Singer 45K25- treadle talk me into it or out of it!

[Kabob]

So I'm looking at a 45K25 treadle.

I'll be my first machine.

I like the big thread capacity and It will  sew what looked like 1" of leather.

It's been used but it doesn't look abused.

Missing some paint (cosmetic)

I love the idea of controlling the machine with either hand or foot power.

$1000 bucks compared to laying down close to $2500 +/-with shipping for something similar.

I mainly do belts, holsters and knife sheaths. Plus the occasional old fashioned purse.

What am I getting into? How hard is it to find parts, what do I look for as far as telling if the machine is on its last legs.

It looks good to me, however I don't know what to look for.

All help is appreciated!

Thanks Bob Wright

 

[Matt S]

The 45k was a mainstay of industry for decades, in both cylinder bed and flat bed formats. They can sew just under 1/2" maximum thickness. Needles, bobbins and hooks are readily available, as are a very limited selection of feed dogs but most other parts are pretty rare. Be aware that the 45K25 has no reverse function -- not a game changer but can be useful if you want it. All of the 45K class (apart from a few darning subclasses with no feed at all) are drop-feed machines, which can cause marks on the underside of the work -- again not the end of the world, and these can sometimes be removed with some hammering or rubbing with a bone folder. If you want to learn machines, the 45K is a great starting point -- they're really simple and there's not many tiny fiddly parts to drop between the floorboards.

$1000 seems like a lot of money but I guess the treadle stand is a big part of that price, so long as it's a true industrial treadle stand and not a patcher or domestic treadle stand. For that price you can get a brand new, guaranteed, Chinese-built clone of the 45K with a servo motor: http://www.tolindsewmach.com/cb2500.html Is the seller of 'your' 45K a proper, bona fide dealer/mechanic? If not you'll have to gamble that there is nothing particularly wrong with the machine, which the seller may not know or care about.

[Kabob]

Matt S

Thanks for the advice.

I was looking at the Cobra machines and I just couldn't justify the price.

The cowboy equivalent is much more affordable unless I'm missing something as far as the Cobra line-up goes.

[koreric75]

I love my cb3200, it has more clearance under the foot and bigger thread size capability, but I think for belts and sheaths you'd be gtg with the 2500, holsters depends, I did a western style with welts that ended up close to 1/2".  For purses it would depend, i use my cowboy to stitch the corner seams of the shave kits, some of the softer leather can get pushed down into the feed dog opening.  There is a needle plate that is flat and the bottom feed dog is not a factor... For the price point I think you'd be set with the cowboy and there are tons of raves here about Toledo and their customer service... Which doesn't come with the singer. That's my 2 cents that turned into a buck 25 lol... Not sure where you're located but that is always a factor.

[Darren Brosowski]

I want a 45k treadle!!

You can also get the needle bar, needle clamp, presser bar, feet, roller feet, shuttle spacer and shuttle race

[Matt S]

2 hours ago, Darren Brosowski said:

I want a 45k treadle!!

I have a treadle 45k58 I could be persuaded to part with. Long way to pick it up though!