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  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by johnspenn View Post
    What is a "knee-lift" and what advantage does it provide? (Very ignorant, sorry for the hijack and thanks for your patience!)
    Is it like a face lift for your knees? :-)

    mathineer

  2. #12
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    It's a pedal near the knee beneath the table. You bump it and the foot gets lifted. Lets you adjust the fabric position without taking your hands off the work.

    That said both machines are way overkill, more so if you are just learning. Like has been mentioned though, if I had to pick I would do the Juki. Sailrite while a good machine is geared for heavy fabrics. Not to say it won't work for what you need it to do more that a machine geared for more normal sewing tasks would be more than adequate. If you were making backpacks as a side business I would consider Sailrite. A modern machine may sound clunky making a backpack but it will make it through. I wouldn't want to make 47 backpacks on a modern nylon geared Singer but making a few here and there would be fine.

    As someone who owns a machine with those automated features I will say they are very nice but they aren't critical. The vast vast majority of gear you may have seen here were made without those nice luxury features. I made several sets of complete gear with a 50 year old machine just fine. It's your money and personally I would start with an older used machine or maybe a Singer 4423. If you already sew some the extra features on the Juki would be nice.
    Last edited by MoldyFrog; 01-02-2018 at 17:36.

  3. #13
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    Maybe the most important question is whether this is your first machine or not. If it's your first, why not just get a used machine for $50 and see what you like and don't like about it. That's what I did and it turns out I stayed with my $50 yard sale purchase. You may decide what features are really important to you when you sew.

  4. #14
    Senior Member hangnout's Avatar
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    Juki would be the best pick of the two.

    You can pick up a used industrial style machine that will last a lifetime for less.

    You might consider the Singer 20U Industrial w/ Zig Zag. It is highly sought after by tailors and upholsters which means it can handle light to heavy fabrics.

    It is true that there are stronger stitches than bartacks for webbing but for hammock use most people can use the zig zag feature to bartack a tree strap that can support a hammock safely. Some of the other stitches require heavier threads and expertise in sewing to get the extra strength rating. It is hard to mess up a bartack.

    Craigslist Akron Singer 20u Look for something like this, talk them down, then put a new servo motor on for easy variable speed control.

    Btw any machine will make a hammock, tarps are easier with the bigger tables, and you will need an industrial machine to do a backpack.
    Last edited by hangnout; 01-03-2018 at 00:00.

  5. #15
    Senior Member Bubba's Avatar
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    I agree with Duncanslam. Is this going to be your first machine? What's your level of experience? Lots of gear has been made around here with machines that are decades old and/or on machines that cost less than $30.00. A decent home machine can do pretty much any gear you want. If money is not an issue, the Juki is what I like the looks of but if you want to save a lot of money, look into a lower price range or maybe even venture into the used machine market. Old machines are favoured by many for their simplicity and durability. I've done lots of sewing on a machine I picked up for $15.00.
    Don't let life get in the way of living.

  6. #16
    Senior Member swoody126's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bubba View Post
    I agree with Duncanslam. Is this going to be your first machine? What's your level of experience? Lots of gear has been made around here with machines that are decades old and/or on machines that cost less than $30.00. A decent home machine can do pretty much any gear you want. If money is not an issue, the Juki is what I like the looks of but if you want to save a lot of money, look into a lower price range or maybe even venture into the used machine market. Old machines are favoured by many for their simplicity and durability. I've done lots of sewing on a machine I picked up for $15.00.
    here'z a +1 for Duncanslam's suggestion

    don't dive off into the deep end until you've had some tyme injecting thread on some simple projects w/ a functional garage sale/flea mkt/CraigsList unit( i have some of each)

    more often than knot a garage sale/CL unit will be sold by a lady who will be proud to show you how well it works

    w/o electricity flea mkt units are sometymes a shot in the dark

    the most expensive my Singer 221 Featherweight cost me $100 @ the flea mkt from a regular geezer/seller and will sew thru 7 layers of denim if attacked gently

    the CL Singer 324 is also a Featherweight butt will zig n zag too AND the seller(male) spent over an hour showing me how well it would do as asked and woud only take $35 after being advertised @$50

    the garage sale Brother VX/810 is a workhorse i picked up from a lady who offered to set it up and run some material to prove it worked which i declined. paid $15 for this one

    there is a 4th, a $10 Singer, up at the barn for incidental broken/torn stuff and i forget which model it is butt it works...

