Invent Design Make

Like most projects that we are involved with, this one is an exercise in reuse and re-purposing.  It is also a great opportunity to learn about the magical insides of the humble sewing machine, which is so taken for granted.  Open it up and it is actually quite exciting in there. 

There are lots of leavers, pulleys, gears and pivots.  Even if some of these have fallen into disrepair (as had my machine) this typically will not matter, as we will be stripping lots of it out.  Compared to a sewing machine like this, the scroll saw I have in mind is actually quite simple.  It helps if the motor is working and the needle is going up and down – everything else is pretty much surplus.

So unscrew the case retaining bolts and have a good look and what you have got… It might well be the case that you will have to modify thing to suit your particular machine.

Here is our donor machine, ready to be converted.

Undo the top retaining bolt and see what you have inside.  Here we have the main drive shaft running across the length. Power comes from the motor to here via a toothed belt that drives the hand turn wheel on the far left.