arjon

November 6, 2022

Quote

Can anyone comment on the actual machines?

I can't comment on the Pfaff, but I do own a Singer u166, and for my purposes it's great. I sew mostly pack fabric and thin chrome tan leather. But that price is pretty absurd, imo. I got mine with a table/motor/thread stand for $350CAD, although the machine desperately needed a deep clean and the table needed refinishing. I bought a servo for it from Techsew, some binders off Amazon, refinished and painted the table, and I think my cost all-in is around $500.

I do love the Singer, but I wouldn't pay 700US for it with no table/motor. I'd keep waiting for the right deal to come up.

July 2, 2022

This is amazing. I have the same machine, it's nice to see someone else with one. Looking forward to seeing more contributions from you. Very nice work.

January 22, 2022

I get mine at the Stihl dealer down the street from me. They sell chainsaws (obviously), lawnmowers, generators, tools and farm equipment and they stock 3L belts. They always have what I'm looking for

January 17, 2022

3 hours ago, MtlBiker said:

I'm sure I could buy that kind of winder from someone like Techsew (local to me) but one of the considerations for me is space and weight of the finished unit.

I bought an industrial table winder from Techsew, I think it was only $20 CDN. It basically works, but it's poorly made. The axle hole in the pulley is drilled off-centre, which makes the bobbin wobble side to side, like a bike wheel that's out of true. It winds a bobbin though, so I guess I can't complain for the price.

January 2, 2022

21 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

Aside from the top mounted bobbin winder it looks much like my 211G156.

I have a manual for that machine that you uploaded on another thread and it is remarkably similar.

I see you're in Burton. My mom lives in Burton. I'm from Michigan originally, moved to Canada 13 years ago. With Covid I haven't been able to visit in a long time, maybe someday things will go back to some semblance of normal and I can visit my family again...

December 31, 2021

Hi everyone, new user here-

I just want to say a quick thank you to the contributors here. Almost everything I know about sewing machines I learned from this forum. The amount of knowledge contained here is incredible. When I started looking around for a machine, it was only because of you guys that I knew what to look for, which brings me to this 211.

I got it from a lady who knew nothing about it, other than her husband used it for auto upholstery. It had been stored in a shed in rural Manitoba for many years, and it was horribly filthy, covered in varnished oil, rust and sludge, and would barely even turn over due to all the thread wrapped up in the hook & saddle area. I almost just walked away, but she was asking practically nothing, and she threw in a hand press, so I grabbed it because even if the machine didn't work it was worth it just for the press. I found service manuals here, read through every post I could find on 211's, I got it all cleaned up, bought a servo motor for it, and I'm happy to report it's sewing just fine. The only thing I don't know is what exact submodel it is.

As you can see, it simply says "211" on the front, and "Made in Japan" on the back. It's a small bobbin machine with a manually oiled hook and it had the broken remnants of a thread lubrication system stuck in it. I've been using manuals for the U series, and it seems like this is probably a u166, but hopefully someone can confirm.

I've tried searching the serial number (U834911071) on ISMACS but came up empty handed.

Followup question: Does anyone know if I can replace the axle/spindle in the integrated bobbin winder? It spins but it's missing half the axle and won't hold a bobbin tightly enough to wind it. I have a table winder of course, but I'd really like to be able to use the integrated winder because it's super cool. I've searched all over for a replacement or info on how to fix it, but can't find anything. Any advice or suggestions are welcome.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and happy new year to all!