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#21
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Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
These are just standard needles. Nothing special about them.
Doug s/v Callista "Keith" wrote in message ... Yea, what Glen said. I would add that Sailrite makes canvas needles for regular machines. I've used these successfully on a regular home machine on light to medium canvas stuff. -- Keith __ My wife has a slight impediment in her speech. Every now and then she stops to breathe. -Jimmy Durante "Glen "Wiley" Wilson" wrote in message ... On 01 Apr 2004 23:37:44 GMT, (MLapla4120) wrote: Do you guys know of good sewing machines for sailwork, canvas work? I'm thinking of getting one to make my own sails and canvas work. I would love to hear from people who have done this and are happy or not with thier purchase. Thanks in advance, Mark The standard answer to this question is to try Sailrite www.sailrite.com. I've had one of their Sailmaker machines for over a decade (I bought it used) and I wouldn't swap it for most people's boats. It's overkill for your stated purposes (and mine as well) but they have a much more extensive product line now, with some reasonably priced machines that look perfectly adequate for a single user. I've found their customer support to be flawless. Their emphasis is self-sufficiency and they stock all kinds of spare parts, along with CDROMs that shows exactly how to disassemble, reassemble, and tune critical parts of the machine. I've used it when I buggered something up, with the result that I feel I could fix the machine anywhere. Sailrite does most of the large boat shows, and they always seem to bring along a couple of machines for shoppers to try out. That said, I'm sure you could find a perfectly serviceable machine elsewhere, possibly for less. You mileage may vary, but I find several features to be important: A) As large an opening as possible to pass rolled up sails/canvas through B) Smooth, powerful feed mechanism C) Ability to handle multiple layers of thick fabric. It's pretty easy to get up around 10 layers of fabric doing canvas work D) Handles the big industrial spools of dacron thread E) It was a surprise to me, but a machine that's easy to hand crank is very handy. In the sail loft, the guy operating the machine has assistants and equipment to support and feed long rolls of sailcloth through the machine. You may not be so lucky. When you have to stop every few seconds to realign the fabric, you might find it easier and more controllable to just hand crank. I often do. Even with a great machine, quality work takes practice and patience. I haven't got enough of either, but I found that I could turn out serviceable pieces from the very beginning. Good luck; Glen __________________________________________________ __________ Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at worldwidewiley dot com To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious. Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/ |
#22
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Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
We picked up an old Necci at a yard sale for $35. Tough machine!
Absolutely no plastic parts and very tight. Retrofitted it with a Sailrite Monster Wheel and used it to build a couple of sails. Got the LSZ-1 later so retired the Necci. Doug s/v Callista "Steve" wrote in message ... "Dick" wrote in message ... I have a PFAFF 130. It works well but not for everyone. It was made in the mid 1940s. You can still get parts except for the tensioner. In the past, I have seen them for as much as $650, but you can get them for a lot less. I have not had any trouble with mine in the seven years that I have had it. It can sew 6 to 8 layers of sumbrella with a 110 needle. It can also use the heavy thread that some machines have trouble with. I agree, the Pfaff 130 is a cruisers favorite. In addition to the reason you state, this machine is still common in small tailor shops in the 3rd world. I had a 130 before my Sailrite. I did both sail repair and canvas work with it.. I paid $350 for it in a showing machine repair shop and sold it, after 8 yrs, for $400 and spent about $30 for a tuneup and inspection before I sold it. The nice thing about the Pfaff or the Sailrite machines, is the ease of adjustment and repair in the field (on the boat). In fact Sailrite doesn't want you to send your machine in for repair and adjustment. Their manual is a 'field service manual' and encourages the owner to learn how make adjustments and repair. When I needed feed dog replacement, they sent it to me and I had it replace in 20 mins. While I was doing this I discovered the cause for the broken part. -- My opinion and experience. FWIW Steve s/v Good Intentions |
#23
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Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
We picked up an old Necci at a yard sale for $35. Tough machine!
