industrial sewing machine

[brankulo]

 i have been sewing for past 2 years, got hooked really fast and with all the sewing i do i am thinking of getting better machine.
currently have singer model 237, which is pretty good machine, metal guts, does zigzag too, but it has its years and is not perfect. i have been looking
into some walking foor machines. i have  had my eye on  juki 1541 for a while, but its expensive, there is also this 1181 walking foot model, cheaper not sure what the real difference is reading through the specs. anyways, just wandering if anyone here uses industrial machine and the thoughts. i have been also looking at purchasing used.

[steelisreal4130]

I have had access to sever differnt industrial machines for a good while and have always wanted one of my own.  After combing craigslist for months I finally found a really great deal on an older JUKI LU-562. This machine was re-branded by a ton of other companies like Consew and and was originally designed by Singer. Its workhorse of a machine and they made zillion of them. That makes them pretty readily accessible and easy to repair. I have seen them around pretty cheap to. I got mine at a great price but it needed some repairs. Took it to the local All Brand and they had it back to me in a day. It runs perfect now and the stitches look better than the new Juki-1541 that I have at work. I can push leather through it and I can also sew sil-nylon with no issues. I think I have about $250 in it all said and done.

Its got a clutch motor on it now (which most of them do), and I'll probably get a servo for it in the not to distant future. For my uses its great. Every couple months I fixate on a project and sew for a few days on it. After its done, I wont touch the machine for a while. Its nice to be able to walk into my shop and sew/ repair basically anything I can think of.

[brankulo]

cool, i have been looking on local craigslist but cant find anything under 1k. i would not mind older machine. these walking foot machines dont do zigzag right?

[steelisreal4130]

No, this is strictly a straight stitch. I would imagine an industrial zigzag would be pretty hard to find.

Personally, I would just get a decent older Japanese made zigzag machine for when you need to make those stitches. They are dime a dozed used and will work great.

[brankulo]

i do have my  old singer that does zigzag, i only use it for bar tacks, bar tack machine would be preferred but its another fairly big investment.

[jeremy11]

also look at the sailrite LSZ series.  portable but with industrial muscle.

[rick miller]

Ditto on the Sailrite.  I've had mine about 10 years, since my darling days.  Very versatile and reliable.

[rick miller]

Oops 'sailing'

[Smo]

In regards to the 1181, I bought one last August and I love it!  It's a great machine.  Xpac feeds fantastically through it (although I haven't tried any lighter varieties than VX21).  I've also sewed through hipbelts for backpacks made of 1/2" foam and two layers of cordura, so it'll go through a wide range of material.  The automatic lubrication is wonderful, I just put drops of oil in a few places every couple of days.

In fact, I like the 1181 so much that I bought another one a month ago, to have a backup machine (and so that bags that require color switches will be easier).

I have servo motors on both machines and highly recommend that option over a clutch.

Let me know if you have any questions about it, I've gotten to know them quite well.  The only thing I can't speak about is the longevity, since I've had mine for less than a year.  But no problems so far!

[brankulo]

nick, any idea what the difference is between 1181 and 1541? i am pretty sure both will handle the sewing i do. is 1541 just heavier duty? where did you get yours? did you get table too?

[Smo]

Yeah, I think the 1181n is just a little lighter duty.  But I've used it for everything from Xpac to canyoneering gear and it's handled it all very well, so it should meet your needs.

I got my first one from Raichert's sewing in Phoenix, and the second online from Alberoni in California (they sell on Ebay).  Alberoni ships the pieces (head, motor, table, legs, etc) in separate boxes, so it takes a bit of assembly.  I had another one as a working model, so I can't really say how easy the assembly would be without that.  But Alberoni has excellent customer support so they probably would've walked me through any issues.

I did get a table - industrial machines generally come as a unit with table, motor, and head.  You need a table and motor to go with these machines, and I don't think it's worth buying the individual parts piecemeal.

[paulmissoula]

I've got a 1541 which is a solid machine but the 1181 sounds like it would do the trick for your needs. I got the 1541 since I do some leather work on the side and wanted a machine capable of handling those heavier materials. I got mine from Zamir Sewing in CA who also sells on ebay. It arrived in several boxes and took a few hours to get everything assembled and running.

[harryonaspot]

I have a Sailrite machine I plan on selling. Has sewn 2 sails. Been stored more than 20 years and wants a new home. Reasonable offers considered. Pm me for more info

[Couloirman]

Any industrial machines like the Juki 1541 or 1141 that are capable of both straight stitch and zig zag? It would be nice to get away with only having one machine. I will be building ultralight bickpacking gear but also some leather work and eventually (one day) do some of my own parachute rigging so an industrial machine is the way to go (most people on the skydiving forums recommend something like the Singer 20u, 31-15, or Pfaff 238/338/438). Most I have seen recommended on here only do either lock stitch or zigzag-- any that do straight/zig-zag/forward/reverse and do it well on everything from ultralight cuben fiber, to thick leather? Or do most people with awesome Juki lock-stitch machines just own 2 machines?

[brankulo]

sailrite does both. my singer does both too. i only use zigzag for bar tacks, and would much rather prefer dedicated bar tack machine as its much quicker.