Artisan 1797 ab ?

[BelleH]

Hi and thanks for allowing me to join the group.  I have been sewing little leather projects off and on for decades.  I've been using old, standard home-sewing machines and also a portable Thompson mini-walking foot.  The leather I use is either suede or upholstery/purse weight leather, in other words, light-medium weight and mostly of the light weight.  I make small pouches to put rocks I've carved in when I give them as gifts.  Have also done minor upholstery.   Often though I find the machines don't have enough power to sink the needle and I'm fighting with the machine only to mess up the timing.  I've been looking for a good walking foot for some time.  I have the space so a table mount is fine.  I only do maybe a half dozen projects per year.  Also sometimes do denim of multiple layers.  

An Artisan 1797 AB has come up on Craigslist.  The person says he used it only a few times.  Upon further questioning, I found that he got it 7 months ago from an "old lady that didn't use it much".  (And I'm an old lady too, but didn't take offense at the reference  ) I'm still trying to get the serial number so I can check age, but I do already know that the 1797 ab has been discontinued.  

What I want is a trouble free machine.  Asking price is $880.  

Is this the right machine for the type of projects I've listed?  Drawbacks?  Does price sound right?

Or is there a machine you'd recommend instead?

Thanks for any help that you can provide.

Belle

 

 

 

[BelleH]

Correction.  That was supposed to be $850.

[Uwe]

I’d recommend a machine that had triple feed, meaning it has an upper walking foot, bottom feed dog, and needle feed, all feeding the material in unison at the same time.

The 1797AB machine you’re considering only has upper and bottom feed, but no needle feed, according to spec sheet here: http://artisansew.com/pdf/specs/1797_AB_LTHR.pdf   It’s workable, but not ideal. If you’re going to invest money to buy a machine that can handle your projects with ease, get the best you can afford.

Unless you’re on a very tight budget, I’d go for a new machine like the Artisan 1508-10H. This machine is a very good design and won’t be struggling with any of the projects you mentioned. Perhaps plan a road trip to visit Artisan to try out the machine in person and potentially pick it up. 

 

[BelleH]

Thank you.  Any and all input/suggestions are appreciated.  I have a number of questions and want to make sure that you understand that my questions are to educate me.  I’m not questioning anyone’s judgement or opinion but will be asking the reasoning behind the suggestions.  Again, I’m here to learn – maybe a bit late – I’ve been projecting for decades and getting by, but as I age want to make things a bit simpler.  As I said in my post, I sew leather or heavy fabric maybe ½ dozen times per year.  Only 3 times in the past 40 years or so have I had to seek the help of someone with a better machine – twice when I couldn’t repair a leash, and once to finish a seam on a leather seat cushion – otherwise I’ve battled through.  So that being said - not sure I can justify spending $2000 on a machine that I’d use only ½ dozen times a year, but if it’s the best/only way to go, might have to consider it.   Now for the questions – the compound/triple feed features sounds nice – but might it be overkill for my small projects?  I looked at the 1508-10H and it runs $1958.  Why the suggestion of that over the 1541-S which is $300 less?  What features does the 1508-10H have that are better?  I’m not married to the Artisan brand either.  Only reason I asked about it is there’s a used one for sale in my general area.  Is there another brand/model that I should be looking for (that I might find used?).  Or should I be staying away from used as I’m possibly asking for trouble?  The Artisan I was looking at is new in appearance but given that it’s probably 15 years old, the lack of use may be a problem.  I guess what I’m after is suggestions on features and what to look out for in the “don’t get” variety.   Sorry for being so long winded.

 

[Uwe]

I suggested the 1508-10H because that’s the design I’d likely choose for myself if I were to buy a flatbed machine right now.  

There are hundreds of sewing machine candidates, both new and used, that have been discussed in thousands of topics here on LW. Some of the popular flatbed candidates are:

Pfaff 145, 545, 1245

Adler 67, 167, 267

Juki LU-562 or LU-563, 1541, 1508

Consew 225, 226

Singer 111W155

Seiko STH-8B

 . . . And scores more.

There are lots of clone options as well. A clone is essentially a copy of an original designs, manufactured by other companies after patents expired, and sold under various brand names. Common clone brands include Artisan, Cowboy, TechSew, Thor, Cobra, Typical, Consew, Titan, and many more.

I recommend spending a little quality time on this forum. If a candidate pops up for sale locally, you can search for previous discussions on Google using a search term like this:

”Site:leatherworker.net Juki 1541”

Edited March 28, 2021 by Uwe

[BelleH]

Thank you again, Uwe.  I found this site about a year and a half ago when I first started looking for a used machine in earnest.  I did quite a bit of reading and studying.  Then shelter-in-place hit and used machines in my area disappeared from Craigslist, etc.  Now they are appearing once again and I have continued my research as options come up.  Looking up the Artisan 1797-AB in the search engine here lead to more questions, hence my posting.   

As for other machines, I did in the past, for example, look up Juki 1541S to compare it to the Artisan 1541S and The Titan 1541S.  Differences like one head being made in Japan and another in China, but hooks both being made in Japan made sense, as did some coming with a 'raise the pressure foot height on the fly" option, but things like the ability to use thicker threads versus lighter ones weren't as obvious.  What I do doesn't require thick thread, etc.  

Thanks again for the additional info.  

 

 

 

[DonInReno]

I’m not sure what end of Cali you are in, but there are a lot of triple feed industrials that pop up.    I did a quick search of the San Francisco Craigslist and this popped up.   If it were closer I’d buy it, tune it up and gift it to a relative.   These are the kinds of machines I’ll buy, clean up, make sure it’s timed, replace tension disks and tension spring and sell for $400 to $500.
 

 In the last 6 months one triple feed industrial was given away near Fresno.   $400 triple feed machines are fairly common - it’s just a matter of travel distances.  

[BelleH]

Thanks DonInReno.  Travel distances and also having the ability to repair (which I don't without subbing out  )!I just sent you a private message.

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by BelleH