A Sewing Machine For The Workshop

Just make sure you get thread that is compatible with the Sunbrella and is treated for UV resistance.

Have fun.

Lew

A walking foot is a good feature for heavier materials. Singer 132K6 is great, popular with auto trimmers, not cheap, has BIG bobbin, easy to use, tough.

Sounds interesting -

Lots of stuff and a group mentioned on Google search using : Singer 111W155

Someone said a manual printing....

Good find.

Martin H. Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net TSRA, Life; NRA LOH & Endowment Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal. NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.

SteveB wrote:

I'm jazzed about this sewing machine. I have made hundreds of awning frames when I was a contractor, and am looking forward to decorating three houses and a cabin with awning work AT COST. Don't know about anyone else, but I consider awning work to be very complimentary to any house. The shade and energy offsets are substantial, too. And then there's the times when you need to fix a strap or something heavy, or just go buy another. Now I can fix lots of "stuff". And build weather covers for "stuff".

Next to the 705 Dewalt compound saw I got two weeks ago for $25, it's the best thing I found in a while. Of course, I did have to spend a few bucks to put a new cord on the 705. I got a set of Victor OA regulators, 50' of hose, and a Victor cutting head a few months ago for $50. I like yard sales in Las Vegas. People have a lot of money, and there's all sorts of reasons they get rid of stuff. In lots of rust belt areas, the things you find at yard sales are thoroughly worn out.

Oh, yeah. I got a nice IM8 graphite rod and Ambassadeur 5000 reel for three bucks a month ago. It will make a nice trout trolling rig on the SS Minnow.

Steve

My mother-in-law is wanting to know if you are wanting to sell your Anker Sewing machine. If so, please send me a pic of the machine and how much you would sell it for. You can e-mail me at snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com.

Thanks, Troy

HI

look for a Singer 111w or 112w (About 80 years old) there were tens of thousands made. If you Google you will easily find a picture.

Both are Walking foot machines.. Most manufactures make a machine based on the Singer design, In fact many parts interchange. There are dozens of different feet.

So it is a Walking foot you are after for canvas.

Adler make great heavy duty new ones. Same feet as above.

I still have one, ran it every day for thirty years in a furnishings factory and never replaced a major part

Yes I oiled it every day.

Cheers

Macka Australia

I have a bin cabinet with several hundred feet, NOS, if you know anyone who needs it.

I think, unless I gave it away already...humm....

Gunner

RE: Subject

Find a shop that deals with the "rag trade".

Here in SoCal we have several.

If the machine is not at least 75 years old, you probably don't want it.

If you have lots of $, check out SailRite.

The customize off shore stuff for the sailor who wants to make his own sails.

Lew

Singer 132K6

Hi All

Yep 132k6 is good if you want to do tarps for a B-double or stitch polishing mops for buffing.

Or serious motor trimming with plastics.

It is a lot heavier than a 111W.

A 132 is not good for lighter work

Take a trip to the nearest industrial sewing supplier and ask to see the range of needles for both machines.

For normal upholstery or sail making a 111 is fine up to a fabric thickness of a bit over 3/16"

After that the 132 comes in.

But doing lighter work on a 132 is not good.

The 132 does not like light weight threads at all. Light work is spoiled by the heavy threads required Needles from about size 22 up to the equivalent of a 3" framing gun nail.

Normal sewing thread will break. Special threads are required.

The 111w only just copes with normal sewing threads as used on a domestic machine the min needle size is 16 it is happier with an 18 or bigger

If you get one of these machines do not try to run it at 3-5000 rpm the normal speed for an industrial machine these days.

Go to a supplier and get the right motor around 750 rpm max for the 111 and

650 for the 132. We ran a 132 on a CNC stitching machine at around 1000 but the setup had to be perfect. It was never that happy.

Run em any faster and the beautifully (Hand) honed and hardened bearings will simply seize, lock up and break something. And that will mean goodbye.

Final tip Use Teflon added oil, is a huge improvement compared to the normal white machine oil on the hook and base. The rotating part you put the bobbin in. it will run much cooler

Cheers

Macka Australia

PS Hi Don Nichols.. I spoke to you on this forum about 7 years ago. (you gave me good advice too)

Thank You

John McNamara

I picked up an old Singer year 1921±. I told the seller (sewing machine repair man that has dozens of commercial machines for sale) that I am going to sew through 'door-skin' to make door panels for my auto restoration. I didn't have any 'door-skin' to try it on and he didn't have any leather. He found a 12" chunk of 1/4 inch thick Masonite. We laid a piece of fabric on top of it and sewed through the pair with the greatest of ease. No problem.

Ivan Vegvary

Looking up my 111W155 serial number in the Singer manual tells me mine was made in 1957. They are a workhorse. Ultimate Sew and Vac have them for $710 each, probably refurbished and tweaked. Comes with table, stand and motor.

Consew makes a mongo unit that we used for our canvas awning business, but IIRC, it was pretty spendy. I don't know. I did the welding for the frames, and my partner did the canvas.

Going to make some of my own awnings for my house this spring. I still have quite a few awnings hanging around Las Vegas from when I was a contractor. They're very nice ........ if you don't have to pay retail. ;-)

Steve

Hi Wayne

If you like the machine; your 111w, do not try it on masonite. The sound of hardened and polished steel snapping is not good. and the spare parts (not counting the labour) will cost you more than the cost of the machine. If you can get them.

The 132 can do masonite, but the stuff they use in cars and upholstery is not flooring underlay. it is soft and flexible.

Cheers

John McNamara

No worries there. I have NO plans to sew anything other than fabrics and maybe some "glass". Having said that, if I were to try some masonite I think (hope?) the needle would be the first thing to go. But I don't have big enough balls to try it.

Wayne

P.S. The "glass" I am referring to would be the clear plastic used in boat canvas windows.

And there was me thinking you meant fibreglass fabric!

Good luck with the project. Do keep us up to date on how it goes.