Just found this site while cruising google.
Anyway, I've been doing marine canvas and other smaller projects for about a year now on a Thompson mini walker.
I am ready to upgrade.
Budget 1000 - 1500
I think I have it narrowed down to a Consew P1206rb 1 and a 206rb-5.
Any thoughts, recommendations or reviews yall could share?
Thanks for looking
Looking forward to reading and adding info here
The 206RB is the industries workhorse. They are known to be reliable and great performers.
I have been inside large Marine manufacturing companies and they have a stable full of 206's in their upholstery dept.
What I like about them is they are very versatile. One other great benefit is parts and attachments are plentiful and cheap.
I have the cousin to the Consew which is a Chandler 406rb. There are 2 brothers and one owns the Consew brand
and the other owns the Chandler brand. They literally hate each other and wont speak to one another. They got into a pissing match one day and the one brother left and started Chandler. The Chandler is a cheaper knock off of the Consew but has the same exact parts and quality. We have 2 Chandlers and both are in a production setting meaning they get real heavy use. One of them was our only machine we used for years when we got started. The other Chandler is our long arm machine. Neither has ever failed us and are excellent machines.
If you are going to be doing marine work you will be using several different attachments so I would stay clear of Adlers and Pfaffs.
Both are awesome machines but everything you buy for them you pay a hefty premium. The only other machine I could recommend is the Juki. They are very high quality and they do make one that would be great for marine work. I sold one of ours to Ricat, a member here.
He loves the machine and it came from the Monterey Boat factory upholstery department. Last I knew it was still running strong for Rick.
I think you are on the right path. Just make sure it is a compound machine and do NOT get a machine that is limited
such as a machine that wont do heavy canvas work. That is a mistake many 1st timers make. Buy the right machine from the start
and make sure it can sew everything from lighter fabrics to heavy leather and canvas. That way you are not limited to the work you can take in. Remember Marine work takes a heavy duty machine because of the multiple layers of acrylic you sometimes have to sew. The Consew 206 by the way is one of the best box cushion making machines you will ever find. The 206 loves that kind of work and the foot attachments are dirt cheap to buy.
Best of luck and welcome,
Mojo
Thanks Mojo!
Going to a shop next week and put my hands on a few. Juki is also on my list I just cant pin down a model.
I agree with Chris on the 206RBs if they are older. If your looking at a new machine look hard at a true Juki. No knockoffs just Juki brand. 1541s are great. Make sure you get a compound walker / needle feed. The Juki's are still made in Japan last I knew. That is important.
Thanks for the reply!
Juki is not out of the picture.
looks like the 1541 is the most popular for canvas work.
A little over my budget but I want this to be a machine I keep for a very long time so quality is important.
You won't be sorry with a used 206RB machine.
I did forget to mention that buying a machine off e-bay to save a $ 100 bucks is not worth it.
Most of those machines have not been setup and sewn off.
I recommend you buy from a dealer who will unbox it, set it up, test it then sew it off before shipping.
These machines are not cheap or easy to ship back and forth for repairs or setup issues.
I buy all of my machines from Bob Kovar of Toledo Sewing Machines. You can google him.
Mojo
Thanks Mojo, I have seen Toledo in my searches.
I'm driving down to Norfolk, VA this week to Sewing Machine Sales and Service to put eyes and hands on a few machines since I have seen none in person and feel that would be the best way to make a final decision.
From the conversation we had he appears to be same or a little cheaper than any ebay store once you add shipping.
I like to buy from local as much as possible. They are 1.5 hours away but that's the closest shop I can find to me.
Spent a few hundred extra buying local when replacing my boat engine instead of buying from a high volume shop and they treat me like gold.
Hoping this purchase has the same results
Machine mechanics are hard to find. When you find a good one keep them happy.
Paul:
I have to agree. Machine techs in our area are slim to none. Thankfully I learned to repair machines
myself early in my stitching career. While I have never completely disassembled a machine I can fully time
the hook, feed dogs and needle. I have replaced hooks and the worst job I ever did was replacing a
complete needle bar. That was pure hell.
Bob & Bobbie from Toledo Machine spent hours on the phone in the past teaching me how to trouble shoot
and fix machines. I have never had to call a repair guy in. Overall, if you are easy on machines they typically do not need
service. Oil them, baby them and they keep on going.
