geem
Well-known member
I paid £90 to buy my Singer 201k from a dealer. It was serviced and delivered within that price. It's been on the boat for the last 10 years earning it's keep. Marvellous machines
Sewing machine for covers
- Thread starter Seastoke
- Start date
dgadee
Well-known member
Yes, Kam, Janome underneath. 4mm stitch length. Much like my Bernina 807.
Puffin10032
Active member
It'll be one of the old made-in-Japan all-steel ones then. Probably one of the 500 series. I bought a 574 off Ebay last year for £38. Lovely machine in pristine condition. Later on they moved production to Taiwan and made the bodies out of Aluminium which basically halves the weight. They also went over to front-loading bobins which means the machine isn't quite as strong as there's a plastic gear driving the bobin mechanism. I've got a 636 which I use mainly for spinnakers and other light work.
Seastoke
Well-known member
Would a Brother heavy duty sail maker be good
dgadee
Well-known member
Have you a link?
Puffin10032
Active member
Quite possibly. The old Brother machines are the equal of the Janomes. Many were sold in this country under the Jones label. The "sailmaker" label may or may not be legit - it might be a bit of band-wagon jumping following the success of Reads and Sailrite.
Seastoke
Well-known member
It’s
Martin_J
Well-known member
Wow.. that's not worth that at all..
My first thought was that I passed one of those on to sbdy at the marina a few years back for about £25 from memory.
Looking at eBay for sold items.. doesn't this one look similar?
FWIW... when adjusted right, cleaned and oiled on the right places, it'll do the job (a few layers of Sunbrella) much like any other small machine.
As others have said, lightweight machines tend to get pulled around the table as you manoeuvre the heavy fabric under the foot. Grippy rubber feet under the machine can help.
A true walking foot will pull the fabric from above (as well as via the feed dogs from below) and the increased pressure of this type of foot will make for a more consistent stitch length.
One way to ensure that the seam stays together neatly as you sew (and to prevent the lower fabric being pulled through by the feed dogs faster than the top layer) is to just 'venture tape the seams together first. i.e. get some double sided tape from your sewing supplier and use it on every seam.
My first thought was that I passed one of those on to sbdy at the marina a few years back for about £25 from memory.
Looking at eBay for sold items.. doesn't this one look similar?
FWIW... when adjusted right, cleaned and oiled on the right places, it'll do the job (a few layers of Sunbrella) much like any other small machine.
As others have said, lightweight machines tend to get pulled around the table as you manoeuvre the heavy fabric under the foot. Grippy rubber feet under the machine can help.
A true walking foot will pull the fabric from above (as well as via the feed dogs from below) and the increased pressure of this type of foot will make for a more consistent stitch length.
One way to ensure that the seam stays together neatly as you sew (and to prevent the lower fabric being pulled through by the feed dogs faster than the top layer) is to just 'venture tape the seams together first. i.e. get some double sided tape from your sewing supplier and use it on every seam.
srm
Well-known member
+1 for double sided tape, only way to keep correct alignment and essential when sewing panels together.
Puffin10032
Active member
There's nothing there that screams "sailmaker" to me. It's just a vintage Brother sewing machine and an over-priced one as Martin_J has just pointed out. You should be able to get a vintage Japanese Brother or Janome for under well £100. Some people service/refurb them and sell them with a 12 month warranty. Even those you can pickup for under £200.
dgadee
Well-known member
I made a cockpit cover with tape and no problem. Recently, thought, on upholstery the tape gunged up my needle eyes. Not sure why the difference. I ended up making sure I didn't sew through the tape.
On the matter of old machines, buy one where you can add a walking foot. Makes all the difference.
srm
Well-known member
Yes, have had that experience when making a couple of cruising chutes so many many metres of seams. After a few long runs I cleaned the needle with alcohol. Could be older tape or a more sticky batch.
Martin_J
Well-known member
With a Sunbrella type fabric, the fabric will be stiffer and the needle will probably clean itself a bit (on the edges of the hole in the fabric) as it rises..
With an upholstery or light weight spinnaker type fabric, the hole made in the material by the needle will be a lot less rigid...
(Or that's my take on it)...
With an upholstery or light weight spinnaker type fabric, the hole made in the material by the needle will be a lot less rigid...
(Or that's my take on it)...
Puffin10032
Active member
I've not had any issues with spinnakers but I do get my seaming tape from Bainbridge so it's the proper stuff for the job. In the old days when seaming tape wasn't so highly developed we used to stick the seams of spinnakers together with clear Bostic.
On the subject of walking foot attachments (technically called an Even Feed Foot) I've found them to a bit of a curate's egg. I've got one on the machine I use for sewing lighter cloths (spinnakers et al) and that works great. Not so good on my other machines when sewing Dacron though where the stitch can look fine from the top but turn the work over and it's a mess of loose loops underneath. Swap back to a basic steel presser foot without touching the tension adjuster and the stitch is perfect. Very odd.
Martin_J
Well-known member
You also need to remember to use a smaller (diameter) needle if you're using a thinner thread on the upholstery or spinnaker fabric.
The needle size needs to be correct for the thread size.
Perhaps once the needle has attracted a little bit of stickiness, the built up just increases exponentially.
The needle size needs to be correct for the thread size.
Perhaps once the needle has attracted a little bit of stickiness, the built up just increases exponentially.
Martin_J
Well-known member
As to the 'bolt on' walking foot attachment causing looping under the fabric on your second machine.. My first thoughts are that maybe the foot is not lowering all the way down when the attachment is attached. This would cause the upper tension discs to not be in their 'tensioned' position whilst sewing.
Normally when the foot is down, the upper tension discs clamp the thread quite tight. When you lift the needle, the discs release - so you can pull the sewing out from under the foot
Perhaps check their function when the 'even feed' attachment is in place.
Thread should be much harder to pull through the upper tension discs when the foot is in the down position.
Normally when the foot is down, the upper tension discs clamp the thread quite tight. When you lift the needle, the discs release - so you can pull the sewing out from under the foot
Perhaps check their function when the 'even feed' attachment is in place.
Thread should be much harder to pull through the upper tension discs when the foot is in the down position.
dgadee
Well-known member
Another point? You need a bigger workspace to the left of the needle. You can buy extension tables or make them. But almost essential with bigger projects.
srm
Well-known member
Very important, managing the cloths so you can get them under the arm if you are using anything based on a domestic machine body (like my Reeds Sailmaker). Many years ago I spent a couple of weeks repairing spinnakers etc during a RB&I race stopover in Lerwick. Got the use of the school hall and had my machine on a very low coffee table. Fortunately, was still using the electric drive then as putting tabling back on a big sail was easier with someone sliding the sail along the floor in time with the stitching.
Binnacle
Active member
To be honest that sounds like wrong tension. Have you cleaned the bobbins and adjusted the tension ,?
doug748
Well-known member
That is exactly the type of machine I mentioned in post 15, often available locally under £50 from private sellers.
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