Absolutely no plastic parts and very tight. Retrofitted it with a Sailrite Monster Wheel and used it to build a couple of sails. Got the LSZ-1 later so retired the Necci. Doug s/v Callista "Steve" wrote in message ... "Dick" wrote in message ... I have a PFAFF 130. It works well but not for everyone. It was made in the mid 1940s. You can still get parts except for the tensioner. In the past, I have seen them for as much as $650, but you can get them for a lot less. I have not had any trouble with mine in the seven years that I have had it. It can sew 6 to 8 layers of sumbrella with a 110 needle. It can also use the heavy thread that some machines have trouble with. I agree, the Pfaff 130 is a cruisers favorite. In addition to the reason you state, this machine is still common in small tailor shops in the 3rd world. I had a 130 before my Sailrite. I did both sail repair and canvas work with it.. I paid $350 for it in a showing machine repair shop and sold it, after 8 yrs, for $400 and spent about $30 for a tuneup and inspection before I sold it. The nice thing about the Pfaff or the Sailrite machines, is the ease of adjustment and repair in the field (on the boat). In fact Sailrite doesn't want you to send your machine in for repair and adjustment. Their manual is a 'field service manual' and encourages the owner to learn how make adjustments and repair. When I needed feed dog replacement, they sent it to me and I had it replace in 20 mins. While I was doing this I discovered the cause for the broken part. -- My opinion and experience. FWIW Steve s/v Good Intentions |
#24
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Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
On Fri, 02 Apr 2004 17:02:49 GMT, Cindy Ballreich
wrote: Glen "Wiley" Wilson wrote: The standard answer to this question is to try Sailrite Could these machines (the LSZ-1 for example) be used to sew clothes? Certainly my Sailmaker could. It's extremely versatile. It's a slightly modified version of an industrial machine commonly used for just that. As shipped, it has a heavy presser spring for heavy work, but the original spring is included. But I don't really know anything about sewing clothes. I think it would take some adjustment to make it work well, but those adjustments are all on easily used controls. Somewhere on the Sailrite site, maybe under Tech Tips, or some such heading, there's a breakdown of all their machines and which is best for given tasks. I seem to recall that there's also one on making a standard home machine usable for canvas and sails. __________________________________________________ __________ Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at worldwidewiley dot com To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious. Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/ |
#25
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Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
On Fri, 02 Apr 2004 17:02:49 GMT, Cindy Ballreich
wrote: Glen "Wiley" Wilson wrote: The standard answer to this question is to try Sailrite Could these machines (the LSZ-1 for example) be used to sew clothes? Certainly my Sailmaker could. It's extremely versatile. It's a slightly modified version of an industrial machine commonly used for just that. As shipped, it has a heavy presser spring for heavy work, but the original spring is included. But I don't really know anything about sewing clothes. I think it would take some adjustment to make it work well, but those adjustments are all on easily used controls. Somewhere on the Sailrite site, maybe under Tech Tips, or some such heading, there's a breakdown of all their machines and which is best for given tasks. I seem to recall that there's also one on making a standard home machine usable for canvas and sails. __________________________________________________ __________ Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at worldwidewiley dot com To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious. Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/ |
#26
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Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
the pfaff 130 will also do zigzag. regret the day i sold mine. have
sailrite now and like it but pfaff was a better machine bruce "Dick" wrote in message ... Do you guys know of good sewing machines for sailwork, canvas work? I'm thinking of getting one to make my own sails and canvas work. I would love to hear from people who have done this and are happy or not with thier purchase. I have a PFAFF 130. It works well but not for everyone. It was made in the mid 1940s. You can still get parts except for the tensioner. In the past, I have seen them for as much as $650, but you can get them for a lot less. I have not had any trouble with mine in the seven years that I have had it. It can sew 6 to 8 layers of sumbrella with a 110 needle. It can also use the heavy thread that some machines have trouble with. Dick |
#27
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Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
the pfaff 130 will also do zigzag. regret the day i sold mine. have
sailrite now and like it but pfaff was a better machine bruce "Dick" wrote in message ... Do you guys know of good sewing machines for sailwork, canvas work? I'm thinking of getting one to make my own sails and canvas work. I would love to hear from people who have done this and are happy or not with thier purchase. I have a PFAFF 130. It works well but not for everyone. It was made in the mid 1940s. You can still get parts except for the tensioner. In the past, I have seen them for as much as $650, but you can get them for a lot less. I have not had any trouble with mine in the seven years that I have had it. It can sew 6 to 8 layers of sumbrella with a 110 needle. It can also use the heavy thread that some machines have trouble with. Dick |
#28
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Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
From the Sailrite site:
"We have found that some home machines work better in heavy fabrics if the tips of the needles are slightly blunted and, so, these needles have what are called all purpose, modified ball points." So are you saying all needles are made like this? -- Keith __ The best boating accessory is a good owner! "Doug Dotson" wrote in message ... These are just standard needles. Nothing special about them. Doug s/v Callista "Keith" wrote in message ... Yea, what Glen said. I would add that Sailrite makes canvas needles for regular machines. I've used these successfully on a regular home machine on light to medium canvas stuff. -- Keith __ |
#29
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Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
From the Sailrite site:
"We have found that some home machines work better in heavy fabrics if the tips of the needles are slightly blunted and, so, these needles have what are called all purpose, modified ball points." So are you saying all needles are made like this? -- Keith __ The best boating accessory is a good owner! "Doug Dotson" wrote in message ... These are just standard needles. Nothing special about them. Doug s/v Callista "Keith" wrote in message ... Yea, what Glen said. I would add that Sailrite makes canvas needles for regular machines. I've used these successfully on a regular home machine on light to medium canvas stuff. -- Keith __ |
#30
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Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
No, I'm just saying that these needles are not uniuque to Sailrite.
You can by them at most anyplace that sells needles. Doug s/v Callista "Keith" wrote in message ... From the Sailrite site: "We have found that some home machines work better in heavy fabrics if the tips of the needles are slightly blunted and, so, these needles have what are called all purpose, modified ball points." So are you saying all needles are made like this? -- Keith __ The best boating accessory is a good owner! "Doug Dotson" wrote in message ... These are just standard needles. Nothing special about them. Doug s/v Callista "Keith" wrote in message ... Yea, what Glen said. I would add that Sailrite makes canvas needles for regular machines. I've used these successfully on a regular home machine on light to medium canvas stuff. -- Keith __ |
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