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#1
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Portable walking foot sewing machine comparison.
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 |
#2
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Portable walking foot sewing machine comparison.
"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 |
#3
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Portable walking foot sewing machine comparison.
I started off with a Singer CG550 "commercial grade" zigzag machine for
about the same $200 because the Admiral wouldn't let me near her machine. It is a horse of a machine for the price. Sews zipper plaques and piping very easily and will punch through 4 or 5 layers of Sunbrella but it is not walking foot. With only the lower dogs pulling you have to help feed several layers by pulling from the back side which results in irregular stitches. Very obvious with zigzags and on straight stitches causes puckers in the seams. I have managed to finish 3 cockpit cushions that are acceptable but I now that I am getting half way good I am looking for something better. Quite honestly though the best part was the look on my wife's and sister-in-law's faces when they saw the first boxed cockpit cushion with piping and all tight with square edges. They think they are masters of the sewing machine and this klutzy male could never make a straight stitch. I can out cook them too! :-) -- 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 "Capt. JG" wrote 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 |
#4
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Portable walking foot sewing machine comparison.
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. As one who has spent a lifetime in the sewing industry, I can sympathise with your fear of heavy industrial machines. Our operators could control these monsters at speeds of up to 6500 stitches-per-minute (yes, that's more than 100 stitches-per-second!) But this was their liveliehood, and it ain't yours! However, all industrial machines have clutch motors, and some have "stopright" motors with electronic clutches that can run the machine so slowly that you can actually watch the needle going through the fabric in slow motion! I would suggest that you have been misled, and the dealer was trying to sell you a pup. A stopright-fitted machine has one advantage in that it will always stop dead with the needle either at the exact bottom of the stroke (in the fabric), allowing you to turn the fabric using the needle as a fulcrum, or by back-heeling it will do a half-revolution AND trim the two threads at the same time, (no scissors required). Naturally this is a tremendous advantage to a skilled operator who can run the machine at or near it's maximum speed, but less so for an amateur sewing enthusiast to whom accuracy demands a slower speed. The key to good industrial sewing machines is the motor, not the machine. Almost all the machines are made to very high standards, but many of the older ones are sold second-hand with crappy single-phase motors, hence the virtual impossibilty of running them at "idling" speeds. If you can find one with an electronic clutch motor you can run it so slow you will fall asleep watching it. I confess to knowing little about "domestic" machines, except to look for one where the hook and base (thats the revolving spool case beneath the needle plate), is configured the same as on an industrial machine, the spoolcase looks much the same as on an industrial machine, and is vertical, i.e. perpendicular to the bottom shaft, and not horizontal (facing upwards). This configuration is vital when sewing several plies of heavy fabric. Many lightweight domestic machines are simply too fragile for heavy usage, no matter what the makers claim. From your descriptions, it would seem to me that the Sailrite or the Mini-Brute would be your best bet. The ability to take different sizes of needle (thickness) would be one facility that would sway me, as thicker fabrics definitey need thicker needles. Also watch out for the availablity of ballpoint needles when sewing knitted or lightweight fabrics (e.g. spinnaker fabrics) which can be prone to needle damage if treated roughly. Many RTW racing sailboats carry sewing machines to carry out sail repairs en route. You could ask around and try to find some guy who has crewed on one of these machines and ask what make, type etc they use, and how good they are. Ziog-zag machines are a different matter. No industrial operator would use a zig-zag machine that was not a "dedicated" zig-zag, i.e. it will NOT do straight-line sewing, however, recent advances in technology have brought us quite reliable and versatile domestic machines which can do both zig-zag and straight without any tendency to mis-stitch, so long as you use them slowly. I saw a beautifull domestic overlock machine yesterday in a store in Glasgow. This was a 3-thread overlocker, domestic weight admittedly, but very well constructed, for £120 brand new! Such a machine in industrial weight configuration would cost thousands. So we are moving in the right direction, and your wife would find such a machine far more useful than the domestic lockstitch machine she has bought which claims to do everything! (Not much uise for making berth cushions, unless you are a perfectionist and want them to look as good inside as outside!). I wish you luck in your search. If industrial machines scare you, or you have no room for these, then a compromise machine which is well constructed and could be classed as a "heavy domestic machine" is your best bet. Dennis. |
#5
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Portable walking foot sewing machine comparison.
On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:56:49 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote: "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. snipped 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... I have a Zig Zag Brother similar to the model previously sold by SailRite that I bought as a bare machine in Singapore. I installed a motor and built a box for it and have been using it for nearly ten years. It is an older version of the ZZ 567, line. the accessories can be purchased at any commercial sewing machine place. I have sewed a complete mainsail with it. the only place that it can't quite hack it is on the corner reinforcing. I can't sew the last six inches of the corner patches. The prices you are quoting for both the machine and the parts seem, to me, to be unusually high. Are you being quoted these numbers from a commercial shop or from Sailrite? If from SailRite you should be aware that their prices ARE high. Bruce-in-Bangkok (correct email address for reply) |
#6
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Portable walking foot sewing machine comparison.
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) |
#7
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Portable walking foot sewing machine comparison.
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. Take a look at the Pfaff 130 currently on ebay. Lots of sailors using these. G |
#8
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Portable walking foot sewing machine comparison.
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... I made the same decision you did. The Janome worked just fine, until I knocked it out of time. The machine is not adjustable by the user so off to the sewing machine repair place. Just a hair over $100. This wasn't going to work. I sold the Janome and bought a used Thompson, which is exactly the same as the Sailright. The used Thompson needed timing adjusted, but the videos I got from Sailright made it easy. The Janome was useful, but the proper machine is far more useful. |
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