Jamesbeat

I work for a flooring company, and we have a sewing machine for binding the edges of carpet samples.
It's essentially a dedicated bias binding machine.

It's usually in the warehouse, but I had a chance to look at it today because it's in the office waiting to be sent out for servicing.

I thought I'd share, as it closely resembles a vintage domestic machine rather than an industrial model.
In fact, according to the website, they have been making this model for 25 years, so I guess it is vintage!

The casing appears to be all-metal. The motor is enclosed, but is mounted in a conspicuous bulge in the rear of the machine.
Looking at the machine, you can see that the design and materials are like those of our vintage machines, and very much unlike modern domestic sewing machines.

It's nice to see that, where power and performance really matter, vintage-style design values are still used.
If this machine was designed like modern plastic domestic sewing machines it wouldn't last a week, and nobody would buy it.

Here's a link to the website for this machine:
http://www.n-ccarpet.com/model-pbs.html

Make sure you're sitting down before looking at the price.
This price is probably not too different from the price of our vintage machines when they were new, if you take inflation into consideration.

Note also what appears to be a class 15 bobbin case, and the cutaway front which is presumably to allow for easy cleaning and bobbin changes.

It's quite possible that this is a specialized version of a regular sewing machine, perhaps made for them by a well-known sewing machine manufacturer.
Anybody recognize a family resemblance?

Cecilia S.

Thanks for sharing!

The aesthetics look a bit like an 1970s Touch and Sew.

HAve you had a chance to play with the machine? :-)

SteveH

I imagine that is a great example of what the pricing would be if our antique machines were still made right...

Prim Quilts

Interesting............

Jamesbeat

Yes, in fact I found out how much one of my machines cost when it was new, and I put the figure into an inflation calculator. I can't remember exactly how much is was, but if I recall correctly it was just over $2000 in today's money.

I read that hire-purchase schemes were invented by Singer for sewing machines. Every household needed one, and not many could afford to pay up front.

I haven't had a chance to play with this one, as it is used by the guys in the warehouse to bind carpet samples.
I believe they have another, larger machine for making carpet base, which has a whipped edge rather than a tape binding. I'll have to see if I can find out what that machine is.

My warehouse experience is limited to hunting through thousands of dusty boxes of tiles looking for a specific tile to send out as a sample, so I try to spend as little time as possible in there!

NapaJohn

Neat machine. I think one would almost have to go industrial to get the same quality in new machines as in the vintage ones we all like. I worked at one place with industrial machines and loved loved loved them--especially how fast they were. I just don't have the space for industrials now and don't really need them (as if that's prevented me from collecting domestics).

Here's an interesting article on the Singer 201, with the explanation about a machine in 1940 that cost as much as 27 weeks of wages at the time: http://www.sewalot.com/singer_201k_sewalot.htm

The Sailrite company does currently produce portable heavy-duty walking-foot machines with a good reputation in the $600 to $800 price range.

I do find it interesting that so often we discuss here how great the vintage machines are and that they are superior to the modern machines, but anything over $50 is often considered "way too expensive." I try to find the best deals possible, but do think they're worth more than we frequently pay.

YMMV

John

oldsewnsew

Interesting stuff! Link at bottom to.parent company history. Developer of Rex industrials.

Jamesbeat

We often say 'they don't make 'em like they used to', but I guess that's only partially true.
They DO make them like they used to, but nowadays they market them as industrial machines. The price for this quality of machine in real terms is similar to what it was back then, but now there's a new category of machines that are built cheap for domestic use.

Lucky for us, the machines were built so well back then that they're still here now, and priced ridiculously low considering the build quality!

Maybe those ebay sellers that advertise vintage domestic machines as 'industrial' aren't too as dishonest as they appear

miriam

They do build new industrial machines but the metal in them isn't as good as the older machines - well at least the ones made in China. I have an old Singer 241 that will sew rings around anything new. I sold the newer machine and kept the old one.

Jamesbeat

Quite true.
I have an 'old new' Singer (a model 347). It has a lot of newfangled features such as aluminum instead of cast iron for the case, an internal motor, a couple of notched belts etc.
Apart from a couple of toothed wheels and sundries such as motor mountings, everything inside appears to be metal.

Unfortunately, some of that metal is zinc alloy rather than the steel components that we love.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that this kind of 'improvement' has made it over to industrial machines too.