Sewing a new boom bag, thread choices

[Capt. Hack]

I went and bought a 10 pack of bobbins and bobbin box . That way I spooled up my bobbin ahead of time. Saved time and effort of rethreading. It worked great for me .

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Capt. Hack

I went and bought a 10 pack of bobbins and bobbin box . That way I spooled up my bobbin ahead of time. Saved time and effort of rethreading. It worked great for me .

Advice noted and acted on, though I only have seven bobbins. (One in the machine already)

[GILow]

Ok, early reports...

I am confused.

I had absolutely no trouble so far in getting the tension right. Maybe it was the training from the guy who sold me the machine, but all is working perfectly, albeit on the lower end of the friction settings available to me on the machine.

I have adapted the thread spindle to work as SWL and others have recommended. Crude but effective use of an old bent eye bolt that was actually in the scrap metal pile.

Fingers crossed, should be sewing for real tonight at this rate.

[GILow]

The piping feet are amazing!

[senormechanico]

Good spool setup, but I have one suggestion for big projects.
Move the table away from the wall so your fabric has a place to go.
My wife's sewing table has another 4 foot square table behind it for the runoff fabric.

[JPA Cate]

^^^^

Quite right! On the boat, mine goes off over the edge of the saloon table onto the cabin sole, and its weight down there helps the fabric move along.

Ann

[GILow]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

Good spool setup, but I have one suggestion for big projects.
Move the table away from the wall so your fabric has a place to go.
My wife's sewing table has another 4 foot square table behind it for the runoff fabric.

Will do. The table is on wheels which makes that easier.

As for the spool setup, I’ve been thinking about it and I am going to do as you have done (I even have a few spare drives I can use) as I got thinking about friction and why the friction setting was so low when I rigged the machine. I reckon my spool setup is producing too much friction on its own, and, more importantly, that friction is not constant enough.

So a bit more for me to do before I start work this morning.

I got the cutting and pinning done for one half of the cover last night, so once I get the spool sorted I’ll be ready to sew.

[JPA Cate]

Matt,

There's a big difference in the adhesive qualities between dry goods stores' basting tape and that which we get from Contender (no affiliation) or a sailmaker. For Sunbrella, the stronger sail stuff is what will work best.

I don't know if it will apply to you, but pinning Sunbrella is hard, requires heavy duty pins, and leaves holes behind, if you are lucky enough to not have "creep" while you sew it. If it works okay for you, keep on doing it how you like, but if you are dissatisfied, get some proper sailmaker's seam tape, 12 mm is really good, but you'll need some 6 mm, as well, depends on what you're working on.

Ann

PS. If you do get creep, unpick the whole seam, and wait till you get the right seam tape to re-do it. It really will make life easier in the long run.

A.

[GILow]

Ok, so the thing about industrial sewing machines is that they also create what can only be described as industrial knots.

The whole juggling the pins while trying to steer a machine designed to sew through armour plating at 60 miles an hour is not working for me.

After sewing through the darn ROPE, so help me, I created a knot in the bobbin plate that needed a SCREWDRIVER to remove. A SCREWDRIVER!

So, yeah, I got some basting tape, I’ll try that instead of the pins.

[BruceS]

Sounds like my first experience Matt!
You wouldn't believe the different experience by using one of these servo motors.
I can dial it down to about a stitch per second & a starting speed of a quarter of that. It responds almost the same as a car accelerator rather than .... OK, here we go! ... hang on!!!
I considered just gearing down the old clutch one but I wanted the TOTAL control I now have.
I can't believe companies still sell these machines without one but I guess the ladies in factories have learned to master them.

[GILow]

Yeah, these things have two speeds.

Not going or warp 5.

[senormechanico]

OT, but certain old home sewing machines capable of about 1,000 stitches per minute have foot controls which lose all control but either off or full speed. When I point this out I usually hear,
"What? It seems fine to me."
The owners have been sewing for a long time, always sew fast and they don't even realize the pedal no longer has variable speed.


I understand though. When I sew samples after servicing a machine, I sew flat out.

[GILow]

I do wonder if the clutch mechanism is a little less linear than when the machine left the factory in the 1960s.

But if anyone is capable of using this thing at full speed, then my hat is off to them... and probably anything else I was wearing at the time too... sucked into the slipstream.

If I had time I’d certainly do as Bruce has suggested and fit a more rational motor.

[JPA Cate]

Matt, in the absence of seam tape, I have resorted to basting Sunbrella by hand. It takes a fine sail needle and a palm for thick spots .... and much more time than seam tape. If your basting tape is the 2-1/2 mm stuff from a fabric store, you'll need to place 3 or 4 rows of it to get enough stick-to-it-iveness. As mentioned earlier, the proper width to use for a boom bag's long seams is the 1/2", or 12mm, don't remember measuring our last batch to find if it was metric or not, and much of it comes from the States, anyway.

If you do have to hand baste, put your row slightly on the seam allowance side, and it will hold the fabric, and you will be able to sew faster. The thread will not cause industrial bobbin knots. Yes, pins can cause industrial strength knots. We've all had 'em, so far as I know.

Ann

PS. I always use a sharp knife plus a screwdriver on those. I also tape a plastic bag on my table, to put all the thread trash into.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Matt, in the absence of seam tape, I have resorted to basting Sunbrella by hand....

Ann,

I think I will go with real basting tape. Do you have a preferred brand here in Oz? I'd rather get something local, international shipping will introduce too much of a delay.

Matt