Folks Of Interest I have freaking had it! A rant about people not following through

To test out a shop. Give them a set of sunvisors to recover. That is the hardest item to do. And tell them you want binding on the edges too. It will tell you how good they are. Kind of a pass or fail thing.

 

What has this guy told you that would make you leave your car there for 5 years? 1 year? Maybe. Unless this is that TV show where they completely build a car in 7 days, but not 5 years. Maybe he uses the slow drying primer

 

Thanks for the information @stanlow69 !

 

Good one!! The shop that I used way back when that prompted me to get my own machine could never do a sun visor.

 

This is close to what I have.

 

Thanks for the info! Great news, for me! My machine has a walking foot! It goes up then forward, then down and then back! Hooray for me! But, I found out my machine does not have a reverse! Crap! But ol well ! I can learn on this one! Then if I like it I can get a better one! Thanks K13 and Roothawg.





Bones

 

Interiors for cars. I decided I'd do as much as I could myself. Borrowed a machine and a staple gun.
It wasn't that bad. Practicing with a cheap blue tarp to mock up a draft pattern helps.

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I inherited a Consew commercial sewing machine from my Dad but I’ve never messed with it. It’s not a walking foot version and before he died he and I looked into converting it to a walking foot with no luck. After taking night school classes he did the upholstery for our Flatbottom ski boats and his Baja bugs as well as all of the home furniture with it.
My question to the guys who have done upholstery themselves is what is the limitation of the non walking foot machine? Does the problem arise when sewing through say an upper and lower panel with piping in between? Will it sew carpet to the cardboard along the bottom of a door panel? Edging on carpet?
Should I sell this one and buy a better machine, any recommendations?
I would really like to try doing the interior in my ‘33 pickup.


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About machine feed... What you want is what's called a triple feed/compound feed, where the bottom feed dogs, needle and (usually a 2-piece) presser foot move together to move the material being sewn.

There is A LOT of confusion because most people call everything with the feeding foot a walking foot machine, no matter if it's the only feed mechanism, or if it's walking foot, needle feed and bottom feed, or just a combination of two. You need to know what you are looking for otherwise you will be buying something that may not do the job you want it to.

To add to the confusion there is a "walking foot" add on for domestic sewing machines, basically a special presser foot that connects to the needle bar movement to help feed material through. Perhaps good for people sewing clothes etc. of multiple layers of slippery or hard to feed materials, but it's not a true walking foot and does not help the domestic machines on all the other areas they are to "small/weak" for upholstery work so they're still very much unsuitable for this kind of work.

There is no such addition to industrial sewing machines, the walking foot & needle feed they have is integral to the machine design, so they're built with it or can't have it.

I think bottom feed only industrial machines may do somewhat okay on some less advanced upholstery sewing, i.e. just sewing two pieces of fabric/pleather together along an edge. Add more thickness, more layers, piping, foam for pleats and so on and you will probably go crazy using that machine.

 

This started as a rant but morphed into a pretty good tech thread.

 

My shoebox was in paint shop jail for 3 years, the interior for my '41 coupe was in the shop for 2.5 years. I picked up the interior the day I sold the car.

 

Thanks for the info guys. This is helpful.

 

I have an old metal gear singer, no walking foot, just the dogs, and it works really well. If stuff gets too layered, yes, you have to push it along a little, which took some getting used to, but I didn't find it terrible. Mine works for simple stuff like piping additions, etc, and my experience has been the machine is the easy part. Cutting, measuring, layout, etc is what defines fit at the end of the project. Sewing itself isn't really hard, but getting final fit right is DAMNED difficult.

It's like anything else, just gotta start somewhere.

When I first bought a pedal steel guitar I asked the guy how long I'd be at it before I'd be any good, and he said "it takes two years to suck". I'd put upholstery in that same category if you're talking about getting really good results, and you're investing time into it hobby wise and not full time.

 

There is a lot of why's,we can't get others to do like it seem's they should,some real an some just weak excuse's.
I lost a buddy Nuwt RIP, who was great at his work,did all my car seats,rugs n panels over the years. .
With him gone,I just jumped in with both feet an gave it a DIY try on low bucks.
Wrote a HAMB tech on it some years ago,an was fun to pass along what little I found out,,an got my job done on My Son's rod an redo on my old rod.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tech-sew-at-home-upholsrety-hot-rod.604077/

 

The biggest issue is when you try and do corners with say two pieces that have sew foam backing and then piping between them. Trying to line up witness marks while keeping the everything aligned and then trying to pull it through the machine because the machine isn't doing it itself makes it almost impossible to get good results.

