Now what sewing machine to get??Bob.
Bob, Chances are your Mother, Grandmother, Sister or Aunt has one they are aren't using anymore.
My advise, don't spend hundreds of $$'s to save hundreds. Buy a good used second hand machine first and see how it goes. Lots of older sewing machines at Goodwill and similar places for dirt cheap. Just be sure it works & all parts are there, and it's a major brand so if you do need to get parts for it, you can.
Recently I bought a Swiss made Elna serger at a yardsale for $25. (I don't normally troll yardsales, but I was picking up my daughter from her friend's house and saw it laying there). It was gummed up w/ something out of time inside, but all parts seemed there. I'm pretty mechanical so I paid the $25 (low risk I thought), took it home, & popped it open and found a lock ring on the main crank shaft had shifted and tossed a cam & connecting rod out of timing. So I slid it back in place & locked it down, hit all the lube points, and it freed right up and seemed to run fine. Talked w/ my Mother (who is a quilter & sewing addict), she said it was well worth spending servicing $$'s on and I could easily recoup my investment on re-sale. So I spent $150 on servicing it & optional foot & plate for doing roll stitch. Probably didn't need to service it, as it seemed to work fine, but Mom seemed insistent I have it serviced.
Thought I'd use it to sew up some UL meat sacks for Christmas gifts for my brother & buddies for next year. I made a set for myself last year using Mom's serger and I love them.
Anyway my point is.... sewing machines are a dime a doz IF you just be patient and look around. Call a few sewing repair places and inquire about used machines. Many times they have older machines that people have just given them or dropped off because they were not working right, needed repair or servicing (lube).... or simply didn't return to pick them up & pay the bill. They repair these machines in their spare time and re-sell them. Check your local Craigslist and you'll most likely see adds for used machines all listed from the same person. These are most likely from a repairman that is making side money selling older repaired & serviced machines online. These people can be an excellent source of information on brands & reliability. And most likely they have a cheap machine that will fit your budget.
My old 50's era Remington that I use for sewing canvas, webbing, and pack mods is such a machine. Cost me $75 fully serviced and ready to go. I like it, because it's a very simple straight stitch machine. I have it loaded up w/ strong upholstery thread specifically for doing my heavy duty sewing. Originally bought it to sew up a camo duck blind for my jet sled. I use the hell out of this sewing machine. It has me looking at a true industrial machine now.... like a Juki.
My third sewing machine is a White general purpose machine w/ a gazillion stitch settings and such that my Mother gave my Wife as a wedding present. It's really complicated, or seems so. She never used and I rarely use it either, but will most likely be the one I have to set up to run silnylon on if I ever want to sew up some of these awesome pockets & pullouts Manosteel & Colonel00 are sewing up.
I'm really a sewing newbie and love the simplicity of my old Remington.
Hunt'nFish
