DonInReno Report post Posted November 30, 2020 This little guy just showed up. I’ve never actually seen one in person and there’s so much conflicting information that it got the best of me. Opening the box is perhaps as fun as seeing an erector set on Christmas morning - it’s a fun collection of mechanical parts! I honestly don’t know if most of them are made in the same place or not, but I’m quite happy that this one has better fit and finish than many others and sewed right out of the box. The frame seems to be identical with most sellers, but the fit and finish seems to vary. I purposely avoided the lowest price seller and either the additional $30 was well spent, or I was just lucky and threw away the cost of a pizza. It’s not a refined machine, but it will make a stitch. It’s not smooth, it’s hand wheel isn’t heavy enough to even out stiff and easy segments of the stitch, and the small diameter of the hand wheel makes cranking more physical than you’d think - small kids would have a hard time with it as is. Stitch length can easily go up to 1/4” and it came prethreaded with 92 weight Nylon. After a few hours of sanding down rough edges the newness of it all wears off quite quickly - you have to enjoy tinkering and have more time than money. In high school I would have liked it just because it would use heavier thread and nobody I knew had a commercial machine. On the negative side, the bobbin winder is a horrible design and executed poorly so that went right in the trash - same for the three-legged base. Most fasteners are junk - poorly made soft steel. Plan on at least a couple hours of sanding and deburing, but it will turn into an entire afternoon or more if you start polishing anything for cosmetic reasons. On the positive side the upper tensioner appears to be a tension assembly off a commercial bobbin winder with good quality tension disks. Bobbins are as nice as any import bobbins. The hook is very basic, but the tension spring has a nice spring and proper hardened screw and the whole works has signs of being hardened. The cams and a toggle joint up at the needle bar are good quality molded powdered steel with hardened fasteners. The needle bar I’m guessing is generic part from a domestic machine of some kind - it’s nicer than need be. I was just asked for a recommendation for a teenager interested in little projects that require something more than a domestic machine. The first thing that popped into my head was if they got one of these patchers, once a month a different problem would pop up and I’d feel obligated to help - no thanks! Lol I’ll probably mount it to a nice oak board with little servo motor and speed reducer and bring it out if someone is curious - it is fun the first time all the levers start moving along with the clank, click, clank, click! ....it would be fun to get a restored Politype or one of the other old machines of a similar kind. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted December 1, 2020 Yep, they are a tinkerer's delight. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ewayne53 Report post Posted December 4, 2020 I've looked at these machines for a couple of years on Amazon and wondered if the higher price made the difference in finish. Or just making the seller more money. Do you recall who the seller was and did you get it off Amazon? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ewayne53 Report post Posted December 4, 2020 10 best cobbler sewing machines per the internet. https://www.easygetproduct.com/best-shoes-sewing-machines/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted December 4, 2020 Anyone else notice they all look the same? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nylonRigging Report post Posted December 4, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, dikman said: Anyone else notice they all look the same? 90% of all Internet reviews ( like that ) are worthless and Shilled ...LOL .. also Every machine Links straight back to Amazon Sales . yes, was Rated 'Best' internet Shoe Cobbler by using intense research consisting of: ..." it has a high-gloss paint, with all metal construction ". . Edited December 4, 2020 by nylonRigging Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Constabulary Report post Posted December 5, 2020 Amazon Affiliate-Marketing - click the links and someone who does not (necessarily) own the products gets paid and you get tracked by their cookies. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
