Clothing manufacturers and workers will recognize the name Consew. It is a brand that garment sewing factories have long trusted. You'll see these heavy metal sewing equipment lined up.
Consew is also popular for another consumer segment—those who do upholstery. So we're here to lay down the facts and features of one Consew machine.
Here's a list of essential parts that can easily be broken or lost when you get the 206RB-5 from Consew. This isn't an exhaustive list of all the parts, but only the ones you have to watch out for and get a spare.
A lot of industrial sewing machines built for heavy upholstery work generate loud noises. The noise is produced by the vibration caused by the machine as it moves. This is exacerbated by speed. As the clutch motor accelerates, the vibration becomes more intense, and the louder the sound gets. This can be a nuisance for some sewists and may cause them to stop from time to time or attempt to muffle the sound with a makeshift foam.
If you get the 206RB-5 machine, you'll be given a servo motor that's three times lighter than the clutch motor. In addition, the servo motor is silent because the vibration is reduced. It also saves power and consumes only 10% of the power needed by clutch motors.
At the top of the sewing machine is a rectangular panel that you can slide sideways. Inside it is a rectangular oiling felt connected to small tubes that run inside the machine. This is the built-in central lubrication system of the Consew machine.
You can apply oil to the felt, and the tubes will distribute the oil where it must go. This makes oiling the machine quick and efficient. And it also lets you do pre-sewing conditioning to make sure that every essential part inside the hard casing is moving smoothly without having to open it.
Sewing fabrics that are tough, large, or both require you to keep your hands on the fabric to maintain the precision of the stitches. But in most cases, you'll also need to sew another area of the fabric or arrange them according to the angle you choose. For that to happen, you'll need your hands to raise and lower the presser foot manually so you can do it easily, but this isn't an effective way to do the task.
The knee lifter solves the problem. It controls the raising and the lowering movement of the foot. That way, you can keep your hands engaged on the fabric, ready to pivot and push at a moment's notice.
The knee-lifter mechanism is positioned in two areas of the Consew machine set. One is below the sewing table where your knees can bump it, while the other is behind the machine.
The walking foot of the 206RB-5 machine makes it easy to space the thread according to the length you set evenly. It also pulls the fabric behind the sewing areas that the stitches move forward.
There are three parts to the mechanism that keeps the fabric stable. The drop feet, the inside needle foot, and the outside foot. The inside needle foot presses down and meets the rising drop feed to pinch the fabric. As this is happening, the outside foot is moving forward. When the inside needle foot goes up, the fabric has been pulled back by the outside foot, and the stitches move forward.
The walking foot set is one of the essential parts of the 206RB-5 machine. Losing this will hamper your upholstery sewing projects. You must get a spare in case of loss or user damage.
The 206RB-5 has up to 10mm of stitch length options. This is controlled by pushing the button on top of the knob and rotating it clockwise or otherwise to the desired length. Each number from 1 to 10 represents the stitch length in millimeters.
Below the knob is where the lever is positioned. You can move the lever up or down for the stitch motion to either move forward or backward. It's a simple yet tremendously convenient feature because you don't have to move the entire fabric just for you to stitch it back. Just pull the lever, and the motion will be reversed.
The 206RB-5 machine is made of a thick metal casing, which makes some parts inside remain unreachable even by the centralized lubrication system.
This is where the oil ports come in. These small holes with red linings indicate that you can squeeze a drop of lubricant inside. The ports can be found in almost every significant sewing machine area.
Oil ports enable you to do intermediate machine maintenance. While the centralized oil system lubricates essential parts, the oil ports ensure every part is well oiled to avoid rust or degradation that can result in your machine's poor performance.
A safety clutch saves your sewing machine's hook from damage. In addition, the hook plays an important role in completing one stitch cycle because it draws out the thread from the needle after it penetrates the fabric.
In some cases, this hook disengages from the machine, and you'll feel that the sewing motion is out of sync or jammed. The push-button feature located at the sewing bed reengages the machine and puts it back in motion.
The 206RB-5 Consew sewing machine has had the same design, features, and materials since it was introduced. Yet it still proves itself as an excellent machine to handle thick and tough fabrics as well as thin ones.
Its features have proven its power to do upholstery work with precision and ease. And despite its flaws, it still stands as a testament that old formulas can still work. Who knows? The 206RB-5 Consew Sewing Machine might be your next daily sewing buddy.
