simran

That's a dang nice stand in anyone's book oldtimer. It is functional, stout & pretty to boot. Like Madmaxx22 just said if you got the time & tools yea . . . do it. However, 300 smackers for a bought & paid for stand isn't bad either. I've seen them made of wood too; that looked pretty good. They are inexpensive but take a few hours to build. Just depends on your circumstances I suppose. Sim

What ever direction your headed you better take a sewing machine with you. I tried this once and I couldn't leave it alone. I can't imagine anybody being successful at heading another direction and not ending up with sewing machines at some point again. Good Luck, Sim

With the exception of the Sailrite all I seen were house machines on this site with pics. artistically take to make them look larger than life. You might be able to sew a zipper in a motorcycle jacket with one of those but you'll probably be cussing before you're through. I've got a Thompson Mini-walker; which is the same act as a Sailrite basically. With a few differences. It will sew zippers in leather jackets all day long. However, I bent a lever on it trying to sew through 4 layers of kid skin & 2 layers of thick canvas. The problem with these light machines is that they will sew just enough to think your doing something; then you come to the end of a zipper where things are doubled or worse or need to fold over a pocket lid & you end up with multiple layers of material. That's when the fun starts. Things can turn south in a hurry. Notice I never even mentioned holsters. They're a whole nuther ball game as wiz so eloquently pointed out.

Been awhile since I ran one of these but I found the info. on the Cambell/Bosworth web site. Looks like the #6 awl/needle is rated for 346 in synthetic thread or natural 6 cord. Here is are links with a little information you may find interesting. http://www.campbell-bosworth.com/articles/Point-Part1.pdf http://www.campbell-bosworth.com/articles/Point-Part2.pdf

I've seen a Chinese knock-off of the 441 on ebay for around $600 new. Now granted I know nothing of these machines; there may be other s here that do know. Maybe they will chime in. I'm not sure they are worth the $600! Also, I've seen Servo motors on ebay for around $150. Maybe one can be bought for less elsewhere; not sure. If you are a little creative and handy with your hands you could built a table out of plywood & 2X4's and join the two together and get in under your mark. The generic GA5-1 I've seen on Ebay looks just like the one Techsew sells but looks can be deceiving especially in the sewing machine dept. It would be nice if someone that has bought one of these Chinese knock-off's would chime in with a review of these machines. If you could save up another $5xx and take a good hard look @ the Techsew You may be happier because of the service you'd get. Especially if you are a beginner. Older machines can be bought for a song if you can wait . . . .& . . . .wait . . . .& well you know the drill. But then you are taking a chance on getting a machine that needs tinkering. I'm the kind that can wait til the dog goes to sleep to steal his bone. If he doesn't go to sleep I wait . . .until he either eats the bone or goes to sleep. Not everyone is up to that. I do know that "he that gets in a hurry pays to much." Things to consider.

I used Marvel Mystery oil on the one I had; but not sure it matters all that much. Those things are built like a tank. BTW they make one of the most beautiful stitches I've ever seen. I used mine for sewing side seams on western boots & some tack repair. If you don't need a deep throat stitcher you can't beat these machines. Post some pics if you get a chance. Good Luck.

That thing is cool Darren, Who made it?? Sim

Wiz is right. These are called patchers for a reason. They work well patching in places you'd never dream of sewing with another machine. The stitch length is definitely dictated by the thickness of the material you are sewing. That said, I wish I'd not have sold the one I had. They are as handy as the tail on a horse in fly season. Go get the dern thing and fiddle with it but don't expect to sew any holsters with it. There will come a day when you'll be dern glad you've got it. sim

Bill, This machine came from Wisconsin. I've been working there since before Christmas. As for the difference between the two machines I can't say. I know that the 7-31 is identical to the 7-33 excepting the drive is different. The 7-31 was built with a clutch on the machine head to accommodate being powered by an overhead - flat belt - system. Mine, however has been converted to a table powered model but does still have remnants of the old clutch plate still attached to the balance wheel. It has a v belt pulley on it now. Don't quote me on this but I think the 7-4 was a book binding machine. The book I looked at had references to the 7-5 as sewing canvas & leather. Maybe the difference is as simple as the foot lifting higher. Some of the models were built to accommodate thicker material. What is the foot lift on your machine? As far as parts I have none but you may want to PM Sewmun on this forum. I've read posts of his on another site. He knows a great deal about these old monster flat beds. He may have some parts machines around as well. I PMed you about my location. We may have to get together some time.

