My wife has been using an old hand me down sewing machine that was her grandmothers, a Singer 337 and it gives her more problems than not. I think it's time for a replacement,,,,, the sewing machine..
Whats a good entry line sewing machine that I would also be able to use for DYI stuffs that gets done on this board, I may even do some canvas work FWIW..
thanks.
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Last edited by firemedic5586; 01-17-2017 at 00:51.
I'm not sure what kind of trouble you are having with this machine. If you let us know your problems we may be able to save you some $$$. There are many accomplished DIY'ers at HF who are more than willing to help. This might be more visable in the DIY forum
Thats actually a pretty nice sewing machine, I used that model for years and wish I still had it around. I found the upper thread tensioning to be a little quirky but once dialed in worked well. Never had a problem with the lower tensioning just that crazy spring and plate arrangement on the upper.
I found an old singer at an antiques store for $10. Gave it a thorough cleaning and oiling,
Replaced the rubber feed dog and it sews like a champ. You might try the cleaning and oiling. I went through the whole machine and oiled or lubed every moving part. I don't think it had been oiled in years.
Older sewing machines are great, but they can nickel and dime you if replacement parts and repair books/community isn't behind the machine. Singer stopped making replacement parts for its older machines when they were acquired. Their machines now are largely consumables with a limited aftermarket and very few people are repairing them or know how to.
Appliance repair shops are going out of business in a lot of places, but if you have a local one I would call them and ask them what they recommend. That is how I got my first White brand machine, a 1960's model made out of all metal where it counts. I could get that machine tuned by the same guy at that shop for very cheap as I bought it from him and he had experience with them. It cost my $100 for the initial purchase and about $15 every 6 months for a quick tuneup and oiling. It sewed very well.
I would imagine a number of folks on here can pitch in on what machines fit that bill as well.
I wanted to be able to sew heavier materials, but also be able to sew light stuff like I do for projects here. I also wanted a product that was easily maintained, had a company behind it that was going to offer parts for it for a long time, and it had to be VERY durable. I also wanted a walking foot to make feeding multiple layers through easier, and wanted to be able to modify the machine with factory parts as I found what I liked and didn't like about it.
They aren't cheap, but I ended up selling my white machine for what I paid for it and got a Sailrite Ultrafeed LZ-1. It only does a few stitches but the thing is a tank and will go through almost anything that fits under the presser foot. Super simple to learn to use, and I can't remember the last time it jammed or missed a stitch. It even comes with a manual that helps you tune it yourself, maintain it, and troubleshoot it. It lists the types of screws used and their thread counts so you can get spares at the hardware store, and I've only had one thing break (a walking foot after two years - which sailrite overnighted me a free replacement for). The best part is that it is still worth 90% of what I paid for it, if I choose to sell. This is not the case with most industrial machines, but the demand for these highly portable little monsters is high, and people know they don't break. Every component is easily accessed if you need to replace something too, and sailrite stocks all of the components.
Needles are standard sizes and designs, it sews all kinds of threads from light poly to heavy nylon. I used it the other day to sew no-seeum netting for my hammock and five minutes later sewed 5 layers of 1000d milspec nylon through like it was paper. Can't recommend their product, customer service, and overall brand enough.
If it's in the budget to buy a more expensive machine, in the long run it will likely be the lowest cost of ownership product on the market AND be worth a pretty penny if you choose to sell. I know several friends who bought entry level singer machines that went in the trash after 2 years - bringing them to nearly the same cost to own that my sailrite will be for 10 years.
I fought through problems with an 8 year old sewing machine that we all determined would have needed 80-100 dollars cost of service.
I went to Costco and bought the Brother machine they were selling...I believe the model is like XR 3240 (best I can recall). With their return policy being as liberal as it is, I figured I could try it for several projects and if I did not like it I would return it.
I think it is merely made in china.
Has all the basic settings, and then a million more sorts of stitches.
Does have "needle down" position...
Does not have pressure foot pressure adjustment to my knowledge.
It handled argon 67 and argon 90 on my just finished quilt project like a champ. also handled xenon sil 0.9 on my first tarp project wonderfully. Its super light too...not necessarily a "good thing", but I keep all my DIY stuff tucked away in an awkward spot when not in use, and it is easy to move it to and from my giget sewing table as needed.
I have been meaning to post a review of this machine based on my use of it so far (probably 25 hours of project time so far) and so far I have no qualms...time will tell though...if it holds up for first year of use, I will keep it...if it has issues, I will return it, Costco management assured me return would be no problem if/when such a time came.
Fixing yours though or finding your issues could save you money so good luck with that! I only posted this as an answer to your question if/when you decided to just buy something else.
“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.”
This is a great work-around for a newer machine of questionable long term quality and customer support for things like repairs, etc.Originally Posted by PharmGeek
I admire the ingenuity! You certainly save a boat load of money and get the worlds best "warranty" via the reseller's excellent return policy. Definitely a good option if it comes to it.
Thanks for all the info so far..
As to the last issue with the injector,,,,,
The stitching on top was fine, however the bottom stitch was a soup sandwich. My wife played with the tension adjustment and that didn't help at all..
The COSTCO option doesn't work for me.... I think to closest one is over 200 miles away..
I sewed for 30 years with the Singer that I got for Christmas when I was just a kid. When it gave up the ghost (sniff) I bought a Husqvarna Viking Emerald 118, which has a motor speed control and a down-needle position. I looked on the bottom and I see it was made in Taiwan.
I sew things on youtube.
I don’t sew on commission, so please don’t ask. Thanks.
SITREP
I used the Google Machine to print out an owners manual and proceeded to do a lube and clean... This was followed by a screaming voice telling me not to break the sewing machine.
I found lint in the bobbin well that I'm sure is OEM. Also noticed that when she swapped out needles, the one she installed was backwards.
She has a sewing project coming up and IL post how the thing works for her.
Thanks for the tips.
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