what's a decent "crap" machine?

Jun 04, 2006 39 Replies

Drive yourself out to farm or ranch country and spin your AM radio dial until you find the local station that sells veterinary remedies and reports on commodity markets instead of Wall Street. Find out when their "trading post" or some such program is on the air. If you call in with something good enough to trade, you're likely to find most anything you're looking for.

It's probably a pretty good way to find somebody's "junk" sewing machine in exchange for a few laying hens or a washer or dryer.

Do you have radio markets like this in England? I find them great entertainment.

Max

Does anyone have experience with a White 4042? I have been looking at one of those, I also need to sew tent fabric. They are $200 on amazon.com

Jeff

I am sewing vinyl coated mesh, about 18 ounces.

Jeff K

For a tent?

18 ounces per square yard?

I think that is how it works,,,here is the material

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am not making tents, but a variety of things to adapt a bed for a special needs child.

Jeff_M

Boy, that's heavy stuff. Here I just bought some 1.1 oz silnylon today (finally found some at Walmart).

That being said, you will kill a crap machine in no time flat sewing on that. You need to get yourself an industrial machine, at least needle feed, to handle that stuff.

also, you might want to shop around for your fabric, I went though that site ( looks terrible in Mozilla) and they are very high on their prices. They have buckles for $5.95 that can be had for $3 from other sources.

Are you addressing that to the 1.1 oz silnylon, or the 18 oz. Vinyl?

the vinyl, duh. Silnylon is very light but is extremely difficult to handle. The vinyl is heavy and will be difficult to feed as the least of your problems on a home machine.

Penny S

I've been wondering if spraying some water between silnylon layers might give it some cohesion to itself when trying to sew it, instead of it sliding all around.

AARGHH! NO! NOT water near the sewing machine!

Basting tape, possibly, but NOT water!

I love it when you talk like a pirate.

Ok. Point taken. Thanks.

If you follow the links from my tips page, there is a whole page of silnylon sewing tips. I've been doing custom silnylon work for 10+ years. Water is NOT one of the recommended bonding techniques, for silnylon or any other fabric. ;-)

September 19 is Talk Like a Pirate Day this year. Just saying.....

Oh, yeah, I've visited your site a couple of times already. Thanks.

Well I did wreck my wife and daughters $100 singer. I am shopping for a new machine for them (quilting, general sewing). Thinking of a Jenome that the repair shop guy sells, then if I wreck it he can fix it.

Jeff_M

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How did you wreck it? HOme machines are not industrials, so one needs to be aware of using a machine for what it's not intended.

But...if for home use, better to put $100 towards a used top of the line machine than a new PW (plastic wonder). A Singer 401 will sew through anything you can fit under the foot, and sell for between $100-$200.

-Irene

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

--Mae West=20

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