Like the cobbler, the tinker, the butcher and baker, the sewing machine repair man is nearly as extinct as the watch maker!

Seriously folks, can you find a sewing machine repair man/person in your area..less than a 30 minute drive?

AND if you do find one, will they work on any and all machines?

NO, and NO in this area...

The only sewing machine repair person is the lady who owns the Bernina shop. She is "technically" only allowed to work on Bernina and Janome machines. However since she and her late husband have owned and worked in the sewing machine repair business for 50+ years she has loyal customers that she will not turn down. But she really does not know the singers and older off brands as well as she does, Pfaff, Bernina and Janome!

As with all of the DEALER shops, their repair staff is really only trained on that brand and most times the shop has a contract forbidding them from working on other machines.

Sew/vac shops are the best if you can find one...not anywhere around here that is for sure! Each machine manufacturer designs their machines so that to truly fix them you need to know their schematics and have their tools...Sears used to do this to their appliances!

There is a man 30 miles from here that will work on other brands, but now that he is contracted to a quilt shop that only sells Pfaff..good luck getting him to take on your machine!

My point is, when looking into buying a machine make sure you know where the repair man is....whether you are buying a brand new machine at a dealer or a nice vintage machine at a yard sale.

There was a question earlier about why people are buying up the older machines....my #1 reason is that they are easier to work on, and once they are working good...they really love to work...

If you have a newer fancy machine, it might not hurt to look into getting an older workhorse machine and learn how to maintain it so you always have a reliable back up.

It is almost like buying a car these days! No need to buy a volkswagon when the nearest repair man is 100 miles away!

I agree. I have a back up that I couldn't live without. But, although I see the advantages of old machines I wouldn't be able to live without all the fancy things my computerized machines do. They don't limit my creativity like old machines. But, I must admit, I always have my eyes peeled for old machines. There is just something attractive about them!

This is why I hope nothing happens to my 1996 Viking Rose. There are no dealers (any brand) in my local area. The Sew & Vac shop that does have a guy to come in to repair sewing machines could have you waiting weeks to get your machine back.

here is another thing to consider. The repair men that are contracted to quilt shops, where will they go when those shops close down?
In this economy the "quilt" shop is a dieing entity as well!
So if you buy a machine at a quilt shop make sure you know where the repair man will be if/when that shop closes!

All fancy things we love on those machines will mean naught if some goes amiss and there is no repair man to fix them!

We have a man who had been a former manager of a sewing store here in town, went out on business for himself and he will come to your home and service your machine. He live in Bolivar and travels to the Branson are, the only limits he sets for how far he travels is up to him. He has been trained on all makes and brands, including embroidery machines and sergers. How wonderful it is to not have to lug your machine to a store and wait.

I ended up buying a Bernina for several reasons but one of them is that the Bernina dealer/repair shop/fabric store is less than a mile from my home.
I had wanted to get another Pfaff but would have had to travel 40 miles to have it services. I realize that 40 miles for some of you is nothing, but I live in an area with lots of people and lots of traffic.

In the thirty years or so that I've owned sewing machines I've taken one in for repair after it fell off a truck and one in for cleaning because the presser foot didn't drop right anymore when it got cold. I suppose I'll worry about it when I need a repairman in another 10 years or so.

I am willing to bet that not many here on the board actually get their machines serviced in another country! There is one Bernina dealer in Ireland (on the other side of the country) and he let me down so badly and actually lied to me to try and cover up things, that I now drive into Northern Ireland to get my machine serviced.

It's about a 300 mile round trip! (but then to Dublin from where I am isn't much different).

And before you wonder why I didn't get another make instead, there is one dealer about an hour and a half from me, but she doesn't have a repairman either, so I would still have to take any machine bought from her to Dublin.

We are very lucky here because there is a gentleman who has been working for most of his life on sewing machines and has a sale/repair shop. He currently has someone working with him learning the business. They will service any kind of machine.

Also our LQS has a repair person who will service any brand machine.

Time to take a class and make some money! :-)

What a great ideal for myself...

http://www.fixsewingmachines.com/Sew...pair-Tips.html

and can do it from my home...

I have my mom's 1932 industrial Singer machine. There is a man in our area that makes house calls. I called him to come and put a new belt on my old 'Mary'. I will call him in the future if needed for that machine.

Jim Shields/ McMinnville Sew & Vac fixes old machines & new, can get parts for all &only 30 minutes away.

Yes, I have an older gentleman 10 miles from my home. He sells Janome but will work on any. I bought my Janome from him. Back home we have 2 in the same town. About 30 miles from me I have 2 more. I'm not sure about the abilities of one of them though. I was told at a LQS that he just started working on machines. So that makes me nervous. I'm really picky about what they use to clean my older machines. I normally just clean mine myself. If I'm having tension or timing issues or need an internal part replaced I take it in.

