If I can have only one

[TWerner]

Hi Everyone,

I've been reading threads here for a while and have some ideas on what I'd like to get, but I wanted to ask for some expert advice.

I got my first sewing machine, a Kenmore, when my daughter was 9 months old. I wanted it because I couldn't find mittens I thought were warm enough to take her snowshoeing in the backpack kid carrier. My wife gave it to me as a present and that night while Maddy slept I went up, measured her hands with my fingers, and spent the several hours making her a pair of mittens. I used lavender nylon, fleece, and synthetic insulation.  After we bundled her up in her snow suit, I got them out of the kitchen and they fit "perfectly", right up to her elbows. Bit of an oops, but they turned out to be exactly what we needed to keep her warm outside in a Vermont Winter. That machine helped me sew (crooked) hems on kids pants, patch GI's, repair torn clothing, and for a while, it helped me repair my son's goalie gear. Just the elastic and velcro parts, because eventually I killed it trying to sew elastic back onto a set of gel filled neoprene knee pads. That was 4 years ago, so it survived 15 years.

I won a patching machine on ebay after that, but the seller wasn't happy with the winning bid and never returned my calls about picking it up. I then almost got a super heavy duty (for me) Cobra Class 4, but while I was shopping, we found out my son had to give up hockey due to an injury, so I never bought any new machine.  I don't like not having one. I have several projects that range from heavy pants and snow boarding clothing that need to be hemmed or repaired, elastic/neoprene/velcro straps I need to craft, drapes that need to be shortened, and I'd also like to be able to sew climbing harness weight nylon webbing and some light weight leather for guitar straps.  I'm more a wood worker than anything else, but I plan to get a machine I can use to do 90% of the tasks I'll have, and I can go to the tack shop or a holster maker if I ever need heavier leather sewn. It may be my last sewing machine purchase if I get it right.

Thinking about my above list, I almost bought a Seiko STH-8BLD-3. It had a walking foot, was under $1500, and seemed plenty strong.  Then I realized I wouldn't be able to hem pants easily, or sew collars or bands that have small radii.  That lead me to think that a cylinder bed machine with an add on flat table would be more versatile for someone of limited skills, like me. 

So now I'm looking for a cylinder bed walking foot machine, or even better, a triple feed machine since I won't have the skills to compensate when layers slide around.

I don't need it to do Zig Zag, although that would be nice for sewing elastic straps.

I do want it to have reverse, because in high school using reverse is how my home-ecconomics teacher taught us to prevent stitches from coming out. If I don't need it, that's OK too. I'm willing to learn.

I know I'll need  a servo motor that will let me sew slowly  (Please accept that I will pretty much I suck at this since I'll use the machine every few weeks on a small project or two for probably then next 20 or 30 years)

I want to able to sew 1/4" leather, maybe even soft 3/8" thick.

Also, since I know I'll go slow, the ability to oil it manually seems like a good idea based on some YouTube videos. They made it sound like an automatic oiling system won't work well at slow speeds.

 

 I think what I have above puts me ideally, with a Pfaff 335 type of machine.  Is that correct?  So maybe:

Pfaff 335, Cowboy 227, Juki 341, and maybe the CB341 or Cobra Class 26 if they aren't too heavy duty to let me sew webbing and elastic? Seiko CW8B is another one I have on my list.  Not sure if I have listed the original and clones of one machine, or if I listed 2 sets of clones there.

I'm trying to assemble a list of machines to watch for on this board and on Craigslist/SearchTempest.

Thanks for reading and for any advice!

Todd

Edited November 26, 2019 by TWerner

[TWerner]

Too long or too complicated maybe.

How about this. Are any of these good options?  

