Singer 15-91

[Wizcrafts]

I should mention something important about the Singer 15-91. It does not accept any external motors. If the built-in pod motor burns up or seizes, it must be replaced, rebuilt, or rewired. Machines with external motors can have newer, higher power motors attached on the back.

[Legendary Leathercrafts]

Many thanks. Definitely got some thinking to do. Might start with the machine I already have and go from there.

[henrye718]

my 15-91 out sews my 201k under heavy loads. The 201k is a little smoother. They are both potted motored machines (no belt, gear driven). With the 15 I can use t90 thread and a number 18 needle no troubles. 201k is a little picky with t90, 69 is fine. Over all I think the 15-91 is a better machine for working at these machines absolute limits. Also since they are home machines they see very little use compared to the commercial machines, both old commercial machines I own are realy beat up and show it inside and out. So I'd go with something newer if its going to be commercial. I have picked up a lot of 15-91s over the years and I would say don't pay more than $75-100 for them locally.

I only use these for canvas work. I feel they are not really leather machines.

Edited March 24, 2015 by henrye718

[henrye718]

Look at this 15 go, check out her feet. Skillful.

[amuckart]

The feet are the easy part, it's the hands that need all the skill.

I'm amazed she's doing it on one of those machines though. That's one of the new Indian (I think) "Singer" machines. You can tell because of the garish decals, the modern polyurethaned case, and the fact that the decals on the bed haven't worn off yet.

I was talking to a repair man a while ago who's seen quite a few of these come through his shop and he's never managed to get one to sew without basically tearing it apart and completely rebuilding it, which just isn't worth the effort.

[Ole South]

I was talking to a repair man a while ago who's seen quite a few of these come through his shop and he's never managed to get one to sew without basically tearing it apart and completely rebuilding it, which just isn't worth the effort.

Are you referring to the Indian made Singers?

That's a statement of economics... from a repair/service company's perspective; he's right. They generally only see machines with problems. Additionally most repair shops have, or have had old Singer's stacked like cordwood. A minimum service charge is on the average runs $60-110.00... he's already got $10-35.00 in it as trade-in, so the first part he has to replace makes the unit unattractive to a prospective buyer who is most probably looking for a fabric machine with a few or a lot of "bells and whistles" or at least a ZigZag stitch.

But for us... we can cherry-pick lightly used units from home users, spend some sweat-equity in a machine, learn something along the way and still have a good machine to sew denim and canvas after we've upgraded to a "real leather machine". An inexpensive straight stitch is where we live... or at least where we begin.

Edited March 24, 2015 by Ole South

[amuckart]

Are you referring to the Indian made Singers?

That's a statement of economics... from a repair/service company's perspective; he's right. They generally only see machines with problems.

Yes, the Indian ones. The ones this guy was dealing with were new, not ones people had brought in with problems. All I'm saying is that it might look like a 15k, but it isn't built with anything like the quality of the original.

But for us... we can cherry-pick lightly used units from home users, spend some sweat-equity in a machine, learn something along the way and still have a good machine to sew denim and canvas after we've upgraded to a "real leather machine". An inexpensive straight stitch is where we live... or at least where we begin.

Sure, so long as people understand the limitations of domestic sewing machines, which IME not a lot of people do. They hear about the 15-91 or 201 or whatever being these amazing heavy duty machines and think they will do things they were never designed for.

Better, IMO, to start with an true industrial straight stitch like the 31-15, Pfaff 35-4, or Singer 331k which are mechanically simple, easy to get parts for, take high shank feet and which will actually sew light leather and canvas jobs, often without costing more than $100-$150 more than people are asking for the domestic machines.

Don't get me wrong, I love my 201. It works beautifully and it'll sew things that will choke modern domestic machines, but it was never designed for leather, and the limitations of low shank feet are just not worth it for anything other than occasional work with garment-weight stuff.

[Cascabel]

"Sure, so long as people understand the limitations of domestic sewing machines, which IME not a lot of people do. They hear about the 15-91 or 201 or whatever being these amazing heavy duty machines and think they will do things they were never designed for."

People need to understand that no matter what the advertising says, there is no such thing as an "Industrial Strength" machine, and just because a machine is made of cast iron, and painted black, it does not make it an industrial machine !! A lot of newbies are mislead by ads on ebay, and other places. I wish folks would check on this website before spending their hard-earned cash !!

[Darren Brosowski]

Over the last couple of years my business partner and I have imported both Indian and Chinese versions of the Singer 15.

The Chinese version has reverse and a knob on the bed to drop the feed dogs. It looks great but is complete and utter shite. Despite replacing numerous parts and 12 hours of work it was never going to run.

The Indian version is closer to the original Singer machine but still had numerous problems. I replaced the shuttle with a Taiwanese version and cleaned up a number of parts which got it working. Unfortunately the footlift lever is badly made so that it does not relieve the tension when the foot is lifted.

[coryleif]

As stated above, the 15-91 has a potted moter. I've heard tell of the gears blowing out in these ... something about 60-year-old fiber worms, or something.

I would recommend the belted 15-90 (or converted -88). I actually just got one on eBay for $75 shipped. Will need some wiring and a base, and who knows what else -- it's still in transit. This will be used as a dedicated buttonholer, with matching Singer buttonholer automaton.

It's actually my second 15-90 -- dunno why I bought a second one. Gotta collect all the faceplates, I suppose.

Did a little write-up about my first one here: http://leiflabs.blogspot.com/2011/05/singer-15-90.html

Good luck! These are cool little machines.