How to Lift a Sewing Machine Safely

[friquant]

How do you swap machine heads in and out of a table without hurting yourself?

I have a Singer 31-15 that came with a table, which we painted orange. I also have a Singer 144W103. Eventually I discovered that the 144 fits into the same table slot, it just rides lower in the water. So I removed the sheet metal drip pan  / knee protector and started using the 144 in the orange table. Now I want to switch back to the 31-15 for a different project. But lifting that damn machine...

Singer 31-15, machine head weighs 20kg (44 pounds)

 

Singer 144W103, machine head weighs more.

[kgg]

27 minutes ago, friquant said:

How do you swap machine heads in and out of a table without hurting yourself?

Carefully and with two people. The strongest one on the heavy end. I would suggest making another table and avoid swapping them back and forth???  

kgg

[bruce johnson]

If you have room then yes another table. Besides making your own, you can check around. The cutouts for a lot of these tables are standard. I have been in a couple industrial sewing machine shops with tables in a give-away section. The heads in some industrial settings give out before the tables. FaceBook marketplace sometimes has a "machine doesn't work - $50" listing with a good motor and table under the boat anchor. 

[AlZilla]

4 hours ago, friquant said:

How do you swap machine heads in and out of a table without hurting yourself?

I have a Singer 31-15 that came with a table, which we painted orange. I also have a Singer 144W103. Eventually I discovered that the 144 fits into the same table slot, it just rides lower in the water. So I removed the sheet metal drip pan  / knee protector and started using the 144 in the orange table. Now I want to switch back to the 31-15 for a different project. But lifting that damn machine...

 

 

Put your arm through it and carry it like a purse.

 

[BlackDragon]

I see that you're using the same motor for the two machines. If you don't want to add another motor you can put another table so they are back to back and can share the same motor. You'll just have to switch the belt which you'll have to do anyway if you're switching out the heads.

[friquant]

35 minutes ago, AlZilla said:

Put your arm through it and carry it like a purse.

 

I like this method a lot. Yesterday I made the mistake of bringing the Singer 144 all the way down to ground level, and then later had to figure out how to get it back to table level. (I did it in two stages, with wooden trough made to fit the 144. First hop onto a chair with the trough, both hands on the trough. Second hop from chair to the table, left arm through the machine like a purse. Well maybe not as high as a purse, but at least up to my elbow.

When I get to the table and it's time to lower the machine, there's a bending-over sort of motion required to get the machine a few inches out laterally from me and into the cutout. This lateral motion is hard, and I aspire to invent some wooden accessory so I can set down on wood, then skooch it over and lower one half at a time. But not there yet.

You know the other thing that's a pain in the butt...good paint. I'm avoiding marring the orange paint on the table, and that avoiding gets expensive.

 

4 hours ago, kgg said:

Carefully and with two people. The strongest one on the heavy end. I would suggest making another table and avoid swapping them back and forth??? 

I'm thinking "Who I could drag over here for a two-person lift?" The neighbor on one side used to be quite strong. For now I made a label out of blue tape that says "Two person Lift" to remind me to lay off it by myself.

I also bought a chain hoist with straps, rated for 500 pounds. I even introduced the chain hoist to my girlfriend, but haven't admitted yet that I actually want to ceiling mount it in her living room. 🤩 

Now that I've thought through it, the two hardest parts of the transfer are

A. Getting from ground level to table level, and
B. Leaning forward four inches to hit the slot. 

I can work around "A" by never putting it on the ground again...just transfer it to a workbench. And if I ever need to move a heavy machine from ground level to table level, then I gotta make friends with the neighbor...which would be good for me anyway. 🤷‍♀️

1 hour ago, bruce johnson said:

FaceBook marketplace sometimes has a "machine doesn't work - $50" listing with a good motor and table under the boat anchor. 

I'll start looking for another table. If not for in the house, then at least I could set up one machine in the cellar. (I would call it a basement, but that would be generous) 🤣

 

45 minutes ago, BlackDragon said:

If you don't want to add another motor you can put another table so they are back to back and can share the same motor.

Luckily, I'm full up on motors. They are the easiest thing to tuck away so nobody can tell me I have too many of them.

[AlainaZ]

I forget where I saw it... During training at Juki Miami maybe? But they looped one arm through the machine and gripped the handwheel with the other hand. This is how I generally do it, it helps if you wipe it down thoroughly for any oil up top because even a little bit will make this job much harder. 

It occurs to me that gripping the handwheel is not going to be as useful if the handwheel is large (the DDL-8700 is small enough to be fully gripped) but anyway, looping an arm through the machine is the main support. 

[AlZilla]

19 hours ago, friquant said:

You know the other thing that's a pain in the butt...good paint. I'm avoiding marring the orange paint on the table, and that avoiding gets expensive.

That means your table is too pretty. Make it work!