Sewing machines for rookies

[sickles107]

I inherited the unfortunate disease of making and fixing things myself if at all possible. Welding, wood working, electronics, mechanics, etc..

While these are handy skills to have, those that know, you usually end up spending much more time and money than you would if you just paid someone or bought something, and moved on with your life. Though there is something to be said about bringing your own ideas to life and maintaining self sufficientcy and craftsmanship.

Regardless, I have decided to add sewing to the mix, to bring some hunting gear soft goods ideas to life. Woulf be mostly working with 500d cordura and molle webbing.

For the experts, would i be on the right track to buy a machine like this and have at it to start learning?

SINGER® Heavy Duty 4411 Mechanical Sewing Machine | Michaels

Find the SINGER® Heavy Duty 4411 Mechanical Sewing Machine at Michaels. The 69 Stitch Applications include basic, stretch, and decorative sewing techniques, perfect for all types of fabrics.

www.michaels.com

 

[rabbithuntr]

Wife is talking about getting a new one I wouldn’t mind if it could handle some heavy duty materials.
@pods8 (Rugged Stitching)

 

[WoodBow]

I suffer from the same disease.

I have been sewing for about a decade. I have even made complete pack frame systems. I remember sucking at it but finding guys online making pro level stuff and I was like ok if they can do it, I can do it. And I was right.

My advice is do not buy that thing. It is anything but heavy duty. Shop around on fb marketplace and goodwills. You can get an old all metal machine for $50 or less. If you are OK will spending a few hundred bucks, shop around for an old industrial machine. You'll buy one eventually anyways if you take to it. I have gotten 3 industrial machines for free so far. You just have to search. Im no expert but you can even text me to ask about machines you come across. 9032757238. Being able to work on stuff really broadens the possibilities with getting good deals on machines. I will add a couple.of pics of the most recent one I got for free. And a pic of it restored.



I have a vintage domestic machine that I will give you if you are near me. Im in east texas.

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[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Wife is talking about getting a new one I wouldn’t mind if it could handle some heavy duty materials.
@pods8 (Rugged Stitching)

If you want a machine that can do decent on some layers and have some other stitch options go to goodwill type stores and look for old metal gear machines. Like a tan kenmore from 60-70s for example.

If you want to step up your game on thicker materials most of the industrial type machines are one trick ponies. IE straight stitch walking foot for example you can adjust stitch length, tension, go forward and backwards, that’s about it. But that also covers many needs just fine. Juki is the brand name in that realm with many clones, I happen to have a kingmax.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

A machine like that would be handy for repairs to reach into some areas a table machine just can’t do. Have you mounted up a motor on it yet?

 

[WoodBow]

A machine like that would be handy for repairs to reach into some areas a table machine just can’t do. Have you mounted up a motor on it yet?

Yep. It came on a table with a clutch motor. I put a servo in it to play with. There is a thread about the machine here on this page. I picked it up to use for stuff I can't do with a flat bed. But turns out it only has 3 stitch length options and all are very fine. So im deciding whether i should sell it or make the mods to extend the stich lengths. I saw the same machine sell on a leather forum for $800. On the same forum I saw someone make a new gear to double all of the stitch length options.

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[hereinaz]

Gotta agree… the new machines can do some basic work, but it will be a struggle bus when you add layers and thickness— and that is inevitable.

Watching for used machines you can pick some up pretty good deals. If you travel to AZ, I have some Juki “dressmaking” machines that I need to sell…

 

[Mojave]

I was a parachute rigger in the Navy for 20 years.

Consew 151 RB, 206 RB or 406 RB is the classical military table motor and belt driven machine. It is too heavy to sew two t-shirts together but can do about 90% of the canvas level stuff you want. Going to be too heavy for a lot of ultra light gear. Works very well for Cordura unless you are sewing like 5 layers of Cordura 1000 together.

You can also get it with a smaller motor that is table top for about $1000.

Chandler bull is more versatile.

There are also a lot of pneumatic ones. I wouldn't deal with that unless you want to lose more of your hearing from the noise.

Lightweight Singer from the back wall of a craft store for $200 isn't going to be worth doing much with.

Repairing typical Kuiu type outdoor gear, you need a commercial lightweight to a mid-lightweight machine.

If you are doing heavy webbing you need some kind of "Class 7 machine" that will do webbing and heavy leather.

 

[Dos Perros]

A commercial grade Brother or Juki would be nice. A step up from the Singer Heavy Duty for sure and you can find them used fairly easily. If you went into a local tailor and see what kind of machines they have it'd be something like that.

Juki DDL-8700
Brother DB2

You want the flatbed to be large and flat.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

My wife has 6 different machines and then an embroidery machine.

Her main machines that she uses are an older heavy duty Tippmann Industrial that she refurbished (mainly for leather work and custom clothing she makes); and one of the newer heavy duty Brother units for basic work, modifying my hunting gear/clothing, and general sewing. Not sure what the other 4 are used for but I see her using them often for random projects.

 

[Wacko]

I'll toss in my 2 cents as well. No, don't get that singer. It will disappoint on too many levels.

