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Posted by Gogarty on May 24, 2006, 9:14 am
We have been doing some heavy duty canvas work for our boat, dealing
with Sunbrella fabric. We were using a Brother home sewing machine. The
last project, a sail cover, spelled finis for that machine. It just
burned out but it had delivered yeoman service for many years.
Now we have a new project rebuilding the dodger. (A dodger is a canvas
-- Sunbrella -- enclosure with heavy clear vinyl windows, all supported
on a metal frame with various big zippers to enable installation,
removal and folding.) This job would need more than a small domestic
sewing machine. So seeing a good buy, we bought an industrial high speed
lock stitch sewing machine, a Yamata GC8500. This is one humongous
mother of a sewing machine! It does 5,500 stitches per minute, is driven
by a ½ HP motor and weighs, all up with table and motor, some 225
pounds. (For those interested, we bought it from Harbor Freight.
Shipping for the whole shebang was only nine dollars. But some! assembly
was required, like two weeks worth.)
We have figured out how to make straight stitches in any number of
layers of fabric, though controlling the speed of this monster is a real
and not yet mastered art. The problem lies with the clear vinyl plastic
windows. We did this job once before with the old and now defunct
machine and had no problems. But this machine is so fast it literally
melts the vinyl, even causes it to smoke. We are not able to get more
than a few inches of stitching of vinyl to Sunbrella before any number
of bad things happen. The thread balls before the needle. The upper
thread breaks. The upper thread shreds. There’s a bird’s nest on the
bottom side. Etc., etc. Correcting one problem seems to cause another.
We are using best quality polyester thread. We bought a new presser foot
made of plastic. We are using No. 18 needles.
Any ideas on how to deal with this problem would be most welcome.
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Posted by AC on May 24, 2006, 9:37 am
Hi, I have a Yamata industrial also, cant think of model # but it does
both straight stitch and zigzag. Have you tried a teflon foot, or is
that the plastic one you mention?
I believe most industrials can be tweaked to not go so fast, but no idea
how to go about it.
AC
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Posted by Lee & Cathi Thomas on May 24, 2006, 9:55 am
I have no idea, but there is an upholstery forum I know of where a lot of
the people are experienced with boat covers etc. Ask your question here:
http://www.get-up-and-go.com/upholstery-forum/index.php?board=1
Cathi
show/hide quoted text
> We have been doing some heavy duty canvas work for our boat, dealing
> with Sunbrella fabric. We were using a Brother home sewing machine. The
> last project, a sail cover, spelled finis for that machine. It just
> burned out but it had delivered yeoman service for many years.
> Now we have a new project rebuilding the dodger. (A dodger is a canvas
> -- Sunbrella -- enclosure with heavy clear vinyl windows, all supported
> on a metal frame with various big zippers to enable installation,
> removal and folding.) This job would need more than a small domestic
> sewing machine. So seeing a good buy, we bought an industrial high speed
> lock stitch sewing machine, a Yamata GC8500. This is one humongous
> mother of a sewing machine! It does 5,500 stitches per minute, is driven
> by a ½ HP motor and weighs, all up with table and motor, some 225
> pounds. (For those interested, we bought it from Harbor Freight.
> Shipping for the whole shebang was only nine dollars. But some! assembly
> was required, like two weeks worth.)
> We have figured out how to make straight stitches in any number of
> layers of fabric, though controlling the speed of this monster is a real
> and not yet mastered art. The problem lies with the clear vinyl plastic
> windows. We did this job once before with the old and now defunct
> machine and had no problems. But this machine is so fast it literally
> melts the vinyl, even causes it to smoke. We are not able to get more
> than a few inches of stitching of vinyl to Sunbrella before any number
> of bad things happen. The thread balls before the needle. The upper
> thread breaks. The upper thread shreds. There's a bird's nest on the
> bottom side. Etc., etc. Correcting one problem seems to cause another.
> We are using best quality polyester thread. We bought a new presser foot
> made of plastic. We are using No. 18 needles.