I have a very handy repairman......my DH! He can fix anything :!:

those of you that have the repairmen close, find out if they are doing apprenticeships...I am serious...I want to become a sewing machine repair person!

They are a dieing breed...very few are apprenticing outside of their family.
BUT if they have NO family and no apprentice, what happens when they suddenly decide to retire to Reno or worse?

I bet a nice new computerized BErnina would stump him....it is a like a car with its new computers...if you don't have the right circuit reader, you never know what is wrong...

I need to become the TRAVELING sewing machine repair person!

Boy, I am really LUCKY! My sisters brother-in-law used to repair machines at Jo-Ann's years ago. All I have to do is call him up and when I go to his house, he will actually repair it while I wait, and visit with his wife. He will never take anything for doing it, because we are family. I always make sure I take something that my husband made. My dh is Mexican, and can this man cook. All I have to do is take some tamales, enchiladas, whatever, and he is thrilled to death. And I leave with a working machine.

will you adopt me?

I live in Charlotte NC, and I have a great sewing machine repair man. He works only on Bernina and Babylock (authorized Bernina repair man) He is great. If you lived closer I would give you his name. Anyone else out there near Charlotte, he is from Indian Trails, but will pick up your machine. His name is Pete Wade
phone 704-361-0861.

There is one in my area. My sister stopped by the other day and he charges 80$ an hour with a minimum charge of 1 hr. She just walked out. Not really worth it if you use a 200$ machine.

There is one less than a half hour away. I bought my used machine there and talked to him about fixing my serger but I haven't gone in yet for any repair work. He seems to know what he's doing, we had a lovely conversation about sewing and old machines last time I was there. I really should take it over sometime...he quoted me a very reasonable price for the work :thumbup:

I take my machines to Pocono Sew and Vac, they repair most machines and are very good at what they do. It is about a 1 1/2 hr trip one way from me. Always have to leave the machine and go back later to get it. But I usually shop in the town while there. that is Stroudsburg Pa.

I'm very lucky-there are 2 sewing machine people within 20 miles of me. One will work on any machine and the other works on Pfaffs and Brothers. Their charges are reasonable too. I take my Pfaff in for routine matenience at least once a year. My threader broke and he said he could fix it- I said no I don"t like it . Does anyone else like the threader on their macine? :-P

Yes, his name is Jeff. Runs a Viking,Brother, Janome dealership. My Viking came from him.He is a good christian man, fixed my Viking free when I told him my grand daughter was learning to sew on it.Was thrilled to hear I was teaching a child to sew. Is 30 minutes away.

My 36 year old son took a sewing machine repair course after he lost his other job. What began as a part time fill in job has now become full time. He charges a reasonable rate to encourage customers to have their machines serviced more often. A win-win for each. He loves what he does and can not understand why more people don't become involved with this profession. He services all makes and brands. And lives next door to me. Now all I need is one of my sons to become a doctor or dentist and life will be perfect :-)

I have one close by. He and his wife own a Babylock-Janome dealership. He also services other machines, but his main training is for those and Elna. They also carry fabric and a few notions. I like taking classes with them because they are not "hard sell" types. There is another shop in town that I don't frequent because they are always pushing their machines from the time you walk in the door.

I am so lucky that my husband used to service Singer commercial machines for my dad's mine supply business and he keeps all mine in working order. The only problem is the new ones have so many plastic parts they often are not worth fixing.

A more pertinent question would be: Do you have a sewing machine repair person you can trust?

I went to one that was recommended and the best thing to come out of that ordeal was I found my 301a. Now I only have vintage machines that I can work on.

And we think we have it tough?

I just founda really nice shop, its about 30 miles away, but her costs are more reasonable than the guy in the nearest city.

Pete works on other machines, even Long Arm, but he specializes in Bernina.

My repairman lives with me - my husband. He can't fix computer-type things but I only have mechanical machines so that's no problem ....... ;o)

my Janome dealer has a repair perosn, that works on all makes and models. Try looking for one close to you.

I have a Kenmore and take in it annually to the Sears Machine shop. They do a wonderful job and I am very happy with their service.

my sewing machine repair man is my husband,,he has 35 yrs of machine repair experience,,nice having one in the family

Can I ask where he took his class?

I am so lucky. In my area we have a sewing machine repair person who comes to your home. He has repaired all my machines which include Bernina , serger, less expensive machines and my longarm. His rates are very reasonable. Oh yes, he also restores treadle machines, He is worth his weight in gold.

My machine repairman is a Lady AND her son! She is a Pfaff dealer but her son works on vintage machines as well. Since they are both a LOT younger than I am I am sure I will always have them.

I have a great person that works on my sewing machine and my vacuum cleaner. They always get it back to me on time and never charge me ore thatn they tell me. If I have a project I am working on ( I only have one machine) they will do their best to rush for me.