Friday, July 27, 2012

New Toy!

I got a new (to me) toy for my sewing room.  Here it is in pieces on the (messy) sewing room floor:
You can just see the machine in the upper left corner of the tarp.  Here's the picture from the craigslist ad:





It's a vintage Singer 31-15 industrial machine.  I haven't pulled the serial number yet, but I suspect it's about 1930's or 40's vintage.  It looks like it has a new(er) motor assembly.  It was owned by the seller's mother and used for all her daily sewing.  I think she's in ill health now and has had to move, so the seller just wanted it out of his basement.  So my husband and I went down to take a look.  It's in beautifully maintained condition and sews like a champ (once I rethreaded it).  It's a bit grungy on the outside (mostly dust) and will need a good wipedown.  My husband broke it down (love you honey!), we put everything in the back of the car, bungeed the trunk shut and took it home.   Quite an adventure.

I really wanted it for free motion quilting.  It goes full speed at about 1700-2200 stitches per minute.  And it has a huge 11" throat space.  And it's within my budget.  Table and machine ran me $200.  Since the whole setup weighs about 200 lbs (machine alone is 60 and the motor is about the same), it's about $1/lb.  Cheaper than grapes at any rate.

This machine also takes standard long shank feet, making a darning foot for FMQ easy to find.  It was also produced in such quantities that parts are easy to buy.  It also uses a standard class 15 bobbin.  So a very easy industrial to maintain.

I'm very excited to get it up and running soon.  This is definitely my Whoop Whoop! for the week.

6 comments:

  1. Cheaper than grapes! lol... this is a very good looking machine and it will FMQ??---how terrific!!

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    1. I have it on good authority that it makes a great FMQ machine. Just like all machines, there's a learning curve and the speed of this machine makes it a bit steeper then your average home machine. I'll probably be doing mostly cheater quilts for charities before attempting anything special on it.

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  2. That's a lovely machine! I have a fondness for vintage Singers, they're so sturdy and last forever.

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    1. My other machine is a vintage Viking and I love it too. It's a tank with a low torque gear that sews through anything. I'm hoping this Singer is as wonderful as most of the other vintage Singers.

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  3. Wow, that's a beauty! I've got two industrial machines, a Singer and a Juki, coming to our quilt ministry from a donor and I hope they're as nice as yours!! Definitely worth a whoop whoop or two!!

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    1. I've heard wonderful things about the Juki industrials. I've tracked them on craigslist around here, and they're out of my price range unfortunately. Can't wait to see yours!

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