"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
...
I apologize in advance for the "Skip length" post but I thought this might
be useful.
I have been considering a machine to make things like cockpit cushions,
interior upholstery, Bimini and maybe even a Stackpak. I had been
constantly advised not to waste my time on a portable but look for a
"cheap" industrial. Well, there ain't no "cheap" industrials around here.
Even if there were it wouldn't fit in the boat and the list of other
things needing the next $1,000+ out of the boat kitty is long.
This weekend I had a visitor to the boat shed who was in the sewing
machine repair business and he invited me over to his shop for the rare
opportunity to get a look at 4 different portable and 2 industrial walking
foot zigzag machines side by side.
The industrials were a Juki and a Consew. Both were BIG, over $1,200 and
down right dangerous for a beginner.. Put a piece of Sunbrella in the
Juki and pressed the foot treadle. Scared the hell out of me. Damned
thing like to have ate my arm!
The portables were an old Thompson, a Sailrite LSZ-1, a Reliable 2000U33
and a Mini-Brute. From the general look I couldn't tell the difference
other than the Mini-Brute was 2" longer under the arm and the Sailrite had
the monster wheel installed. All four were al lot easier to control and
at least to my untrained eye sewed 6 layers of Sunbrella equally well but
the Sailrite ran a little easier at low speed. We took the Monster Wheel
off the Sailrite and put on each of the others in turn and they improved
to about the same low speed performance.
We then turned the machines over to look at the guts. Again it was almost
impossible to find any difference. All 4 have all metal parts. No
plastic in the works. The Sailrite did have a couple of cranks that looked
a little better machined but not by much. All 4 were tight with virtually
no play. The Thompson, Sailrite and Reliable were made in Taiwan and I
would swear they came off the same line using the same molds. The
Mini-Brute is made in China and there is a bit more roughness in the
castings but nothing that would effect performance that I could tell.
All of them have 1/10th HP motors geared way down to sew 800-900
stitches/minute which is plenty fast for my fingers. The Monster Wheel
will gear down all of them even slower and gives a lot more punching
power.
The Sailrite sells for $970 with the monster wheel but it also comes with
a wood case and $100 worth of good training and maintenance videos on CDs.
The Reliable sells for $500 with a plastic case. Add a monster wheel and
the Sailrite videos and you are close to $720.
The Mini-Brute sells for $600 with no case but has 2" more work room under
the arm. Add the Monster Wheel and CDs and you are at $800.
I don't think the Thompson zigzag is made anymore.
One down side of all of them is that they use hard to find presser feet.
Zipper and welt foot sets cost $60-$65 each and you need both to do any
decent cushions. Industrial presser feet are half that. The Reliable
comes with a 3/16" welt foot and the Mini-Brute comes with a 1/4" welt
foot. To sew 2 layers of Sunbrella over 5/32" welt cord you really need a
1/4" welt foot so score $60 to the Mini-Brute. Zipper feet are a
different matter. Cushions need zippers to avoid a lot of hand sewing and
you really need a zipper foot to get close to the teeth.
I am leaning toward the Mini-Brute even if it is made in China because I
can see that extra 2" will come in handy.
--
Glenn Ashmore
I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com
I had the same idea, but couldn't find anything used that seemed worth
buying. I ended up going to a sewing machine store, and I bought a Janome,
Sewist 521. I watched the salesperson sew five really think pieces without
any problem. I paid under $200 for it, and it came with a nice warranty. It
may not be perfect, but it sure is useful. There was a short learning curve,
wherein I went through a couple of needles, mostly because I tried to go too
fast. I did some zippers on Sunbrella right the first time I tried. Not sure
if this helps any...
--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com