> Any ideas on how to deal with this problem would be most welcome.
>
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Posted by small change on May 24, 2006, 10:20 am
show/hide quoted text
> We have been doing some heavy duty canvas work for our boat, dealing
> with Sunbrella fabric. We were using a Brother home sewing machine. The
> last project, a sail cover, spelled finis for that machine. It just
> burned out but it had delivered yeoman service for many years.
> We have figured out how to make straight stitches in any number of
> layers of fabric, though controlling the speed of this monster is a real
> and not yet mastered art. The problem lies with the clear vinyl plastic
> windows. We did this job once before with the old and now defunct
> machine and had no problems. But this machine is so fast it literally
> melts the vinyl, even causes it to smoke. We are not able to get more
> than a few inches of stitching of vinyl to Sunbrella before any number
> of bad things happen. The thread balls before the needle. The upper
> thread breaks. The upper thread shreds. There's a bird's nest on the
> bottom side. Etc., etc. Correcting one problem seems to cause another.
> We are using best quality polyester thread. We bought a new presser foot
> made of plastic. We are using No. 18 needles.
> Any ideas on how to deal with this problem would be most welcome.
Have you had the assembly of your machine checked by a professional?
Speed can be adjusted by changing the pulley.
Sounds like you have your machine threaded incorrectly or the needle in
incorrectly.
Practice on scraps is another way to learn to control the speed.
You might be using the incorrect thread for your weight project.
Can't tell from the pics I found online, but that is NOT a walking foot,
correct? Your project would feed a whole lot better if you had a walking
foot machine. It may be that you purchased an industrial that's suitable
for garment making, but not heavy work.
ps
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>
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Posted by WB on May 24, 2006, 11:25 am
Gogarty wrote:
show/hide quoted text
> We have been doing some heavy duty canvas work for our boat, dealing
> with Sunbrella fabric. We were using a Brother home sewing machine. The
> last project, a sail cover, spelled finis for that machine. It just
> burned out but it had delivered yeoman service for many years.
>
> Now we have a new project rebuilding the dodger. (A dodger is a canvas
> -- Sunbrella -- enclosure with heavy clear vinyl windows, all supported
> on a metal frame with various big zippers to enable installation,
> removal and folding.) This job would need more than a small domestic
> sewing machine. So seeing a good buy, we bought an industrial high speed
> lock stitch sewing machine, a Yamata GC8500. This is one humongous
> mother of a sewing machine! It does 5,500 stitches per minute, is driven
> by a ½ HP motor and weighs, all up with table and motor, some 225
> pounds. (For those interested, we bought it from Harbor Freight.
> Shipping for the whole shebang was only nine dollars. But some! assembly
> was required, like two weeks worth.)
>
> We have figured out how to make straight stitches in any number of
> layers of fabric, though controlling the speed of this monster is a real
> and not yet mastered art. The problem lies with the clear vinyl plastic
> windows. We did this job once before with the old and now defunct
> machine and had no problems. But this machine is so fast it literally
> melts the vinyl, even causes it to smoke. We are not able to get more
> than a few inches of stitching of vinyl to Sunbrella before any number
> of bad things happen. The thread balls before the needle. The upper
> thread breaks. The upper thread shreds. There’s a bird’s nest on the
> bottom side. Etc., etc. Correcting one problem seems to cause another.
>
> We are using best quality polyester thread. We bought a new presser foot
> made of plastic. We are using No. 18 needles.
>
> Any ideas on how to deal with this problem would be most welcome.
>
5500 spm!! I would temporarily slow that bad boy down by changing
pulley size, rather than relying entirely on feathering the clutch to
control speed. You won't lose too much time in the overall project, my
guess. (My mom said in jest that I always took my photographs at 1/1000
second because "He's so impatient"; same principle)
Maybe add a thread lubricator too. The needle is getting very hot,
obviously. Maybe put a dry lubricant like teflon powder on the vinyl
along the seam path. Maybe a leather needle would work better on vinyl
to cut through, too.
JPBill
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