sewing machine

am short legged so all pants must be hemmed also have lost close to 50lbs. in last two years , and third have an interest in making my own duffles and stuff bags. know some on here sew their own so what is a good machine that doesnt require a home loan to purchase. was looking online at husquvarna's and dealer is close. need something that will get through three layers of heavy duck fabric ie carhartts ......

Buy a good used machine. White, Singer or any of the other top brands.
I paid $75 for my heavy duty 50's era Remington and $25 for my Elna serger.
Many can be had for free or darned near if your willing to visit a thrift shop or Goodwill.
I just turned down an old Kenmore a neighbor was trying to give away.
Don't get anything fancy, a simple straight stitch will meet 90% of your needs.
Sewing machines are EVERYWHERE if you look.

Normally a little cleaning and a touch of oil in all the right places will have most up an running in no time. And manuals can be found online for most. That said, in many cases it's worth your $$'s to have them professionally cleaned & serviced. My $25 yard sale Elna find turned out to be a real gem and was well worth having professionally serviced, even if I grumbled about the $150 cost.

I know my Remington doesn't look like much, but it's so simple to run a child can run it.
I also have a White that can do all sorts of fancy stitches, button holes, etc. But honestly I don't use it very much at all. A lot of times it seems I fight with it more than I run it.

Oh one other thing.... visit your local sew shops. I find the gals there are more than happy to help us guys answer questions about what machines can & can't do.
Hope this helps.
Hunt'nFish

I agree. Most any heavy fabrics can be punched through with a good, used, mechanical machine. That Husky dealer may point you in the right direction, or have some used machines for sale. New machines are all about quilting these days. Also, do a bit of research on needle selection. I think you would want to use a needle designed for denim.

I have a newer Husky. Even though the dealer said it could sew cordura, it struggles. There is no bobbin tension adjustment which is very important when sewing thicker materials.

Find an older machine with steel gears and make sure you can adjust the bobbin thread tension.

Wish I could add some advice, my wife sews all my stuff. I do know she has two sewing machines and a serger, both are computerized gizmo's that can do 100's of stiches. I know they are quality machines and she won't tell me what she spent on them and I don't ask. Its the comprise of marriage, the hobbies she loves, she buys good stuff and I don't complain, same for me and we both couldn't be happeir

I agree with the others, find a used machine, my wife has given away or bascially given away her old machines and they were all good.

bobhunts said:

Now what sewing machine to get??Bob.

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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

I second the older machines. I inherited this 50's era Singer. It sews through all kinds of stuff with the right needle. Thick nylon straps, cordura, denim, leather, etc. I made the KeltyFaru with it. It would be nice if it had a longer throat, I think they call it, but I've made it work.

I third the old Singers, I have a Singer 66 that will sew sil nylon to light leather. Tons of cheap parts and tons of cheap machines.

Ironic that this thread came back up today. I just inherited a Singer Tredle machine (foot peddle) that is about 100 years old and a Morse machine from the 1940's. Both belonged to my grandmother. Both are in excellent condition. I'll post photos when I get them home.

Yeah, you definitely don't need anything fancy. A zipper foot helps if you are making things with zippers. A zig zag stitch is nice at times but all those other stitches are fairly useless. With that said, for what some are paying to pick up and rehab an old machine, you can have a pretty decent new machine. The only thing I would caution is if you plan to do extensive work with heavy materials like Cordura. If so, find an older machine that is all metal. If you are making things out of silnylon then a newer machine might be a little easier with a walking foot.

Pfaff 130, or the newer 230. Old work horse machines that are made out of metal. Nothing fancy, but will sew heavy material. Check Craigslist and thrift shops, these have not been made for many years.

I just bought a SINGER 404 SEWING MACHINE, gear driven, no belt. Straight stitch but will plow through multiple layers. I paid 40 bucks on ebay.

Like this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4QLoxiuKL0

Steve

I replaced my singer with a husqvarna viking. For a home machine it's not bad. I've been sewing modified gun bearers for all my friend's packs and also doing minor repairs on some of my work related molle web gear. It struggles a bit when sewing through 3 layers of heavy nylon web, like pack strap webbing, but with minor sewing of pack webbing it does ok. Overall I like it.

Look at us, bunch of guys talking shop about sewing machines.

Anyone look at the tuff sew machines?

I've got a bunch of attachments that go on mine. I haven't figured out what they do yet but I do have the original manuals and the oil can!

