Trading, buying, selling: need advice on my next machine

[ensitmike]

Hey everyone,

So I've decided I want to pick up a cylinder arm, but I'm just not sure if it is the right move so I thought I'd stop in here and ask.

The plan is to sell or trade my Singer 29-4. So I guess my first question is, will I regret losing a patcher if I gain a cylinder arm? Is this a good move?

The ideal machine I have been eyeing is a Techsew 2750 or 2700 Pro.

 

There is also a Pfaff 337-G near me that would be an almost even trade for my 29-4 (picture here:https://imgur.com/a/133NFtJ). I've never owned a Pfaff and also don't know much about this machine. The rumor is parts are hard to find and expensive if I've heard correctly.

 

Does any of this sound like a good plan? Thanks guys.

[shoepatcher]

  Pfaff 337-G I think was used in the jeans industry. Any pics?  Pfaff parts can be expensive but the machines are great.

glenn

Edited October 15, 2019 by shoepatcher
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[Wizcrafts]

4 hours ago, ensitmike said:

The plan is to sell or trade my Singer 29-4. So I guess my first question is, will I regret losing a patcher if I gain a cylinder arm? Is this a good move?

The ideal machine I have been eyeing is a Techsew 2750 or 2700 Pro

If you intend to open a shop that does leather repairs, you will regret losing the patcher. If you just build things at home, not so much. It is, after all, about 100 years old.

I have a Techsew 2700 and it is a good walking foot machine. It uses standard Singer G size bobbins and takes a plethora of Singer 111w155 feet. The machine can handle bonded thread sizes 46 through 138. Note that the machine pulley isn't very large and it tends to spin really fast. I had to install a 2:1 speed reducer on mine after installing a servo motor that has a 2" pulley.

[ensitmike]

6 hours ago, shoepatcher said:

  Pfaff 337-G I think was used in the jeans industry. Any pics?  Pfaff parts can be expensive but the machines are great.

glenn

Hey there Glen. Sure do. Here is the image.  https://imgur.com/a/133NFtJ

I found some mixed perspectives on the machines. Some say it is only good for textiles and can't handle leather. Others say it can sew 3/8" of veg tan. If you know anything else about the 337-G's I'd love to know.

[ensitmike]

4 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

If you intend to open a shop that does leather repairs, you will regret losing the patcher. If you just build things at home, not so much. It is, after all, about 100 years old.

I have a Techsew 2700 and it is a good walking foot machine. It uses standard Singer G size bobbins and takes a plethora of Singer 111w155 feet. The machine can handle bonded thread sizes 46 through 138. Note that the machine pulley isn't very large and it tends to spin really fast. I had to install a 2:1 speed reducer on mine after installing a servo motor that has a 2" pulley.

That is my thought exactly. I've noticed I haven't been using it much. It is because I build from scratch and if I do order of operations correctly, I don't need to do anything too tricky. So that is good news. I think a cylinder arm would be a good move for me then.

The 2700 is sounding pretty sweet. Everything I've seen online looks amazing as well. That said, it is considerably more expensive. 

Do you have an opinion on any other similar machines that might be less expensive? If I can do this ideally, I'll get the 2700, but a backup plan would be nice just in case. Maybe even that Pfaff 337-G?

[shoepatcher]

For moccasins,  you need a medium duty cylinder arm with lift and power.  Do you need the narrow arm?  If not, the better machine to look for would be a Juki 341.  More power, higher lift and bigger bobbin.

The 337 -G I believe has the lever by the reverse lever that can make the upper and lower feed e different than each other.  That is not what you want.

 

glenn

[Wizcrafts]

18 hours ago, ensitmike said:

The 2700 is sounding pretty sweet. Everything I've seen online looks amazing as well. That said, it is considerably more expensive. 

Do you have an opinion on any other similar machines that might be less expensive?

As I said, the 2700 is a light leather sewing machine. The CB341 (cloned from Juki 341) is much beefier for similar money. It uses a larger M style bobbin and can tension up to #207 thread, which the 2700 cannot handle.

If you can't afford one of the new qualified cylinder arm machines, go used! We have a marketplace section of the forum where people can sell used sewing machines, among other items. Oftentimes, these machines are in very good condition and are being sold because the owners bought newer, more expensive machines to replace them, or have just gone out of business. That's how I acquired my Techsew 2700.

[ensitmike]

19 hours ago, shoepatcher said:

For moccasins,  you need a medium duty cylinder arm with lift and power.  Do you need the narrow arm?  If not, the better machine to look for would be a Juki 341.  More power, higher lift and bigger bobbin.

The 337 -G I believe has the lever by the reverse lever that can make the upper and lower feed e different than each other.  That is not what you want.

 

glenn

Glenn, thank you for the additional info. That cleared up a lot and I will keep an eye out for a different machine.

3 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

As I said, the 2700 is a light leather sewing machine. The CB341 (cloned from Juki 341) is much beefier for similar money. It uses a larger M style bobbin and can tension up to #207 thread, which the 2700 cannot handle.

