Sewing Machine Reliability

[Handstitched]

G'Day,

I wasn't sure where to post this, either on here, or on the ' Show Off ' thread.

Due to a lot of personal  interruptions, I got  quite a bit behind on many jobs  these past few months,  especially my horse rug repairs, and being Winter here in Oz atm , everyone leaves their repairs to the last minute and they kept piling up . But I've finally been able to catch up.  Apart from rugs, my 52 year old Seiko STW -28B does a lot of leather jobs, mainly repairs on leather jackets , belts etc.  but its really earned some praise this week doing horse rug repairs. I know they're not  leather, (well,  some parts are) , but I just thought I'd share these pics. 

Apart from the occasional  bent or broken needle,  and the odd  tangled thread  here and there ( thats down to the operator) I thought it  went really well.  

Love to hear your story about your ever reliable machine. 

Would it be safe to say ' love your machine and it will love you back ' ? 

thats just silly  

 

HS 

 

 

[dikman]

You did well on those horse rugs, that first one in particular looked a mess! Not sure that I'd be interested in trying to repair something like that!

Yep, those old Seikos are nice, well made and if looked after will probably still be working into the next generation (I'm sure there will always be someone who appreciates old machinery).

[Constabulary]

6 hours ago, dikman said:

(I'm sure there will always be someone who appreciates old machinery).

heard some of those folks are out there

[Handstitched]

G'Day, wow, its been two years since I posted that, time flies when you're having fun eh?

The next examples aren't the worst I've ever done, but the top one ' Rugz',  came full circle. I sold it  brand new less than a month ago,  it came back  in a bit of a mess .

I'm curious as to how they get  so badly damaged.  I wonder what goes through a horses mind??

" I don't care how much my owner paid for this rug........I'm gonna destroy it anyway....' roll roll roll...catch it on a fence....     ker-ping!! ..rrrrrip......there goes the belly strap !!! .....this is wonderful...I'm costing my owner a fortune and I don't care ....woo hoo !!!' "    

Not  complaining, keeps me in business  

HS

 

[dikman]

Maybe you should sell chain mail blankets!

[Bert51]

@dikman that way the horse will be able to catch it on the fence and pull it down as well. 

[Constabulary]

isn´t repairing such a f´d up rag not more expensive than making a new one?

Tell the horse when he rips more rags like this you will send him on vacation to a friendly sausage maker. More worn rags make the sausages even more expensive

(sorry horse riders...)

[chrisash]

I did look at doing rug repairs a few years ago, but it did not seem possible to make money, though obviously some people must do

A look on Google UK and there are lots of sub £50 rugs a few more at £70-80 and a limited number at over £100, fair to imagine there are some at far greater prices but not advertising via google

From looking at some local ads it appears you are expected to visit the stables to pick up the rugs, wash them prior to repair and then after repair deliver them back

Even at a minimum UK wage of about £8.50 per hour (legal requirement) I could not see any way to make it work, and in a 20-30 mile catchment area the milage time adds up yet alone washing and repair plus materials 

[Constabulary]

I would guess some retailers do it as customer service for customers who bought larger volume items of all kinds and you want to make sure he will be a returning customer... or so...  Maybe resewing straps, replacing buckles... but repairing a dirty totally ripped horse rag - no way that this could be efficient IMO for a 50 - 100 bucks rug... or is it?

[Handstitched]

5 hours ago, Bert51 said:

that way the horse will be able to catch it on the fence and pull it down as well

Ha ha !! Thats funny   It'll cost the owner an even bigger fortune  !! 

2 hours ago, Constabulary said:

Tell the horse when he rips more rags like this you will send him on vacation to a friendly sausage maker.

Now now, be nice   Um, tastes a bit sweeter that a regular steak......apparently ......sshh !! 

2 hours ago, Constabulary said:

isn´t repairing such a f´d up rag not more expensive than making a new one?

Not always. Depending on the repair. The smallest repair starts at $10 au.  @chrisash . Winter rugs new, around the  $100- $120 up to the $300+ mark, Australian $$ depending on brand.Summer rugs around half that .   But after repairing countless rugs over the years, they're  all pretty much made the same....... they  certainly get destroyed just the same .  I don't think a horse can tell the difference between a $120 rug or a $300 rug  

I don't wash these. I don't have the facilities.  If they are  really dirty, I give them a good scrub down with  a heavy brush.  My machine is  cleaned & serviced frequently  .I can pick up and deliver ,  within my town,or make arrangements further out  ( I haven't done so yet , but its there) ,  but people know me quite well,  they know where to find me,  they phone or text me  ahead and drop them off. And because I know them quite well, I try to come  up with a fair price. I now have repeat customers .   Thats the goodwill I've developed and maintained .