Model	Condition	Location	Price	Tax	Shipping	Total		Motor		Extras
Pfaff 335	New	City Sewing	2045	0	270	$2,315.00		CSM-550-1		Bobbins, Needles, table, motor, stand
Juki LS1341	Rebuilt	Bill's	$2,000	130	0	$2,130.00		750w Sew Green with needle position		Bobbins, Needles, table, motor, stand
Brother version of Consew 277 made by Seiko. ~15 years old.	Used	Bill's	1300	84.5	0	$1,384.50		750w Sew Green with needle position		Bobbins, Needles, table, motor, stand

Edited November 27, 2019 by TWerner
Listed item sold

[kgg]

I think the Pfaff limits you to V69 thread with a max foot lift of 14mm while the Juki can go up to V138 with a 16mm lift. For me V69 is usually the top end of domestic sewing machines and the bottom end of industrial sewing machines. Parts and accessories for the Pfaff maybe more expensive / harder to get then the Juki. Since there is no shipping for the Juki I am going to assume Bills is fairly close to your location. If the Juki 1341 is in good condition. and you can find out what parts / adjustments had to be made and Bills can do any future repairs / adjustments I would definitely go with the Juki but I wouldn't consider the Brother. I did notice no tax amount for the Pfaff machines, why?

kgg

[TWerner]

No tax just because City Sewing is out of my state and would ship it. I might be able to match the total Pfaff price through Bill's and pay taxes, so it would be a wash. Bill's is 2.5 hours away though. Not really close.

I had actually  thought the Pfaff parts would be more available since I didn't read that the 335 was getting phased out of production like the Juki 1341. I also saw in another thread that I'll never get a binding attachment for the Juki, although that probably isn't a big issue to me.

 

The needle positioning feature and more powerful motor seem nice on the Juki. I guess the question is whether it's TOO much machine. Will it do canvas and denim weight fabric as nicely as the Pfaff 335? Also, as described, they said the Juki will go down to about 3 stitches/second. That's a lot faster than I'd prefer. Can I slow it down more?

 

One last question. Why would you rule out the Brother branded Seiko version of a 277? 

Edited November 27, 2019 by TWerner
Brother

[kgg]

Typically where I am, Pfaff's are more expensive for parts thus repairs and are not that common while Brother machines / parts are as scarce as hens teeth. 

36 minutes ago, TWerner said:

more powerful motor seem nice on the Juki.

29 minutes ago, TWerner said:

Also, as described, they said the Juki will go down to about 3 stitches/second. That's a lot faster than I'd prefer. Can I slow it down more?

The short answer is yes using a speed reducer. The higher wattage motor doesn't relate to speed rather it will have more torque (diesel vs gas engine) thus more punching power for going through thicker items while better maintaining your stitch speed / motor speed which may cause a lesser rated motor to stall while going through the same stuff.

kgg

 

[TWerner]

Thank you. I thought the Brother/Seiko and Consew 277 parts would be interchangeable.  

(on some websites it's actually as the same as the Consew 277R-2.)

Edited November 27, 2019 by TWerner

[dikman]

I thought the "new" Pfaff's could handle up to #138 thread? The old ones can.

[kgg]

The old ones may have been able to do V138 thread I can't say for sure but it probably changed when production moved to Shanghai, China. Pfaff now is part of VP Worldwide the same ones who now own Singer. When I checked the Pfaff site ( www.pfaff-industrial.com/en/portfolio/sewing-machines/cylinder-arm/pfaff335 ) in the spec section I found that it uses a 134-35 LR needle system with needle sizes from 80 - 100 Nm and thread size of 40/3. Then I went to the Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines thread chart ( www.tolindsewmach.com/thread-chart.html ) which list a 80 needle at V33 and a 100 at V69 . If I am reading the chart right the Pfaff would have to be able to handle a size 140 needle to get to V138.

kgg

 

[dikman]

Looks like I might be wrong then. The old ones were nominally rated for #69 but I found mine would run #138 ok. The only issue with mine is a relatively short stitch length which is related to the particular model I have.

[TWerner]

Seems like the Juki 1341 is a slightly heavier duty machine than the Pfaff 335. The Brother seems like it's pretty close to the Pfaff, and can swap parts with the Seiko and Consew 277R-2. 

Seems like they're all good options.

Quick question though. Is 3 stitches per second and up too fast for a beginner?