Good thread guys, thanks for all the info.

I'm in the market for a sewing machine as well and looked up some Singers in a local Craigslist. Since I'm not sure what to look for, I'll post the link. Looks to be in pretty good shape and I may be able to work on the price.

http://houston.craigslist.org/atq/4275338942.html

I'd also like some advice as to whether the above will be what I'm looking for or if something else would be better...

Here's what I plan to sew up:

-pullouts, stuff sacks, meat bags ect out of sil-nylon or like material
-small blanket and sleeping bag (w/ zipper) out of M90 and Climashield
-possibly other materials up to 500d Cordura. (not sure I'd go up to 1000d)

Thanks for any and all help.

FWIW, here is the machine I picked up last October. I don't know what is up with the price bump since I only paid $140 for it. Again, for a beginner, this machine is nice and comes with plenty of attachments to sew all sorts of stuff. It has worked great for ripstop and silnylon. I haven't tried any yet but I am sure it would do fine for heavier material like Cordura. I just wouldn't want to use it in high volume with heavy material. Sewing up a 500d pouch would be just fine. Cranking out a line of packs would probably kill it. Remember, it's also important to use the correct needle, thread and settings.

http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Feature-Rich-Built-In-Auto-Size-Buttonholes/dp/B000JQM1DE

The Singer you link will probably run like a tank...if it is working now. As stated before, those older machines are, well, machines when it comes to plowing through material. It may just cost a little more to get them up and running and serviced. It might also cost a bit to get any necessary accessories that you want.

colonel00 said:

Yeah, you definitely don't need anything fancy. A zipper foot helps if you are making things with zippers. A zig zag stitch is nice at times but all those other stitches are fairly useless. With that said, for what some are paying to pick up and rehab an old machine, you can have a pretty decent new machine. The only thing I would caution is if you plan to do extensive work with heavy materials like Cordura. If so, find an older machine that is all metal. If you are making things out of silnylon then a newer machine might be a little easier with a walking foot.

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I think Brad put it well, just give some thought to what the majority of your sewing needs/wants are and buy a machine appropriate for it.

I bought the old cast iron Remington simply to set up w/ heavy thread.
Every time you switch thread size on a machine you have to re-adjust the thread tension settings on the both on the bottom thread (bobbin) & top thread. Or at least I did. So my solution was to buy a dedicated machine specificity for heavy thread and once I got it dialed in on the thread tension settings, I don't have to mess with it again. Since I'm sewing mainly heavy material with it, I have the tensions set pretty high for a tight stitch. Obviously if I tried to sew lighter material the high tension settings would attempt to "gather" and pull the material together as it sewed.

This is why I said I'd probably setup my other modern White machine for doing silnylon. Besides, it has many more foot attachment options available like the walking foot & zipper foot. Both of which I've never used so far and actually intimidate me a bit. But hey, Utube to the rescue! Lots and lots of video on there covering every sewing subject & technique. In this day of internet help, it's not like we have to learn how to do this stuff all by our lonesome...right? Brad your pullout & stuff sack picture tutorial is one such thread that help take the fear out of sewing. Thank you.
Hunt'nFish

Hunt'nFish said:

Every time you switch thread size on a machine you have to re-adjust the thread tension settings on the both on the bottom thread (bobbin) & top thread.

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So far with my fancy Husky this has been my only issue. The bobbin tension is pre set and is not adjustable. This is very important when sewing heavier material or through two pieces of webbing and cordura. I need to go into the sewing shop and talk to the ladies to find out if there is a hidden screw to adjust the bobbin tension. For a machine this costly - bought it for the daughter but she lost interest in sewing quickly - I would have expected it to have the same, if not better, adjustablity as the old Singers I learned on when a kid. Yup, my mom made me learn how to sew when I was real little, and I have freaked people out with those skills.

I was given an old Singer back in the 1990's. It had been in the shop a few times, but would loose its bobbin tension within about 20 feet of stitches. The shop would "repair" it for $50, and then one or two projects later it was not working again. I can't recall the model number, but it was one of the first Singers to move to plastic gearing in the early 1960's or late 1950's. I gave it away after getting the fancy Husky.

Ray, so there isn't a small tension adj screw on the bobbin holder "thingy"?
Hunt'nFish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaH9yB7XUBk

glad this thread stayed alive as have not acted on my initial interest. still debating with the gif . son was yakking other day about buying one too saying some lady at work said she would teach him a thing or two???