advice on these sew machines ?

"robb" scribbled while perusing news:ZY34h.3386 $ snipped-for-privacy@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net:

Robbbbbb.... is that you?

Draperies and upholstery require a machine with excellent penetration, enough room to get the bulk under the presser foot, and a presser foot pressure adjustment. Ordinary belt drives will not generally suffice. A geared belt drive or a gear drive is preferable for these kinds of operations. I recommend that you take some very heavy fabrics with you and try sewing a multilayer seam on the machines you're considering.

Phae

maybe... but sorry i suspect not ?

How would i know if it was me or not ?

"robb" scribbled while perusing news:_Cu4h.4278 $ snipped-for-privacy@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net:

I knew a Robbbb on another newsgroup some time ago. A quit smoking one. Must not be you :) sorry.

i thought maybe because i know a donna but i would be quite surprised if she sewed and now that i think she would say

Roooooooob

but it definately is not me, i never tried to quit smokin

thanks for help/advice alot of these low end machines do not have adjustable foot pressure, as you no doubt already know, only the higher cost have this feature. Do you know of any lower cost machines / Brands with adjustable foot pressure ?

thanks again for help rob (lurker)

The high end ones do not have it either. They have something called 'automatic' pressure, definately not the same. However if you check some of the older Japanese machines you will find that they all have them. Does not matter what make if it has the knob on top of the presser foot you can probably adjust it easily. Check out the older machines in your sewing machine shop, you will also get more bang for your buck too.

My purely mechanical Janome (TOL about 7 years ago) has adjustable pressure, so does my much older White.

For your uses, I would recommend an older mechanical (NOT electronic or computerized) machine. You do not tell us where you are located, but if you have a sewing machine repair shop near you which works on several different brands, I would suggest you go there and see what they might have available in older machines which have been either traded in, or left for repairs and never picked up. When you go there, be sure to take samples of ALL the kinds of fabrics you will be using, as some work well only on either light or heavy fabrics but not both.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

Um... Not wholly true.. some of the Husqvarna ones come with a manual foot pressure adjustment, and very good it is, too. Some also have an automatic one.

Bernina's 1008 is an excellent new machine: all manual, adjustable foot pressure, will sew through tin cans if you let it! Mid range for a non-embroidery machine: it goes for about £450 here in the UK. Toyota are also worth looking at.

the Brother NX400 was *my* high ender option and it has a foot pressure adjustment which amounts to a little wheel at top of machine with numbers

1-4 for (weak...strong) this does not sound like much of an adjustment range though and i am now pretty much resolved to do as you and many suggest in this group and that is find an older used machine from a service/dealer center. there are several within a couple of miles

thanks to all for the help and advice, once i get something i will probably graduate from lurker to sewing pest :)

thanks again robb (lurker )

Most any machine will do this. They even have classes in it for the embroidery machines. There is still nothing as good for adjusting foot pressure like the old vintage machines. It is a direct adjustment, and will not release itself if the going gets tough.

I concur with Kate's recommendation on the 1008 Bernina. It's a very popular machine for use in schools so it can take a lot of hard use as long as you have it serviced & clean it regularly. My nearly 25 year old 931 Bernina came with a special foot for thick items like jeans and upholstery. And I've used that machine to make all of my drapes, upholstery and many other heavy items as well as all my normal sewing & quilting for the same time period. It's still going strong. If you can find a 930 or 931 used from a reliable Bernina dealer who will guarantee it is in good shape, I'd also recommend them. They are electronic, gear driven and have excellent penetration power. But be sure it has the needle up/down stop feature as that is essential for precision sewing and not all 930/931s have that feature. However, even a used one will generally cost over $700. So a new 1008 with a full 20 year warranty seems like the better choice if you can swing it.

My Bernina 200e and Janome 6500 also have adjustable presser feet and neither is the so-called "automatic" type. The Janome sews fast but it does not have the penetration power of the 931 Bernie--- probably because it is not gear driven. Newer Elnas have adjustable pressure too I've heard.

Be sure you take a loooong look at the Singer 401a models, made in the early '60s. I am still using mine after 45+ years of thousands of hours of sewing.

Welcome to the wonderful world of sewing!

Beverly

Another vote for the Singer 40x and 50x series. Strong as an ox, sturdy as cast iron, will last approximately forever, parts readily available. The 404 is straight stitch only, but the 403, 401, and 500 (don't know about the 503) will do other stitches as well.

Just a side note to stay away from models like the 417 or 512 -- they're often called "Fashion Mate" or Style-o-Matic"- these are low shank, low end vintage Singer models that are not in the same league as the slant shank 400 & 500 series machines even though the numbers start with the same digit as the 'better' ones!

-Irene

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20

--Mae West=20

--------------

I have to second this... If you cannot find a 401A, another good choice is the 403A, which is essentially the same machine without the internal stitch design camstack (it uses removable cams for the stitch designs). Both of these machines were quite expensive by their day's standards, and are really strong runners, with direct metal gear driven motors (no belts), solid aluminum cases, drop-in bobbins.

They really make a nice even stitch, and will hold their adjustments (unlike some of the new machines).

me