Advice needed for a sewing machine

[Bill Seal]

I've been using the crap out of a Chinese version of the Sailrite for the last 15 years or so. You can find them on-line under the name Family Sew. Not as sophisticated as the Sailrite, but $600 cheaper. Just be sure to get the 9" throat version.

[Russ]

You MUST--repeat MUST--use a Singer 206X13 needle. If any other needle could be used in this machine, Singer would have figured out how to do it years ago. Some of these machines have been "retimed" to use other needles but that proves unsatisfactory when doing anything but straight stitch.

Ya Think????

[senormechanico]

Singer 320K2, Singer 306K Bobbin Case Conversion for Standard Needles - andrewcaddle.comandrewcaddle.com


I'd mod the bobbin case just a bit. Take a look at the photos.
Imho, it was a blatant case of Singer trying to corner the market on needle replacements.


Sorry for the thread drift. Again.

[wingssail]

I've been using my Sailrite Sailmaker for 25 years, First project was fixing Judy's shorts (seam came out). Second project was a Kevlar/mylar mainsail for our boat, 52 panels, designed on Lotus 123. Worked great. More sails. Much more canvas work (at least 6 dodgers). Fix all my damaged racing and cruising sails. Tomorrow I start on a new mainsail cover. Buy my supplies from Bainbridge or Challenge.

Machine lives on the boat but for big projects I take it ashore.

(coming across the Pacific I fixed tons of sails for puddle jumpers who had damages and the local in Tahiti had no time to do it. I stopped that in NZ when there were plenty of local guys who were trying to feed their families and charging $15/hr)

I trained myself.

Just do it.

[Gymnast]

[QUOTE=somanyboats;2619507]I have a phaff 130 , works great. I have sewn many layers of sunbrella and have done repairs on our sails.
QUOTE]

Thank you for accepting me to this forum. I am not a sailor, but I have used a lot of information about rigging, webbing, ropes etc.
for the use in gymnastics and similar sports. I hope to be able to provide a bit of information back regarding some sewing machines.

I think that a good sewing machine for use on boads is the Sailrite machines and similar machines. It have got a walking foot, and it is very nice when sewing heavier fabrics to get good feed traction on larger heavy and larger fabrics. However it do also have some drawbacks compared to some of the capable vintage sewing machines. The Sailrite is heavier, more expensive, and do not handle lighter garment repairs as good as a normal domestic machine.

Neither the Sailrite nor the domestic sewing machines are industrial sewing machines, which are strong machines able to do heavy work every day for years. But you will normally not need that durability for a normal machine for sailors. An industrial machine is heavy and a not easily portable machine.

I have got some expierience in making some of the vintage domestic sewing machines do heavy work. I think some of them is strong enough to do that for a limited time use. My Singer 201k have sewn 2000 m of a V138 thread and I do not see any signs of wear yet. I find a Singer 66 and a Singer 237 possible strong machines as well. Singer machines were made in big numbers, so it is still easy and affortable to get spare parts for them.

I recommend, these requirements for a vintage domestic sewing machine:

• The machine is by specification able to sew with a size 21/130 needle.
• The machine should have all metallic gears (normal for machines before 1970).
• The machine should have an external motor with belt, that is easy to replace for a stronger motor.
• The needle shall be threaded from the side (not from front).
• Only require zig zag, if you need it. Zig zag possibility include some compromises.
• It is nice to have full reverse stitch length. Some machines got no reverse or only half reverse stitch length.

The recommendations ensure, that the machine can easely be modified to sew heavier thread and fabrics. I think most sailors is prepared to make some modifications here and make things work in scope of some difficulty. You need to have some basic understanding of mechanics to in order to start using a domestic machines for heavier work. Otherwise you should go for a Sailrite machine.

The no. 1 problem with domestic machines are, that they do not have the improved feed traction that you have got with walking foot machine. Domestic machines use drop feed. But you are able to do some things to improve the situation, for instance by making a thread notch in the presser foot. The feed problem cause that the fabric may pull in the needle and bending it a bit forward or backwards. If the hook below the needle plate pass the needle behind the needle, the machine become very sensive to this needle bending and you can get the hook hit the needle or you get skipped stitches. If the hook pass the needle to the side, this problem is almost avoided. Machines threaded from the front got the hook pass behind the needle. Therefore I do NOT recommend a machine like the Pfaff 130, as some other people have recommended previously in this thread. A Pfaff 30 is a better choice, but it do not have zig zag.

