Sewing machines have acquired an awesome reputation for being unmaintainable and unfixable, but this is usually from people who only sew with them, rather than people who also collect Dafs / Alfas and aren't scared to dive right in.
They do need a light touch though! The only real maintenance that's practical is cleaning out the dust bunnies (artist's paintbrush), but that's all they almost-always ever need. If your hooky-wook (technical term there) really has worn beyond serviceability then the difference in shape might be too subtle to ever see it and you just need to buy a new one. Practicality of that depends on parts sourcing and age (anything "industrial" seems to be available forever, anything "domestic" is an utter pain). In practice, very few machines are used enough to get that far, so you're only ever at the "clean it and it'll be fine" stage.
I think I've acquired 5 machines by now, plus Rachel's, but only one is set up & working (but two hundred miles away!). The two good ones just need setup, but I live in hope of getting a proper sewing room organised and they've been waiting for years now. In the meantime I tend to cheat and go use jarkman's instead.
Needles do make a surprising difference, as does good quality (non-fluffy) thread. Get a pack of mixed needles, at least a 5-pack of each likely size, and don't be afraid to either swap to the right size for the fabric or swap out a blunted one. I buy this sort of thing from Morplan, who have a moderate minimum-order as they're trade, but they're cheap for thread if you have a big project (lovely, lovely Mundial scissors too).
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sforzinda
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Date: 2009-09-29 12:24 pm (UTC)They do need a light touch though! The only real maintenance that's practical is cleaning out the dust bunnies (artist's paintbrush), but that's all they almost-always ever need. If your hooky-wook (technical term there) really has worn beyond serviceability then the difference in shape might be too subtle to ever see it and you just need to buy a new one. Practicality of that depends on parts sourcing and age (anything "industrial" seems to be available forever, anything "domestic" is an utter pain). In practice, very few machines are used enough to get that far, so you're only ever at the "clean it and it'll be fine" stage.
I think I've acquired 5 machines by now, plus Rachel's, but only one is set up & working (but two hundred miles away!). The two good ones just need setup, but I live in hope of getting a proper sewing room organised and they've been waiting for years now. In the meantime I tend to cheat and go use
Needles do make a surprising difference, as does good quality (non-fluffy) thread. Get a pack of mixed needles, at least a 5-pack of each likely size, and don't be afraid to either swap to the right size for the fabric or swap out a blunted one. I buy this sort of thing from Morplan, who have a moderate minimum-order as they're trade, but they're cheap for thread if you have a big project (lovely, lovely Mundial scissors too).