SAILRITE CLONE

I would also highly recommend Francis and the team at Sew-Quick at the link above. Known them many years...

As you say, the industrial Jack is great.. (One of my Father's machines whilst making a sprayhood)...
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The long arm (yet another Chinese made one) is so much more suited to being on board the boat..
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The other good thing about these 'similar' portable machines is that the Sailrite spares seem to fit well.
When the cheap shuttle driver breaks, it's a pain to get off because it's pinned in place and needs drilling off... But the Sailrite replacement (with a couple of set screws) fits perfectly..

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Those pics of broken parts do not inspire confidence! I’ve had Singer and Jones machines and never had a part break. Haven’t done super heavy work, admittedly, but repaired sprayhood, stackpack and the like over the years.
 
The shuttle driver looks look like it's made in two parts in both machines.. I just think that machine had had a hard life and I guess the owner damaged the crank trying to fix it themselves. I was really just trying to say that the parts were interchangeable so don't worry about getting spares or repairs.

I've just made a couple of sprayhoods and full cockpit tent with zipped removable sides and a zipped door in the aft section using a non-sailrite. All the sewing was done on board and with a SolarFix V138 PTFE thread from Bainbridge and it coped admirably. Love the thread but a bit slippery to set up.

SolarFix PTFE V138 thread
 
fearmhuir said:
For several year now, I have been repairing canvas on my boat with a Singer 201K machine. It can be coaxed to cope with all but heavy sewing, but coaxed is the operative word.
Reading posts here at various times, I decided to investigate a 'proper' canvas sewing machine.
First up was a Sailrite, which I used for a few days about five years ago, and was very impressed. However, looking at the costs landed in UK, these worked out at $1095, plus $185 for shipping. On top of that add 20% VAT and import duty at 1.5% gives a total of $1559, which a couple of weeks ago was £1350 which was way, way over my budget.
So I had a look at all the alternative clones that were available.
I registered for alibaba.com, and searched there and found several sources but eventually settled on the listing below:

9" Sail Rite Walking Foot Zig Zag Sewing Machine For Home Use - Buy Walking Foot Sewing Machine,Foot Operated Sewing Machine,Walking Foot White Sewing Machine Product on Alibaba.com

The total for the machine, the large balance wheel, and a wooden box came to $670, which I paid through Alibaba, which guarantees payment, and have a return policy.
So the $670 was assessed at £637 and duty and vat came to £137, a total of £774. I then waited for a week in deep trepidation.
Two boxes arrived by FedEx, and both were very well packed, with the sewing machine and balance wheel in a wooden box. Having read some warnings and horror stories I set up the machine, and on initial inspection was pleased. It looked identical in every way to the Sailrite I had used before.
Reading a post here, I opened up the top end to liberally oil and 'run in' for a day before use. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was liberal amounts of oil already there. I checked underneath, and the same there. I also had a close look, and the quality of the castings, the linkages, the walking foot setup were all of good quality, without a pressed steel fitting in sight.
The machine came with some thread on the bobbin, and a length through the upper tension unit, with a small test piece which had been test sewn. I loaded new thread, and did some sewing and was pleasantly surprised that it worked straight from the box.
I have attached some pics of the box (pretty good quality), the machine itself, and some test sewing - the thick multilayer on the left is eight layers of sunbrlla, and it sailed through it.
The machine I received is pretty much identical to the Sailrite I used five years ago - identical in fact. Nowadays, Sailrite have some improvements - the stitch length plate is improved, and there is a pin to give direct drive without the clutch, but the wheel I bought has an allen screw that can be screwed down to give full drive.
With the large balance wheel, the speed is quite slow, which suits me as I am not a great machinist. It is easy to 'rock' the machine back and forward, a half stitch at a time which is ideal for corners. The large balance wheel comes with a handle for use if there is no power.
So, the machine I received is everything I had hoped it would be. If it had been rubbish, it would have cost me around £150 to return to China for a refund.
Now, I have started a big job - remaking a complete sailcover with lazyjacks, sprayhood and cockpit cover using the original tattered covers as patterns, so the machine will have paid for itself a couple of times when I am finished.

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Hi - I am about to order this same machine and fly wheel and box - now that you have used yours can you tell me your updated thoughts on the machine? Thanks so much
 
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