KalamaQuilts

I'm researching carry along machines for group, thinking about smaller Juki, but I already have feet for the viking and brother/janome machines.
and wow how current climes have raised machine prices, the PS500 brother I bought 2 years ago for 699.00 is now 899.00. (love it, too heavy to transport to class)
thanks! love the many brains working in unison here!

Onebyone

I had the Brother 1500 ps. The feet will fit the Juki TL series. It's high shank. . I bought the Juki 710 for travel. It has snap on feet, The Brother snap on feet fit fine.

KalamaQuilts

thank you. in your travels have you ever sewn on a modern Necchi?? I didn't even know they existed.
I'mpondering this one.
https://www.alldiscountvacsew.com/pr...l3g_11aZWpapDZ
compatable with Janome feet.

mkc

What width feed dogs are your existing feet for?

For a smaller Juki, the LB5020 and LB5100 are made by Janome and appear to be 7mm machines, so if you have snap on 7mm feet they will likely fit those models.

For comparisons of the Juki machine stitches, dimensions, and weight, this is a good comparison chart on Juki's website

If you're wanting it as a travel machine, you can see the LB series is slightly lighter in weight than the HT series, but doesn't have a thread cutter. They do come with the extension table and hard cover. The HT series appears to have a soft cover and the extension table is extra.

Onebyone

Years ago I had an older Necchi I found at a thrift store cheap. It sewed fine. I gave it to a 4H group. I don't know about the modern ones.

mkc

According to this substack post, Janome bought the Necchi name in the early 2000's, but is not the current manufacturer of the machines. A concern if they are once again Italian-made is availability of parts (and the tariffs on said parts).

They are definitely not a mainstream brand in this era and support for the machine may be limited.

cashs_mom

I have a Janome walking foot for my Jukl (2200 QVP Mini same as TL 2010). It works better than the Juki walking foot that came with the machine.

KalamaQuilts

thanks gang! My feet are for 7mm machines.
Don't know why, well yes I do know why I was caught by the Necchis... colors
they seem to be made in Italy again, but I think the guts are probably clones of mainstream machines. In another 2 days I'll be over that whim, I know me.
re: sewing machine brands, it isn't any fun anymore to to even compare brands as I 'think' its down to about 3 corporations that make most.
My lovely husq/viking is now branded by SINGER. Singer is like George Washingtons ax. 3 heads and 4 handles later, but yeah, it's still GW's ax.
and yes, tariffs are no doubt why my 699. 2 year old machine is now 899.

there is also all the brand numbering by number and which ones are shop sold and which ones are internet sold, and will your shop actually work on a internet sold one. Here, warrenty work is a big no as they don't get paid for warrenty work on internet sold machines.

mkc

The warranty repair concern is a valid one. Very few shops will do warranty work on a machine they didn't sell. They'll do repair work, meaning you pay for it, but they won't do no-cost-to-you warranty work. (it's actually the same for most RVs. You'd think warranty meant any authorized dealer, but no, it's not like a car. If you didn't buy from them, most won't do warranty work.)

I couldn't get warranty repair on a Bernina after I'd moved and was no longer near the original selling dealer.

mkc

BTW, I'm going through the same research, so I've been sharing what I've found/comparison shopped in this and another "lighter machine" topic.

Really wish Janome or Juki would come out with a 13-15 pound machine with integrated dual feed.