Beginners Sewing Machine

"BEI Design"

When I say older, I mean mid 60s of prior. I'm not sure what year
the
"older Singer" is that you have experience with.

I was speaking of one made in 1912 that was converted from treadle to
motor during WW2 and a Touch and Sew from 70's.

However, my experience with sewing machines is rather limited but being
an engineer/entrepreneur who retired at age 43 because of these
talents, I think I have found a benchmark that defines the sort of
"good old machine" we both have in mind.

Aside from very expensive machines that most casual sewers would not
even consider, the machines started having reliability problems with
the advent of the built in motor. There is nothing inherently bad or
cheezy about plastic and aluminum if used in the right places so I
ignore comments about "cheezy plastic". Current machines weigh a
fraction of what the olders ones do. One thinks twice or many times
before moving even a portable old cast iron machine. Aluminum frames
and plastic cases are nice.

Plastic gears are another issue altogether but not necessarily because
of cost reasons. I suspect that Singer diecast metal core gears with
plastic teeth are there for quiet and cost more than metal gears.
Unfortunately, there are very unreliable under stress.

Machines with outboard motors use pulleys and a belt to get the motor
speed down to sewing speed. Nothing is simpler or more reliable. All
the moving parts are just cams, levers and turning shafts which are
reliable as rocks.

The built in motor forced designers to use gears to reduce the speed
and transfer power and herein lies much of the problems associated with
the more modern machine.

To get to my point, I think one can be far more confident in purchasing
a used machine with an outboard motor than with one that is built in
and that is my advice to beginners wary of the Walmart special. Not
just old but with an outboard motor. For the futzer, they are a lot
easier to fix, maintain and tinker with also.

js


--
PHOTO OF THE WEEK: http://schmidling.com/pow.htm
Astronomy, Beer, Cheese, Fiber,Gems, Sausage,Silver
http://schmidling.com

I haven't followed every msg. here but my experience is low end machines
often are not able to hold a tension. They might work temporarily but
fail soon. Nothing will chase a new seamstress away from sewing than
a machine that won't make a decent stitch. Get an older machine and
learn to maintain and adjust.
Taria

wrote:

"BEI Design"


When I say older, I mean mid 60s of prior. I'm not sure what year

the

"older Singer" is that you have experience with.


I was speaking of one made in 1912 that was converted from treadle to
motor during WW2 and a Touch and Sew from 70's.

However, my experience with sewing machines is rather limited but being
an engineer/entrepreneur who retired at age 43 because of these
talents, I think I have found a benchmark that defines the sort of
"good old machine" we both have in mind.

Aside from very expensive machines that most casual sewers would not
even consider, the machines started having reliability problems with
the advent of the built in motor. There is nothing inherently bad or
cheezy about plastic and aluminum if used in the right places so I
ignore comments about "cheezy plastic". Current machines weigh a
fraction of what the olders ones do. One thinks twice or many times
before moving even a portable old cast iron machine. Aluminum frames
and plastic cases are nice.

Plastic gears are another issue altogether but not necessarily because
of cost reasons. I suspect that Singer diecast metal core gears with
plastic teeth are there for quiet and cost more than metal gears.
Unfortunately, there are very unreliable under stress.

Machines with outboard motors use pulleys and a belt to get the motor
speed down to sewing speed. Nothing is simpler or more reliable. All
the moving parts are just cams, levers and turning shafts which are
reliable as rocks.

The built in motor forced designers to use gears to reduce the speed
and transfer power and herein lies much of the problems associated with
the more modern machine.

To get to my point, I think one can be far more confident in purchasing
a used machine with an outboard motor than with one that is built in
and that is my advice to beginners wary of the Walmart special. Not
just old but with an outboard motor. For the futzer, they are a lot
easier to fix, maintain and tinker with also.

js


--
PHOTO OF THE WEEK: http://schmidling.com/pow.htm
Astronomy, Beer, Cheese, Fiber,Gems, Sausage,Silver
http://schmidling.com

She who would like to be obeyed once every Preston Guild wrote:

In article .com,
of http://groups.google.com uttered


As a point of interest, my wife's Singer Touch and Sew has cheezy
gears that have been replaced several times and the reason we switched
to the Brother after the last failure.


Ah yes. The infamous Touch and Jam - not one of their better models.

If you lurk awhile on the ISMACS and FeatherweightFanatics mailing
lists/ digest you will undountedly learn more - probably, in fact, more
than you ever wished to know,

And have a huge amount of fun, plus filling the house with vintage
machines...

Watch out, pooch - your bed space is needed for a treadle... ;D

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

wrote:

"BEI Design"


Not me! I'll take older, sturdier, proven-reliable *anything* any

day

over a "new", "tinny", "flashy" POC. YMMV


Not sure what those acronyms mean but I certainly agree with what I do
understand.

Problem is, as our experience and Irene's with older Singers shows is
that old or big name isn't always good anymore than expensive is.

Frankly, most of the glitz on newer machines (cheap or expensive) is
useless nonsense. Who needs any of those wierd looking stitches?
Certainly not a beginner.

Don't you believe it! I teach kids to sew on my Husqvarna Lily 550
(TOTL non-embroidery machine in 1998 when I got it originally, with a
list price then of £1100), and one of the BIIIIG attractors for the kids
is all those fancy stitches, the name-writing capacity, and the pix like
the way you can put a steam train together! Boys, in particular, love
this feature. And my view is, if it gets the little blighters
stitching, bring on the fancy stitches!

As I said, I got two perfectly nice machines on Ebay for $25 but unless
one is mechanically inclined, the chances of getting a working used
machine is pretty slim unless purchased from a retailer where it can be
test driven but then it will cost as much as a low end new machine.
Furthermore, beginners have no idea what to look for when test driving.

Nah... Those old mechanical things usually only need a bit of a clean,
some oil, and a little TLC to be good for another 100 years! They'll
still be going strong when my Lily with it's fancy step motors, mother
board and 240 stitches is landfill. Gotta love that Lily, but I do
recognise its fixed lifespan.

Buying a low end machine at a discount store has the great advantage of
being returnable without a hassle if unsatisfied. Not so easy on Ebay
and shipping costs take the fun out of a $25 machine.

So buy close to home and avoid shipping... Or join Treadle On and get
the advantages of their Pony Express attitude - anyone going roughly
your way will take it on to another Onion, who will pass it along...
And so on until it gets to you! Can be slow, but for enthusiasts, that
adds to the fun!

BTW, I have no use for my 1912 Singer and will sell it for $20 more
than I paid for it if anyone is interested. That comes to about 10
cents an hour for my fixing time.

If you like, I can pass the details on to Treadle On for you: there may
be an Onion in your area who can collect.
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

"Taria" wrote in message
news:L8Bhe.14387$qn1.3955@trnddc05...
I haven't followed every msg. here but my experience is low end machines
often are not able to hold a tension. They might work temporarily but
fail soon. Nothing will chase a new seamstress away from sewing than
a machine that won't make a decent stitch. Get an older machine and
learn to maintain and adjust.
Taria
I sure can rrelate to that. I had a simplicity machine, cost around $200.00.
It probably cost me more than that bringing it in to be adjusted all the
time. I finally gave up on it and stopprd sewing for about 10years. I bought
a small mechanical Viking for around $450. Love it and sew all the time now.
Great little machine.
Juno