Things have gone a bit quiet because of covid, but  otherwise I've earnt a good wage  doing just rugs.  

HS

[Bert51]

When we had a farm my youngest daughter wanted a horse, it did not matter what I said she had to have one.

I sat her down and we worked out how much the hay burner was going to cost to maintain, but that did not work, so I said to her if we get it she will have to get up an hour earlier to feed it and look after it before she goes to school and then put it away and feed it when she got home off the bus.

Funny thing, I did not hear much after that.

Bert.

[Handstitched]

@Bert51 Theres a saying, " poverty is owning a horse" . 

My Mum wants a donkey....God knows why, ....she has Dad   

Aw geeeez !!!!!!!!

HS

[BruceGibson]

1 hour ago, Handstitched said:

@Bert51 Theres a saying, " poverty is owning a horse" . 

My Mum wants a donkey....God knows why, ....she has Dad   

Aw geeeez !!!!!!!!

HS

LMAO!  And I agree with the "poverty is owning a horse" statement.  On top of the endless expense, they're always looking for a place to die.   

[chuck123wapati]

On 8/12/2020 at 6:54 AM, Handstitched said:

G'Day, wow, its been two years since I posted that, time flies when you're having fun eh?

The next examples aren't the worst I've ever done, but the top one ' Rugz',  came full circle. I sold it  brand new less than a month ago,  it came back  in a bit of a mess .

I'm curious as to how they get  so badly damaged.  I wonder what goes through a horses mind??

" I don't care how much my owner paid for this rug........I'm gonna destroy it anyway....' roll roll roll...catch it on a fence....     ker-ping!! ..rrrrrip......there goes the belly strap !!! .....this is wonderful...I'm costing my owner a fortune and I don't care ....woo hoo !!!' "    

Not  complaining, keeps me in business  

HS

 

Are you slipping that horse a few sugar cubes on the sly?  Or maybe sewing a couple inside the lining lol.

[Gunnarsson]

5 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

Are you slipping that horse a few sugar cubes on the sly?  Or maybe sewing a couple inside the lining lol.

Now, THAT'S how you get repeat business! 

[Handstitched]

G'day, Winter has nearly come to an end here in Oz, and the damaged  rugs are coming in thick & fast.  Just started rug #19 out of 21  ...from the same ( repeat) client . A few more arrived this arvo,another repeat client. 

While I keep banging on about ' Stewart' ,  my trusty 54 year old  'ol Seiko , I  recently had a disturbing thought....

" What if it went wrong? " .  ( It would break my heart if it did, it has sentimental value) 

While I am mechanically minded  and I do my own servicing,  repairs etc. ,  and due to the nature of the work it does, it gets cleaned & serviced frequently  . But anything serious, like something breaking, I'd be in trouble.  I don't have access to the  machine service centres,  parts ,  mechanics etc like you do. I'm  3 hrs away from the city .  The only reliable parts/ machine  centre is in Queensland . 

So I did a lengthy  search amongst the classifieds . I can't find another machine like mine .  Not even a Consew  226 , or a  Singer w111 . So from this point on I'll be keeping an eye out for a ' stand-by machine ' .... even a newie equivalent ,  .......just in case.  

Just makes me appreciate what I have  even more   

HS

 

[dikman]

Always a good idea to have at least one backup machine. When I first became interested in industrial machines I started watching gumtree and they were regularly coming up so over a few months I ended up with quite a collection of assorted used machines at good prices! I think I was lucky because over the last couple of years the bargains (and machines) appear to have dried up.

Hopefully it's just a matter of keeping your eyes open and something will come along (although waiting for a Seiko could be a long wait).

[chrisash]

Maybe one of those sub  £100 Chinese patcher's would be a good low cost safety fallback until you find the machine of your dreams

https://uk.banggood.com/Manual-Shoe-Making-Sewing-Machine-Shoes-Leather-Repairs-Sewing-Equipment-p-1385823.html?gmcCountry=GB&currency=GBP&createTmp=1&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_bgs&utm_content=lijing&utm_campaign=https://uk.banggood.com/Manual-Shoe-Making-Sewing-Machine-Shoes-Leather-Repairs-Sewing-Equipment-p-1385823.html%3FgmcCountry%3DGB%26currency%3DGBP%26cur_warehouse%3DUSA%26createTmp%3D1&cur_warehouse=USA

I guess they must be available world wide

[Handstitched]

10 hours ago, dikman said:

Always a good idea to have at least one backup machine.

Yeh, I'm starting to learn that. God forbid that anything happens to mine . I'll keep looking though.  

@chrisash I have a boot patcher, an old Singer 29K , but not sure if it would be any good for the heavy rugs that I've been sewing lately . 

HS