Upholstery gurus...will this sewing machine work for door panels, seat covers, etc. The price is right, its never been used. The current owner was told it was "heavy duty". Thinks its about 40 years old! I haven't gotten my hands on it to get a model number. I think its a Koyo?
The only way you will know for sure is to try. Many people have sewed up their interiors with non commercial machines. The big differences in the commercial machine is it will handle multi layers (mine will sew through 12 layers of denim) and it has walking feet (two feet, while regular machines have a single foot), which means it self feeds the material. All you do is guide it. Some regular machines self feed but will still have to push it through.
I bought a whole roll of vinyl still wrapped in plastic from a church garage sale for 2 bux a few weeks ago and I wanted to give it a shot, I'll probably get it but if its gonna **** out on me right off the back I didn't want to waste the time/money!
Well... depending on how much vinyl is in the roll. Your $2 should make up for the $40 spent on the machine. A decent yd of vinyl is about $10 - $15 bucks and up. Some of it runs $30 or more. I dont think it will **** out on you right away. And as long as you arent trying to sew multi layers of leather you should be okay. It will also give you some experience and if later you find a pro machine you will be ready.
Really looks like a regular home sewing machine to me...kinda light weight for good upholstery work,plus the throat is very shallow...try roling up enough material /foam for a seat and you will quickly understand.No walking foot either.
I am doing my interior as we speak with a home machine and it is coming out great. Good feeling doing it yourself.
I was kinda wondering about the throat depth my self! But I haven't gotten too far into this stuff yet! LSR...how about some pics I need some inspiration!
Probably will work for basic things, but as someone said the throat isn't very big, you'll have a challenge stuffing a whole seat cover through it. Buy it anyways, sewing is a good skill to have, my dad taught me when I was 12 and I've been at it ever since
the throat depth is shallow but its not like you will be doing this every day for a living. Heres a door panel I just did.
Actually, things like throat depth and layers aren't nearly as important to sew automotive stuff as s***ch length is. As fabric gets thicker, more of each s***ch is used to go through the thickness of the material, therefore the distance between each s***c needs to get longer. Most house hold machines have a maximum s***ch length of about 4mm. Barely enough to sew up a pair of jeans, let alone vinyl. If it has a 6mm (1/4") s***ch length you have a fighting chance. The machine you show is about 25 years old tops and was made most likely by N*****, and branded with another name. Not a bad machine as long as the cam stack gears aren't cracked, but far from a walking foot industrial machine. Pop the top and look at the gears in the center (the ones meshed with the most stuff) and see what they're general condition is. If they show any signs of cracking, p***. By the way, the "older machines have metal gears" thing is with very few exceptions complete bull ****. If it p***es that test, go ahead and pay 40.00 for it and play a bit with the vinyl that you have and try some stuff. If you do a couple of things with it (headliners and door panels and such are great things to do with a household machine) and decide you enjoy this sort of thing, start looking for a walking foot industrial machine. Then you'll know how sweet the right tool for the right job really is!
take some material with you and try it out! spent some time around industrial sewing machines and they are built for heavy material, the lighter one pictured here is gonna disappoint ya. "heavy duty" usually meant it would sew patches on jeans! good luck.
For $40 you should be able to buy an old Singer. I have owned several and have 2 that I use. And yes they do have metal gears. Look for models with 300 400 or 500 series. The 401 is the most popular but it's just a matter of features. If you just want a straight s***ch, the 301 is a great machine. My favorite is my "Rocketeer", a 501. I have sewn multiple layers of upholstery leather. Sure there are better machines but with a little care and common sense these machines work great. Power is weak going real slow so I usually just hand roll it if I'm going over a stack of seams.
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