Sewing machines...

[Dieselram94]

I’m very seriously considering purchasing a new sewing machine from Sailrite. I’m thinking the blue ultrafeed with zigzag ability and a case. I’ve looked for used by not many around and the couple I’ve found they want almost the price of new! I don’t understand asking that much for used.
Does anyone have experience with these machines? I have never sewn anything ever but Sailrites videos make me believe I can figure it out. I’m just looking to be able to make and repair cushions, and the canvas on both my boats.
Anyone with thoughts?

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[tego]

I've seen a couple of used ones online and you're right, they want almost new price, but they are hardly used! People get one and then find out that they aren't nearly as handy as they thought they were. I do most of my sewing on an OLD Singer machine that I picked up at an estate sale. It's all metal and built like a tank, doesn't have any fancy stitches but does zig-zag and straight stitch very well on 5 layers of sunbrella. It cost me $35 if I remember correctly. My mom made me make my own marble bags on a treadle machine when I was a tyke-yes, that makes me an antique too I guess but it sur has saved me a lot of money making cushion covers, sail covers and repairing canvas biminis. If I was going to get into it on a large project, I'd probably spring for a new sailrite rig- They're expensive but you'll save a lot in the long run. Good luck! Ben

[Bob Noodat]

We bought a great heavy duty machine that can do almost anything in almost any material. Even makes light of Sunbrella. It is a Singer 401a and I paid Can$150 two years ago, including shipping. They come up regularly on CL and Canadian Kijiji. Ours came with a full set of tools and stitch templates. They can do all kinds of fancy or professional stitching, including zippers. A lot of YT videos on how to use them. I recessed ours into a Costco folding table for convenience.

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I cannot post CL links on here, but at the moment there are Singer 401a machines for sale on CL in Northern Michigan (nmi prefix), in Columbus (columbus), in Twin Falls, Idaho (twinfalls) and in Greensborough (greensboro). Between $100 and $325. The Northern MI machine looks the best deal, if it includes all the extras pictured.

[DesertAlbin736]

I have a used Thompson Mini Walker that I paid $325 for that has come in handy quite a bit. Sailrites are upgraded Thompson clones. Except mine only does straight stitch & not zigzag. Good machines.

[Dieselram94]

I have a used Thompson Mini Walker that I paid $325 for that has come in handy quite a bit. Sailrites are upgraded Thompson clones. Except mine only does straight stitch & not zigzag. Good machines.

Is the upgrade mostly the balance wheel?

[Dieselram94]

We bought a great heavy duty machine that can do almost anything in almost any material. Even makes light of Sunbrella. It is a Singer 401a and I paid Can$150 two years ago, including shipping. They come up regularly on CL and Canadian Kijiji. Ours came with a full set of tools and stitch templates. They can do all kinds of fancy or professional stitching, including zippers. A lot of YT videos on how to use them. I recessed ours into a Costco folding table for convenience.

20210314_193527.jpg


I cannot post CL links on here, but at the moment there are Singer 401a machines for sale on CL in Northern Michigan (nmi prefix), in Columbus (columbus), in Twin Falls, Idaho (twinfalls) and in Greensborough (greensboro). Between $100 and $325. The Northern MI machine looks the best deal, if it includes all the extras pictured.

I found all of those last night. Does the 401A have a walking foot? I think it does but I’m still learning about this stuff lol

[Dieselram94]

I've seen a couple of used ones online and you're right, they want almost new price, but they are hardly used! People get one and then find out that they aren't nearly as handy as they thought they were. I do most of my sewing on an OLD Singer machine that I picked up at an estate sale. It's all metal and built like a tank, doesn't have any fancy stitches but does zig-zag and straight stitch very well on 5 layers of sunbrella. It cost me $35 if I remember correctly. My mom made me make my own marble bags on a treadle machine when I was a tyke-yes, that makes me an antique too I guess but it sur has saved me a lot of money making cushion covers, sail covers and repairing canvas biminis. If I was going to get into it on a large project, I'd probably spring for a new sailrite rig- They're expensive but you'll save a lot in the long run. Good luck! Ben

I like your price you paid of $35!!!!
Your very lucky that your mom taught you to sew. I’m trying to watch YouTube videos and self teach. I just can’t see paying the price these places want for canvas work.

[Bob Noodat]

I found all of those last night. Does the 401A have a walking foot? I think it does but I’m still learning about this stuff lol

My wife says that it does. They are built like tanks, which is why so many are still around. Look at some of the videos.

PS. In 1959, when my 401a machine was made, it cost $425. The cheapest Singer portable sold for $19.90, the average price of a new car was $2200, a 1959 Corvette was $3600, and average annual household income was $5400. This was a very expensive machine. Too expensive to be a commercial success.

