Thoughts About Juki Ddl 227 And Singer 211G156?

[Dougster]

I'm really new to this stuff, learning fast. Hopefully I'll ask intelligent questions...

I was in my local Tandy and mentioned that I was considering a sewing machine. They connected me with a local retired cobbler who has a garage full of machines he's starting to sell off. The two I'm looking at are a Juki DDL 227 and a Singer 211g156. He also had a couple beautiful patchers, one Singer and one Adler, plus some other Pfaff and Singer machines.

I know the Juki is not really a leather machine, but it makes a really nice tight consistent stitch, even on my sample two layers of veg tan. It would also be really nice to have a better general purpose sewing machine than the hundred buck fancy pattern stitch thing I got at Price Club years ago.

The Singer looks like a better machine for leather work, but of course, it's three times the price. It really seemed like a solid machine though.

Both machines are pretty clean and have tables and motors. I'm no expert (yet, if ever, lol) but I assume both are clutch motors, since he turned them on and they stayed running the entire time. (My first encounter with that kind of thing.) Seems like the first thing to do would be to get a servo motor, especially for the Singer.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks!

Doug

[Uwe]

Start cheap and learn until you know what you're doing and really need/want. If the Juki makes a nice stitch on what you want to sew, go for it - buy a nice servo motor with the money you save. Later, if you decide you need a walking foot after all, just buy a head. You already have a nice table and servo motor. The Juki head by itself is worth perhaps $100-$200. You can swap heads in and out of a suitable industry standard table in just a few minutes. I bought a Sunstar machine similar to your Juki just for the table, actually. That nice table now holds my Chandler/Adler 67. I put the Sunstar head in the crappy table with clutch motor the Adler originally came in and sold it cheap. I now have a nice table/motor/adler setup.

Edited December 10, 2015 by Uwe

[Darren Brosowski]

The JUki i a standard straight sewer and not worth much. There are so many straight sewers around that $100 is all they are worth

The 211g is a good machine.

A late model Singer patcher is a great investment if you are going to do repairs or want to put patches on vests or jackets.

[Dougster]

Thanks for the replies. FWIW, the Singer patcher is $1300 with a stand and motor (I don't know what kind of motor). The Adler patcher is $900, no motor or stand. They are both very clean. I'm not sure I need a patcher at the moment though. The flat table models seem like a better solution for the work I want to do now. (He also has some kind of giant sole stitcher machine too. Looked pretty cool...)

I've gone back and forth about the other two, (along with watching Craig's list for other options). I also work with canvas and vinyl, so the Juki would be a nice upgrade from what I currently have. For that stuff, I'd probably keep the clutch motor. I saw an interesting video on the Tube about installing a speed reducer, so that's definitely an option. At least in that video, it looked like there was a lot of slow-speed control...

Getting the 211g, I figure that I would want a servo, so I'd be looking at a total of at least $1000. That's a big pill to swallow around the holidays, especially for a non-professional leather worker like me. I'm pretty sure it would be a good long-term solution though. Buy the best and cry once, right?

[Uwe]

Not sure where you're located - it makes a difference.

Having something local to look at and touch is worth something. Not having seen pictures of the machine it's hard to judge, but the prices seem on the high end. For around $900 that Singer 211 had better be sparkling clean and sewing flawlessly! You can buy a brand new Consew 206RB5 head for $1035.

Speed reducer pulleys are VERY nice to have with any motor if your goal is to sew slow. Expect to pay just as much for a speed reducer as a servo motor (not exactly sure why that is, actually.)

[Dougster]

I'm in the US, Arizona.

I'm attaching a picture of the 211. It's not the best, I snagged it mostly to remind myself of what the model is. The machine did sew very smoothly, through single and double layers of the (lightweight) sample I had with me. The motor seemed to make a lot of noise though, a high pitched whine. Don't know how normal that is, and it would probably only matter if I tried to sell it after getting a servo...

Thanks for the lead on the Consew, that looks great. I'll check how much tables cost. (I'm a woodworker and former machinist, so I can build something if I have to...)

[Uwe]

I'd make a day trip to pick up this Phoenix area Craigslist gem: http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/for/5322409183.html

For $75 bucks you seriously can't go wrong. The table alone is worth that. And the machine may just do all the sewing you need even though it is not a walking foot.

Edited December 11, 2015 by Uwe

[Dougster]

Oh Gawd, my wife is gonna kill me if I start collecting sewing machines too...

[Uwe]

Being in denial about the impending sewing machine addiction is very common among members who are new to this forum.

[DrmCa]

If Juki 227 is any similar to 553 that I own, than I do not recommend it other than for very simple and straight stitching on textiles.

The problem I was always having was that it just refused to climb and stitch over the folded seams and skipped.

It was perfect on the straight flat lines. I made some karate belts, both from multi-layer folded cotton and cotton wrapped towel and they came out perfect. But try to sew a wool jacket or trench coat and it will skip where it has to climb onto the seams.

In this day and age I just do not see any value in having that class of machine around, especially that you are getting a flat bed walking foot machine as well.

If I were you, I'd just bought the walking foot and passed on 227.