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#21
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"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 |
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#23
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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! |
#24
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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 $20 more than I paid for it if anyone is interested. That comes to about 10 cents an hour for my fixing time. If you like, I can pass the details on to Treadle On for you: there may be an Onion in your area who can collect. -- Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk Click on Kate's Pages and explore! |
#25
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"Taria" wrote in message news:L8Bhe.14387$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 |
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