[dkirsop]

I made a camper back for my 35' Chris Craft using my wife's 1970's era Sears Kenmore machine. It did not have a walking foot and while this would have been nice it was not necessary. The project turned out very well. The secret was to make sure the machine was cleaned and well oiled before starting. Most of these older machines have cast frames and are very rigid but maintenance is often neglected. Look for a machine with a long arm as getting a large amount of fabric under it is more of a problem. Often you have to roll up the fabric that is going to be to the right of the foot to get a large piece to pass under the arm.

[DesertAlbin736]

Dieselram94 asked:

Is the upgrade mostly the balance wheel?

I believe the heavier duty balance wheel is the major upgrade feature, plus zig zag stitching which is necessary for sail making & repairs. My Thompson only has basic functions, walking foot, straight stitch, & stitch length/reversing lever. When I first did my cockpit canvas enclosure project I had used a friend's borrowed Sailrite. I've since used the Thompson to make new bench seat cushions, new re-designed driver seat (the original was uncomfortable), and sun covers for my hard top hatches and grab rails, plus down a lot of re-stitching of seams on the canvas enclosure using Helios PTFE thread. I'd had a lot of trouble getting the Sailrite to sew with Helios thread, kept skipping stitches. We tried every trick in the book, different needles, adjustments, etc, but never could get it to sew consistently with Helios so I switched to V92 Polyester thread but that didn't hold up well in our hot desert sun. Helios thread sews like a dream with the Thompson. The one thing my machine is missing is the cover for the portable base.

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[DesertAlbin736]

PS. In 1959, when my 401a machine was made, it cost $425. The cheapest Singer portable sold for $19.90, the average price of a new car was $2200, a 1959 Corvette was $3600, and average annual household income was $5400. This was a very expensive machine. Too expensive to be a commercial success.

Right up there with Kirby vacuum cleaners. A while back I picked up a 13 year old Kirby in like new condition at a Goodwill store for $30. I don't think they knew what they had when they priced it. The minute I saw it I jumped on it.

[Dieselram94]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I contacted all of the sellers with the 401a machines but not one replied as I was inquiring if they would ship...
So I’ve been researching like crazy. I think I’ve decided that zig zag ability is a must as I would love to get a sailboat again someday, and a walking foot is probably best as I have never used a sewing machine before. I think it will make the stitches evenly spaced especially for a newby like me. So I have contacted sailrite to see if they will offer any kind of discount at all. I always have success getting a deal of some sort but this company is dead set against that. They told me they can’t build them fast enough to ship them. So with the realization that a lot of these are selling because of COVID and people have lots of free time and they are loaded with stimulus money, I have decided to try a bit of waiting to see if by chance a deal comes along on a lsz-1 or a 401a I will at that point just bite the bullet and cry as I pay up for a brand new machine. As I have a project on my cuddy cabin that is urgent and I really want to build a cover for my new mast for the A25. I would like the varnish to last as long as possible.

DA, do you happen to have any pictures of the cover you made for your mast by any chance?

[Dieselram94]

Well today I ordered a brand new LSZ-1 Sailrite and some material. First project is a cover for the new mast. Looking forward to this project.

[DesertAlbin736]

Well today I ordered a brand new LSZ-1 Sailrite and some material. First project is a cover for the new mast. Looking forward to this project.

Sounds like a plan! Covers for teak grab rails can help preserve the varnish on those pieces too.

DA, do you happen to have any pictures of the cover you made for your mast by any chance?

I don't have a cover for the mast yet. It's easy to remove & store out of the weather so that's something I haven't done yet. But making a cover for rooftop stub mast is on my spring project list too. Due to the shape of the mast it will probably have to be designed as a 'butterfly' wrap around type held closed with velcro and some way to tie it in place or have button snaps so it doesn't fly off.

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Another project I want to get started on this spring is making a Sunbrella cover for my Gig Harbor dinghy that can by put on and taken off while the dinghy is hanging on the davits. If/when we do this year's east coast cruise we'll need to have the dinghy along all the way from Tonawanda, NY to Chesapeake Bay. We're sure to encounter some heavy rains along the way & need have a cover that can keep most if not all the water out of the dink. There is a drain plug in the keel but it's hard to reach while the dinghy is hanging on the davits. Will also have to rig fenders/bumpers on the bow & stern to of the dinghy to protect the ends from getting banged up on rough canal lock walls.

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[Dieselram94]

Good idea on those grab handles as well! I bet I’ll have plenty of scrap as I ordered a yard of material for the mast cover. Please post pics after you get yours made. I am currently thinking a slip on cover with snaps mounted on the mast will be good.

Our masts look to be roughly the same shape. For some reason I can’t post pics and keep getting error messages.