Singer halting at thick seems

[baileyuph]

Simply a couple comments regarding the Singer 111W series: 

I have used 111W155 series for anything that had upholstery on it (cloth, vinyl, leather, and ?) and it compares to a Pfaff in performance.  BTW, I have two Pfaff industrials (1245 and 545) to compare to.  The Pfaff is very strong but my two points are:  the 111W155 does an outstanding job with thicker fabrics as well as the Pfaff.  Last, but not least, the 111W156 is equipped with reverse.  As a note, a local tech showed me a 111W155 that he added the reverse feature to - which in general makes it equivalent to the 111W156.

For some non leather/vinyl materials the 31-15 Singer works a little better with thinner materials (slips, curtains, some decorator pillows, and on and on) because the walking foot is merely too heavy duty.

My favor for extensive sewing is the Pfaff (in my line up) when the big bobbin makes a difference.

For marine, I add a long arm Juki with big bobbin/reverse, of course - which facilitates larger pieces of fabric , example marine work.

Machines are sometimes need a good checkup by a very good tech!

Sewers often favor what they are most familiar with = as expected.

Doyle

[Mojo]

The Consew 206rb is the gold standard of all around upholstery work. I am not saying that Pfaffs are not good as they are the cadillac's, but attachments and parts are ultra expensive. The Consew parts and attachments are plentiful and ultra cheap. You can find hundreds of different parts and attachments on E-Bay.

The Juki's are a awesome as well and if you can find a Japanese made 563 you will have an awesome machine that will outlive you. The 206rb's and the Juki 563's will do anything you will ever need for any type of upholstery work. Juki parts are all cheap and plentiful as well. The 563 was replaced with a newer model and it also is an awesome machine. Someone will have the new model number and post it I am sure.

I thought I wouldn't be real busy and wanted a machine that cost around $ 1,200 ( complete with table and motor ) and could do any upholstery work I needed from it. I picked up a new Chandler 406rb which is a direct copy of the Consew. As a matter of fact one brother of a family owns Chandler and the other brother owns Consew and they hate each other with a passion. They wont even speak to each other at trade shows. :)

Fast forward. My business exploded and here I had this Chandler that was going to be put into continuous and heavy production mode. Long story short, I still have the Chandler and it still sews awesome and I have had no problems. I would never consider selling it. The beauty is that any part made for the Consew 406 will fit the Chandler. The feet will also interchange on a Chandler, Consew and Juki. Not so with the German machines which is why I stayed clear of them. Their parts are specific and like all German things they charge alot for parts/attachments.

The one benefit of the Juki's is that they are all big bobbin machines and top loaders. The Chandler and Consews are bottom loaders. What is the difference ? The top loaders can be a real pain in the ass. They are very touchy and will jam easily. The bottom loaders could careless and I have only had one jam in the years I have had the Chandler. The bottom loaders can run out of bobbin thread and you simply stop, remove the empty bobbin and throw in a new one and back stitch twice and keep going. No moving the fabric, cutting thread, etc.

I can tell you whatever machine you buy make sure it is a compound feed ( needle/walking foot ).
In regards to Chandler, I just bought a new long arm a year ago and it performs as well as my Chandler 406. The price between them and a Consew can be $ 800 or more.

Bob Kovar, a member here owns Toledo Sewing Machine Co. I buy all my machines from him and I have bought a slew of them. He assembles them, sews them off, makes adjustments and then ships them to me down here in FL. Be VERY careful of who you buy from. Finding a bargain or trying to save a $ 100 will end up costing you some major headaches if your buying from a drop shipper. These guys simply sell machines and never see them or touch them. You want a machine that has been touched by a technician, adjusted and sewn off. All new machines are famous for coming out of the box out of adjustment and some may have a broken part.

Chris