If you can't afford one of the new qualified cylinder arm machines, go used! We have a marketplace section of the forum where people can sell used sewing machines, among other items. Oftentimes, these machines are in very good condition and are being sold because the owners bought newer, more expensive machines to replace them, or have just gone out of business. That's how I acquired my Techsew 2700.

Wiz, thanks buddy. Appreciate the info.

After looking around I ended up finding this https://www.goldstartool.com/new-tech-gc-8b-cylindrical-bed-compound-feed-lockstitch-industrial-sewing-machine-with-table-and-servo-motor.htm which looks to be the same machine. I know for a fact TechSew has better service, but will this machine be functionally the same? I found a post in the search on this site that says this is a house clone of a seiko for GoldStar. In your extensive experience, will this be just as good a machine as a TechSew? It is substantially cheaper.

[mdv99]

 

Quote

ensitmike:

After looking around I ended up finding this https://www.goldstartool.com/new-tech-gc-8b-cylindrical-bed-compound-feed-lockstitch-industrial-sewing-machine-with-table-and-servo-motor.htm which looks to be the same machine. I know for a fact TechSew has better service, but will this machine be functionally the same? I found a post in the search on this site that says this is a house clone of a seiko for GoldStar. In your extensive experience, will this be just as good a machine as a TechSew? It is substantially cheaper.

For what it's worth... I've been doing a lot research on various cylinder arm machines and was leaning towards the Techsew 2700 too.  I have their SK-4 Skiver and have no complaints with their service. Ultimately I've decided to get the Cobra Class 26 because it's a similar machine and the Leather Machine Company has a great reputation too ('Cobra Steve' is a frequent poster on Leatherworker.net). 

From what I see their are a lot of great machines and distributors who advertise and contribute on this site, but for me the tie breaker is that (like you) I'm located in Los Angeles which means I can drive the the Leather Machine Company (it's about an hour outside of LA) and pick-up up the machine directly.  Not only does it save the cost of shipping, by picking it up you insure it won't get damaged in shipping.

 

Edited October 16, 2019 by mdv99

[ensitmike]

2 hours ago, mdv99 said:

 

For what it's worth... I've been doing a lot research on various cylinder arm machines and was leaning towards the Techsew 2700 too.  I have their SK-4 Skiver and have no complaints with their service. Ultimately I've decided to get the Cobra Class 26 because it's a similar machine and the Leather Machine Company has a great reputation too ('Cobra Steve' is a frequent poster on Leatherworker.net). 

From what I see their are a lot of great machines and distributors who advertise and contribute on this site, but for me the tie breaker is that (like you) I'm located in Los Angeles which means I can drive the the Leather Machine Company (it's about an hour outside of LA) and pick-up up the machine directly.  Not only does it save the cost of shipping, by picking it up you insure it won't get damaged in shipping.

 

MDV, thanks so much for the input! That is close, I'll have to look them up and maybe stop by. 

That said, have you checked out the New-Tech link I posted? It's $900! I am really considering it and that company is also in L.A. The biggest thing is quality control, which I'm not sure about, but I've found that so many of these machines are actually getting cranked out of the same factory. This goes for other industries as well. Even things like the REX servo motors vs the FamilySew... its all the same stuff. If not the same factory, almost always the same components.  I'm hoping Wiz has some insight about these house brands like New-Tech. If I stop by in person to check the machine out I'll let you know what I think.

I have read reviews that the people who own Goldstar don't take care of their customers, but I might be willing to take the risk for the price and just own the possibility I may have to wrench on it to get it perfect.

Edited October 16, 2019 by ensitmike

[mdv99]

1 hour ago, ensitmike said:

MDV, thanks so much for the input! That is close, I'll have to look them up and maybe stop by. 

That said, have you checked out the New-Tech link I posted? It's $900! I am really considering it and that company is also in L.A. The biggest thing is quality control, which I'm not sure about, but I've found that so many of these machines are actually getting cranked out of the same factory. This goes for other industries as well. Even things like the REX servo motors vs the FamilySew... its all the same stuff. If not the same factory, almost always the same components.  I'm hoping Wiz has some insight about these house brands like New-Tech. If I stop by in person to check the machine out I'll let you know what I think.

I have read reviews that the people who own Goldstar don't take care of their customers, but I might be willing to take the risk for the price and just own the possibility I may have to wrench on it to get it perfect.

I guess it depends on your risk tolerance and available free time, in this case I have neither. 

I can't find the post now, but I read something from Uwe Grosse that said (I'm paraphrasing), all things being equal, he recommended buying close to home if possible because support is so critical to the operation of industrial sewing machines.  In the post he suggested two LA distributors; Atlas Levy and Alberoni.  (Atlas Levy has a less expensive option that you may want to look at.)  In my case I decided on the Cobra because the manufacturer is relatively close, they have a great reputation, and the brand is more recognizable if I want to resale it someday.

Edited October 17, 2019 by mdv99

[Louiesdad]

You might want to look up the local traveling repair men/women, pay an hour of their time, then ask them for leads on used equipment for sale, that they service, you will save $$$ and get good advice.