Need Some Help With This....

[RoamingGnome]

So I ran across this ad on Craigslist for an industrial sewing machine and decided to give them a call. Turns out it belongs to an elderly lady and her husband used it for upholstery "before he got too old to fool with it anymore". That and these pictures are the only information she has about it. I've tried to research it on Google and came up with nothing so I wondered if anyone here might have any info on them. The only nameplate on it according to her is the one that says DELUXE in the pictures. She's about 3 hours away but I'll be in that area this week on business and plan to go by and check it out. She's asking $150 but said she'd make a deal since it's been for sale for over a month.

Thanks in advance!

[Northmount]

13 hours ago, RoamingGnome said:

So I ran across this ad on Craigslist for an industrial sewing machine and decided to give them a call. Turns out it belongs to an elderly lady and her husband used it for upholstery "before he got too old to fool with it anymore". That and these pictures are the only information she has about it. I've tried to research it on Google and came up with nothing so I wondered if anyone here might have any info on them. The only nameplate on it according to her is the one that says DELUXE in the pictures. She's about 3 hours away but I'll be in that area this week on business and plan to go by and check it out. She's asking $150 but said she'd make a deal since it's been for sale for over a month.

Thanks in advance!

 

Moved to Leather Sewing Machines.  Hopefully you  will find more info and comments there.

Tom

[tnhomestead]

Kinda looks like a singer clone, check this page out -- not sure iof its a help or not http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2006/05/japanese-clones-of-40s-50s-and-60s.html  Good luck!

[Uwe]

The top looks like it's a copy of a Singer 119-2, but I can't find the flatbed version that uses that same top.

The Singer 119-2 manual should explain how the top portion of the machine works.

Not worth a 3-hour drive perhaps, but if you're in the neighborhood and the machine works, it might be worth a closer look. Might be hard to find parts for - it's not exactly a super popular machine from what I can tell. 

 

[RoamingGnome]

Thanks guys. I kinda wondered if it might be a Singer copy. I was still digging around on Google at 1:30 this morning and found some pictures of a Singer 31-15 that looks close also. 

I figured since I have to be there anyway it was worth taking a look at but I don't want to wind up with something I can't get parts for if needed. 

I have a Brother Super Streamliner that I used to use for canvas for repairing backpacks and the like but I know absolutely nothing about the bigger machines.

[CowboyBob]

The flatbed version is a model # 78.

[RoamingGnome]

Thanks Bob. I was able to find a manual online and it looks like the maximum capacity for the 78 is 3/16". I don't plan on using a machine on anything other than bigger projects such as bags and I would still want to hand stitch anything thicker. 

I guess the big question is would either of the machines that this may or may not turn out to be a replica of when I actually get there be a decent machine to learn on using lighter material?

[Uwe]

For learning the basics and starting out with industrial sewing machines I'd recommend one of the very popular designs like Singer 111W155, Consew 225/226, or Juki 562/563,  etc. They're great machines and parts are readily available and cheap. The Singer 78 may be a capable machine, but I had never even heard of it before today, and I've been paying attention to sewing machines for a few years now.

 

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

It's a Consew model 28, Seiko Copy of the Singer 78-3.  I've got a few on the shelf here.

Consew model 28 Owners Manual: CLICK HERE

Consew model 28 Parts Book: CLICK HERE

 

Edited January 9, 2017 by Gregg From Keystone Sewing

[Yetibelle]

I would not recommend driving 3 hours for that machine.  It will need considerable work.  Perhaps if it was the Singer version of the machine, and it was right in town, then maybe it would be worth a look.

Plus it all depends what you want to sew? 

[MikeG]

Hey, Gnome -

There's a Singer 31-15 for $200 in Old Hickory and a Consew 250 for $250 in Lewisburg on the Nashville Craigslist.  There are a lot of these machines floating around. I'm guessing you will want a walking foot machine, but the folks here on this site can tell you whether a particular model machine will be good for what you want to do.

Good luck!!

[RoamingGnome]

Thanks Mike. If I'm able to get over in that direction soon I'll take a look at them. I travel quite a bit with my job so I always check Craigslist to see if there's anything I can't live without when I'm gonna be in a certain area. 

Just as an update on the original post, the lady who had the machine sent a text while I was on my way to the meeting in her area that morning to tell me she had decided to keep the machine. Said she "likes the decorative effect". Oddly enough it took her a month on Craigslist to figure that out.