Mojo
Just placed order for 206rb with Bob.
Thanks for the info
There are several sewing machines - all good. I have 4different brands (most at the same time) which
offers opportunity to do what ever you want: one important thing is compare and, restating
that all brands used in my business over time worked very well. It is important to know the specs
and maintenance requirements.
The 206 always rated with the others - just maintain and go! I suspect you already know and
will.
You will be happy!!
Doyle
Got the 206 set up with new work bench but cant post a pic for some reason.
Anyway the only issue I have is the servo motor isnt as smooth as evryone says it is.
I cannot sew stitch by stitch or anywhere near as slow as Id like to go with any consistency.
I have to really baby the pedal to get started and it always starts too fast. I can back it off and get it slower but nowhere near as slow as I need to sew a tight curve or small detail.
Ive got the 550 servo. It has a dial gauge but it clicks into position instead of being able to fine tune.
Any suggestions to get this motor more friendly?
Turn the dial down. You can adjust it even if it clicks. You still will be able to use the pedal for speed control also. Just turn it down and try it at each setting.
Ive tried all the settings and it makes no difference.
I watch videos where the needle is moving very slow like one stitch per second and smooth.
The pedal is so touchy I cannot get this thing to start slow.
Maybe its a bad motor. Never heard of this issue.
Check all the linkage from the pedal up to the motor. I always adjust the pedal with the motor arm in the full stop position.
Also make sure the actuating rod coming off the pedal is straight and vertical and not at an angle.
If you are still having problems give Bobby a call.
I have 4 servo motors on 4 separate machines and all 4 seem to have to have the speed dials adjusted at different positions.
None of them operate in an identical fashion.
Mojo
Hi Miket,
Did you buy this machine from a factory setting? Some of those machines are set up for wide open all the time. The first and only time I used a servo was working for a guy in south Florida. That machine was fast and great for sewing long runs of welt but forget about sewing a cushion with it. He had other machines I used to do more detailed work.
There has to be a way to slow that thing down. Different pullys maybe?
I sent Bob an email.
Thanks for the replies
Put a 50mm pulley on it and it has helped.
I think with some more practice it may be manageable and if not I will upgrade to a better quality servo.
I recently bought an old Adler 67-GK373 and faced the same speed issue (Consew 550 servomotor). What I ended up doing is adding about 12" of aluminum tubing to the throttle lever on the motor, and reducing the motor sheave size from 3.15" down to 2.25" and it helped. Some of the folks on the leather forums apparently use jackshaft arrangements to slow down their machines a lot (and give more punch for leather).
Quote from: MinUph on October 03, 2019, 12:27:19 pm
I agree with Chris on the 206RBs if they are older. If your looking at a new machine look hard at a true Juki. No knockoffs just Juki brand. 1541s are great. Make sure you get a compound walker / needle feed. The Juki's are still made in Japan last I knew. That is important.
Sorry for kind of hijacking, but I was recommended to have a look at your forum first before working on my project.
Since I'm a new guy too and looking for a new machine... well, here we are.
I worked with so-called heavy duty Singer before (yes, I understand it wasn't the best machine ever), and decided that it's time to upgrade. I would like to reupholster seats in my father's jeep and then switch to other projects, so I'm looking for machine that would work with vinyl and leather (not for a commercial usage, DIY projects and upgrades mostly). Currently I've narrowed down my options to Juki's and was looking for any feedback on Juki DDL 8700 (https://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/fuzzysearch.pl?name=machine&mid=426&getsearch=1). Also I've been eyeballing 2010q (https://sewingland.org/best-upholstery-sewing-machines/#product3) as a non-industrial option. The main reason for choosing these two is the price, since my budget is about -$1000-1200 at max.
It seems to me that both are favorably reviewed on campers forums at least, so I'd like to know whether those machines could handle reupholstering. So I'd appreciate any feedback.
- Greg
Might want to reconsider Singer sewing machines. Rose bought a 111-154 over 30 years ago. It was more than 50 years old at the time. With all metal parts its a smooth running machine with rare repair issues. Its an industrial work horse. Sews any type upholstery weight fabric including canvas and leather with no problem. Only thing I wish it had is reverse. It has a clutch motor but a servo could easily be added.