I Sew, I have a Sailrite, I want needle position control

Installing a Needle Position Control on a Sailrite LSZ-1

'Want' not 'need' but it would be really nice and I think I can do it.

My machine is a Sailrite LSZ-1 Walking foot single needle sewing machine produced by Sailrite a US company that is very popular within the sailing community. The machine is about 10 years old and has plenty of use. It's mounted in an Industrial Sewing table along with a Workhorse Servo motor. It's a beast! On one job, I sewed through a metal grommet, accidently, - it was noisy but the machine did not flinch. I regularly sew through 8 layers of canvas, as I said, it's a Beast!

But it does not have Needle Position Control and according to Gemini it cannot be installed, but I think otherwise.

The most common way of installing a Needle Position Control to a sewing machine is to add a sensor to the drive pulley and connect it to the servo motor. With the NPC installed, releasing the foot pedal stops the machine as usual, but the needle is in the Down position. Tapping the heel of the foot pedal moves the needle to the Up position.

When sewing around a corner, the sewing is stopped at the corner, the needle is moved ( manually right now ) to the down position, the presser foot is raised, the material repositioned, presser foot lowered and sewing continued. When the sewing is completed, the needle is raised to release the thread and the presser foot is raised to allow removal of the material from the machine.  So the needle is positioned a lot and a Needle position control feature would be really nice.

Ok, that's the intro, now the nitty gritty.

My Servo motor has an issue. The tensioner system that maintains the belt tension has worn and constantly loosens, I could get it fixed, probably just add a welded brace, but the cost is crazy.

So I decided to deal with that and add the Needle Positioner at the same time.

The 550W Brushless Servo motor and Needle positioner kit was only $65.

This will replace my existing servo motor and give extra control.

It's a bonus that the motor has a separate power switch, the existing motor has a switch but it's on the front of the motor. Much handier if it's mounted near the front of the Industrial worktable.

The replacement should be pretty easy but I expect a couple of challenges installing the NPC.

The issue that I anticipated, is that the machine clutch screw does not have a threaded hole in which the NPC adapter can fit. 

This is where a 'need' or 'want' turns into a whole new find.

I figured that I need to drill out the center of the clutch screw and thread it to match the screw that comes with the new NPC kit.  I have a drill press and thread cutters, but felt this was just a bit above my pay grade. I searched for a local Machine Shop - and came up with a winner.

I reached out to 'Fred' at Metalixx LLC, he's not even 5 minutes away from my home. Convenient !

His machine shop is like an Aladdin's Cave. He not only has the gear but has the passion too! 

This is just one of the many machines in Fred's shop. 

Engineering has been part of his DNA following in the steps of his father 'Al' and that comes out when you talk with Fred.

I did not ask or receive any benefit from posting this segment about Metalixx , but I felt like I had found a new friend  and someone that can make stuff.

Fred showed me around his shop, everything from a CNC machine, huge lathe, a drill press that looks like it would take on a huge steel girder if you could get it in the shop.  Some of those machines are used daily as Fred builds single items, prototypes and multi production runs.

But Fred also keeps up with modern technology. He has 3D printers that can handle all types of materials including a Resin 3D printer, which is even more cool. Oh, and an X-Tool laser welder.

He showed me some of the items he had made with those 3D printers, obviously, Fred knows his stuff.

It only took a few minutes for me to explain what I'm trying to do and the mod I needed to that Clutch Screw.

Fred explained that he has a minimum of 1 hour at 
$130 an hour. I appreciate that. He also explains that if you can get it online, it's probably going to be cheaper ( I had already searched, couldn't find what I needed ).

We spent a while talking about the history of his machine shop. His father ran the shop until passing away a few years ago. Fred reorganized the shop layout and added some new tech. 

For me, this is a big deal. There are plenty of machine shops around here in South Florida but it's rare to find one that easily establishes a friendly working relationship with their patrons. Fred Does!

I left the Clutch screw and the NPC adapter with Fred and he said it should be ready early next week.

It was ready the next day.

Here's a link to google reviews: https://share.google/5CtagYxYF5DQqrte5 

Fred's Contact Info:

Metalixx LLC
5415 NW 15th Street
Margate FL 33063
954-977-4655

 Ok, back to the project - Installing a Needle Positioner on a Sailrite LSZ-1

As I said, installing the new Servo motor is a breeze: Release the wiring and the foot pedal rod from the Table, then Release 3 bolts and the motor falls off ( I guessed it would so braced myself to catch it. )

Attach the new motor to the table, adjust so that the belt is the correct tension. Next just attach the power switch box onto the front underside of the table. Plug it in and it should work. 

Now the tricky bit. Attaching the Needle Positioner Sensor.

The NPC Adapter easily screws into Clutch screw, BUT it interferes with the insertion of the Posi-Pin and that's an issue.

The Posi Pin is the item that sailrite designed to overcome the possibility of the Clutch Slipping when trying to sew very thick layers of canvas, it basically locks the drive wheel with the drive shaft and that way prevents clutch slippage. But that pin is very close to the clutch screw and it cannot be inserted when the NPC adapter is in the Clutch Screw.

I dealt with this by grinding off some of the  handle of the posi-pin.

That was done just using a cordless grinder/cut off wheel. 

The only issue now is that the Adapter is too short and it impacts the handle end of the posi-pin. Easily fixed, just add a couple of metal washers between the Adapter and the Clutch screw.

Thinking bout it: Normally, I remove the Posi-pin when I want to wind bobbins, but I also have to remove the thread from the needle and re-route the thread to the bobbin winder. However! If I had a bobbin winder, separate from the machine, then I would not need to remove either the Posi-pin nor the thread ! WooHoo.

