Thread Injector Advice

[babelfish5]

Greetings Hammock Hangers,

I have decided to take the next step in the obsession and start making my own gear. I need to get get a thread injector and all the gear I need to start.


Any suggestions as far as features I should be looking for and extra gear I should get?

[Ramblinrev]

Check the "guidelines" post in my signature. You might find it helpful.

All that is absolutely required is a straight stitch. Reverse can be nice, but if you don't have it there are workarounds. Zig-zag is occasionally useful but absolutely discretionary.

[tight-wad]

Heed the Rev's advice!

And, spend some time with his videos.

I use a starter machine from Hancock's Fabrics, cost ~$100 (it's really my daughter's machine, so I did not buy it . It has the reverse, which you need for backstitching which helps keep stitches from coming undone, and zig-zag, which is useful for making bar tacks in webbing, and a *** button hole *** function, which is really, really helpful when you are making stuff sacks. The machine has another dozen or so functions, but I never use them. The function that also comes into play sometimes is stitches per inch. Sometimes you want closer stitching, sometimes wider.

Before doing any project I always start with some scrap material to make sure everything is working as it is supposed to. And, I always sew a line on the scrap whenever I change the bobbin (to reload or change colors.)

[Ramblinrev]

It has the reverse, which you need for backstitching which helps keep stitches from coming undone, and zig-zag, which is useful for making bar tacks in webbing, and a *** button hole *** function, which is really, really helpful when you are making stuff sacks. The machine has another dozen or so functions, but I never use them. The function that also comes into play sometimes is stitches per inch. Sometimes you want closer stitching, sometimes wider.

The vast majority of machines available now, even in the old models will have a reverse stitch. But there are occasional machines found which do not. The industrial machines up the last 30 years or so often did not have a reverse. There are very effective work-arounds if one of these happens to fall into your lap. I'll not try to explain them here. But they are simple and highly effective. But in all probability any thing you find will have at least the reverse.

[trinni]

Greetings Hammock Hangers,

I have decided to take the next step in the obsession and start making my own gear. I need to get get a thread injector and all the gear I need to start.


Any suggestions as far as features I should be looking for and extra gear I should get?

Welcome to the madness !

I am working with an old machine, saved her from the bay and she cost me 1 Euro -- almost nothing. All my DIY-gear went through this baby. I treated the machine manually by foot and the results turned out very lovely even though she is a very old girl.

Had my hands on a thread-injector the first time when I was 11 years old, so better stick to the other's hints on how to make your first steps -- I just cannot remember how I got hooked up.

[trinni]

Oh, what I really intended to say:
It doesn't need to be a new machine. Some older machines have made it to our time because there has never been a reason to trash them...

[rjcress]

I agree with Trinni.
I use a Singer 15-91 machine that is at least 50 years old... maybe more.
It is all metal, so no plastic parts to break.
Only does a straight stitch, but has reverse and can alter the stitch length.
I'm still pretty new at this, but prefer the older, arguably more durable simplicity vs the plastic stuff you'll find on the store shelves today.
Just my opinion.