Cari-in-Oly

I can't remember if I read the turn one piece somewhere or if someone told me about it. I had about 10 minutes of instruction when I bought my first embroidery machine, the MC200E. They told me more about what it couldn't do than what it could do. I scheduled a class but it was 3 weeks out. By that time I had figured out that it could do most of what I was told it couldn't do so I cancelled the class. I figured if the dealer who's supposed to know their machines couldn't figure out the simple things I had figured out on my own, I wasn't going to educate them. I also bought my 350 used but by that time I was pretty confident that I could go it without classes. I was going to buy my 350 new but when I went to the dealer to talk to them about it all they wanted to do was sell me a 9900. I went home very annoyed and that day I found a used one only a year old for half the price of a new one. Now with that being said, when I buy the new MC500E I am gonna take the classes for that one because it's really a step up from the other two.

Cari

ArchaicArcane

I don't know why salespeople steer people to something completely different than they're asking for. It makes no sense. The 9900 isn't an embroidery machine!

The only reason I take classes is that sometimes I can learn tricks and shortcuts that the teacher knows. It can save me some time and research sometimes but most things I learn on my own too.

Cari-in-Oly

The 9900 is a combo machine, they were pushing left over expo class machines. I liked the on screen editor, it can do lots more than the 350, but I didn't have 3K to spend and it wasn't what I wanted. The new stand alone 500 has the editing capabilities that I liked in the 9900, particularly the arc ability. I will take the classes when I get the 500.

Now, to bring this thread back on topic, do you know when the Brother PE200 was made? I know it's practically ancient for an embroidery machine so I consider it vintage. There were two versions of it. Some with snoopy designs built in and some without. I've read tons of things about it but can't take any of it to heart because I read so many places that said it takes a class 66 bobbin and that's not true(Ask me how I know). I think maybe it was around 1990-1992 but I'd like to be more sure. Mine is the Snoopy version.

Cari

ArchaicArcane

Weird! The photos I saw of it didn't look like there was an embroidery unit on it.

I'm not really sure about the PE200. Most of my dealings with Brother machines are the brand new ones. The shop I was affiliated with went into Brother about 2 years ago and hopped back out earlier this year. Typically, I serviced mostly machines that were bought there so 2 yrs and newer for the most part. Most of the Brother machines I've serviced can take a class 15 bobbin.

That's what I'm using for pre-wounds in the MC350E. Sometimes I get lazy and use an L bobbin but is sometimes plays up the tension on it - probably the lip being too low and adding resistance or something.

sewbeadit

I don't go by age really on the vintage machines. I think anything from 70's and older is vintage until they are antique at 100. I don't even have a clue why, other than when I see them they say vintage to me. The mostly plastic machines just don't say vintage to me. I had a new top of the line Kenmore in 1974, very nice machine but is very hard for me to say any newer than that is vintage. Besides I am getting old and don't like everything from my young adult years being called vintage now. I also think the snoopy version of the brother machine is early 90's.

Very interesting on the Janome and computer machines and lint. I took my Janome 8900 in because the thread cutter and some other things weren't working properly. They, my dealer where I bought the machine, has a rate they charge for their services listed on the counter. 160.00 for a service, so he looked into the machine to see what it might take and told me it would take a service call. So I did that. He said it would take a board because it got burned out by lint build up down inside. He hadn't seen so much lint in a machine before. HE asked if I used canned air, which I did sometimes when I couldn't get it out right. So he said that did it by pushing the lint down onto the board. So that was fine, I now vacuum my machine. It will cost another 50.00 to put the board in for labor because the board was on the warranty. I have had this machine for over one year and not sewed on it much because of illness, so to me that means with so much lint in there we should all be cleaning out the machines between services if we are going to be keeping them for any length of time. So we should really learn how to do the delinting ourselves for sure. Before this 8900 I had a 6600, I still have that, and had it in for service so I can sell it, and had no problem with lint build up in that machine and I used it a lot more than this one, so they must be made enough different where they lint up differently. When I asked about the cost of the service, he said it is because it takes him 4 hours to service a machine.

Cari-in-Oly

The 9900 has the weirdest embroidery arm connection that I've ever seen up close, but I haven't been up close to many higher end machines. It slides into place against the back of the machine and then you flip it out so it looks like the arm of the 350.

Cari

ArchaicArcane

I think the most important thing we can do for our machines to show we love them is to clean out the lint - no compressed air though, as you found out unfortunately. cans of air can also mis-align sensors (like the thread sensor) and the cutters. It's unfortunate that you lost a board before you found that out.

Vacuums can create a lot of static and electronics don't like that - make sure it's off before you vacuum and you should be fine.

$160 for a service? Wow. I'm SO undercharging!

I wish some of the machines were more friendly to get into. That whole part under the hook should come apart so you can brush out the lint at home - without having to remove the base and then have an unbalanced machine that could tip over!

I do find some machines seem to hold all the lint in one spot and others let it wander around. There are pluses and minuses to both build methods though.

I will have to look at my cousin's 15000 the next time I'm over there. I don't recall what its attachment looks like either. I have a love hate relationship with the 350E's attachment arm. I think it lets alignment problems happen if you have to remove the hoop sometimes. Of course, most of that is solved by having a full bobbin when you start.

quilting cat

I guess if Bernina can re-use the number, my machine HAS to be vintage. But then, becoming eligible for Medicare makes ME vintage, too, doesn't it?

MFord

I'd guess most of us qualify as vintage, but very few as antique!