First ask yourself what kind of space do I have for it. Second what kind of budget. Third do I want to try any "fixer uppers".

I have rewired and restored a singer 15-91, I've rewired a singer 201-2. I've bought several others from goodwill and from a sewing repair shop. I've reworked an old military consew 206-RB5 walking foot.

I will say the easiest to get parts for, get tuned, and get motors etc for, are the industrials. If you have the space for one I don't think you can go wrong. Budget wise you can cover the whole range from free to a couple grand.

A walking foot is really a niche item to me. It is too heavy duty to sew ripstop nylon or lighter fabrics very well. Some guys can do it all on them but it takes a lot of tuning of tensions, needles, and feedplates etc.

If I was starting from scratch and wanted a do all machine...something like a juki DDL8700-H would probably do 96% of anything you can think of except the real heavy stuff. Industrials are all metal for the most part. A servo motor is probably a need for a beginner...a clutch motor will sew way too fast until you learn it well enough. It also has enough power to sew through fingers...

If space and budget don't allow that, I would get an older machine. Get it from someone who took care of it or find a real honest sewing machine repair shop to go through it and tune it up. The best way to tell if it is going to be close to what you need is to lift it...good ones will be heavy. It is a misnomer that any of the home machines have "all metal" gears...even the oldest singer 15-91 I had has a poly or fiber whatever worm gear that drives it all. The rest is metal...those metal parts make it more durable and have more "momentum" for lack of a better term to get through stuff.

Sewing gear is an adventure. Definitely worthwhile...

Good luck!!

 

[TaperPin]

The first industrial I sewed with is like an extra heavy duty old time residential, but can sew with thicker thread. It was old equipment not used by the smoke jumpers in Montana so we requisitioned it to modify and repaired packs and pack cloth projects. The 31-15 was originally for tailors and lighter clothes and the exact same machine with a different bobbin set up was the 31-20 and could sew 138 weight thread, which is the machine we had. Around WW2 the 31-20 was discontinued, but the 31-15 was slightly modified so during the war it could now sew with thicker thread. There’s no reverse, there’s little stitch length adjustment, and only a simple straight stitch. Very little to get out of adjustment on the underside and most things are pinned so people can’t tinker with them much.

As I mentioned in a post last year, these are often available for dirt nothing. I used to pick them up for $50 and stopped once there are 4 of them sitting on the shelf. Once in a while I’ll still use one to hem some pants, but hopefully as kids in the family get interested I’ll set one up for them.

Think of an industrial as a collection of the head, motor and universal table that could be used by many different machines since most have the same footprint. Finding the head is the main thing. Tables are often given away, heck I’ve taken two to the dump since nobody wanted them. Old single speed motor with a clutch are often free or nearly so. I’ve taken 3 or 4 to the landfill. A new servo, even a cheap $100 servo is much easier to learn with.

All together in a sewing package you could spend $175 on the high side of acceptable down to nothing. When one comes up on Craigslist or marketplace for more, you can always let them know it’s probably worth what they’re asking, but if for some reason they need to sell it quickly you’ll give them whatever your budget is. I wouldn’t give over $100, but I’m cheap.

The 31-20 machine below is listed in the Fresno Craigslist for $175, or there is a much better deal of a Chandler walking foot machine for the same price. Who ever is selling them doesn’t know the walking foot is under priced and the 31-20 is somewhat over priced.

 

[WoodBow]

It is a misnomer that any of the home machines have "all metal" gears...even the oldest singer 15-91 I had has a poly or fiber whatever worm gear that drives it all. The rest is metal.

Good luck!!

I bet that gear is phenolic and is designed to be sacrificial in the event of things binding up. I have very old stimpson meat grinder that I got for free because someone lost a bolt in the gear box and it locked it up and stripped out the phenolic drive gear. It didn't harm anything else. I've had that thing for many years with intentions of getting another gear made.


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[450]

I inherited the unfortunate disease of making and fixing things myself if at all possible. Welding, wood working, electronics, mechanics, etc..

While these are handy skills to have, those that know, you usually end up spending much more time and money than you would if you just paid someone or bought something, and moved on with your life. Though there is something to be said about bringing your own ideas to life and maintaining self sufficientcy and craftsmanship.

Regardless, I have decided to add sewing to the mix, to bring some hunting gear soft goods ideas to life. Woulf be mostly working with 500d cordura and molle webbing.

For the experts, would i be on the right track to buy a machine like this and have at it to start learning?

SINGER® Heavy Duty 4411 Mechanical Sewing Machine | Michaels

Find the SINGER® Heavy Duty 4411 Mechanical Sewing Machine at Michaels. The 69 Stitch Applications include basic, stretch, and decorative sewing techniques, perfect for all types of fabrics.

www.michaels.com

Don’t waste your time on one of those, just get you a good used industrial machine from the start and be done. It is definitely a rabbit hole but fun. I have a Chandler C-267.

 

[TaperPin]

I’ve always liked new white paint and a black table if the machine was kept in the house to be more acceptable to the misses. This 31-15 isn’t one of my machines, but I saved the picture since it shows a new servo, fresh white paint, an old style set of legs and new black top.