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  1. #31
    Senior Member Ramblinrev's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jackson1921 View Post
    My mom has a quilters guild and I own a ton of machines. Singer Bernina etc etc....DO NOT buy a home owner sewing machine that is new that u intend to use to sew any heavy material. Reason being- in the early 80s everyone pretty much went to plastic everything- gears cogs blah blah blah-
    This is true however with some reservations. The plastic being used by the top makers for their high end machines is of much better quality than what was used in the early efforts. "Home owner" machines have come a long way as well. High end machines are very good when made by high quality companies. But they are also very expensive. $3K and up. That's a lot of money to invest in making gear. So the general wisdom of buying older machines is valid but those machines are becoming more scarce o0n the market. Our mechanic was lamenting the lack of those old steel.cast iron machines because people are not getting rid of them.

    A lot of what is showing up on craigslist are machines from the problematic era which is one reason I advise against purchasing from there unless you really do your homework. Another issue to be careful of is availability of parts and service. Viking/Husquevarna, Bernina and some other top makers will only supply parts to authorized dealings meaning you independent mechanic can not get repair parts even for the older machines. As dealers close and consolidate to major metro areas this can become a problem for those of us in more small town/rural areas.
    I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.

    "Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
    Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn

    We Don't Sew... We Make Gear! video series

    Important thread injector guidelines especially for Newbies

    Bobbin Tension - A Personal Viewpoint

  2. #32
    Senior Member lizzie's Avatar
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    Yeah, those old thread injectors sure look like a nice piece of heavy duty industrial equipment, not at all like their distantly related cousins, the modern sewing machine

  3. #33
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    I bought and older White from the local sewing machine store about a month ago and it is easy to use. So far I've made a pair of snakeskins, added mid tieouts to (2) GG tarps and mended some pants, etc. I have this affliction of enjoying tinkering with mechanical things more than actually using them, however. I just won a Singer 328 on an online auction for $9 and am looking forward to messing around with it. I'm also looking for an old 15-91 model. The way I see it, I won't lose money and have fun in the process (plus, I get to make some gear in the meantime).

  4. #34
    gunner76's Avatar
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    My son and wife got me a basic Brother thread injector for Xmas that lasted 2 months. I checked the 2nd hand stores and the local sewing machine repair place (who said they would call me if they ever got anything but have not heard from them) and did not find anything. Was looking thru Sears and they had a bunch of machines marked way down (being discontinued) so I bought one. Thnig is heavy which I hope means it has a lot of metal parts , not plastic. Just got it set up and hope to try out this weekend.
    I am still 18 but with 52 years of experience !

  5. #35
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    So far, I've only sewed a straight stitch and more recently a zig zag (just to see if I could). With this in mind, I didn't hesitate to convert to old school and I think anyone slightly mechanically inclined should. These cast iron beautys are made for us gear makers.

    Here's the problem now... I'm always looking for an old machine thinking I can turn one of my buddies on to them (many of my buddies have newer machines to sew patches or maintain their uniforms). Just recently, I stumbled on a couple trying to liquidate a barnload of old singers. I bought 3 for myself and will point anyone I know towards them (model 66, 99, 201, 301a, etc...). Heck, there are even a handful of treadle bases and tops in varying condition...

    These old machines are works of art in my opinion. And they provide people like me with the diversion of restoring and learning about our injector, as well as giving us a functioning piece of history - what better to make our hammocks with?

  6. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by DBLOCK View Post
    So far, I've only sewed a straight stitch and more recently a zig zag (just to see if I could). With this in mind, I didn't hesitate to convert to old school and I think anyone slightly mechanically inclined should. These cast iron beautys are made for us gear makers.

    Here's the problem now... I'm always looking for an old machine thinking I can turn one of my buddies on to them (many of my buddies have newer machines to sew patches or maintain their uniforms). Just recently, I stumbled on a couple trying to liquidate a barnload of old singers. I bought 3 for myself and will point anyone I know towards them (model 66, 99, 201, 301a, etc...). Heck, there are even a handful of treadle bases and tops in varying condition...

    These old machines are works of art in my opinion. And they provide people like me with the diversion of restoring and learning about our injector, as well as giving us a functioning piece of history - what better to make our hammocks with?
    I agree, I have enjoyed restoring my 1910 singer 66. It sews amazing and there is grace and beauty while it does so. And there is just something cool about working on a machine that is 102 years old. Is sews so much better than my wife's Brothers machine. Also I can not imagine how I could ever break this machine. It is entirely cast iron and stainless. This thing will be passed down to my great great grandchildren.

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