Good buy or not?

[BatCity]

I am going to look at a 1948 Singer 15-91 a little later. I am looking to sew small leather items like wallets, interiors (fabric and light leather) and maybe some lightweight 4-5 oz. garment and upholstery leather. The machine is in a cabinet and said to be in good working order. Prices at $75. Good price or not?  Thanks for the help. 

[DonInReno]

Hi - it can be confusing with all the claims of people happily sewing all sorts of things with older domestic machines, but it's simply not the machine you need.

At the very least you want a commercial machine so it can handle larger thread.  If the budget will only allow a simple drop feed machine like a 31-15, some obscure brother/consew/rebranded chandler, or Juki ddl-555 for under $100 than so beit - it gets your feet wet and you will get so frustrated sewing over thick seams you'll appreciate a needle feed (drop feed and needle feed) or best yet a triple feed (drop, needle, and walking foot).  

We don't have a huge amount of old sewing equipment, but between northern California and Reno there have been no less than 6 walking foot upholstery flat bed machines advertised for under $125 in the past year.  That's a much better piece of equipment to start with.  Heck, on the 4th of July there was a nice looking 211w155 set up with table/motor for free on FaceBook Marketplace.

If you don't have the time to tract down a super deal, it's easy to get a basic walking foot for $350ish.  

Having said that, any machine is a great place to start if it's all new to you!  In college I made a lot of backpacking gear with nothing more than a singer featherweight and 69 weight nylon thread.

Right now there is a Singer 31-20 about an hour from me for $50 ... if I knew someone getting into sewing I'd have them pick it up.  

[DrmCa]

+1 Could not agree more.

Not Juki DDL-555, no! It sucks at stitching leather. I tried roller foot, teflon foot, everything, it would always skip stitches. Heavy denims and suiting, cordura, vinyl - fine. But not leather.

You need needle feed walking foot for sure, they are not that expensive. If you take your time shopping and researching, it is possible to come across a decent machine at a decent price.

[BatCity]

On 7/8/2018 at 3:20 PM, DonInReno said:

Hi - it can be confusing with all the claims of people happily sewing all sorts of things with older domestic machines, but it's simply not the machine you need.

At the very least you want a commercial machine so it can handle larger thread.  If the budget will only allow a simple drop feed machine like a 31-15, some obscure brother/consew/rebranded chandler, or Juki ddl-555 for under $100 than so beit - it gets your feet wet and you will get so frustrated sewing over thick seams you'll appreciate a needle feed (drop feed and needle feed) or best yet a triple feed (drop, needle, and walking foot).  

We don't have a huge amount of old sewing equipment, but between northern California and Reno there have been no less than 6 walking foot upholstery flat bed machines advertised for under $125 in the past year.  That's a much better piece of equipment to start with.  Heck, on the 4th of July there was a nice looking 211w155 set up with table/motor for free on FaceBook Marketplace.

If you don't have the time to tract down a super deal, it's easy to get a basic walking foot for $350ish.  

Having said that, any machine is a great place to start if it's all new to you!  In college I made a lot of backpacking gear with nothing more than a singer featherweight and 69 weight nylon thread.

Right now there is a Singer 31-20 about an hour from me for $50 ... if I knew someone getting into sewing I'd have them pick it up.  

Thanks so much for the input. I completely understand the need for a true leather machine and will be adding one or two in the near future. I did go look at the machine and bought it knowing it was going to have limited use for leather after reading your reply.  When I saw it and the lady selling it gave me about an hour lesson, I couldn’t pass on it.  The machine is in great shape and the vintage look is really cool. It’s hard to imagine what that thing has sewn over almost 60 years and I am already finding it to be a really fun machine to learn on. Again, thanks for your kindness and help. 

[chrisash]

For some people a £2000 plus machine is a great investment and opens up a far wider range of things to make

To others a £100 machine gives them something to use on limited range of good and  make life easier than just saddle stitch

Each to their own ambitions and need.

Edited July 10, 2018 by chrisash

[Matt S]

I agree with everything posted above. A 15 class domestic isn't going to work the best, but it'll work as a better sewing machine than no sewing machine at all. So long as you keep the thickness under 2mm or so, and the temper of the leather pretty soft, you should be able to do wallet inners if you baby the work a little. (Or at least I used to with my Singer 66.) It will also be useful for sewing fabric bag linings and all sorts of useful stuff. This will give you extra time to find a more suitable machine within budget.

[DonInReno]

That's awesome - you'll always have a use for that machine!   

[koreric75]

On 7/9/2018 at 10:42 PM, BatCity said:

Thanks so much for the input. I completely understand the need for a true leather machine and will be adding one or two in the near future. I did go look at the machine and bought it knowing it was going to have limited use for leather after reading your reply.  When I saw it and the lady selling it gave me about an hour lesson, I couldn’t pass on it.  The machine is in great shape and the vintage look is really cool. It’s hard to imagine what that thing has sewn over almost 60 years and I am already finding it to be a really fun machine to learn on. Again, thanks for your kindness and help. 

I have one of these as well, it is a great machine and has sewn some things I wouldn't have believed, and it has left me frustrated at times as well.  For someone just starting out, I think it's a good machine with many uses.  I have $50 for mine in a cabinet with the accessory feet.  I used it to sew the bag pictured below.. Just go slow and take your time...

here is a pic of my machine 

[BatCity]

On 7/11/2018 at 6:07 AM, koreric75 said:

I have one of these as well, it is a great machine and has sewn some things I wouldn't have believed, and it has left me frustrated at times as well.  For someone just starting out, I think it's a good machine with many uses.  I have $50 for mine in a cabinet with the accessory feet.  I used it to sew the bag pictured below.. Just go slow and take your time...

here is a pic of my machine 

Thanks for sharing.  Looks like you got a lot of accessories with yours. I’ve found the capabilities to be the same you as you describe.  I found a roller foot I have modified a little bit.  Trying to see if it will work on inlays with kid skin.  What is the large spool thread set up you are using?  Would you also mind sharing what brand, thread size and needle size you have been using. 

[Wizcrafts]

I want to point out to people using Singer 15-91 sewing machines to sew leather that replacement motors are expensive. I mention this as a former owner of one I bought and burned out the motor on, trying to sew heavier leather than it was happy with. That was when I decided to get back into leather work, before I started buying walking foot machines again.

There is a unique smell when the wiring melts and smokes. This can also happen just sewing cloth if one fails to add the proper viscosity lube/grease to the two lube ports. Some people mistakenly think these are oil ports and fry the motors after oiling them.

There is a non-metalic ring gear that goes from the motor output to the machine's main shaft gear. That gear can fracture under load, or even just from age. These machines can be troublesome to rebuild when drive components break or melt.

[dikman]

Wiz, we used to refer to it as a "dark brown smell" when something electrical got cooked! As you say, it's quite a unique smell, and if we ever smelled it the immediate response was to cut the power (if possible).

[koreric75]

23 hours ago, BatCity said:

Thanks for sharing.  Looks like you got a lot of accessories with yours. I’ve found the capabilities to be the same you as you describe.  I found a roller foot I have modified a little bit.  Trying to see if it will work on inlays with kid skin.  What is the large spool thread set up you are using?  Would you also mind sharing what brand, thread size and needle size you have been using. 

Sure thing, this is #69 bonded nylon thread from Eastern fashional life, with an emboidex spool holder, for needles I'm using the schmetz leather needles 18/110. I ordered all from Amazon and cost around $30 with free prime shipping.

 

[DominickTuroski]

Definitely a great buy