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Posted by Liz S. Reynolds on June 28, 2007, 9:03 am
I've got a chance to pick up a floor model at a decent discount. Worth it?
I'm thinking fusing for the most part, but getting a nice crisp press on
washable work clothes and in between drycleanings for suits has charm.
I made a set of roller blinds and fused the liner to the backing myself
with an iron. bubble city. I'd like to do it again better, will one of
these things do the job? I'd be grateful for any thoughts or advice.
-Liz
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Posted by Candide on July 3, 2007, 9:09 pm
.
> I've got a chance to pick up a floor model at a decent discount. Worth
it?
>
> I'm thinking fusing for the most part, but getting a nice crisp press
on
> washable work clothes and in between drycleanings for suits has charm.
>
> I made a set of roller blinds and fused the liner to the backing
myself
> with an iron. bubble city. I'd like to do it again better, will one of
> these things do the job? I'd be grateful for any thoughts or advice.
>
> -Liz
Have had several and currently own three (Elnapress, vintage Hurley
Press, Spartan Press), each have their own uses and all are "dry"
presses.
You didn't say what model you were considering, so any advice we here
can give must be generic by nature.
Depending upon the model, clam presses can exert greater pressure then
one ever could with a hand iron, thus are great for pressing woollens,
and for use in sewing projects. Personally wouldn't bother with using
the built in steam function, and use a lightly dampened press cloth.
Using the steam function has the same problems using any steam iron
would. You have to fill the unit, wait for it to reach the right
temperature for steam, when done wait for it to cool so you can empty
the water out, etc... Not to mention sooner or later like all steam
irons, the unit will need to be descaled/cleaned out.
Singer used to make a decent steam press, but from what one hears, the
new stuff isn't worth bothering with, which explains why so many seek
out and pay vast sums for the vintage models. Either way such units last
much longer if they are not used with water as above.
What you should do is take along some sample items to the store where
the floor model is and ask if you can run some tests. Bring a water
bottle and a press cloth so you and experiment that way as the unit
likely will not have water.
You want good heat even heat on all settings, as well as good even
pressure when the shoe is brought down onto the buck. Also take into
over all consideration how well the unit is built. Does it sit firmly
and level? Does it wobble about as you operate the unit? If it will be
stored when not in use, is it easy to set up? How heavy is the unit? My
vintage Hurley press is made of cast iron, steel, and chrome (hey it was
made during the 1950's, so what do you expect?), but darn thing gets
HOT, and will flatten out anything I've thrown at it.
Candide
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Posted by Liz S. Reynolds on July 6, 2007, 8:14 am
>
>You didn't say what model you were considering, so any advice we here
>can give must be generic by nature.[...]
Thank you, generic was what I was looking for. I've taken a deep breath and
decided to hold onto my wallet for a while longer. More research and time
to think is a find idea.
-Liz
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Posted by Candide on July 7, 2007, 4:37 am
> >
> >You didn't say what model you were considering, so any advice we here
> >can give must be generic by nature.[...]
>
> Thank you, generic was what I was looking for. I've taken a deep
breath and
> decided to hold onto my wallet for a while longer. More research and
time
> to think is a find idea.
>
> -Liz
>
Keep your eyes peeled for steam press units at thrifts, estate sales,
and of course eBay or Craigslist. There are tons of them out there and
sometimes can be found near MIB for a very good price. IMHO vintage
units even from as late as the 1980's are streets ahead of the Asian
stuff one finds today. Even Elna's presses aren't what they once were.
Look for Singer, Spartan, Elnapress, Hurley and Bernina, as they were
the most common units. Singer, Elna and Bernina are still around, so
finding parts and other information should be easy.
Candide
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Posted by Pogonip on July 7, 2007, 2:26 pm
Candide wrote:
>
>
> Keep your eyes peeled for steam press units at thrifts, estate sales,
> and of course eBay or Craigslist. There are tons of them out there and
> sometimes can be found near MIB for a very good price. IMHO vintage
> units even from as late as the 1980's are streets ahead of the Asian
> stuff one finds today. Even Elna's presses aren't what they once were.
>
> Look for Singer, Spartan, Elnapress, Hurley and Bernina, as they were
> the most common units. Singer, Elna and Bernina are still around, so
> finding parts and other information should be easy.
>
> Candide
>
>
I have two, found at thrift stores for $10 each. One is an older Elna
without steam, the other a slightly newer Singer with steam, but a
smaller plate than the Elna. I have been unable to decide which one to
keep. So I kept them both. The Elna had been used to do an iron-on
transfer, and they got the transfer in backwards. I spent a few hours
removing the melted on transfer, after which the thing was good as new.
--
Joanne
stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.milky-way.com
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/
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