What is the best sewing machine for heavy duty sewing?

Question

I am hoping to get recommendations on a good sewing machine for heavy duty sewing. Something in between a home machine and an industrial as I am not ready to commit to a huge industrial machine but I sew much more then what a standard home machine can handle. For example heavy fabrics such as canvas, upholstery weight, or denim and I sew for 5plus hours per day.

Answer 1

Great machines for this is to find an old Singer (black ones) from 1940's and 50's. One of the best if not the best is a Singer 201. Along with this one is a Singer 15-91. These are heavy household machines that have a built in motor (no belt drive). All gear to gear drive and you cannot hurt them. Almost any machine with the proper TNT (Thread, Needle and Tension) can sew heavy materials just not for very long. These two types can sew heavy all day, every day.

I always buy these when I see them. Service them (restore) and resell them. Feel free to email me if you want to buy one. About a hundred dollars. I'll ad links so you can look at some. Page through my pics you will see a 15-91 and a 201. Others are eBay machines. I have them for sale for much less. I am a sewing machine tech and collector.

Answer 2

I use a Juki 98E which I love for sewing heavy fabrics.  It sells for under $1000.  It only goes back & forth-no zigzag but it stitches extremely fast.  It also has a knee lift for the presser foot & cuts the thread with the tap of a toe on the foot pedal or touch of a finger on the machine!  The toe feature allows you to keep you hands on the fabric.  I purchased it from Allbrands.com  

Answer 3

The best thing you can do is read this FAQ:http://www.cet.com/~pennys/faq/smfaq.htm

It works just as well for the type of machine you need as it does for domestic machines.  Then take your list of requirements and sample fabrics along to your local industrial and commercial machine emporium and talk to a knowledgeable engineer (rather than a sales droid who works for commission).

I often sew for up to 8 hours in a day, and I use domestic machines, but those of a heavier build than most light weight modern ones (I have a Husqvarna Lily 550 on the bench most of the time, with back-up from a Bernina 1005).  While I often sew heavy curtain fabrics, 14oz wools, and denim, I don't often sew canvas, and my machines are well able to cope with what I do.  However, if you want something a bit faster, and with a bit more welly, but with similar versatility to a domestic machine, it's rather hard to beat the Bernina 950: http://www.berninausa.com/product_detail...