Which sewing machine should I use query

[redx]

Greetings to all,

I've recently finished restoring a 20' boat and need a tonneau cover to protect it's cockpit area from the elements when the booat is on it's mooring. I got a quote to have a cover professionly made and it comes in at just under AU$1000! My budget won't stretch that far so I intend to have a go at making it myself, shouldn't be too difficult. I will need to do further research on the types of material available but figured I'd have to use some kind of uv resistant canvas and polyester thread suitable for the marine environment, for instance there is a type of material called "Sunbrella" that might do the job.
However, I really need some advice about sewing machines before I even begin the task. With the right sized needle would a normal household sewing machine be able to handle the canvas type material and heavier thread? I am wondering if the material would feed through ok, and if the motor would have enough torque to push the needle through the fabric? I have looked for an industrial sewing machine but even second-hand they are way too expensive, particularly as this will be a one-off project.

Would your mother's old Singer household machine handle this type of job?



Thanks,
redx.

[ian]

the short answer is no.

Just off the phone to one of my sisters. (sewing machines are as bad as wood working tools -- between them my sisters have over 10 sewing machines ranging in price from $300 to $12,000)

when I mentioned that the sunbrella fabric weighed 330 to 400 grams per sq.m there was a significant intake of breath.

my sister's advice is: for the sort of fabric you want to sew, a machine from the 1950s in very good nick might just handle it. But it will be touch and go -- and don't be surprised if the machine breaks part way through the job.
any domestic machine made since the early 1960s will be too light duty in the mechanism which feeds the material past the needle.


Sister's advice is "save the tears and get the job done professionally"

[redx]

Hi Ian

Thanks for the advice, I guess I should get a few more quotes to see if I can get the price of the cover down a bit.


".....between them my sisters have over 10 sewing machines ranging in price from $300 to $12,000)"

Bloody hell! Your sisters must do some really serious sewing!

Regards,
redx.

[_fly_]

Maybe some of those clothes alteration places in the shopping centres will put it together for you.
If you get it all cut from the right stuff and they just sew it together.
Or maybe the shoe repair man (although they usually use a post machine instead of a flat).

But both of them have industrial machines.

[ian]

".....between them my sisters have over 10 sewing machines ranging in price from $300 to $12,000"

Bloody hell! Your sisters must do some really serious sewing!
no more so than many of us are serious about our wood working -- the $12,000 machine is the sewing equivalent of a CNC setup

and the $300 machine? -- to quote it's owner, "at $300, I don't need to worry about it being stolen from the back of the car"

[redx]

Thanks Fly, I didn't think of clothes alteration places. The quote I got was from a dedicated marine cover fabricator which might account for the cost being higher than I had considered. I might even try a few upholsterers too.

Thanks,
redx.

[ian]

red
another option is your "local" of truck tarp maker
Though I realise that if you're in metro Melbourne, you may not have a "local" truck tarp maker

out of interest, in the quote of "just under $1000", how much does the material cost?

[A Duke]

Hi,
This may be what you are after
http://www.annebonnyslocker.com.au/ablesew/index.htm
Regards

[Christos]

I guess I am going to be the spanner in the works but have you thought of doing it manually? :o

Similar to the equivalent of using hands tools in wood working, needle and thread with a pair of scissors?

[ian]

needle and thread with a pair of scissors?and a sail maker's palm

[A Duke]

Hi,
I see on your other tread that you got a machine, what did you get?
Regards

[redx]

I did think about doing the sewing by hand but very quickly came back to my senses.

There is a possibility I can borrow a suitable industrial machine but can't tell you what it is as I haven't seen it yet.

In the meantime I 've been looking at different marine fabrics and have settled on Weathermax 80. It is described on this website -


http://www.canvas-boat-cover-and-repair-advisor.com/boat-cover-material.html


It says Weathermax 80 is stronger and more abrasion resistant than sunbrella and is able to be sewn on home machines!. So I might be able to do it on the old Singer after all.

Cheers,
redx

[Robson Valley]

Another place to look at are the businesses making custom car upolstery.

I make denim tool rolls with narrow pockets to hold about a dozen wood carving gouges.
I don't own a sewing machine other than a Speedy Stitcher. But, I found a lady in the village with a big machine that can do denim seams.
I cut out the parts from old blue jeans and pin them together.
She does the sewing, neat and tidy, well finished, $5 - $10 depending on complexity.
The store bought equivalent for what I need is $80+ each.

[redx]

Not sure if I replied to this post or not. It's an old thread but better late than never I guess. The sewing machine I got was a Singer 201K. It's has a polished timber cabinet and is operated by either electric motor or or foot treadle. Cost was less than $200 off ebay. It's a beautiful machine to use, really smooth and quiet, and it did the job easily and had no trouble handling the heavy duty material and thread I used for my boat cover.

[Arron]

Not sure if I replied to this post or not. It's an old thread but better late than never I guess. The sewing machine I got was a Singer 201K. It's has a polished timber cabinet and is operated by either electric motor or or foot treadle. Cost was less than $200 off ebay. It's a beautiful machine to use, really smooth and quiet, and it did the job easily and had no trouble handling the heavy duty material and thread I used for my boat cover.

