garball

To tell you the truth, I was really hoping to get more advice here and was a bit dissapointed. However I do appreciate your input but wish more than a couple people chimed in. Gary.

Did go and see it. Very dirty underbelly, did not run smoothly by hand. Passed on it. Anyway, I ended up buying a new Juki 1541s with a Reliable 5000 servo motor.

45 minutes. I did come across that one. Looks old, could be worn out, I could be taking a big risk. Rather put money into a new machine. I'm curious if the current crop of Consew 206rb are any good?

Any takers? Looks like the Juki du 1181 isn't a compound walking foot so striking it off my list. I'm new to sewing, don't want to make a mistake here with such an expensive investment. Gary

Thanks Ron, I've written off the local retailer due to their high prices (for example, their sale price on a Juki 1541 with servo motor goes for $2100 vs $1525 online shipping included). I'm not familiar with quality of the Tacsew, Chandler and Consew models but understand they're all Chineese made. Gary

Hi, I'm new the the forum and I'm here with the hope to learn about sewing in general. I work in the marine industry and recently bought a used Juki DDL 8500 in great condition to learn on. My primary application is boat upholstery and canvas work with some leather here and there. The machine has a 3500 rpm clutch motor that I've adjusted and works fine. Here is my problem: Machine runs way too fast even with a new 2" pulley. Even when I slow it down by feathering the clutch, I find my vinyl slips around corners or over bumps/piping. When feeding, I can't get consistent stitch length because the motor is far too fast between speed transitions or when re-positioning materials (vinyl for example). Tried with regular fabrics and no problem there as long as you want to go fast. One idea is to replace the motor with a Reliable Quietsew 5000 high end servo motor with a smaller pulley but I still think vinyl fabrics will slip too easily. I realize I probably should get a walking foot asap. I tried a Sailrite LS-1, Juki 1541 and a Sunstar KM-340BL and a Consew 206RB, all walking foot machines. The sailrite would probably work just fine for me (easy to control) but I found it ran like a tractor. I'm a bit of a gear head and would like to get a nicer industrial machine (and I got the bug). The Juki 1541 was a dream and even though I can afford it, I would like to try to stay within a $1000 budget roughly. The Sunstar is a Korean machine and seemed fine although I can't remember if it was a regular walking foot or compound. Sales rep tells me to stay away from the Consew as it's made in china now. Here is a list of machines I researched that I thought would work in order of preference: -Juki DDL 1541 -Juki DU 1181 (looks identical to mine except walking foot for around $1100) -Consew 206RB (For around $1350 at Toledo Sewing) -Chandler 406 RB (Looks identical to Consew above for $1100) -Tacsew 111 (looks identical to Sailrite 111 which is a compound walking foot for arround a $800) -Sailrite LS-1 (for around $700). Is a compound foot waling machine that much better than a regular walking foot machine? Any of these machines I would get with a different motor like the Reliable Quietsew 5000. The Tacsew seems to be a great price and since Sailrite uses them I was thinking it would be a good bet. Anyway, it's been 2 weeks and I just can't make up my mind. I have a couple projects ready to go but need to decide on a machine. Any help and input is greatly appreciated. Gary.