path49

I have 2 sergers...a Brother & a Singer. Both are from the mid/late 80's & both are 3/4 thread. Mine both use industrial needles that are currently being made....I buy mine on ebay & get 100 needles for around $15-$20. I think most (if not all) new sergers use 15x1s. Knives are still being made for both of mine too...again, easy to find & cheaper on ebay. Knives last a long time if you don't hit a pin with them.

Neither of mine have ever been in a shop for repairs....& they get VERY heavy use! They're really not hard to work on. KenmoreRulesAll, you probably just need to move the looper a tiny bit...& then turn the wheel by hand to make sure that it's not hitting the other looper & to make sure that it's forming a nice stitch. Tolerances between needles/loopers & between the upper/lower loopers are VERY slight but nothing should actually be rubbing/hitting anything else. Tolerances are SO close that most sergers can only use size 11- 14 needles....smaller are too far from the loopers & larger ones hit the loopers.

foufymaus

Oh neat! Mine has that mechanical whine that most newer machines seem to have.

foufymaus

Okay shoot!

Threading the buggers and changing the stitches. *nods*

I haven't had to replace my set yet. For my model you have to purchase replacement blades.

I have to by a 2020 overlock needle from JoAnns so it's not exactly the same. The prices are about the same give or take a dollar. There's a difference between the length. BUT The manual says I can use a standard needle in a pinch but it's not supposed to be used as a default. So I guess the standard needles is like that spare little tire you have in your car if you get a flat. You can use it but not all the time.

Cari-in-Oly

Rodney if I can find room in my car Saturday I'll bring my beast so you can check it out.

Cari

manicmike

Yes threading is a painful process, and if your thread gets caught under the spool it will snap. This problem can be avoided to some extent by not pushing in the thread hangers. I just don't put it away, so it's the only machine I have to dust. Still, better than having to thread it every so often.

I had to change mine a month or so back. They don't sharpen them but the replacements were very cheap.

Mine is from around 1980 and is a Singer 14U12 (3 thread). I wouldn't have bought it only the GF insists that I finish her seams by overlocking, and it was $30. It does not use 15x1 needles.

KenmoreRulesAll

path49, I will try adjusting the upper looper to see if I can get them not to touch. I'd hate to try to adjust the timing only to have everything off.

Now, if I had a service manual...

I really like this Bernette and I think I can fix it. I've seen videos of working 335 machines and they do a mighty fine overlock.

ladydukes

Okay, you all have my curiosity up. I bought an almost new serger from a co-worker somewhere around 1997-1998 (I think??). It was still in its original box because she never used it. I tried it out a few times, then put it away, so I cannot even tell you what brand or model it is! When I go down to my sewing room today, I'm going to get it out to see what the brand and model number is.

My question is: what do most of you use your serger for?

KenmoreRulesAll

I use mine to practice dusting.

Kidding aside, when I learn to sew I'll let you know. I just think they're really interesting, the way they make loops and secure them with rows of stitching. And the trimming, too.

I'd like to make t-shirts, maybe even print my own logos on them. For that, a coverstitch would be, for me, necessary.

w1613s

I own 2 sergers. The first, a now elderly Singer 4 thread, was a cheapy on sale at Sam's. The kids were small at that moment and I was making all their clothes. I was also repairing rags and towels with ratty edges and, I confess, cloth diapers. I think a set of draperies for our library was also on that period's list. Anyway, the machine is small, plastic and it just recently had its first professional tune up - it has stuck with me all this time. Oh one more thing. The kids turned out to be drum corps/marching band freaks. The various groups needed help with band and colorguard uniforms. The cheapy went to the "get ready to go on tour camp" and altered band uniforms as well as making guard uniforms and flags for the show. One year it put satin collars and lapels on over 100 band uniforms as well as doing the alterations. The satin stitch ruled! It also occasionally rode the bus for a couple of tour weeks along with an elderly Elna that did other sewing stuff.

The second machine is a Husky 5 stitch with a chain stitch capability and a couple of sets of nifty feet to attach various kinds of decoration to fabric. Computerized and quite a step up from the Singer. It gets better treatment - kids are out on their own. I use it for fancier applications but it often gets duty with plain old serging. I still take the ratty edges off of things. I keep close track of its innards because any problems I cannot handle have to be sent out of town. It came with the stern instruction that if you tinkered with its innards the assorted warranty stuff would no longer apply. It is a goodly piece down the road from the day I bought it butt I can assure you my first act after getting it out of the box was to apply appropriately sized screwdrivers and check out how everything was placed and where the fuzz and threads were likely to congregate in its innards. I also write on my machines so it and its sisters in the sewing room have printed tattoos.

The two sergers are always up in my sewing room. One is threaded with white and the other with, you guessed it, black! They are not the most used equipment in my sewing room but they earn their spots on the desk. The Singer is prissier to thread but practice and use help a great deal. Also good light. And the trick of attaching the new thread to the old one (knot) and then carefully pulling the attached threads until the new one is through the various hooks, tensions, etc. Then the only thing left is to thread the needles and run a chain and sample to test the new set-up.

Yes, I quilt using the sergers. Shhh, don't blow my cover.

Pat

Cari-in-Oly

I'm working on a quilt right now that has a flannel back with a column down the center of leftover blocks. I've never used flannel in a quilt before but have always read that you should use 1/2" seams with flannel. I forgot about that and sewed 1/4" seams. I didn't want to tear out those long seams so I serged them. Worked just fine. Your secret is safe with me.

Cari