Sewing machine for ocassional marine vinyl???

[gbr...@webzilla.com]

I am facing the re-upholstery of my boat. Nothing exotic, but could be a bit
a money to have it done. In discussing it, my dad was saying that he has the
same issue. We agreed that if we could find a heavy duty sewing machine for
somewhere around $150 or under, we'd split the cost and pool our (somewhat
dubious) collective experience.

Having said that, is it practical to sew auto/marine vinyl material with a
relatively inexpensive sewing machine? Any suggestions on particular
machines? I recently saw a Euro-Pro Denim Machine that claimed to be pretty
heavy duty, refurbished for $180. Would that work? Is that overkill? Any
particular features that I should look for? I've sewn many years ago, so the
actual work doesn't scare me (although it probably should).

Or are we just being unrealistic expecting that we can do a marginally decent
job of upholstering with little practical upholstery experience between us?
I'm a fast learner, and work well with machines, if that counts for anything.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Regards,
Greg

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[Carrie Shepard]

Not just any machine will handle heavy fabrics, Old basic Berninas will sew
anything, but Pfaffs are less strong.

I would check out your local sew and vac shops because they often have used
machines and industrial machines that will fall in your price range. Best
thing though is to take a sample of your fabric and test drive it before you
buy it.

I have sewn a lot of heavy denim patches on a bottom of the line Bernina
with no difficulty.

[Elaine]

Greg,

You may want to look into buying a used industrial machine. My sister
bought an older one for about $200 (not from a dealer). An industrial
machine could definitely handle the vinyl. As far as home machines, I'm not
sure whether they could, as I have no experience with vinyl. As for
upholstering, I would go to the library and see what they have on the topic.
They might even have something on marine upholstery.

Elaine

gbr...@webzilla.com wrote in message <7f6ifp$15u$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...

[CW]

In article <FlMR2.26$_U3.8...@client.news.psi.net>,
eharve...@aurorasim.com says...

A home machine will deal with it but there are problems. The vinyl tends
to stick to the foot. If using a standard foot, coat the vinyl
with Armour-all to make it slide or use a roller foot. Also, the weight
of the vinyl is a problem. It is so heavy that feed dogs are almost
useless. You will have to feed it by hand (this will be a problem with
home or industrial machines that use simple feed dogs). What you need for
this kind of job is a machine with a walking foot (a real walking foot,
not the attachment sold for home machines). These machines have a foot
that "walks" in synchronization with feed dogs, grabbing the vinyl
between it and the feed dogs, pulling it through. The least expensive
machine that I know of that has this feature is the Sailrite or Thompson
(same machine, different name). This sells new for about $500.00. You
might find a used one though, but I couldn't say where.
--
CW
KC7NOD

[Monika]

Gotta agree with the consesus here, go with a used commercial machine. You
can pick up a Singer 111 or 211 compound walking foot machine fairly cheap
(about the same price as a new Thompson) and I would recomend it as the
machine of choice. You could make do with a Singer 31-15 though, and they
can be had, used, for about $200 complete with power table. (commercial
machines are driven by a seperate 1/2hp clutch motor attached to the table)
Although the 31-15 isn't a walking foot machine, it will handle the vinyl
qiute nicely if you use either a teflon foot or a roller foot. The teflon
foot is simply a regular foot with a piece of teflon attached to the bottom
and usually sells for about $10. A roller foot, as the name implies, has
rollers, instead of a regular foot, and sells for about $30. The 31-15 is
also an oscillating hook machine (most machines are rotary hook), so it
works better with nylon thread. I'd recommend using a #69 nylon thread for
the sewing you'll be doing, its stronger and it won't rot with the moisture
of being on a boat. (cotton and polyester thread will rot due to the extreme
weathering conditions of being on a boat) If you need some help finding a
commercial machine, e-mail me and I'll try to help you out.
Good Luck,
Monika

CW wrote in message ...

[twil...@overland.net]

On 1999-04-16 cma...@sprynet.com(CW) said:
>> gbr...@webzilla.com wrote in message <7f6ifp$15u$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.

>>com>... >I am facing the re-upholstery of my boat. Nothing exotic,

>A home machine will deal with it but there are problems. The vinyl

>tends to stick to the foot. If using a standard foot, coat the vinyl
>with Armour-all to make it slide or use a roller foot.

Armour All will also make your butt slide on the seats! I tried it _once_ on
a motorcycle - had to scrub it off (alcohol?).

No personal experience here, but a 3M Marine Products tech. rep. claimed
that Armour All is largely responsible for the dash-cracking in automobiles.

Atlanta Thread has Teflon-coated presser feet in their catalog for $9.17.
They are an excellent thread source. 800-847-1001. Just bought some stuff
from them. Ask them about "Sunguard UVR" thread for this job.

>weight of the vinyl is a problem. It is so heavy that feed dogs are
>almost useless. You will have to feed it by hand (this will be a
>problem with home or industrial machines that use simple feed dogs).

