Juki DNU 1541s - Making it mobile

[D3Gilmore]

I scored a "new to me" in "mint-condition" Juki DNU-1541s .....FINALLY.  The machine has less than 20 hours of sewing time as the seamstress actually focused on wedding apparel.  Drove a couple hours to go pick it up today with the family and my husband was surprised how heavy the head was to carry.

That being said, I was wondering if anyone has put heavy-duty casters on their table so they can move it around?  I don't have a huge workspace and so I'd like to turn the table and roll it up to a larger table so my fabric doesn't roll off.

Thoughts?

[MinUph]

Yes these are very heavy. I have a Consew 1541, same machine as yours. You can put casters on just about anything. As long as the floor is fairly smooth you should have no problems. The new tables that these machine come on are a little less sturdy in my opinion so make sure everything is tight and kept that way.

[Darren Henry]

I've got casters under one of the machjnes. Works wel butl I can't lower that table enough so I made a platform to sit on. Just a piece of plywood on some 2X4's .

[SteveA]

You can purchase casters that lock -
SA

[sofadoc]

Yeah, like Darren says, the only trick is adjusting your seat height to compensate for the increased height of the casters.

That was quite a score buying a 1541 from an apparel seamstress.

Several years ago, I bought a 1508 from an inflatable bounce house business. Mint condition......$375.

[brmax]

Congratulations!!!
Your not kiding they are heavy, Enjoy 😊
As others mentioned yes you can. I have the k stands and all now have casters.
An issue first seems the treadle platform will need attention, possibly lowered.
I guess you could say that distance between table top and platform is just to little now.
And then its to high for your existing chair, its a process for sure.  I would wonder what the
table height is. This could be different if one uses a different caster mount point i.e. Not the
bottom as usual. Rather a custom to the side version.

Floyd

375. Whaaa now thats also a deal

[Mojo]

Every machine we own is on casters. We have numerous sewing stations so we can easily move them around to different stations. Our main cutting table is 12 ft x 24 ft so we can slide a machine right up to any place we want on the table and sew if we have to. We have a total of 5 machines and 4 of those are on casters. The 5th machine is on a stationary table we use at home.

I get all of my tables from Bob Kovar of Toledo sewing machine. He is a member here. This is his website:  http://www.tolindsewmach.com/

We have some very heavy machines on these stands including long arms and twin needles. We have never experienced a problem. I love the portability of these tables with wheels.

Mojo

[D3Gilmore]

Thanks all, I will look into getting some casters.

I was pretty shocked that this even came up for sale in my area.  I see lots of Jukis that handle light and medium weight fabrics, but have only seen one other 1541s and that was $1400.  I felt like I got a good deal at $850.  Not quite as good a deal as $375 but very excited to get to using it.

This seamstress bought this thinking it was the next best thing - and I'm sure quickly abandoned it when it chewed up her wedding dresses.  Either way, I feel like a winner!

This machine has a clutch motor.  I have seen how to swap it out for a servo.  I'm hoping to swap that out eventually but not a must-have yet.  I do need to add a few feet - it only came with the walking foot.  I'd like to add a single and double cording foot.  Any other must-haves?

I need to buy a table light.  Does anyone recommend a better one over the standard light that I can get from Juki directly?

[brmax]

I would look around the net for sew table lamps, instead of juki, not sure they even make one. Generally all have a mounting point I found in the way as one is sewing or tilting the machine back for maintenance.

A more important issue for myself was the standard issue lamps were in no way long enough for proper lighting.  I dont mean to be a gripe, but this was a real complaint for me.  I just could not imagine 1 hour a day with these typical setups. Much less 8 professional hours!

To add in this task lighting for ya I early on heard from others about a tiny ( 1" long )magnetic led strip light That mounts on the machine by the needle bar.  I think i got one from both Suppliers that were on the site here daily. Gregg and Bob, they are great business's and ourselves as members really need daily activity here as that is an excellent need for them, and they a real need so all stitchers and their specfic jobs are welcome.

Anyway I found a need to have a longer reach light, with this i wanted the base out of my way, i decided the flex type was best for my choice.  This was tough but i found in short the very affordable were a waste of time.  I link below a 36" long although really 40"long to bulb center i really like because its heavy duty and out of the way, this length seems to be the critical $ decision of others i have seen with benefits.
https://m.grainger.com/mobile/product/LUMAPRO-Machine-Tool-Light-2RPJ3?fc=MWP2IDP2PCP

Here for many I found I think a keeper bulb that only takes once and ya will know!
As i have in my last career countless times, without further a do " a great amount of light without being typical hot as old style + shatter restistant".  This was not HOT
https://m.grainger.com/mobile/product/AERO-TECH-20-Watts-Screw-In-CFL-23MD14
They make a 25 watt but i first ordered these and ended up purchasing 3 more, their shipping is crazy.

Finally a late find i made last year may be interesting though a bit shorter, this machine i found has a nice lamp of LED and flexible reach of 32" it was factory installed on the Cobra 4
https://www.leathermachineco.com/product/cobra-super-28-led-super-beam-lamp/
I believe this company is in your state and from my experience another great asset to us. They may help in this a bit more.

Good luck
Floyd

[D3Gilmore]

Floyd, thank you for your thorough and thoughtful response. I will check these options out today. The expertise and advice I receive here has been invaluable.

Thanks again,

Deana

[Mojo]

Deana:

I bought two of these recently and must say they are bright. They have a long gooseneck making it easy to reach around in different positions. They clamp on using a C Clamp so they can be repositioned easily.

https://www.amazon.com/Gooseneck-Adjustable-Task-Work-Lamp/dp/B01MYCF409/ref=sr_1_41?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1504617087&sr=1-41&keywords=LED+sewing+table+light

If memory serves me correctly I paid a lot less then this price.

Mojo