Purchase advise sought

Get there 1st thing Saturday and get that machine!

liz young in california

I own a 30 year old Bernina 830 and wouldnt part with it for love or money. It is a trooper, sewing everything from curtains to quilts...jammies to coats. The price seems about right. Does the machine do all the things you want it to do? Diana

My wife is just starting in to quilting and I do the occasional leather project. Presently we have a Singer Imperial 7000 (Princess) circa mid

They both function O.K., but a friend at work suggested that a Bernina is a really good machine. I have an opportunity to purchase a used Bernina 830 from a local Bernina dealer this Saturday for about US$600 with a one year warranty.

I was wondering if anyone in this group could give me some idea, if going with the old Bernina seems to be a reasonable course of action, or should I be looking to acquire a brand new machine like the Singer Quantum Stylist for about US$800.

Thanks in advance to all who may reply. Your response is appreciated.

Vic

I bought a used Bernina 830 several years ago and it is an absolute workhorse. Sews and sews and sews. It also MQs in every direction with only a rare missed stitch when I'm going backwards (that was a major problem with my previous machine). The only thing that fooled me was that I had to buy a special quilting foot that rides on a spring, I couldn't reduce the foot pressure to zero like I was used to. Switching between sewing feed and darning non-feed (dropped feed dogs) is quite easy. I've never used it on leather so I don't know how well it would work for that. I have used various specialty threads (including metallic) in both bobbin and as top thread, all I have to do is slow down my stitching for metallic thread on top and it has worked fine.

What it doesn't have: needle up/down control, lots of fancy stitches.

I've been very happy with mine. ;)

I am wondering exactly what Vic means by the occasional leather project. Are we taking fine grade soft leather and two thicknesses or something tougher? My Bernina is a dear but she wouldn't put up with much in the way of leather. I've tried a couple of times to take up soft leather belts up by the buckle. You just don't want to know what the Bernina said about that. In no uncertain terms. I move over to the Viking or Pfaff for leather and even for denim if we're talking really heavy. Polly

From: TerriLee in WA Subject: Re: Purchase advise sought Date: Friday, September 05, 2003 11:35 AM

I don't have an 830, but I have the slightly newer 930 model. I love my

-- TerriLee Bishop (opinions are wholly owned by the author and don't represent anything) ;-) my real email is tlbishop at earthlink dot net

I have no idea why this shows up as a new post. We all know there's a screw loose at my controls. I guess that pretty much covers it. Yllop

Once worked in a costume shop. The director (a truly evil designer) decided to outfit the cast of Henry V in leather doublets. Quilted over foam. Even though we had a special machine for leather, we all learned a whole new vocabulary of curse words. Our regular Vikings certainly weren't up to such stuff, even though they normally didn't balk at anything. Roberta in D

I'll bet I've heard those words. I went to a neighboring office in the courthouse to get my signature certified. I signed the papers and asked a sweet little old lady to swear at the papers. You may have never read it and don't care but the procedure generally goes " I do solemnly swear that the person whose signature appears herein . . ." Boy! she let out a stream of words that singed the documents. I laughed and cried. Thereafter, I just asked her to certify. Didn't want that old girl setting any records on fire. Polly

My father, who did NOT swear, once told about Henry Jones, deacon in the local church. Brother Jones was a witness in a trial. Told to swear to the truth of what he was about to tell, he said he did not swear. "But Brother Jones, this is the court. You have to swear!" So Brother Jones said, "Damned if it ain't so."

Nell in court

appreciated.

Thank you, Nell. I'll remember that. Polly

Hello again. Here's the update. But first I want to sincerely thank = those who took the time to provide me with solid, experience-based advice. = Thank you!

I went to that dealer today to buy that used Bernina 830, convinced that = a new Singer would not provide the value for money or reliable = functionality that I knew I wanted.=20

Nevertheless, on the drive there I was highly ambivalent about my = decision to spend $600 to buy an old, used machine. Back and forth I went with myself, yes, no, pros, cons, benefits, risks. I worked myself into a = proper caffeine headache. So I pulled over to have a strong Starbucks coffee to clear my head. Right. Fifteen minutes later, decision made.=20

I got to the dealer totally confident that I'd made the best choice. I walked out with exactly what I wanted, a brand new Bernina 145S! I've = been sewing and getting to know my new friend for the last six hours. So far, = my very patient wife has only been able to look at it. I can only fervently hope that when I finally shuffle off this mortal coil, they will have Bernina in heaven. =20

Thanks again to everyone.=20

Vic, in Bernina heaven on earth.=20

Archived from snipped-for-privacy@xeropix.com on Thu, 04 Sep 2003 23:33:27 GMT:

I have a 2 year old Bernina 153 QE and I love it. Sews like a champ!.

-- Sugar & Spice Quilts by Linda E

I went to that dealer today to buy that used Bernina 830, convinced that a new Singer would not provide the value for money or reliable functionality that I knew I wanted.

Nevertheless, on the drive there I was highly ambivalent about my decision to spend $600 to buy an old, used machine. Back and forth I went with myself, yes, no, pros, cons, benefits, risks. I worked myself into a proper caffeine headache. So I pulled over to have a strong Starbucks coffee to clear my head. Right. Fifteen minutes later, decision made.

I got to the dealer totally confident that I'd made the best choice. I walked out with exactly what I wanted, a brand new Bernina 145S! I've been sewing and getting to know my new friend for the last six hours. So far, my very patient wife has only been able to look at it. I can only fervently hope that when I finally shuffle off this mortal coil, they will have Bernina in heaven.

Thanks again to everyone.

Vic, in Bernina heaven on earth.

Archived from snipped-for-privacy@xeropix.com on Thu, 04 Sep 2003 23:33:27 GMT: