Topics

Bob Kovar from Toledo Sewing Machine has become a great friend of mine. We talk about every two weeks or so on the phone and occasionally I chat with his son Bobby. Both of them are so laid back and easy going and fun to chat with so I jump at the chance to call him with questions on adjustments and other machine related issues. Other times I call him just to shoot the breeze with him and we try and solve the worlds problems in a half hours time. ( I love hearing his stories about service calls and the things he see's and runs into at the Amish farms. )  :)

We talked the other day over the PTFE thread I bought and after that discussion got off on the discussion of new machines. He said something that I never even considered though I had read a lot of articles about the Chinese Yuan/dollar.

He indicated that he is now seeing price increases from the factories in China on machines as well as sewing machine tables. Part of the reason for the price increases is because China is raising the value of their Yuan and are expected to raise them more because of pressure from other countries. ( They have artificially held the value of their dollar down to increase exports for years ).

So one of Bob's parting comments was " with so much of our goods coming from China these days, we can expect to pay more for nearly everything we buy ".

Great, just what I didn't want to hear. Now we have to pay more for cadmium and lead laced products. :)

Chris

Name your top three best investments in your shop.

Mine:

My Chandler Machine -

After making a big mistake buying my first machine off e-bay I took my time and talked to several dealers before buying my second one. I then contacted Bob Kovar at Toldeo Machine and he walked me through the maze with an abundance of patience for this newbie. He didn't try to up-sell me or down sell me to a lesser machine that he had good margins on. He helped me select a machine that was perfect for my type of work. My Chandler has helped increase quality as well as production time. It also has reduced my stress levels. Some of you are spoiled. A few have never sewn with a POS machine that you constantly have to adjust and play with just to get through one project. :)

My Swing away Binder -

Who would have thought that a $ 60 metal attachment would save me so much time and headaches. Every solar screen that I make and goes out the door has binding. The binder I bought from Sailrite has increased my production time on solar screens threefold. It also has reduced the nasty words being screamed through my shop. I highly recommend this binder BTW. It is made in Japan, high quality and works like a dream. :)

My Cutting Table -

Yes I know the vast amount of you have cutting tables and probably never give it a second thought. But my cutting table with the built in cutting groove is simply awesome to me. It is like a gift that was heaven sent. No longer am I bent over or worse yet on my knees cutting fabric on the rear ramp door of my trailer. I also am no longer cutting fabric on a 4 ft long x 2 ft wide plastic fold up table that also doubles as a sewing table extension. That stupid little idea of embedding that cutting groove turned out to be my saving grace when it comes time to cutting fabric. Quick, easy and accurate as heck.

I am sure there are a few of you who are laughing by now. But if you start out with junk and hopeless working conditions and then later get these items placed in your lap, you tend to be damn appreciative. And trust me, I am appreciative as heck.

I have come a long, long way from sewing with a cheap $ 300 Chinese POS machine, a 6 x 6 shop, a rear cargo ramp as a cutting table and folding and inserting binding onto textilene by hand. I am just happier then a pig in mud.

So what are your top 3 tools / investments in your shop ?

Chris

I got the thread today and sewed with it a little to test it out. The color is a bronze tan.

I found no difference between it and poly 92. Actually it felt like Poly as well and wasn't wirey like tenara. It is a triple wound thread and the PTFE bond is very good. No fallout from the thread. Actually I had a difficult time separating the strands to see how many there were.

I was sewing with 92 Poly and switched threads and added just a touch more tension. Other then that it sewed great.

25 lbs of strength, easy to sew and excellent heat and UV ray protection. It is a great alternative to Tenara if your not top stitching. $ 15 bucks you cannot go wrong. :)

I see the guy still has over 10 available.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110480305932&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT

If you do buy some from him, be sure to click the " make offer " button and make your offer $ 15.

Chris

I was just wondering how everyone else cuts their fabric for box cushions.

I was cutting my patterns with the 1/2 inch seam allowance and always ended up with a loose fit.
I then read on here a few weeks ago where someone ( I forgot who ) mentioned they cut it exact to the foam with no seam allowance. I just finished four of them and did what he said and by gosh I ended up with good looking ( and tight ) cushions.

How do you most of you cut your fabric for box cushions ? If your cutting with the seam allowance how are you getting a good tight fit ?

Thanks ya'll,

Chris

I just ran across this thread and out of curiosity I ordered two spools of it.

This thread is rated to 1,000 degrees and is mainly used in making fire department gear as well as
for industrial insulation products and welding gear.

I make a lot of covers with blind seams so I thought I would give it a try.

By the way there is a make offer button on this auction. I submitted a bid for $ 15 per spool for two
and he accepted.

Tensile strength is 25 lbs. I believe Tenara is 15 - 18 lbs. The size is E18 which I believe equates to about
210 ( not sure on this ).

Here is the auction - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PTFE-Coated-Fiberglass-Thread-Size-E-18-2lb-Spool-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem19b923af0cQQitemZ110480305932QQptZMotorsQ5fAviationQ5fPartsQ5fGear

Just thought I would pass it on in case someone was looking for some spare thread to have around.

Chris

Just wanted to extend my condolences to my buddy Dennis ( sawduster ). He is a newbie on this site and just lost his Father In Law.

Prayers and thoughts are going out for you and the entire family Dennis.

Chris

I have never made a cover for a boat so am asking for your input.

This boat is 20 ft with an 8 ft beam. It is a runabout or " Open Bow ".

How would you make your cover ? One piece ? Two piece attaching both to the windshield ?
Other method ?

Here is the boat -

Thanks,

Chris

I am always saying I do not do marine work. But I admit, I cheated. I am just about done with a complete boat interior.

It has been interesting and I have learned a great deal doing this project.  My work was not the greatest
and I am actually disappointed in how things turned out but then I am a perfectionist and had to let go of my OCD to get through this.

Glad this project is coming to a close. I have two small pieces to finish and I am done.

Chris



http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x200/throgmartin/Upholstery%20Projects/boatinterior2.jpg

The National Transportation Safety Board recently divulged they had "covertly"
funded a project with the U.S. automakers for the past 5 years, whereby the
automakers were installing black-box voice recorders in 4-wheel drive pickup trucks
and SUV's in an effort to determine in fatal accidents, the circumstances in the last
15 seconds before the crash.

They were surprised to find in 37 of the 50 states the recorded last
words of drivers in 61.2 percent of fatal crashes were, "Oh SH*T !"
Only the states of North Carolina , South Carolina , Virginia ,
Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi,
Missouri, Louisiana, Texas and West Virginia were different, where
89.3 percent of the final words were:

"Hold my beer, I'm gonna try somethin."

We have some pretty clever minds on here. I was wondering if anyone has come up with an idea for storing foam.

I know they ship foam under vacuum and was wondering if anyone has come up with a trick to vac seal
their spare foam for storage.

Dang this stuff takes up so much room and I would like to find a way to minimize the space needed.

Anyone have any ideas ?

Chris

My wife wants to upgrade her machine and I am at a loss as to what to get her. I would like to by her a new machine for Christmas.

She does all seamstress work ( dress making, drapes, etc. ) and currently has a brother. It is all plastic
and she recently broke off the thread / spool holder. She is partial to Singer machines and has never been very happy with this Brother.

Can anyone recommend a good, rugged machine that is designed for her use ?

These are the only machines I could come up with so far and I know nothing about them. Is this the right direction I need to be looking into ?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Singer-Commercial-Grade-CG550-Heavy-Duty-Sewing-Machine-/360319866374?pt=BI_Sewing_Machines&hash=item53e4bcd606

http://cgi.ebay.com/Singer-4411-Commercial-Grade-Heavy-Duty-Sewing-Machine-/300493703815?pt=BI_Sewing_Machines&hash=item45f6d20a87

I do not plan on buying off e-bay ( been there done that ) but I do appreciate the ease of using it to research machines. :)

Any input from anyone would be appreciated. Thanks everyone.

Chris

My marketing background and years of working on brand campaigns from Valvoline oil to Oldsmobile cars
has given me an idea. I thought I would bounce it off all of you.

I am going to start this fall by branding two of my upholstery offerings ( solar screens and RV awnings ) by giving them a brand name and then pushing that product. What I want to do is create a unique name for each one and then start marketing them to my unique market.

I have a non descript business name which has nothing about what I do in the name. This was by choice as I wanted the freedom to be able to move into whatever market I wanted without being tied down to an individual name.

I was just wondering if anyone has ever created a product and branded it in the upholstery business. While my solar screens and awnings are not unique I still feel by branding them that the name will stick and move through the RV industry. Well, on second thought they are a bit unique because of the extra sewing I do on each product and the fabric and materials I use as a combination.

What sells my products is the extras I put into it. Yes, I do charge a premiuim over my competition and Florida is loaded with solar screen makers but OMG do they turn out some junk. I want to brand my products to set them apart and give RV'ers a name that will stick in their minds.

Any comments would be appreciated. Also if you have any ideas for names that would be MOST welcomed. Just make them short names. :)

Chris

This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word
is "UP".  It is listed in the dictionary as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky
or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP  for election and why is it UP  to the secretary to write UP  a report?

We call UP  our friends, brighten UP  up a room, polish UP  the silver, warm UP  the leftovers and clean UP  the kitchen.  We lock UP  the house and fix UP  the old car.

At other times this little word has real special meaning.  People stir UP  trouble, line UP  for tickets, work UP  an appetite, and think UP  excuses.

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is
special.  And this UP  thing is confusing: A drain must be opened UP  because it is stopped UP.   

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP  at night.  We seem to be pretty mixed UP  !

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP  the word UP  in the dictionary.  In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP  almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP  to about thirty definitions.   

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP  is used.  It will take UP  a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP , you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP.  When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.  When it rains, it soaks UP the earth.  When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP.  One could go on & on, but I'll wrap it UP  for now  ........my time is UP! 

Oh....one more thing:

What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night?

U

P   !!!! 

Wow what a whirlwind tour that was. I am so very glad to be home again.

Spent a week in Richmond working on my daughter & son in laws house. Then on to Lynchburg, VA where my son lives. Spent several days there. Then headed to our home in Bristol, TN. I got the vinyl siding installed on the house and the work list completed for this trip.

Unfortunately, the trip was not without problems. My bus took a power surge and fried over $ 3,000 worth of equipment. It got the inverter system, fridge, microwave, both front and back TV's, DVD player and fried the GFI circuit. I still do not know if it got other circuit boards in other systems. How the surge made it through the surge suppressor I do not know. This week will be spent arguing with the insurance company trying to get them to cover the damage. I hate to think what labor costs will be. Probably another grand or more.

I plan on taking this week and resting. The trip wore my sorry old butt out. Next week I will get busy advertising and kick off the hopefully busy winter months ahead. I am hoping for a good winter in this business.

I am very sorry to see my buddy and fellow Floridian Mike had a stroke. As the survivor of numerous strokes I can attest to the fact of how difficult they can be emotionally. Trying to get used to the new you is hard and frustrating. I will surely be in touch with him and probably head down this winter to spend a couple days with him and John. It is difficult to accept something like this happening to good people and Mike is one awesome person. I will be in touch soon Mike. Hang in there, think positive and keep moving forward.

I am glad to see no other bad news here from the gang. Obviously you are all busy and living life. Great to see. My best to you all and glad to be back here with my upholstery family. I missed all of you.

Chris ( Mojo )

I needed a laugh today after the horrible day I had yesterday. I put a 12 inch long deep scratch in my bus after hooking my sons mailbox when departing his drive. Then I proceeded to the fuel island to get fuel and tried putting no lead gas into my diesel tank. Thankfully I caught that in time before I started pumping.

So in case anyone else needs a grin or a laugh, here ya go. I sure feel better anyways. :)

****************

Upon arriving home, a husband was met at the door by his sobbing wife. Tearfully, she explained, "It's the druggist. He insulted me terribly this morning on the phone. I had to call multiple times before he would even answer the phone."

Immediately, the husband drove downtown to confront the druggist and demand an apology.

Before he could say more than a word or two, the druggist told him, "Now, just a minute, listen to my side of it".

"This morning, the alarm failed to go off, so I was late getting up. I went without breakfast and hurried out to the car, just to realize that I'd locked the house with both house and car keys in side and had to break a window to get my keys".

"Then, driving a little too fast, I got a speeding ticket. Later, when I was about three blocks from the store, I had a flat tire. When I finally got to the store, a bunch of people were waiting for me to open up. I got the store opened and started waiting on these people. All the time, the darn phone was ringing off the hook."

He continued, "Then, I had to break a roll of nickels against the cash register drawer to make change, and they spilled all over the floor. I had to get down on my hands and knees to pick up the nickels, and the phone was still ringing".

"When I came up I cracked my head on the open cash drawer, which made me stagger back against a showcase with a bunch of perfume bottles on it. Half of them hit the floor and broke".

"Meanwhile, the phone is still ringing with no let up, and I finally got back to answer it. It was your wife. She wanted to know how to use a rectal thermometer".

"And believe me mister, as God is my witness.......... All I did was tell her !!!"

*************

Indian Wanting Coffee

An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun
In one hand pulling a bull buffalo with the other.
He says to the waiter:

"Want coffee."

The waiter says, "Sure, Chief. Coming right up."

He gets the Indian a tall mug of coffee.....
The Indian drinks the coffee down in one gulp,
Turns and blasts the buffalo with the shotgun,
Causing parts of the animal to splatter everywhere and then just walks out.

The next morning the Indian returns.
He has his shotgun in one hand, pulling
Another male buffalo with the other.
He walks up to the counter and says to
The waiter:

"Want coffee." The waiter says, "Whoa, Tonto!
We're still cleaning up your mess from yesterday.
What was all that about, anyway?"

The Indian smiles and proudly says,

Training for position in United States Congress:
Come in, drink coffee, shoot the bull,
Leave mess for others to clean up,
Disappear for rest of day."

I am half way through replacing the awnings on my coach ( it is the test bed for my work ) and I can honestly say I do not mind sewing them but HATE installing them. Thankfully my son worked with me on this project and has prior knowledge on how to install them.

What a royal PITA. I caution anyone who does awning replacements on RV's, especially the slide out toppers which are the worse,  be sure and read the manufacturers step by step procedure. You can easily break that spring inside the tube ( big bucks ) if you lose tension and some have lost tension, snapped, broke and came out the side of the tube, destroying the tube and injuring the worker.

There are alot of adjustments on these things as well so if you go into a project which requires installing them be sure and read the manual and take your time.

I think the next two days will be Celebrex day's. My body is killing me from going up and down ladders, climbing the back of the coach several times, working off the roof ( about 12 - 13 ft tall ) on my knees and also stomach ( lying down while reaching out over the side of the coach ). I am plain and simple to old for this crap. :)

The awning cording I bought worked out perfect BUT it turns out the cording on the tube side is smaller yet ( 1/8th inch ). Thankfully the old cording was all in excellent condition so I could re-use it But I ill need to re-order some.

Here is another kicker. These slide out awnings have different manufacturers requiring different techniques and procedures for each. Some manufacturers also have different models requiring different installation procedures. I thought I was in tall cotton after learning this procedure, only to be informed that is just one type of awning. :)

I decided I am not going to offer installation services but will rather focus on providing the fabric / material. The large slide out awnings cannot be done alone so your paying a side kick to help you which reduces the money your going to make. There is too much work and liability in installing these awnings on RV's to make it worth my while. I will stick to sewing them and let them hire an RV Tech to install them ( about $ 100 - 150 per awning ).

