Juki 1508 At Auction

[keplerts]

Tomorrow I am going to an auction that is listing a Juki 1508 sewing machine for sale. I haven't seen it or know anything about it. Is this a decent machine and what would be the maxium price I should look to spend on it (depending on condition).

Thanks,

Tom

[Wizcrafts]

Depending on your competition and the condition of the machine and if you are up against sewing machine dealers, the bidding could go up to $1200. These machines normally sell for about $2500, plus or minus.

[keplerts]

Thanks, Wizcrafts! It is a local dairy farmer that has the machine and is having a retirement auction of his farm equipment. I talked to his wife and she said he bought it think he could fix his cow halters, leather stuff, etc. But he ended up never using it and just put it in a corner. It is an unlikley item to find at a farm sale so I'm hoping no machine dealers saw it listed in his tool section of the sale bill. I picked up 2 chase pattern leather splitters at a farm sale four weeks ago for next to nothing. Combined the parts to make a good useable splitter. So, we will see how this machine in and what it's going to go for. And, again, thanks for the info.

Tom

[Wizcrafts]

The Juki LU-1508N and NH are about as high end as you can get in a standard walking foot class machine. Model N uses the common walking foot system 135x16 needles. The NH uses the longer Pfaff system 190 needles and can actually sew 7/16 inch of material. Normally, these machines top out at 3/8 inch. Both have the double capacity Juki LU bobbins that keep on going and going. Both use commonly available presser feet and bolt on accessories.

Should Tom win this machine, he can expect to be happily sewing leather 3/8" thick, with #138 or even #207 on top and #138 in the bobbin (with #23 or #24 leather point needles). Unfortunately, pushing it beyond 3/8" will not yield a good result in most cases.

If the machine is sub-model NH, caution will be needed to avoid any deflection of the needle as it enters the layers. In my experience, system 190 needles have very little tolerance to deflection and either bend or break tens times more often than the common system 135x16 needles.

The NH class is really designed to sew thick, but soft leather items, webbing and denim garments.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Wizcrafts

[keplerts]

Just an update on the auction. Just me and an Amish fella bid on the 1508. I ended up getting it for $400. I'll try to add some pictures. Now I just have to read the manual to figure out how to use it.

Great, stupid phone uploaded them upside down!

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Looks like you did well Pilgrim.

Bob

[Kailupe]

On 4/4/2014 at 6:11 AM, Wizcrafts said:

The Juki LU-1508N and NH are about as high end as you can get in a standard walking foot class machine. Model N uses the common walking foot system 135x16 needles. The NH uses the longer Pfaff system 190 needles and can actually sew 7/16 inch of material. Normally, these machines top out at 3/8 inch. Both have the double capacity Juki LU bobbins that keep on going and going. Both use commonly available presser feet and bolt on accessories.

Should Tom win this machine, he can expect to be happily sewing leather 3/8" thick, with #138 or even #207 on top and #138 in the bobbin (with #23 or #24 leather point needles). Unfortunately, pushing it beyond 3/8" will not yield a good result in most cases.

If the machine is sub-model NH, caution will be needed to avoid any deflection of the needle as it enters the layers. In my experience, system 190 needles have very little tolerance to deflection and either bend or break tens times more often than the common system 135x16 needles.

The NH class is really designed to sew thick, but soft leather items, webbing and denim garments.

Hi Wiz! so would it be fair to sum up that the 135x16 needles and therefore LU-1508 N model opposed to the H model of LU-1508  are gonna sew and do better on more rigid and stiff materials of leather  yet not give full clearance advantages like clearance ect. of the  LU-1508NH model? Does the plain  LU-1508 model /no end ziffer-  use the pfaff 190 needles too? I sew thicker layers certainly 3/8 or larger of PVC clear panels and dacron for windsurf sails ect. and i would be wise to assess the needle characteristics of the walking foot machine I need for the job . Could a different machine in your opinion altogether be a better choice for jobs like that such as sail making and thicker more rigid material then the LU-653 or 1508 models?

many thanks

[Wizcrafts]

10 hours ago, Kailupe said:

Hi Wiz! so would it be fair to sum up that the 135x16 needles and therefore LU-1508 N model opposed to the H model of LU-1508  are gonna sew and do better on more rigid and stiff materials of leather  yet not give full clearance advantages like clearance ect. of the  LU-1508NH model? Does the plain  LU-1508 model /no end ziffer-  use the pfaff 190 needles too? I sew thicker layers certainly 3/8 or larger of PVC clear panels and dacron for windsurf sails ect. and i would be wise to assess the needle characteristics of the walking foot machine I need for the job . Could a different machine in your opinion altogether be a better choice for jobs like that such as sail making and thicker more rigid material then the LU-653 or 1508 models?

many thanks

If you want to discuss the LU-1508 series, please start a new topic of your own. People who own, or sell, or repair them will offer the best answers.

To answer your specific question about the needle system, only the 1508NH is setup to use system 190 needles. It can have the needlebar lowered to use system 135x16 if the extra height isn't required. This may require retiming the hook to match the motion of the needle.

You can read the descriptions and specs on the Juki.co.jp website.