show off your sewing machine... wait what?

Anyone have a sewing machine to show off... the wife thought I lost it when I picked up a few industrial machines this year.

Juki 563-3 this one needed some machine work.



Singer 111g156



Consew 226. I got to drag this one out of a woman's basement and up the stairs myself



Pfaff 138 and a singer 112w140. I got these off a hot air balloon manufacturer.

I don't have a good pic but my friend spent more on having that one tuned/repaired and restored than what I ever (almost) paid for a motorcycle.






Too bad he is a long way from here, I'd have more work for that machine or all the others he owns, Juki included. Next summer....

Before:




And after a few beers,got to be an old(er) pro to still sew straight after that many......



Now where is my pic of him with the beer working with the Juki? .......Oh that's right he didn't like that one he is a little self-conscious about his shiny head.

Man, THOSE are sewing machines. I mean...when you have a huge electric motor and you start sewing by engaging a giant flywheel clutch, that's a sewing MACHINE!

My parents had a bridal business and one grandfather was a furrier in upstate New York in the 1930s. I grew up with industrial sewing machines. I miss them but, just don't have the room or time to need my own. The last project like that was the curtains in the motorhome and that was over ten years ago.

I've been thinking about adding an old, simple industrial sewing machine to my shop.

Something that can handle leather, canvas, etc. There's always little repairs and projects where I think one would come in handy: bike cover; ATV cover; tarp for the utility trailer, busted rifle sling here or there; covers for my welders; ballistic nylon inserts for the hard cases on the RT, etc.

Can anyone recommend a basic, simple but durable one?

I got no pics but bought an original never refurbished but fully pro serviced early 60's era Pfaff 130. Works good with canvas and reasonable leather. If needed parts are avail at reasonable prices rather than diving into "Singer Collector machine" prices. For me it's a fun experiment screw around project machine. If I ever went into production making for sale items I'd prolly upgrade to a heavier duty machine if/when the Pfaff gets too tired/expensive to maintain. For home projects though the 130 works great for me. For commercial production grade machines you'll want something like the Juki but yikes even terribly loose worn out industrial grade machines like Juki's, Consews are crazy expense just for the buy-in For home use I'd recommend checking into old non computer Pfaffs. Good tough well built up to the task machines are fun to make stuff with. You don't need the best most expensive machine but you you need a good one if you're dealing with canvas/leather. Grandmas cheap $100 dress making machine ain't worth the grief.

The first three I posted are all the same basic pattern compound feed alternate pressing foot "walking foot" machine. They are designed for leather, canvas and any other medium weight materials. Any of them will do what you want and last the rest of your life.

As for price, of those three I paid $145, $65 and $100 respectively.

Sailrite machines are popular with cruising sailors. Sometimes I wish I had one!

Here is a walking foot machine sewing a rifle sling
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7OOHBTeyCE

And here are some webbing slings I did with the consew.

I got one! . Case and heavy flywheel. It will sew great.

I need to redo my boat canvas.

I bought this a few years ago when my GF wanted to learn how to sew. I didn't care for the quality of the new Singers. It's a 1955 Singer 301A. The build quality of these old Singers is great. No plastic and everything is easy to work on. It just needed a lot of cleaning. It's super smooth when running at high speed too. Just gotta lube it once in a while. There are half a dozen lube points.

I got fed up with the corporate world this fall and quit, now I am going to try and eek out an existence with thei Phaff 145 my brother gave me. If all goes well and the Phaff doesn't work out I will buy a new Juki.



I'm a little surprise at some of the names I'm seeing in this thread, good stuff lads.

I bought a New Home treadle sewing machine at an auction in November. Paid $15 for it. The wood top was trashed, the wood coffin box is in decent shape. I pulled the top, steel wooled the rust off of the cast iron base and treadle and gave it a good cleaning. Sprayed a coat of satin clear and put a glass top on it, instant occasional table.
I stuck the machine on a shelf, let my heirs deal with it.

I can't sew worth a damn but I can try.
Made curtains for my RV.
First try.

Scroll down for a pic of the machines.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=847293&page=24

So I got that done and just ordered two jugs of Mod Podge, gonna decorate with old maps or some such.

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I was just going to ask what one of those things was worth, I have 2 Singers. Now I know.

Now that we're talking about sewing machines anyone have some links for good canvas forums?

Here's my current favorite:
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wtT-tfcJF03skx_q4ELFrNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-VenjcO_-5YA/VJkKutMUBiI/AAAAAAAAFqA/PW4MZHHsK3g/s800/P1040771.JPG" height="600" width="800" /></a>
A Necchi BU. It's a nice italian made sewing machine with a low/high speed, zig zag, and reverse. Runs T90 thread without a hitch, does pretty well with the sewing I do, but I break a lot of needles- I think it's because the feed just isn't consistent enough without a walking foot. I've got some other nice machines, most of them in storage- a slant needle singer like Jeffy's but with zig-zag and quilting stitches, a treadle singer commercial (a 31-15- straight stitch, no reverse or walking foot), and a husqvarna. The Necchi is the best so far.

I'd like a Sailrite, but I haven't convinced myself to part with the cash so far. The Necchi does fine doing stuff like hemming my carhartts (that's 12 layers of canvas at the felled seams) and making moto luggage and stuff from cordura and nylon, and it's made bunches and bunches of webbing straps, but it's a bit overwhelmed by thick and somewhat sticky materials like leather and nylon reinforced vinyl.

Cant say I've seen one for canvas specifically.

As for the sailrire I see the niche they fill, but there are a couple things that i didn't like about themfoot. One being that they are not a true compound feed in that they lack the needle feed of the 111 (and all its clones).

Never tought I'd see "that" machine here. Mom had one, even the date is right I am sure she either bought it or it was gifted when she got married.

Hum.....my sister probably has it still and she doesn't sew.:huhNow I'll have to ask and see if the beat up can of Singer oil is still with it, the first oil I ever used on something. I'll want that old can back and add to the oil can collection.

Here's mine. Early '50s Singer. Freebie.



I cleaned it up, lubricated it and studied some Youtube videos to figure out how to use it. I needed to sew up a cover to make a foam mattress for a sleeping platform for the back of my truck. Even figured out how to sew in a full length zipper down the side!

I really like the art deco styling. I paid under $100 for it. We have the zig-zagger and button holer for it as well. I ended up doing a lot of research on the different Singers and ended up with the 301A. I'd make sure you replace the felt drip mat that's attached to the bottom plate. They stink. They pick up the oil slung from the cams. You can get new throttle pedals, plugs, bobbins and some other misc. parts on http://shop.sew-classic.com/. They carry parts for other old sewing machines as well too. I use Break-Free CLP to oil and clean it. The Singer oil is just light machine oil.

Looks like a Singer 201. Do you have the manual crank for it too?