Industrial / canvas sewing machine

Hi N,

I love your line "4WD and dog etc......." Crikey, you are braver than me, my wife reads this forum some times and I would be dead meat.

You are correct about doing it yourself being much cheaper. (Used to be one of those ripoff canvas guys).

I do not know where you are?

The best thing to do is look in the "auction" section of the Saturday papers for "gone broke auctions". This is the best places to get a second hand machine. If you are in WA send me a email and I will give you the number of some people to talk to.

There are many brands but "Juki" (jew-key) is probably the best one to look at. They are Japanese and very popular with us ripoff canvas guys.

Getting materials the best place would be UDA (Upholstery Distributors Australia). You can order over the phone and they will send 3 or 5 meters of material and they have the other things you will need.

Sewing machine might set you back about $400 - $700. Press stud tool $200, eyelet tool with eyelets $85 + $110, sewing thread (number 20) $23.50 a bobbin. You will need 2 of each colour you use. Canvas about $25 a metre.

Up front there is a bit of expense. But later you will be surprised at how many slabs of beer you can make from your mates. Second only to a bobcat in the beer earning stakes. Good luck

Hi Supertramp,

Have a look on eBay for both industrial sewing machines (there are heaps there) and also for canvas. I recently bought some canvas offcuts on eBay - good 14oz fabric, handy for all kinds of things. Most I used to replace seat on directors chairs.

Years ago I looked at buying an industrial machine but ended up buying a old Singer straight stitcher domestic version for about $25. It has a wider clearance between the plate and the foot than more modern machines and will, with care handle a few layers of light canvas. Used it to make our vehicle tent that has been used for about 10 years now, and lots of bags etc. The only real limitation is that it does not take a very heavy thread.

We keep an eye out at our local recyclers for canvas tents in good condition - much cheaper than buying new canvas for some applications eg making storage bags.

Cheers,

Val.

As you obviously can sew, I would take a bit of fabric with you and try one of the several sewing machine dealers in Sydney. Elizabeth Sewing Machines or Capron Carter on P'matta Rd, Silverwater and I think there are a couple of dealers in Lidcombe as well as several others. These people take trade ins from new buyers and you can expect to pay several hundred for one. Yellow pages are your best bet or if you know what an industrial machine is like, try your local paper where, again, you could take some tough fabric with you and give it a go before you buy privately. You'll pay a lot less this way. There heaps of industrial sewing machines around and it doesn't really matter what brand. I've got four used machines, one Juki and three Singers - one of which is 80 years old. Does the job perfectly. Just avoid any modern gagetry. Really, you shouldn't need to pay more than $200 privately. Goodearl and Bailey in Mascot are your canvas suppliers. Trouble with ebay is that you pay upfront before you've tried it.

Supertramp

I have an old walking foot Singer that I think dates back to the 1960s. It is foot operated and driven by a leather cord. It will sew multiple layers of heavy canvas with ease and handle the heaviest thread you are ever likely to need.

There are a couple of things to look out for before buying one. First is to get a walking foot model. I did a TAFE auto upholstery course a few years ago and all of their machines were the walking foot design. We worked with vinyl, leather and canvas during the course and were told a walking foot was by far the best for that type of work.

Mine has a 3000 rpm motor which is a bit too fast. It may be fine in the hands of a professional but something a bit slower would be more suited for backyard work where time is not all that important. I can buy a new motor and clutch that runs at around half that speed but so far I have not got around to it.

My foot operated clutch with a motor of that speed takes a bit of getting used to. It is very easy to have it run away from you if you put your foot down too quickly. I find it easy to control on long runs with two or three layers of material but not so in very tight places like sharp corners or fitting small zippers. I use a combination of light foot control and hand assistance on the wheel or hand only with the cord removed in some cases.

I have even had ideas of converting it to operate with push bike pedals mounted under the table. That would certainly solve the slow speed problems.

There are more modern machines available with the ones at TAFE probably being the ultimate. They were electronically controlled and doing single stitches was as easy as can be. Some of them would even sew multiple layers of material onto 3mm plywood. The cost of course is considerably higher than what I paid for mine. It all comes down to looking at what is available and, as the others have said, trying it first if possible.

To all,

Thanks for sharing your info.

Now i know what to look for and try find the one that may suit our needs at good budget.

Happy travelling

Nick