This got me curious, since I've done a fair bit of vinyl on an ancient
shuttle machine, so I just tried a scrap of fairly heavy Naugahide on my
Bernina commercial with "simple feed dogs". Piece of cake! Nice even 5mm
stitch, would need to tinker the tension to get the lock into the seam
center, but it looks promising. A recent thread on horse-boots spoke of
maybe needing a chisel-point needle for heavy vinyl to ease the locking.

If you guys are careful and thorough, think things through beforehand, and
_finish_ what you start, I say go for it. Get someone good to guide you
with the zippers, though.

I have enormous fun making stuff, whether it's welding steel or sewing
fabric!

Tom in W. TX.

Ya sai it won't fit? Blimey, Alf, get a bigger 'ammer!

Net-Tamer V 1.11.2 - Registered

[DrgnflyDsn]

Tom posted:

>Ask them about "Sunguard UVR" thread for this job.

This intrigued me when I read it.
The thread has UV protection?
Haven't ever heard of such a thing. Sounds like
a good idea for tents and other outdoor projects.

Ronda
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dragonfly Design
http://members.aol.com/DrgnflyDsn
Masks, Historical Clothing Patterns, Garb
Remove "98" at end of e mail address to respond

[twil...@overland.net]

On 1999-04-17 drgnf...@aol.com98(DrgnflyDsn) said:
>Newsgroups: alt.sewing

>Tom posted:
>>Ask them about "Sunguard UVR" thread for this job.
>This intrigued me when I read it.
>The thread has UV protection?

Top left corner, page 7 of Atlanta's catalog. "UV & mildew resistant...
Colors match SUNBRELLA Marine Acrylic & Automotive OEM Vinyl."

>Haven't ever heard of such a thing. Sounds like
>a good idea for tents and other outdoor projects.
>Ronda

Yeah, it does. I wonder if there is any problem using this polyester thread
with nylon fabrics? Penny, you lurking?

Tom in W. TX.

Cat's Favorite Game - Ha! Made you look!

[Penny Schwyn]

twil...@overland.net wrote in message ...

I wonder if there is any problem using this polyester thread
>with nylon fabrics? Penny, you lurking?

If they are not using nylon thread they are using polyester. Polyester is
significantly more UV resistant than nylon. Watch for polyester tent flys
coming to your nighborhood soon

Penny
(always lurking)

[nanak...@gmail.com]

Monica, I would like to buy a used, but good quality machine for re-doing my boat cushions. Can you make a suggestion?

> >> gbr...@webzilla.com wrote in message <7f6ifp$15u$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...

> >> >I am facing the re-upholstery of my boat. Nothing exotic, but could be a
> >> bit
> >> >a money to have it done. In discussing it, my dad was saying that he has
> >> the
> >> >same issue. We agreed that if we could find a heavy duty sewing machine
> for
> >> >somewhere around $150 or under, we'd split the cost and pool our
> (somewhat
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>

> >A home machine will deal with it but there are problems. The vinyl tends
> >to stick to the foot. If using a standard foot, coat the vinyl

> >with Armour-all to make it slide or use a roller foot. Also, the weight

> >of the vinyl is a problem. It is so heavy that feed dogs are almost
> >useless. You will have to feed it by hand (this will be a problem with

[Fran Farmer]

On 2/03/2016 2:25 AM, nanak...@gmail.com wrote:
> Monica, I would like to buy a used, but good quality machine for re-doing my boat cushions. Can you make a suggestion?
>
> On Saturday, April 17, 1999 at 3:00:00 AM UTC-4, Monika wrote:

Monica posted here in 1999, so do you really think she'll answer you?

[BEI Design]

Monika also provided several suggestions as to which machines might
do the job. Perhaps nankaleina failed to READ the (very old) post
to which he/she replied. <shrug>

[dmill...@gmail.com]

Near dead thread but for someone thinking of doing future heavy duty sewing: , Buy a compound feed machine where the needle, walking foot and drop feed (feed dogs) move in unison. Brands like Consew (rb206, 226) or juki (LU 562, 563) come to mind. They can be had for $4-500, which seems like a lot but, you can use them to your hearts content, then sell them for the same as you bought them later, as they are built like tanks. Nothing beats using compound feed machines when doing vinyl leather type projects. The home sewing machines can do the work but, results can vary and problems will cost you material/headaches. Recommend using a servo as opposed to clutch motor for slow speed ease. The investment in the industrial machines can quickly be recouped, and is money well spent.

[towtruck...@gmail.com]

Is there any cheap machines for marine vinyl,somebody mentioned a heavy duty home i will work any comments to this

[hub...@ccanoemail.ca]

On Wed, 1 Aug 2018 21:23:53 -0700 (PDT), towtruck...@gmail.com
wrote:

>Is there any cheap machines for marine vinyl, ?
> - somebody mentioned a heavy duty home will work
> any comments to this


A quick google search for " sewing marine vinyl "
results in some useful links ...

http://tinyurl.com/y8g52c53

http://tinyurl.com/y93takmm

https://wikiepedia.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/tips-for-sewing-marine-vinyl/

I would try it on some test/scrap material and
if it doesn't work - visit an upholsterer.
John T.