Only a minor part of the zig zag machines got the hook pass to the side of the needle. The Singer 237, Some Necchi machines, some Japaneese made Kenmores and the Sailrite LSZ-1 got that feature.

I made some videos for fun (not commercial) about the Singer 201 and Singer 237 and the modifications I did on them. I hope you can use some of the information This is a video about the Singer 201 sewing vinyl:
https://youtu.be/fnH3TVF6J0w

[helvick2003]

[QUOTE=Gymnast;3068962][QUOTE=somanyboats;2619507]I have a phaff 130 , works great. I have sewn many layers of sunbrella and have done repairs on our sails.
QUOTE]

Thank you for accepting me to this forum.

Hi Gymnast, I have just acquired a Singer 201 in fairly good condition. I haven't started using it yet, but can you tell me what needle size and thread do you use for general canvas work?
I have repairs to a stackpack to do this spring, and plan to make a sailbag for a staysail as well.
Thanks

[Valmika]

Originally Posted by foufou

When I had difficulties with my old commercial grade sewing machine I bought one from Amazon called a heavy duty Singer. A toy compared to my commercial machine. But it worked flawlessly right out of the box. The major part has a 30 year warranty! Cost $126 and with prime, free delivery. What a deal

I know this an old thread but I bought that same singer. Could you tell me what needle and thread to get for 3 or four layers of sunbrella? I am just starting my sewing journey.

[JPA Cate]

Hello, Valmika,

I use Tenara thread for Sunbrella. It is a ptfe thread (and it comes in clear, black, and white.) I use a #16 needle for it: it is very slippery thread. The thread will last for over 10 years, so you don't have to re-stitch. I love it. It is expensive compared to Dacron, but to me, it is worth it. It takes a little getting used to, you'll waste a fair bit at the beginning. When you backstitch at the end of seams, use at least 6 full backstitches, so it stays locked. Dacron (polyester) thread is okay if you keep the sun off it, so it works for cushion covers, but not for the zips you put in, nor for weather cloths, nor for boom bags and other sail bags.

Ann

[Michael Cobbe]

Two things you need is a metal sewing machine and a walking foot to pull the sailcloth through, an example is Sailright and in the UK Singer, I don't if they are available in the USA.

[Gymnast]

[QUOTE=helvick2003;3075139][QUOTE=Gymnast;3068962]

Originally Posted by somanyboats

I have a phaff 130 , works great. I have sewn many layers of sunbrella and have done repairs on our sails.
QUOTE]

Thank you for accepting me to this forum.

Hi Gymnast, I have just acquired a Singer 201 in fairly good condition. I haven't started using it yet, but can you tell me what needle size and thread do you use for general canvas work?
I have repairs to a stackpack to do this spring, and plan to make a sailbag for a staysail as well.
Thanks

I think that phaff 130 is a great machine, but when I comes to sewing heavier thread and larger pieces of fabric, the feeding problems will make other (cheep) vintage domestic machines a better choice. It could be a Singer 237.

For general canvas work, I would use a Serafil 40 polyester thread. Polyester in general have reasonable UV-protection. The needle size is in range 90 to 120. You can use this thread without modifications to the Singer 201. If you need to sew many layers of heavier canvas and webbing and need strength you may need to increase thread size to Serafil 30 og Serafil 20 (needle 120-140). For better UV protection, I would use a Serabond 30 thread (needle 110-130). For that you need to do some modifications to the machine. Do your singer 201 got an external electric motor with belt to machine?

I suggest you buy all needle sizes with regular point from 90 to 120 if you do not modify the machine. If you modify it you will need 130 and 140 sizes too. You need to find the right needle size by sewing some tests with you fabric and thread before the real start of your project.

In this video my modified singer 201k sews a Serafil 15 thread (V207), but is at the very limit. But in last part of video you see a list of the modifications to the machine: https://youtu.be/21D5S8ihspI