I've heard the head alone is 160+ I know it's a handful alone. There are those out there that can pipe in here that are more familiar than I with this machine; but I think the foot lift is around 3/4". I've heard it will stitch through 9/16" of material maybe a little more. That said' I've heard they can be modified to stitch much heavier material by advancing the foot lift to over an inch somehow. I know it will sew through the Sunday addition of the newspaper folded over but the needle gets pretty warm as it has a needle point needle in it rather than a chisel point. I need it to finish the packs I make from canvas & leather. By the time I fold over a pocket lid trimmed in leather so I can stitch it on it is more than my current machine can handle. I also wanted the ability to work on horse tack & harness. This should do nicely; especially for what I paid for it. A hobby guy can't afford to spend thousands on a machine.

I bought this old machine a few weeks ago. Just got the head & motor for it. I had an original Singer 1/3hp 1750 rpm motor/clutch from another purchase some time back. I ended up with,what looks like, a table from a surger I think. The plan is to set the #7 down in the table flush with the center of the deck on the head itself. These pics are from a phone and aren't so good I've got it this far and took the table to have brackets made so it has something to set on inside the table after the hole is cut. I've also got the clutch/ motor mounted under the table (no pic yet

I've got a 1/4 horse Norge brand motor for sale. It is a 1750 RPM There is a Square D foot operated switch hooked to it that comes with it. The switch is not variable. It is a foot operated on/off switch only. Unit seem to work good. It was on a Singer 7-31 I bought. I had an old Singer clutch and motor set up I'm going to use on the #7. $50.00 OBO you ship

Good Luck to you Haus, The right machine can make sewing a constructive experience as well as source of accomplishment. The wrong one can be a source of frustration & misery.

Glad to here you got that run-a-way machine talking the same language you do now. Things can get ugly fast with a nice piece of leather!! Back when I first started sewing leather; like everyone else quickly wanted to graduate to something besides an old home machine. unsuspectingly, I bought an industrial Singer from an old woman who was retiring from doing alterations. (Don't even remember the model any more) She showed me how well it worked and she made it look easy . . . HAH . . .!!! I took that sucker home all excited to get my buddies motorcycle chaps under the business end of that machine. He wanted a pocket with a snap flap put on the front. I sat down to it and put the left chap leg under the foot; lined up the pocket I'd cut out. (Now right here your probably wondering how my initial practice might have gone before this. Sewing on this pocket WAS my practice. I was a real greenhorn to all of this at that time.) Anyway, with everything lined up we were ready to go. I touched `er off and that dern thing sewed off the edge of that pocket and never stopped `til it was off the edge of that chap leg. I think it took that long for me to react to what appeared to be a real wreck. I never did get so I could actually sew with that machine. I sold it less than a year later.

here is the business end of a Champion 77 if anyone is curious. This is the single thread variety.

I used to have a McKay stitcher for doing moccasin soles. I always marveled at how that thing grabbed the thread and held onto it during the stitch process. It was the single thread variety of course.

This machine sold!!! Thanks Leatherworker.net!!!

This head is still for sale

Tony, I PM'd her. Hopefully I'll get a reply soon. Thanks,

Thanks for verifying the fact that they actually made one. My source was reputable but like I said; I'd never actually seen one.

I've never seen one myself but I was told by someone that they did come with them in the early days of the 7 class. I understand they had pedals like the early Singer harness stitchers; as opposed to a treadle type stand.