On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:35:57 -0400, "Glenn Ashmore"
wrote:

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.


Glen, try the commercial suppliers. I bought a new Brother LSZ some
years ago, in Singapore, for a bit less then US $500. for a bare
machine. I installed a motor and built a box and have been using it
ever since. It does help to make or buy the heavy flywheel that
SailRite sells. Helps, but is not a necessity.

I can do all my sail work, except for the last 4 - 6 inches of the
corner reinforcing with it (40 ft. sloop). Cushions and awnings are
like sewing a handkerchiefs, the little motor is sufficient unless you
are going to sew extremely heavy material and then the machine will
rapidly get out of time with the heavy material.

I suggest that you locate a shop that services commercial shops and
talk to them. AFTER I bought my machine I discovered I could have
bought the same machine, second hand in good condition for a third of
what I paid for it. the price for feet and accessories also seems to
be very high. I bought every foot made for mine at a cost of 5 - 10
dollars a piece.

If you buy one get a thread oiler and some silicon oil as when you get
to heavier material then the machine will sew, the oil gets you one
more layer of material :-)


Bruce-in-Bangkok
(correct email address for reply)