singer 347- heavy duty?

Hello; My sisiter is looking to buy a home sewing machine that would be useful in sewing cordura/neoprene. She ran across a singer 347 that was labeled as being near industrial and able to sew leather and all. Is this machine capable of doing the job on heavier materials on a regular basis?If anyone has a workhorse favorite, older, purely mechanical machine that would do the job, what would you recommend... Thanks in advance Pat

Reply to
patrick
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No it is a basic home machine

Reply to
Ron Anderson

Who told you a 347 was an industrial machine? That is nonsense! It's a domestic zig-zag machine and not one of their better efforts. A near-industrial for home use is a 319, but there are true industrial Singers available. Older ones, at more reasonable prices. But industrial machines tend to have a single function because factories are set up with specialized machines, each doing a part.

Beware of eBay sellers claiming machines are "near industrial" in strength.

Reply to
Pogonip

No. That is not an industrial machine. It was designed for home use, and was a low-end machine at the time it was made. I believe they were also called the 'Fashion Mate.' They have plastic parts and drive belts, and were not designed for steady work on heavier materials. I have over

80 machines in my collection and have repaired many machines. I come across 347s from time to time, in fact I have one which is a parts machine - it's not well made at all compared to, for example, a Singer 401 or 201.

If your sister wants to sew leather and other heavier items she needs to get an industrial, one that was designed to sew that type of stuff regularly. Be wary of descriptions that describe machines as "Industrial Strength, can sew leather or canvas." Older home machines were made out of heavier parts than today's machines are, but they are by no means industrials!

Industrial-strength sewing machines are usually used in factories rather than homes. These machines are far more powerful than the usual lightweight, domestic machine, they can be pretty expensive.

Many eBay sellers label older home machines as 'industrial strength' as a way to lure in unsuspecting buyers and to rake in the big bucks. There are several on eBay who regularly do this. Unfortunately by the time the buyer realize this, their feedback has already been posted and the seller is off the hook....=20

-Irene

Reply to
IMS

No. That is not an industrial machine. It was designed for home use, and was a low-end machine at the time it was made. I believe they were also called the 'Fashion Mate.' They have plastic parts and drive belts, and were not designed for steady work on heavier materials. I have over

80 machines in my collection and have repaired many machines. I come across 347s from time to time, in fact I have one which is a parts machine - it's not well made at all compared to, for example, a Singer 401 or 201.

If your sister wants to sew leather and other heavier items she needs to get an industrial, one that was designed to sew that type of stuff regularly. Be wary of descriptions that describe machines as "Industrial Strength, can sew leather or canvas." Older home machines were made out of heavier parts than today's machines are, but they are by no means industrials!

Industrial-strength sewing machines are usually used in factories rather than homes. These machines are far more powerful than the usual lightweight, domestic machine, they can be pretty expensive.

Many eBay sellers label older home machines as 'industrial strength' as a way to lure in unsuspecting buyers and to rake in the big bucks. There are several on eBay who regularly do this. Unfortunately by the time the buyer realize this, their feedback has already been posted and the seller is off the hook....=20

-Irene

Reply to
IMS

Let me guess, it was advertised as such by some unprintable adjective who sells machines on Ebay and says they are all industrial strength, right?

A treadle work work nicely. A gear-driven mach> useful in sewing cordura/neoprene. She ran across a singer 347 that

Reply to
Melinda Meahan - take out TRAS

Hi Guys; Thanks for the prompt reply. As to the several that guessed, yeah it's a ebay deal- looks to be the pfaff 130 that I originally wanted her to get may be the fall back. Regards Pat

Reply to
patrick

Now the Pfaff 130 is one powerful machine. It is a domestic machine, but packs some wallop. It also runs like a clock, and is nearly as quiet.

Reply to
Pogonip

The Pfaff 130 is a far better machine than the Singer but still not a true industrial machine. The problem will be with the threads used in upholstery work. They are much heavier than those used in domestic machines and will cause a problem

Reply to
Ron Anderson

I saw the Singer 401used in the sample shop at UniRoyal, the maker of Cordura.

Miz Spike

Reply to
Miz Spike

Well, Hi There, Spike!!! Good to see you!! I was just thinking the other day that I hadn't seen you lately on the aol boards. How is things with you??

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

Reply to
Olwyn Mary

Just in case anyone is looking into this machine for heavy duty purposes in 2021

This machine is very capable, don’t listen to these people saying it isn’t heavy duty because it will do whatever job you need it to. It’s a great low budget machine and if you’re like me and found the machine when you were on a budget and had to get a job done, you won’t regret it.

Mine mine went through 10 layers of heavy duty marine canvas no problem at all, if that ain’t heavy duty, I’m not sure what is?

Reply to
Sailingenki

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