So, I'm adding a Bobbin winder to the project.

BTW, I typically load up between 10 and 20 bobbins prior to stating a new project, they are stored in a drawer close to the machine. It stores a bunch of bobbins separated by the thread color - I only use Sailrite Lifetime PTFE thread either Black, White or Clear, that way I can handle pretty much any color Sunbrella or Leather. 

Ok, back on track. 

I'll list the costs of this project once it's complete.

So far I'm looking forward to when it's done and all told it should be a great update to my sewing machine.

( My next project for Eximius will be making side curtains for the cockpit that zip into the new Bimini and the Bridge piece between the Dodger and Bimini - that's to keep the rain out, and yes! I'll also be making a new curtain for the aft end of the cockpit. ) 

So far, so good, but not far enough :(

Everything is installed. The new Servo motor was pretty easy although I did have to swap over the drive pulley from the old servo motor in order to keep the drive pulley inline. And I had to extend the Needle Positioner adapter so that the Positioner didn't rub against the drive wheel. But all of that was nothing really. I'm able to sew and the new Bobbin winder is amazing! 

And 'not far enough' ??? Well the instructions for setting up the needle positioner operation is not even funny! The instructions are not in pigeon English, but they read like it. Makes absolutely no sense at all.

I have reached out to the seller via Amazon to see if I can get better instructions. Should get a response within a couple of days - else Amazon will refund.   Grrr! I had better pull the box and packing out of the garbage.

But, I can sew and the new motor is working well.

Trying to be patient for 48 hours.  (13:4 9/8/2026 )

( 18:26 ) Well, they replied within a few hours. They provided much more readable instructions for setting up the  operation of the Needle Positioner. Good start, but resulted in an Error Code, so back to the Amazon messaging system.

Back on Hold. ( 10:49am )

2:38pm same day.

Ok, I got it working!

The problem was that the screw that secures the Needle Positioner came loose! So when I followed the instructions to adjust the needle down position the control unit would never find the position of the drive wheel.

A quick trip to Ace Hardware for some Loctite ( I have some but it's on the boat ). Secure the screw with the Loctite, wait for an hour for it to cure, then back to testing.

I had to rotate the sensor on the drive wheel a couple of times but got it right on the 3rd try.

Now the good news! It works better! If I start sewing and lift my foot off of the pedal, then the machine stops with the needle just past fully buried --- Ideal! But if I back press on the pedal, the needle raises enough to release the thread after lifting the presser foot.

This warrants a quick review of the process of getting a needle positioner working on a Sailrite LSZ-1

• Buy the Servo motor and Needle Positioner ( I bought a kit )
• Remove the power from the servo motor and the machine - make it safe to work on.
• Remove the old servo motor.
• Install the new servo motor - I was able to use the existing motor mounting bolts
• I had to remove the pulley off of the original servo motor and install it on the new one.
• Drill out the Sailrite Posi-pin nut and thread to match the Needle Positioner adapter screw.
• With the adapter ( I had to use two in order to move the adapter further from the Posi-Pin nut, and use Loctite the adapter screw in the Posi-pin nut.
• With the Positioner adapter screwed into the Posi-pin nut, then secure the Needle positioner onto the adapter and lightly tighten down the setscrews to hold the sensor onto the adapter.
• Complete the installation of the Servo motor, Control box, Switch and plug the Needle positioner into the control box.
• Make sure nothing is rubbing against the drive belt and that everything is secure, wiring is kept clear of any risks. Then test the system.

When I first tested the system, I pushed the Posi-pin too far into the machine, as soon as I operated the machine it bent the Posi-pin, I was lucky! I removed the posi-pin and beat the heck out of it on a metal surface and was able to straighten it. Phew, that was close!

All of the wiring has been secured to the underside of the Industrial table and out of the way. The Control Switch is mounted beneath the front of the table top, easy to reach to turn everything off.

Here's some pics

Under the table.

This shows the motor and control box.

Note the belt adjustment arm on the motor, that allows for an easy method of adjustment.

Also notice the front of the control box.

The control box has 4 buttons.

Top is the Plus ( + ) button

Bottom is the Minus ( - ) button

Left = "P" Right = "S"

On my controller, Pressing the "P" button turns on the needle up/down option. I choose Needle down.

There's a clue to this with the icon above the "P" button and an LED next to the "Needle Up" or the "Needle Down".

When power is on, the 4 char display flashes the '0" char.

The Power Control switch is mounted beneath the front of the table near the right hand side.

It has an electrical connection on the back for some other item but I didn't have anything that had an identical plug. I'm guessing it's for a light.

The location Needle Positioner position arm is such that I can lean the machine back onto the kick stand and pull it forward to reattach the sensor to the position arm. Sweet!

The wire from the Positioner passes through an 11/16" hole I drilled in the top of the table, then the cable is secured to the underside of the table with cable clips.

I'm going to put this one in the win column.

Costs:

• Getting the Posi-pin nut threaded to match the Adapter securing screw $130 but this could be a DIY job.  I'll ask Fred from Metalixx if he would be interested in making replacement Posi-pin nuts.
• Servo Motor & Needle Positioner - Amazon $65 - I know, that's crazy cheap.
• 1" replacement adapter screw ( the original 3/4" screw that came with the kit was not long enough ) $1 Ace Hardware
• Small bottle of Loctite $6 Ace Hardware

Total cost $202 but would have been $72 if I had threaded the Posi-pin nut myself ( If I could ! )

But I also purchased a bobbin winder as it is so much easier than to use the winder on the machine.

Ok, back to work.

Hope to see you on the water before the Commodores Cup on September 26th. Woo Hoo!