Opinions on Juki sewing machine

[buds007]

After having frustration after frustration sewing with a singer 9960, I'm looking into getting a machine that is more capable and more powerful than the singer. I'm eyeballing the juki 8700 and 5550 currently, and would be getting the servo version. Still being in the research phase, can anyone with experience with either of these machines chime in and give some pro's and con's of their use on hammocks and hammock diy gear?

Some of my frustrations with the singer have been that it struggles to go through multiple layers, especially Robic. It doesn't handle sewing nylon webbing very well, and trying to sew grosgrain onto multiple layers of tarp tie out fabric wasn't an impressive experience either. It also sucks light fabric down into the machine when you start from the edge. All around the machine feels fine when doing a roll hem, but sewing anything more than a couple layers thick gets sketchy.

Will either juki model do better when it comes to light fabric? Or do even the high volume shops have to use tissue paper or a backer? I'd love to never again have to worry about starting at the edge of 1.0 oz fabric and having the needle push the fabric into the machine as opposed to piercing it. (I've tried different needles to no avail).

For ~$700-$800 it's an expensive investment. But I thought in paying $300 for the singer that I'd be future proofing and that's far from the case.

[FJRpilot]

I’m sure that a lot of folks are going to chime in on this topic, so I’ll share with you my perspective. First to answer your initial question, The Juki models you have identified, are great machines that will do a fine job for what they are intended for.

I would ask you, when you were shopping around, did you notice how many different commercial and consumer machines there are on the market? In the commercial space, there are machines that do many different specialized operations. The folks who sew for a living know that no one machine can do all jobs perfectly.

If your sewing hammock bodies, tarps and quilts. You want a machine that is optimized for handling almost feather weight to light materials. Most home machines can, some can’t. Sewing cotton broad cloth and many acrylic’s or nylons are mostly light to medium weight fabrics and home machines are optimized for these types of fabrics.

Really high end home machines, will handle a broader swath of fabric types but even these may have difficulty handling the more specialized materials like webbing. Expect to pay $1K + for a quality home machine.

The singer you purchased will most likely serve you well for the Light fabrics but may stumble on the really light and heavier weight materials because it was not really designed for them.

The Juki’s you mentioned, will better handle the heavier fabrics because of the motors they come with. These are commercial machines with the motors designed for high duty cycles and multiple fabrics types .

But you may also want to consider one of the older “vintage” machines like the Singer 201’s, 15 series and 300 and 500 series. These 1950’s and earlier models were built much stronger (much more like today’s commercial machines) and were designed to sew almost anything that existed in those days. From very light weight Taffeta‘ to Leather. I know folks who have taken Singer 15 series machines, put a modern motor on them and they are capable of punching holes through 1/8 plywood sheets.

I would tell you that a Singer 15-91 in good condition will sew about anything you can throw at it. You can pick these up on Craig’s list but if you want one tomorrow, plan on spending about $300 for a good one. Keep in mind this is a straight stitch machine. No fancy stitches here. But you can get two of these for the price of one of those Juki’s ( which are great machines). And I still like the zig-zag attachment on my 15 a lot. It will do acceptable bar tacks on webbing.

Not sure if this has helped, but I hope it has. Best of luck...

[IRONFISH45]

I did my research a few years ago and was scared off. I went to several small shops, talked to the gear makers. What I learned from the 15 business I spoke with was that the Juki and Janome models of commercial sewing machines needed frequent servicing by technicians. The frequent servicing is what scared me off buying a commercial machine.

As FJRPilot points out you will probably need more than one machine.

I found an ugly as sin Consew, it works great, not a pretty thing and probably older than I am. It has groves from the thread running through. I found it at Salvation Army for $60.00 USD. Heavy thread injecting only, nothing delicate about the machine.

[tennistime99]

What needles are you running? I switched to a ballpoint needle for nylon webbing, it pushes aside the webbing fibers more than trying to punch through. Seems to work well even on folded over polyester webbing (i.e. making tree straps).

I use microtex/sharps for lighter materials for quilts and hammocks.

Make sure your thread matches the needle size as well. The wrong combo can try to push thick thread through too small of a hole, forcing fabric into the feed dogs.

Just trying to suggest the cheap fixes first. [emoji106]


Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

[dperk]

I have a Juki 8700, a Singer 401 and a Singer 237. I use the Juki the most. It will do delicate fabric easily and FAST. It's actually too fast, I had to turn it down.
I found my Juiki used on CL for $400 with a servo motor. I rarely have to maintain it. I keep the oil pan full and replace the needle after a big project.

[buds007]

I've attempted switching needles up. 1 oz fabric still sort of plunged into the feed dogs/needle area when starting and lock stitching no matter what. I mean it does get the job done, just not very precisely.


What needles are you running? I switched to a ballpoint needle for nylon webbing, it pushes aside the webbing fibers more than trying to punch through. Seems to work well even on folded over polyester webbing (i.e. making tree straps).

I use microtex/sharps for lighter materials for quilts and hammocks.

Make sure your thread matches the needle size as well. The wrong combo can try to push thick thread through too small of a hole, forcing fabric into the feed dogs.

Just trying to suggest the cheap fixes first. [emoji106]


Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

[hutzelbein]

It also sucks light fabric down into the machine when you start from the edge.

I don't think this is the fault of the machine, but rather of the stitch plate. Most do-it-all household machines come with a stitch plate that allows you to sew zig zag. This means they have a huge opening. I bought a "straight stitch plate" for my household Pfaff, that only has a small hole. This helps a lot with preventing thin fabrics from being pushed down. A sharp, thin needle and the right thread help as well. I don't use Mara 70 or Tera 60 in seams that are not load-bearing. A thinner thread works much better with thin fabrics (quilts!) and can be used with a thinner needle.

[hutzelbein]

I forgot another tip: I use small pieces of paper in the beginning. I put only the paper under the foot, sew a couple of stitches until I'm close to the edge. Then I put the fabric in place and continue sewing (keep the needle down during this operation). This helps with preventing thread nests and keeps the fabric from being pushed down.