pedal for the throttle.

Eh, closer to $300, but it's better than a new $2000 patcher.

@Michael Neuman Thank you. I've seen probably all the videos on slowing down this patcher machine and nobody does a two-stage reduction. Not only is it slow, but the torque is through the roof. I can punch that needle through a car tire now.

In Arabic we have a proverb ( the inner is more expensive than the upper)

Old car tire boots would be epic and for sure viral....