Sewing machines?

[Conundrum]

I know some of you make your own stuff so maybe not too weird that I'm asking for sewing machine advice on here. My mom is a rad seamstress and I'm looking for the best heavy duty sewing machine I can get for $500ish for a Christmas gift so she can sew up some cool shit for me. Looking for something that can punch a needle through pretty heavy fabric. I'm sure there's at least one good joke in there. I don't know any specs on what she had that just broke down for the last time or what she would be looking for. I know she has a smaller machine for detailed work.

Ask for naked pics and you might get something you don't want to see or a punch in the nose.

[TAFKALVS]

Search "walking foot" on craigslist and find a brother, adler, phaff or mitsubishi.

[::: :::]

find a used bernina

[GeezerSteve]

I've been sewing for 40 years and do lots of it. I have two very different machines, a Pfaff IDT (walking foot) home machine and a Sailrite semi-industrial machine (also with a walking foot). lobstameatwad has lots of experience with industrial machines and turned me on to Sailrite. Big thanks to him for the info. I am 100% satisfied. My Sailrite has exceeded all my expectations and I've done some big badass projects with it. I expect it will last my lifetime and then some.

As the term is used in the industry a "heavy duty" machine can handle V-92 and V-138 thread, #22 needles or bigger and can sew through 3/8"+ of tough material, e.g., 6 layers of nylon webbing or 3 layers of 1/8" thick leather. (A heavy duty machine will stitch right through your hand if you aren't careful.)

One of the Sailrite Ultrafeed machines is your best bet at <$1,000 for a machine with true heavy duty capacity. There are a bunch of similar machines out there that look like Sailrites, but Sailrite has refined many of the parts and they have excellent customer service, instructional videos (e.g., great videos re setting top and bobbin tension and re timing the machine) and stocks 100% of the parts for their machines. Also, of all the bunch of look-alikes Sailrite is the only one that offers a machine with zig zag, which is nice not only for zigzagging and bar tacks, but also because you can move the needle position bit right or left. (OTOH, I could do all my heavy duty projects with a straight stitch Sailrite.) Sailrite machines start at $599 and $699 for non-ZZ and ZZ, and they often go on sale. Plan to budget for extra bobbins and some other options, e.g., get the heavy flywheel.

One can do lots of outdoor projects with a good home machine (e.g., Bernina, Viking, Pfaff IDT, Juki 1020) with V-46 thread and a #18 needle, but no home machine can come close to sewing thick and/or really tough stuff like a Sailrite or a full-on industrial machine. You can really screw up a home machine if you try to sew thick and/or tough stuff.

One more thing: Sounds like your mom is an expert on a home machine, but she (like me a year ago) may not have experience with an industrial machine, the threading and operation of which is quite different. My experience going from a home to heavy duty sewing machine was kinda like when I learned to use a metal lathe. That's one more reason to get a Sailrite machine, which comes with a comprehensive instructional DVD and a bunch of on-line videos. I picked it up pretty fast, i.e., a couple days, and had a blast doing so. I love sewing big ass shit.

Feel free to PM me with specific questions.

[boarddad]

Seems like the right place for this q:
My sewing experience is pretty much limited to sewing the patches and badges onto my kids Boy Scout and Girl Scout uniforms. Is there a way to sew the patches onto the pocket using a sewing machine?

[GeezerSteve]

yes, with some machines if you can get the pocket under the foot, but that's likely be a PITA would be easier to hand sew a patch on a pocket

[XXX-er]

Seems like the right place for this q:
My sewing experience is pretty much limited to sewing the patches and badges onto my kids Boy Scout and Girl Scout uniforms. Is there a way to sew the patches onto the pocket using a sewing machine?

glue it on with Aqua seal

[gregL]

Is there a way to sew the patches onto the pocket using a sewing machine?

Sure. I sew right throught the pocket and tell them to put their stuff in their pants.

For sewing through really heavy stuff like canvas and ballistic nylon, it's hard to beat a true industrial machine if you can find one used. MIne is a Pfaff and it runs like a truck, paid ~$300 from a small clothing designer going out of business. All it does is sew in straight line, though, I have a dedicated Bernina serger and a Singer set up to do buttonholes/zigzag.

[GeezerSteve]

I figured that OP was looking to buy a new machine, thus the Sailrite recommendation. If space is not an issue, a full-on industrial machine is certainly an option, but good luck finding one in good shape for OP's budget. I couldn't find a used walking foot full-on industrial machine in good shape for less than $1,200 and that's one reason I got a Sailrite. (The bigger reason was space restrictions.) Buyer beware when buying a used machine.

Greg, what model is your Pfaff industrial machine? If money and space were no obstacles, I would have shelled out the big bucks for a Pfaff 545 or 1245 walking foot/walking needle machine or newer version of that. Note that parts for Pfaff industrial machines are $$$$. Now that I have a year on my Sailrite I'll likely stick with it even when we move and have lots of shop space.

[gregL]

It's older than that, a 463 "long" version like the one in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI5hNCPcy5w

[GeezerSteve]

Cool. No walking foot?

[Conundrum]

Had a conversation with my mom and I think the Sailrite would be the perfect fit. She told me what she would want in something for heavier projects and it looks like the Sailrite hits those requirements. Thanks for the insight. Just need to start looking around for the best buy-seems like Amazon is the way to go at this point.

[GeezerSteve]

Cool. You might check the Sailrite site every couple days for sales. My patience paid off: I got one of the LSZ-1 packages for $150 off.

[hutash]

TGR has sewing dentists, who would have thunk it?

[gregL]

Cool. No walking foot?

No, I wish it had, would really help with certain materials. Long reach is really nice, you can pull a whole coat through easily.

[lobstahmeatwad]

TGR has sewing dentists, who would have thunk it?

Yeah its pretty amazballz.
Between all the teeth and nylon you dont actually work at all and just work at being the radest skier on the mountain with the brightest smile and most kickass gear.