    we shant go into my CL treadles and their attributes/beauty

    JUST SAYIN do some playin b4 jumping off in the deep end

    sw
    "we are the people our parents warned us about" jb

    steve

  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by ScooterInVegas View Post
    Out of the two listed, I would buy the Juki myself.

    I do have a question though. What are you going to sew with your new machine? For ripstop and general outdoor nylon type projects, you could save a lot of money on a cheaper model of Juki. I looked at a lot of sewing machines (including the TL-2000) before buying my mine, and I'm really happy with the Juki HZL-LB5020. It was $299 shipped (amazon). It has the three main functions I wanted, needle down, speed control and zig zag. I've made tarps, quilts, stuff sacks, tree straps and it's worked perfectly.

    I'm not trying to discourage you from buying the TL-2000, it's a very nice machine but rather saying a good, lower priced machine will get you excellent results and save you some money.

    The TL-2000 does have a knee lift and an automatic thread trimmer though, which is really cool.
    Thank you for the input. I want to make hammocks, tarps, and try my hand at backpacks. The machine you mentioned looks nice. I currently use an old $99 Brother and it's done well with the few projects that I've played with but I would like to upgrade to something much nicer.

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duncanslam View Post
    Maybe the most important question is whether this is your first machine or not. If it's your first, why not just get a used machine for $50 and see what you like and don't like about it. That's what I did and it turns out I stayed with my $50 yard sale purchase. You may decide what features are really important to you when you sew.
    I have a really cheap Brother machine I borrowed from my mom currently and it has been okay but I want to upgrade to something nice with a few more features. I'm open to finding a nice used machine and I've seen a few older industrial machines for good prices but I am an apartment dweller and I want a machine that can be broken down and put away not something permanently affixed to a table. That's why I'm drawn to the two machines I mentioned. They are well made but still portable.

  9. #19
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    What you are looking for in a machine is a drop feed i.e. your standard feed with and up and down motion on the foot and feed dogs that control the fabric movement. If you want to get fancy, a needle feed machine is about the "best" for SUL fabrics up to heavy duty fabric, not sure how well it does for webbing though. I've got a Singer heavy duty 4432 that has performed very well with lots of stitch options and feet options. I have even used my father in laws singer 66 from 19 freakin 15 and it does a pretty good job.

    A walking foot machine may damage light fabrics and really isn't intended for it. Any old white rotary machine from the 50s-60s will handle the stuff you need to make a pack as well as hammocks.

    A buddy of mine used to make sails for racing sail boats and said the sailrite machines had some serious issues with reliability.
    People tend to compartmentalize themselves into IT people, and movie star people, and scientists, but when we share our perspectives about nature, we find a common denominator.
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  10. #20
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    Upon further review, the Juki is a drop feed. +1. 1.4 amp motor. Means its got a bit of beef for semi industrial. Another +1. For that price you could get a full on industrial juki 8700 with a big ol' beefy motor and table. As well as being able to do 5500 stitches a minute. The fellers from RSBTR recommended that. Also, check with the guy from Simply Light Designs. I thought he said he was using the Singer 4432 as well.

    I got a weird thing about thread injectors, sorry. You know what, I am not sorry. hahahaha
    People tend to compartmentalize themselves into IT people, and movie star people, and scientists, but when we share our perspectives about nature, we find a common denominator.
    -Nalini Nadkarni

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