Chris

Ya never know how much you use and enjoy the internet until you do not have it. :)

I am on the road in the bus and am sitting in Rocky Mount NC. ( Thank you Marriot for the free Wi-Fi ).
Just getting ready to fire the coach up and hit the road. I filled up yesterday ( $ 180 dollars in diesel...ouch ) so I am ready for the pavement.

It will be a short day behind the wheel as this part of my journey is nearly complete. I am heading to my daughters in Richmond to do some work on her house for her. Then I am off to Lynchburg to spend time with my son, daughter in law and granddaughter. My son is doing a 5 year service on the bus for me ( 5 different types of filters, 22 qts of oil plus all the other oils for the other systems). From there I am heading to Bristol to work on our other house and get it ready to sell.

All in all I should be away from Florida for a month or so. I will be back in October ready for the winter  rush of snowbirds. :) In the meantime my internet will be spotty.

What did we ever do before Al Gore invented the internet. :)

Have a great month gang. I will be popping on whenever I can find an internet connection. :(

Chris

I have a new appreciation today for all of you canvas people who work with large pieces of fabric.

I had to stitch some lengths today that were the biggest I have ever encountered ( but much smaller then what many of you have sewn ). I had two that were 150 inches and you learn in a hurry how to roll and sew. :)

I am glad I do not have to do many large pieces. It makes my shop seem small. :)

Any advice on how you handle these large pieces of fabric and feed them through your machine without running your stitching lines all over hells half acre ?

Chris

I thought yesterday that I would try out this new double welt foot so I went ahead and took off the standard foot and threw the welt foot on. I checked my needle clearance and it was perfect but I must have moved the dang thing as I was tightening it because when I hit the pedal......BANG....... It broke the needle.

No Biggie right ?? Wrong.  I went ahead and changed the needle and like a dummy broke the damn screw off in the needle bar. In order to gain access to the broken screw I had to remove the small thread guide and damn........I broke the head off that as well ( and I was unscrewing it ).

I had to get my dremel tool out and grind the screw out of the needle bar. I was extremely lucky as I never got into the threads and got the pieces of the old screw out. The other screw had just enough of the head left to where I could unscrew it with some needle nose pliers.

I was able to rob a screw off my old machine to get it up and working but will have to order two new screws. ( Hello Bob ). :)

The moral of the story is never use a large screwdriver and full force with your hand to tighten tiny screws. I learned my lesson. :)

Chris

HARLEY BIKER
AND LION



A Harley biker is riding by the zoo in Washington, DC
when he sees a little girl leaning into  the  lion's cage.
 
Suddenly, the lion grabs her by the cuff of her jacket
and tries to pull her inside
to slaughter her, under the eyes of her screaming parents.

The biker jumps off his Harley, runs to the cage and
hits the lion square on the nose with a powerful punch.

Whimpering from the pain the lion jumps back letting go
of the girl, and the biker brings her to
her terrified parents, who thank him endlessly.
   
A reporter has watched the whole event. The reporter addressing the
Harley rider says, 'Sir, this was the most gallant and brave thing
I've seen a man do in my whole life.'

The  Harley rider replies, 'Why, it was nothing, really, the lion was
behind bars. I just saw this little kid in danger and acted as I
felt right.'

The  reporter says, 'Well, I'll make sure this won't go unnoticed. I'm a
journalist, and tomorrow's paper will have this story on the front
page...  So, what do you do for a living and what political
affiliation do you have?'

The  biker replies, 'I'm a U.S. Marine and a Republican.'
The journalist leaves.

The following morning the biker buys the  paper to see news of his actions, and
reads, on the front  page:

U.S. MARINE
ASSAULTS AFRICAN IMMIGRANT
AND STEALS HIS  LUNCH