I’m glad you did respond - I’m interested in this Singer 201k. When you say it is operated by either treadle or motor, do you mean that on your machine you can swap between driving the machine by either foot treadle or motor as required?

I have an industrial machine that I use for upholstery (hobby) and I’ve done what I can to slow it down and it’s not bad for most uses but I’d love something that could go ‘stitch by stitch’ for the more complicated stuff. I can hand crank my machine but that requires me to take one hand off the workpiece, not always possible, so being able to crank by foot would be ideal. Nonetheless, it must be able to run by motor for most of the time.

Cheers
Arron

[China]

Fitting one of these or similar is the best way to slow you machine, allows stitch by stitch up to full speed, once you have changed to a servo motor you will never look back, I have the previous model of this on my K6 and it handles it with no problems
Servo Motors (http://www.sewingmachinesaustralia.com.au/shop/machines-we-sell/motors2012-05-16-04-19-16/servo-motors)
201k is a excellent machine the best smoothest quietest domestic Singer ever built however it not classed as a industrial machine

[arose62]

Not just the machine, but using the right needles makes a huge difference too!
I've hemmed my daughter's jeans on a $80 Spotlight Elna, once I learned about
a) the intricacies of the various needle point/eye geometries, and
b) using a lump hammer vigorously to flatten the multiple layers of denim before sewing.

[Arron]

Fitting one of these or similar is the best way to slow you machine, allows stitch by stitch up to full speed, once you have changed to a servo motor you will never look back, I have the previous model of this on my K6 and it handles it with no problems
Servo Motors (http://www.sewingmachinesaustralia.com.au/shop/machines-we-sell/motors2012-05-16-04-19-16/servo-motors)
201k is a excellent machine the best smoothest quietest domestic Singer ever built however it not classed as a industrial machine

I’m at a disadvantage with the Servo motor solution because I’ve never actually used one or known someone who has, and before proceeding to spend what will likely work out to be $500 (I think $600 with synchroniser) I’d need to be confident that it really can do stitch by stitch. By that I mean do one stitch, stop with needle down, allow me to reposition the fabric for as long as I want, then do one more stitch etc.

I have heard that the cheaper types of Servo really only allow you to sew very slowly, and without a synchroniser there is no way to control needle stop up or down. By ‘cheaper’ I’m talking about the Chinese ones on EBay for about $140.

So, being cautious with money I did what I could cheaply, I changed the pulley to 45mm (from Hong Kong, not available locally) and modified the actuator arm so that it is much longer and fixes to the lhs of the foot pedal. This slows it down but it doesn’t really make the start softer, as the friction/inertia needed to start is not changed, so the first stitch or two lack proper control. Then it settles down and can sew very very slowly. Mine is a walking foot so there is probably more inertia involved in starting then a straight sewer.

Have you used a Servo and therefore be able to comment on this?

[NCArcher]

I have an Efka servo on my Consew 226R walking foot. I can sew stitch by stitch but i repurposed the Efka off a Juki straight sewer and it has a needle position synchroniser. I really like the needle position functions. I have it set to stop with the needle down so I can reposition the work piece. If i press down with my heel it lifts the needle to the top position so I can remove the work piece. With the knee lifter on the presser foot it makes for excellent work flow.
Even if the Chinese servos only allow you to sew very slowly you could do the stitch by stitch bits manually. I often manually walk the foot over lumpy seams.

[redx]

I’m glad you did respond - I’m interested in this Singer 201k. When you say it is operated by either treadle or motor, do you mean that on your machine you can swap between driving the machine by either foot treadle or motor as required?

I have an industrial machine that I use for upholstery (hobby) and I’ve done what I can to slow it down and it’s not bad for most uses but I’d love something that could go ‘stitch by stitch’ for the more complicated stuff. I can hand crank my machine but that requires me to take one hand off the workpiece, not always possible, so being able to crank by foot would be ideal. Nonetheless, it must be able to run by motor for most of the time.

Cheers
Arron

Hi Arron,

Yes, I can swap between electric or treadle on the Singer 201K. However, it's not just a simple matter of throwing a lever or anything like that. If electric is to be used you slip the treadle belt off the large flywheel inside the cabinet so the treadle is disengaged. To switch back to using treadle you need to place the belt back onto the treadle flywheel, it's not difficult to do. It's a lovely smooth machine in either mode.

I suppose you could leave the treadle belt on but it would mean the treadle would be constantly engaged and would probably put too much strain on the electric motor. I've never tried it like that.

[redx]

Not just the machine, but using the right needles makes a huge difference too!
I've hemmed my daughter's jeans on a $80 Spotlight Elna, once I learned about
a) the intricacies of the various needle point/eye geometries, and
b) using a lump hammer vigorously to flatten the multiple layers of denim before sewing.

I hem my own jeans on my old Singer. It has no real problem with the several layers of denim so I've never had to resort to flattening with a hammer. One thing I did learn regarding needles (after much swearing and cursing) is that you must insert the needle into the machine the RIGHT way around! I assumed the flat side of the needle would face the thumbscrew but this is not so with my Singer, the flat side faces way from the screw. You wouldn't believe how detrimental it can be to your mental state if you get that little detail wrong.