George Stevens guys - What do you think of this older 230 machine?

[ReWind]

I think there at least a few of you here using old Stevens winders. What do you think about this one? It's probably missing whatever cams are not installed presently, but I'm told it works and I can have it delivered to my dock for $550. I've been wanting a heavy duty winder with a mechanically coupled traverse and a tailstock.









I appreciate any thoughts you are kind enough to share.

[David King]

Good luck finding any cams or gears for this if that's what it needs. Geo. Stevens charges more than the price for a single set. It could be a nice candidate for a CNC conversion. It looks like it might have had traverse limit switches so it may have already been a CNC winder at some point.

Is there a speed pedal or AC rheostat for the motor or is that DC? A DC speed control could easily run into hundreds.
The 115V motor plate implies that it's a Universal type motor so a router speed control / dimmer switch should work for you there but I'd probably pick up a small three phase motor and matching VFD that can easily interface with the computer.

[ReWind]

Thanks, David. hmmm... A CNC conversion isn't really what I had in mind. I was thinking about having a few cams/gears machined for it, maybe just two ratios to fit my needs.
I have no reason to think that the motor is not AC, but I have a variac that can handle the load.

It would be coming from these guys: Test Equipment & Machinery International Store I've not done business with them before. They seem to be an industrial tool/machine flipper that may not be very knowledgeable about their wares. They offer to cover return shipping if the item is not as stated though. I'll have some amount of protection through my CC company too.

Any idea if the price is at least fair? All I have to go on is the seller's word that it works and the photos. Too risky?

[JGundry]

You may be able to find one with cams and gears if you keep your eyes open.

[ReWind]

My ear is to the track, Jon. Thanks!

I'm getting the impression this one is more trouble/risk than it is worth.

[David King]

You can buy the gears from a place like Boston Gear and make up the cams yourself with a file and experimentation. You'll need to know the gear pitch size which I think someone already posted around here in an older discussion. Obviously you'll need a different cams for each coil width and I'll bet with a little math you could come up with a vector plot for the cams, I think it's just a section of a spiral that you flip for the other lobe.

All that said I'd probably keep looking for one of the mechanical Bachi winders that Belwar mentioned. Get one with a real tensioner (like an Azonic) already installed. Get on the HGR email list as they seem to get a lot of winders through from time to time.

[ReWind]

Excellent. Thank you, David. I've been keeping an eye on HGR, but have now signed up for their emails as well. It's a handy notification system they have.

I saw those two Bachi winders on the bench come and go on eBay. I didn't know enough about them at the time and didn't need two winders for a grand. Did someone here buy them by chance?

[Bill M]

Excellent. Thank you, David. I've been keeping an eye on HGR, but have now signed up for their emails as well. It's a handy notification system they have.

I saw those two Bachi winders on the bench come and go on eBay. I didn't know enough about them at the time and didn't need two winders for a grand. Did someone here buy them by chance?

Hey James,

At one point HGR had two sets of those Bachi's. The price was like a grand or something like that. I would scarfed them up, but I have enough winders already.

[ReWind]

I think I saw those come and go in an eBay listing of theirs a while ago. They don't seem to be on the site now. They do have an old Meteor up but it's in worse shape than the 230 above.

I seem to remember seeing a bunch of nice deals on older mechanical winders go by last year. I was content with what I had at the time though. Of course, now that I want something different, I'm not finding it. ha!

Want to let go of any of your winders, Bill? I don't think you're far from me. A few hours North, I guess. I think I even saw an old Stevens in the background of a video you had posted. Maybe I have my wires crossed though. It was a while back. Basically, I'm just looking for something with a tailstock that I can modify to load a few bobbins at once on.

[ReWind]

Well, I saw this thing make it's way to eBay recently and I asked some more questions. Got no reply. Put in a low offer. It expired. I finally called the place yesterday and talked to someone who agreed that it's actually untested and was listed improperly (seeing as it's missing the main drive belt) and he was willing to let it go for a "parts" price. Long story short. I got it for a price worth taking the risk. At what I paid, I'm not even sure it will cover the seller's shipping costs!

If nothing else, it's a damn cool piece of history that I'm sure I can gain some knowledge from. Who wants to help me carry it up four floors? Any takers? hehe

[David King]

Congrats! It's a solid machine. Hopefully you'll find a way around the gear and cam problem when you need a traverse

[ReWind]

I've been thinking about trying some cheap nylon gears and self made acrylic cams until I find something that will work for me. I actually talked to George Stevens for a while recently and, though I could get some gears machined through them, I would be taking a risk assuming that they would be correct as they don't have any documentation for this particular machine. Only one a few models in each direction that I can't assume share the same gears.

I'll be sure to report back with any progress and some better photos of this beast when it arrives. I'm sure nobody else in the world could share any excitement over this old battleship aside from you fine fellas.

Honestly, I paid so little for this that if I gain nothing but a little knowledge I'll have done well. THAT much I think I can count on.

[Joe Gwinn]

I actually talked to George Stevens for a while recently and, though I could get some gears machined through them, I would be taking a risk assuming that they would be correct as they don't have any documentation for this particular machine. Only one a few models in each direction that I can't assume share the same gears.

The classic way to reduce the risk is to loan the machine to Stevens so they will be able to fit the correct parts.

[David King]

I would see if you can send sample gears to Boston Gear for a match first. You can then compare prices effectively.

[ReWind]

The eagle has landed.


I'll let you fellas know how it is when I get home and unpack the beast tonight.