Sewing Machine Reviews

[kgg]

Is there a site that does just sewing machine/equipment reviews?

I just watched on youtube "Review: Techsew 2750 pro Cylinder arm leather sewing machine" by Stock & Barrel, which by the way seems to be a nice machine with some decent features. The video was for me a disappointment to say the least, 17 plus minutes that I will never get back. I was expecting a review, a real review much like when I am looking for computer equipment detailing the good, the bad and the ugly from unpacking to setup / running (I like realhardwarereviews.com). I wasn't expecting, look at my new toy video and get back to you over the next few months.

kgg

[mikesc]

Is there a site that does just sewing machine/equipment reviews?

Here ?
They are just "sort of spread out amongst the various threads over time"..

Better a review / reviews by actual users ( like the members here ) than by someone who may be an "affiliate" ..or who is getting paid by Google per people who view their "review" videos ?

[Hildebrand]

I have watched a ton of utube videos and they are really hit and miss for leather.  Stock and Barrel has some good ones but also some real clunkers.  The sewing machine "review" videos I have came across are pretty lame no matter who the star is.  I second reading the various threads here, if a machine is good  you will see it and if it is not good you will see it.

Todd

[Wizcrafts]

I think that due to the high cost of industrial, especially leather capable industrial sewing machines, that few people can afford to buy competing brands and assess them for nothing more than shits and giggles. Without some form of reward, it makes no sense to invest in competing brands simply to do online reviews. With a reward, there goes impartiality. Brand A might offer a full package of accessories and Applebee's coupons to a reviewer for a better assessment over brand B.

Not yet mentioned is the fact that some the dealers selling the top brands discussed here are run by a couple of people and not a large company. These few good men are usually busy assembling and adjusting machines, then getting them shipped, from the time they open until they can finally shut the door and go home. This doesn't leave time for video reviews.

[dikman]

I concur with mikesc and Hildebrand, the best thing is to search for comments on this forum. It might not be as easy as finding and reading a specific review, but you will get warts and all comments from actual users.

[bermudahwin]

15 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

shits and giggles

Oh, how long since I heard that phrase, thanks Wiz for the laugh. I am going to use it at least once today.

 

What you're saying is so true, and those of us with multiple machines "often" get good second hand ones, so the comparison would be a bit invalid there too.

H

Edited April 2, 2019 by Northmount
changed offend to often

[kgg]

Let me say that I have always found the comments, real life evaluations and problem solving on this site to be excellent. I am just surprised at the lack of good overall reviews sponsored by the manufacturers, clone or brand name. I think when someone's product (clone or brand name) is reviewed and done in a manner not quite up to snuff or done outright poorly it does an injustice to that product. It probably results in potential buyers looking elsewhere. In a "review" I like straight up evaluations of the pros / cons / capabilities / comparisons and no personal stuff.

kgg 

[bermudahwin]

6 hours ago, hwinbermuda said:

What you're saying is so true, and those of us with multiple machines offend get good second hand ones, so the comparison would be a bit invalid there too

DUH! often   not offend, but too late to edit it now.

I NEVER EVER OFFEND oh, OK it has been known.

[Northmount]

1 hour ago, hwinbermuda said:

DUH! often   not offend

Fixed it for you!

Tom

[bermudahwin]

Thanks, Tom,

H

[chrisash]

2 hours ago, kgg said:

Let me say that I have always found the comments, real life evaluations and problem solving on this site to be excellent. I am just surprised at the lack of good overall reviews sponsored by the manufacturers, clone or brand name. I think when someone's product (clone or brand name) is reviewed and done in a manner not quite up to snuff or done outright poorly it does an injustice to that product. It probably results in potential buyers looking elsewhere. In a "review" I like straight up evaluations of the pros / cons / capabilities / comparisons and no personal stuff.

kgg 

How I see it, is that sewing machines are normally all good items that will work for years with little trouble, hense the vast number of 40, 60 and 80 year old machines still being used today. All the top names produce great machines even the clones, so what would a review tell you other than the specs of the machine, Wiz has many great posts on what to look for based on many years experience. One problem that can occur with some reviews are very personal  things that the reviewer is not happy with yet a large selection of other users like, maybe caused by nitpicking to have something different to write about, have you read car reviews who repots such insignificant deatils as they cannot just say x Car was great, they report it was o.5 sec slower that B car in 0-60 tests

Edited April 2, 2019 by chrisash

[Suzanx]

I also just ordered my very first industrial machine, the techsew 2750 pro, and it's on backorder. I found very little reviews about this machine but I continue to watch YouTube videos that at the very least, show me how it sounds and pierces through thick material. That's honestly the only thing out there. I also watched the video you mentioned from the YouTuber and found only 2 minutes of him talking about the actual machine and then he did a very small sampling of stitching. It leaves you wondering why he called the video a review when it was just a snippit - very disappointing. I'm very new to industrial machines but have been sewing for a few years now. I just felt I was ready to move up now that I'm starting to dabble in handbags and upholstery. I haven't done any leather work yet as that requires skills and tools that I just don't have the time to invest in right now. For a hobbyist like myself, this is a HUGE investment with very little payout. We have a market for people who want to reupholster but don't want to pay what's deserve so it's hard to recoup any money back. I personally purchased it for myself and not so much to earn income but that's not a bad thing either if I can start to do small jobs on the side to recoup some of the money back. 

I would LOVE to hear the pros and cons of this machine from real people who have used it long enough to provide a meaningful review. Thanks!

[Northmount]

1 hour ago, Suzanx said:

I would LOVE to hear the pros and cons of this machine from real people who have used it long enough to provide a meaningful review.

I have a 2700 that I bought a few years ago, basically under the same circumstances as you describe.  It serves me well.  The only problems I have had were of my own making, but that is how you learn to set it up and use it.  My only problem with it would apply to other similar machines, and that is getting the correct needle, thread, and tension for varying projects.  Takes a number of practice runs to sort out the best combination.  Would be nice to have 3 or 4 machines, each set for their own job types, but that is just not feasible. 

Tom

[Handstitched]

I had a similar problem when I was contemplating buying a  machine. It took me months to decide. But when I was closer to a decision, the machine I was looking at had very few reviews so  I had to take a bit of a punt and  I ended up with a 441 clone ( for business)  and never looked back. I just wanted to speed up the process of sewing thick leather with the view to do thick belts etc. 

But I guess with  some reviews there would be so many variables, like what it can sew,, what do you want to sew, for profit or hobby,  how thick how fast,  what threads it takes,  reliability , availability of parts,  accessories  etc.   If someone gives a bad review on Mr Google,  it could be a competitor  or  the fault of the operator and not the machine , yikes !!! too much for my 'bwain'    .

Its best to just ask anyone on here,  whatever machine you're thinking of buying, I'm sure someone on here will have one.  I wish I found this site before buying my machine   

HS