Juki Lu 563 Or Singer 111 W 155

[chapper]

I have a lady who wants to sell a machine. She is not sure what she has. The manual is for a Juki LU 562 and 563, she thinks it is a 563. But the person she bought it from has written on the manual "Singer 111 W 155". How do you tell which is which.......and will either one work for sewing chaps, headstalls, etc?

Thanks

Tom

[Wizcrafts]

I have a lady who wants to sell a machine. She is not sure what she has. The manual is for a Juki LU 562 and 563, she thinks it is a 563. But the person she bought it from has written on the manual "Singer 111 W 155". How do you tell which is which.......and will either one work for sewing chaps, headstalls, etc?

Thanks

Tom

Ask the seller to look at the machine to get the name and model. The brand name will be on a sticker on the front of the top body of the machine. The model number will usually be on a tag near the bottom of the base, on the right front.

There is a world of difference between a Singer 111W155 and a Juki 562 or 563. The Singer 111 was one of the first walking foot machines in wide circulation. It goes back a generation and can be found in upholstery shops and clothing shops around the world. These are triple feed machines, with standard industrial bobbins. They use industrial 135x16 and 135x17 needles. They only sew forward and did not ship with a reverse lever. To secure the stitching one raises the pressor feet with the needle down, using the knee lever, then flips the work 180 degrees and sews back 3 stitches. Stitch length is changed by holding in a button and rotating the flywheel forward or backward.

The Juki LU-56x is a step beyond the Singer 111, in that it does have a reverse lever on the front. You just hold down the lever to back tack. They use the same 135x needles as the 111's. The LU-562 uses the same bobbin as the 111, but the LU-563 uses a larger M size bobbin. The Jukis have a failsafe clutch that disengages if the thread gets jammed up in the bobbin case. After you free the bobbin thread you can press a button, rotate the wheel and the bobbin drive will pop back into gear.

Both the Singer 111W and Juki Lu came with pedal activated 110 or 220 volt, 1/3 or 1/2 hp, 1725 rpm clutch motors under the tables, and either a foot pedal or knee lever to raise the pressor feet. The pressor feet lift to about 7/16", allowing you to sew up to 3/8" thick material. The thread handling components are optimized for sizes #69 through #138, on the top and in the bobbin, but some of these machines can use #207 on the top thread, with #138 in the bobbin. Needles are available in sizes from around #16 up to #25.

Either brand will sew chaps and leather garments and jackets. They can also sew belts and straps up to almost 3/8" thick, depending on which pressor feet are installed and the way the machine was setup. They will definitely sew 5/16" thickness. The pressor feet are sold in sets of inner and outer feet. There are many types of feet available for these machine, for very low prices.

One note: These are OLD machines now and probably came from an Upholstery shop. That means that they probably have a large 3 to 3.5" motor pulley and will run like a bat out of hell when you engage the clutch. A lot of people have a hard time trying to control clutch motor machines. You may need to purchase a servo motor afterward, in order to be able to reliably control the sewing speed.

Edited April 14, 2010 by Wizcrafts

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

Ask the seller to look at the machine to get the name and model. The brand name will be on a sticker on the front of the top body of the machine. The model number will usually be on a tag near the bottom of the base, on the right front.

There is a world of difference between a Singer 111W155 and a Juki 562 or 563. The Singer 111 was one of the first walking foot machines in wide circulation. It goes back a generation and can be found in upholstery shops and clothing shops around the world. These are triple feed machines, with standard industrial bobbins. They use industrial 135x16 and 135x17 needles. They only sew forward and did not ship with a reverse lever. To secure the stitching one raises the pressor feet with the needle down, using the knee lever, then flips the work 180 degrees and sews back 3 stitches. Stitch length is changed by holding in a button and rotating the flywheel forward or backward.

The Juki LU-56x is a step beyond the Singer 111, in that it does have a reverse lever on the front. You just hold down the lever to back tack. They use the same 135x needles as the 111's. The LU-562 uses the same bobbin as the 111, but the LU-563 uses a larger M size bobbin. The Jukis have a failsafe clutch that disengages if the thread gets jammed up in the bobbin case. After you free the bobbin thread you can press a button, rotate the wheel and the bobbin drive will pop back into gear.

Both the Singer 111W and Juki Lu came with pedal activated 110 or 220 volt, 1/3 or 1/2 hp, 1725 rpm clutch motors under the tables, and either a foot pedal or knee lever to raise the pressor feet. The pressor feet lift to about 7/16", allowing you to sew up to 3/8" thick material. The thread handling components are optimized for sizes #69 through #138, on the top and in the bobbin, but some of these machines can use #207 on the top thread, with #138 in the bobbin. Needles are available in sizes from around #16 up to #25.

Either brand will sew chaps and leather garments and jackets. They can also sew belts and straps up to almost 3/8" thick, depending on which pressor feet are installed and the way the machine was setup. They will definitely sew 5/16" thickness. The pressor feet are sold in sets of inner and outer feet. There are many types of feet available for these machine, for very low prices.

One note: These are OLD machines now and probably came from an Upholstery shop. That means that they probably have a large 3 to 3.5" motor pulley and will run like a bat out of hell when you engage the clutch. A lot of people have a hard time trying to control clutch motor machines. You may need to purchase a servo motor afterward, in order to be able to reliably control the sewing speed.

Excellent, concise, clear info. on the Juki LU-563. I don't want to be a know it all, but pre wound bobbin is a slightly larger 'U', not 'M', and Juki does make a hook part number B-1830-563-BA0 for 'heavy thread' (this hook appears on the new LU-1508NH model)

Hope this adds a litte bit without highjacking an excellent post!

[chapper]

Thanks for the info that helps a lot! What would be a good price for the machine. There is no maker decal, but the brass label on lower right is 111W55, so I am thinking it is a Singer. Seems to be in good condition. I think I can get it for $250?

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

Thanks for the info that helps a lot! What would be a good price for the machine. There is no maker decal, but the brass label on lower right is 111W55, so I am thinking it is a Singer. Seems to be in good condition. I think I can get it for $250?

Unless someone ripped a '111W155 lable and put it onto your machine, I'm quite sure it's a Singer 111W155, and not a Juki LU-562/3 model.

$250 with power stand is about fair.

[erj1009]

Excellent, concise, clear info. on the Juki LU-563. I don't want to be a know it all, but pre wound bobbin is a slightly larger 'U', not 'M', and Juki does make a hook part number B-1830-563-BA0 for 'heavy thread' (this hook appears on the new LU-1508NH model)

Hope this adds a litte bit without highjacking an excellent post!

Wow, great info guys, I ended up with the Juki and have to slow down the motor I am either going to get a servo or get my dad to change the wheel size on the motor. (any advise?) I would love to save money of course! Can you tell me more about using the heavy thread and what I need to get? What size thread will the Juki part hold,do I use same thread in machine as bobbin? Thank You for any info!

Edited February 11, 2012 by erj1009