Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

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

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

I have a SailRite LSZ-1 UltraFeed. This is a walking foot zigzag machine.

It is heavy and can handle very thick canvas and sail material..
The main drawback with this machine is the lack of room under the arm.

In general you can get buy with a lesser machine and one without the walking
foot feature.. I have in the past.. The real advantage of the walking foot
is better control of both upper and lower layers of the material.. With a
standard machine, with only lower feed dogs, the material on the bottom
tends to feed slightly faster that the top, so you have to manually
compensate for this. (been there done that).

It is true that you can find commercial machines, cheap that are walking
foot, but it is rare and expensive for a walking foot zigzag machine.

I would also say that zigzag is most important to sail making while canvas
work can be done with straight stitch alone (especially if your using
syntetics and use a hot knife for cutting and sealing the edges).

Sail Rite is a well established mail order company.. Family owned and when
you call you can be assured you will get very good information and
attentions from one of these family members. I have never had any complaint
with their products, material or service.

Sail Rite has a facility to computer design and cut sails for you and
deliver them all match marked so you just sew them together and finish the
the edges, etc.

They have instructional videos for most sail and canvas projects.

Prices of for raw materials are slightly higher but often you won't mind
since someone will be talking your through you project and make sure you get
the right stuff.

Enough Said.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

I have a SailRite LSZ-1 UltraFeed. This is a walking foot zigzag machine.

It is heavy and can handle very thick canvas and sail material..
The main drawback with this machine is the lack of room under the arm.

In general you can get buy with a lesser machine and one without the walking
foot feature.. I have in the past.. The real advantage of the walking foot
is better control of both upper and lower layers of the material.. With a
standard machine, with only lower feed dogs, the material on the bottom
tends to feed slightly faster that the top, so you have to manually
compensate for this. (been there done that).

It is true that you can find commercial machines, cheap that are walking
foot, but it is rare and expensive for a walking foot zigzag machine.

I would also say that zigzag is most important to sail making while canvas
work can be done with straight stitch alone (especially if your using
syntetics and use a hot knife for cutting and sealing the edges).

Sail Rite is a well established mail order company.. Family owned and when
you call you can be assured you will get very good information and
attentions from one of these family members. I have never had any complaint
with their products, material or service.

Sail Rite has a facility to computer design and cut sails for you and
deliver them all match marked so you just sew them together and finish the
the edges, etc.

They have instructional videos for most sail and canvas projects.

Prices of for raw materials are slightly higher but often you won't mind
since someone will be talking your through you project and make sure you get
the right stuff.

Enough Said.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

one word. Sailrite.

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

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

one word. Sailrite.

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

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

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/

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

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/

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

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/

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

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/

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

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?

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

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?

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

"Cindy Ballreich" wrote in message
...
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?


I've never tried it. I think they would be overkill for domestic fabrics.
However, for denim this machine would be great since it could handle the
multiple layers that would be encountered in blue jeans.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

"Cindy Ballreich" wrote in message
...
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?


I've never tried it. I think they would be overkill for domestic fabrics.
However, for denim this machine would be great since it could handle the
multiple layers that would be encountered in blue jeans.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

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

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

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

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

It works fine. Nancy used ours to make a couple of shirts and
pants out of Androsia when we were in the Bahamas. You may
want to use a smaller needle and adjust the bobbin tension for
a finer thread (and of course the top thread tension). We also
used it to repair bed sheets with no problem.

Doug
s/v Callista

"Cindy Ballreich" wrote in message
...
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?

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

It works fine. Nancy used ours to make a couple of shirts and
pants out of Androsia when we were in the Bahamas. You may
want to use a smaller needle and adjust the bobbin tension for
a finer thread (and of course the top thread tension). We also
used it to repair bed sheets with no problem.

Doug
s/v Callista

"Cindy Ballreich" wrote in message
...
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?

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

"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

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

"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

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/

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/

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

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

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/

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/

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

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

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
__

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
__

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
__

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
__

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

The standard answer to this question is to try Sailrite

Could these machines (the LSZ-1 for example) be used to sew clothes?


The pfaff 130 was made to be used by commercial underwear makers. We have used
ours to do a lot of sewing in addition to canvas work. It does zigzag and
stright stich. As long as you don't need fancy stiches it is the only machine
you need.


Dick

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

The standard answer to this question is to try Sailrite

Could these machines (the LSZ-1 for example) be used to sew clothes?


The pfaff 130 was made to be used by commercial underwear makers. We have used
ours to do a lot of sewing in addition to canvas work. It does zigzag and
stright stich. As long as you don't need fancy stiches it is the only machine
you need.


Dick

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

The pfaff 130 was made to be used by commercial underwear makers. We have used
ours to do a lot of sewing in addition to canvas work. It does zigzag and
stright stich. As long as you don't need fancy stiches it is the only machine
you need.


Canvas underwear! Yow!
:-D

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

The pfaff 130 was made to be used by commercial underwear makers. We have used
ours to do a lot of sewing in addition to canvas work. It does zigzag and
stright stich. As long as you don't need fancy stiches it is the only machine
you need.


Canvas underwear! Yow!
:-D

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

But the Pfaff does not have a walking foot, right? Doesn't that limit
you somewhat? I heard that, for instance, sewing sailcloth is
extremely difficult without walking foot. Is that true?

--Ernst

Cindy Ballreich writes:


The pfaff 130 was made to be used by commercial underwear makers. We have used
ours to do a lot of sewing in addition to canvas work. It does zigzag and
stright stich. As long as you don't need fancy stiches it is the only machine
you need.


Canvas underwear! Yow!
:-D

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

But the Pfaff does not have a walking foot, right? Doesn't that limit
you somewhat? I heard that, for instance, sewing sailcloth is
extremely difficult without walking foot. Is that true?

--Ernst

Cindy Ballreich writes:


The pfaff 130 was made to be used by commercial underwear makers. We have used
ours to do a lot of sewing in addition to canvas work. It does zigzag and
stright stich. As long as you don't need fancy stiches it is the only machine
you need.


Canvas underwear! Yow!
:-D

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

Canvas underwear! Yow!
:-D

a step up from sackcloth and ashes.

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

Canvas underwear! Yow!
:-D

a step up from sackcloth and ashes.

Good sewing machine for canvas work, examples? Results?
 

a walking foot is nicer when you have many thicknesses of cloth. I also find
the walking foot works better on sticky material, such as vinyl.

btw, I bought a Sailrite rather than a Pfaff 130 a.) when I heard a sewing
machine repairman with no axe to grind tell that parts are hard to get for the
130 and that a Singer 107 (older yet machine) was easier to keep running, and
b.) I noticed that the price of a "rebuilt" 40 to 55 years old Pfaff was about
the same as a brand new LSZ-1 Sailrite.

But the Pfaff does not have a walking foot, right? Doesn't that limit
you somewhat? I heard that, for instance, sewing sailcloth is
extremely difficult without walking foot. Is that true?

--Ernst

Cindy Ballreich writes:


The pfaff 130 was made to be used by commercial underwear makers. We have
used
ours to do a lot of sewing in addition to canvas work. It does zigzag and
stright stich. As long as you don't need fancy stiches it is the only
machine
you need.


Canvas underwear! Yow!
:-D