Londonfog

Ridiculous. I hate you Nicely done I've got a massive Singer Longarm (It's hard to move even with two people) that needs a new table built, but I'm not going to have nearly as many toys to build it with.

Yeah, my first concern is all the old grease/oil and for one of the machines, rust. I'd love to put the rustier one into a vat of evaporust, but it's not easy to do that with an almost 200 lb machine that's 4' long, lol. I'm thinking some mixture of wd-40 to loosen the rust and other degreasers to spray it down with, and then using some paint/rust stripper wheels (Think scotch-brite wheels on a drill and dremel) to at least strip the bed, which I'll later paint to have a clean working surface.

Wow those were a couple of heavy mammajamas to move, and the tables they were on were no joke either. Thanks Bob for your help and guidance on these. Are there any good resources where people have done an overhaul of cleaning on machines like these? Or maybe like a documented thread where someone cleaned and refinished their old model. I've seen a couple with some quick Google, but really just wondering if there's one particular instance or set of videos on YouTube that's considered top notch. I saw that old military manual recommended kerosene as a cleaner, which seems reasonable as I've used it on parts before, but just wondering if some new cleaner is preferable in an old sewing machine. I'll get some photos posted when I get some time. The double needle is currently in my garage, and the single needle is in my brother's.

Without a basis for reference, 5/8" sounds pretty reasonable to me then, lol. Those pro looking French seams will hopefully still look good at 5/8". Maybe a tad large on jeans/denim.

That I don't currently know. I should know tomorrow night. How hard do you think a gauge change would be? Part sourcing and cost as well as actually doing the swap. **UPDATE** The buyer got back to me and sent a close up of the needle. It's stamped with the part number 265276 and says 5/8 on it

That's good info to know, do you think the double needle would essentially be a one trick pony?

I came across what might be a great deal on these two long arm Singers; the 145W304 is a double needle machine and the 144W304 is a single needle. After speaking to the current owner he used them to sew pool covers and other stuff. He said the single needle needs to be oiled , and cleaned up, the double needle needs to be timed and oiled up as well. He used to sew pool safety covers with them, found it was easier just to send them out so he hasn't used them in a couple of years. According to him the single needle is a tank and works fine, but the double needle doesn't have a clutch and would jump timing when you'd hit something hard like the plastic on pool covers. Here are photos that I have: https://imgur.com/a/dIQlFXF On to my side of the issue: I recently picked this Singer 111W113 for the same price I will be getting both of the above together, and it seems to run just fine, even though I haven't had a chance to put it through any projects at all yet: http://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/82079-loking-at-a-111w113/ Assuming all these machines work well and are complete, would there be any reason to keep the 111W113? My main reason for picking these up to begin with was to learn to do leather upholstery, and other leather projects, and I'd think the long arm would be awesome for that considering none of these have reverse. If the long arm single needle presents no downsides other than size/maneuverability (which in this case we'll assume footprint is not an issue), is there really a reason to keep the smaller machine around? I come at this with no real experience working on or maintaining these machines (although I am handy/dangerous enough to tinker inside with timings) and am wondering what pros and cons are for these machines. I've read up plenty on the 111W, but only know as much as the manuals say for the 144W and 145W, and what the current owner has had to say about them. Any input on these machines would be greatly appreciated.

Ha, I will probably struggle with the Clutch motor until it becomes frustrating enough for me to upgrade. I was able to get some more photos, and will likely be picking it up this weekend, so fingers crossed! More Photos: https://imgur.com/a/TrAOqyH

Slide rules really were nifty, lol

Awesome info! Thanks for that. At 72 pounds it can also pull double duty for my workout routine.

Yeah, sorry, that's what I meant the first step would be, then to remove the legs if necessary, lol

It would be for heavier duty leather work, like upholstery because there aren't really any couches/sofas out there that are designed to my liking that aren't thousands of dollars. Also my brother has similar ideas so we'd both be getting use out of it. He also bought a nice bolt of upholstery leather that we've been dying to work on. Also he's getting into some metal work, and could probably use leather details to his designs. I've also considered getting into some raw denim jeans and some outdoor furniture and fabric designs. I'm going to be inheriting a Singer 237 for much of the lighter weight stuff, as well as probably some lightweight denim.

The current asking price is $250, and I'd probably at least be taking apart the legs, I would think. I could also probably borrow my brother's massive SUV, or take disassembly further and fit it into my wife's Rav4

Hi Everyone, I know the 111W is really popular, but I'm wondering if there is a good comprehensive listing or history on the model variations that someone can point me to. I'm considering a Singer 111W113 that's quite a bit of distance away from me, and I'm wondering if it's worth picking up. Here are the listing photos: https://imgur.com/a/94YcVXW The only info I have so far is that it "runs well, and includes many spools of thread" since I've only just contacted the owner. Thanks in advance for any help.

Michigan is practically right next door. I know people that make the trip often, lol.

I wouldn't even know what to ask about this, but something tells me this machine can handle some leather: https://buffalo.craigslist.org/atq/d/industrial-sewing-machine/6634684197.html Full disclosure, I'm in no way affiliated with this ad, but I know people on here might be interested in it, or be able to critique it based on the ad. I just happened to come across it while broadening my search area.

I recently learned I have a Singer 237 as a hand-me-down/granny machine, so I'll most likely be OK in the decorative/zigzag stitch department. It can also probably handle some raw denim on the thinner side of things, so I should probably personally aim for a good leather machine with a walking foot. I was really hoping to get lucky with a $200 leather machine, though, lol.

Yeah, but you can imagine my confusion when searching the leather working forum and seeing that people use the very same machine and say it works great, but don't say what it's great at, or at least not it's maximum capabilities. Then add on to that the videos online of people sewing pretty thick leather (at least more than a domestic machine), without a walking foot, and they're not even trying to sell it. Then further add in that there is a running version of a low maintenance, reputable, highly reliable, machine with motor and table being locally sold for about $200, and you can probably guess that I felt a need to ask the question. So I at least had the question answered for anybody that might come searching in the future with the same query. I did find a lot of great info on this site about the machine (even for the 138, which I searched separately), but at least now nobody has to ask the question if they use the search function because I've tagged the thread with every necessary piece of information to find the model. So yeah, I'm a beginner asking a familiar question, but at least I gave the community a thread with a unique answer that should help future newbies. And yes you guessed right, upstate NY. And even more specific, Central NY, lol. Thanks for the great info everyone

Awesome, I think that's exactly the info people would want to find out.

Care to comment on the other questions, as well as maybe the max capabilities to expect? I ask for the sake of posterity, because both the 138 and 238 do show up in searches, and are well spoken of, but lack specific details on what to expect from them in regards to working with leather and cost.

I'm completely new to this world, but eventually would like to work on some leather upholstery like for a couch. I'd also like to work on raw denim as well, and probably some outdoor fabrics for yard furniture and cushions. Anyways, there is a Pfaff 238 available semi-locally and I was wondering if it's appropriate for leather work. It's not a walking foot, which I think is considered a major knock against it, but it has the advantage of being local, working, and seemingly affordable. To be most specific, its full model number is the 238-0-6ASX.0 So it's definitely a 238-0 variant, and I think the "A" makes it able to do a slightly narrower stitch at a higher RPM than the B variant. I gathered that data from a manual someone shared on here, and the manual states that the 238 is an updated version of the Pfaff 138, so I imagine the machines are very similar in material capabilities if anybody only has experience with the 138. Also, what would a good price be for a running 238-0 with motor and table? Thanks in advance for any help!