 

There is something to be said for doing everything for themself building cars or anything for that matter. I think most of us Old Timers grew up in households that DIY was standard operating procedure. I know I never hired anybody for anything until I started my business and had to sub out parts of projects until I could buy all the equipment need to avoid subbing anything and still subbed out for some specialty work all the 36 years. DIY has served me well in many areas and now retired and still DIY as I have the time, takes me forever to get things done, but I have more time than money these days. It still feels good to say, "I did That". Time/money management was items I learned being self employed 36 years, sometimes it was better to make money in my shop and hire some things out, like many parts of life, it's a juggling act to keep all the balls in the air.

 

It's a new generation, isn't it? Tuck n roll is actually stuffed pleats or what some call rolls and pleats. I didn't want a bunch in mine, had the lady do big ones (she's gone, just up n left). As to the work of it, it's almost easier. Cut em all, sew over foam or linen, stuff with foam, horsehair or cotton. Top stich may "run" fast but you have to be dead-on-balls straight with each one or it looks like pure shit. And in the end it looks like hell wouldn't have it IMO. To me this is it, but not "stuffed" as I wanted it flat and sorta Packard-ish:

Same on the seat, didn't want the rolls puffed and didn't want too many, again more like following a 34 Packard 8 pattern and size, but still tuck n roll, no?


I brought this up because she just sliced up all the parts and stitched em together with the backing foam, and dammit it went fast. Top stich? Yuk, like cheapo OEM 50s car to me, no sale. But again, I feel for ya because if you want what you want you're the bad guy. If you demand quality you're just argumentative and over critical. And as a shop owner? Holy fuck, DO NOT critique your new gen workers! Federal marshalls are likely to beat your door down! It's sad to be sure. I have a landscaping professional my age and an 83 yr old retired engineer as part time help because so far there is nobody else. Sorry, not willing to kiss a tech school grads ass and pay em like they're the next Roy Brizio because they think so. And it sounds to me like you got stung by that shit. Where else is this? How about when you order parts from the same old shop and all they want is to get your order then essentially tell you to fuck off? I miss being able to shoot the breeze with a supplier to get their input, locate like-minded shops or collectors, and maybe just tell a joke or 3. Not any more "Is there anything else?" in a smug you're-bothering-me way, "Yeah, cancel the order and shove it up your ass." Yes that's happened a couple times. Keep punching root, looks like folks here got your 6.

 

Highlander, what's with the space shuttle belts?

 

I agree with you wholeheartedly. And trust me, it's not just just upholsterers and drywallers. I took a personal injury file yesterday from an idiot lawyer who had sat on the file for well over a year, not doing shit with it, and there were 19 days left before the Statute of Limitations expired. It amazes the hell out of me. Look around at the most successful people in basically any field. It's usually because their work ethic is insane, not because they're necessarily the absolute best or brightest. They're likely excellent at what they do, but they outwork those around them. The combination of talent and effort is what makes people exceptional.

This thread also reminds me of the recent thread about the price of upholstery. I seemed to be in the minority when I said I wouldn't bristle at a $10K bill for a full gut on a full size car. Not to justify what this dude is doing, or why he's dragging his feet, or trying to blow you out after under-bidding the job. But it goes to show unfortunately that the best charge a premium rate.

 

Im so happy to have a couple of really good guys.
I tell mine my ideas, he goes with it and makes it a better idea than was in my head. Still folowing what I wanted and keeping the "feel" i want.

 

I will add this, being honest with myself, if I factor in equipment costs(I know you can resell later to recoup but I never do that with tools) and you buy quality materials from a upholstery supplier and not the crap that the local fabric place claims is automotive/marine grade your cost savings on a single car are going to be pretty minimal.

 

If you do just one. I have 3 that I need to do in the next 5 years. 2 of those will be in the next year.

I could say the same thing about paint and body, since I am not a pro shop, but I paint my buddies cars and family rides. My dad would have never been able to pay someone, when I was growing up. We was po. Poor people have poor ways. That's one of the main reasons I ask so many questions on here. I like to size up things before I jump off.

He did everything. Paint, body, plumbing, roofing....we even put in an in ground pool he bought at an auction. (Long story)

I do my own paint and body, build my own chassis, wiring, build my own engines and trannys, rear ends.

It looks like the one forbidden fruit may not be so forbidden in the near future.
This weekend I am working on a room upstairs above the shop that could possibly be turned into a place to do upholstery.

 

Dig it out and sew with it. You will learn the limitations of the machine. It will teach you the basic understanding of how a sewing machine works. Thread tension ect... Pull your wife`s machine out as well and sew on hers. You will learn the basics. You must learn to drive slow before you learn to drive fast. Once learned, then you can handle more horsepower. Sewing on a home machine is like using a screwdriver. Using a commercial walking foot is like using a cordless impact.

 

Roothawg, check into local college courses, too.
While we now have access to an incredible amount of info and help online, it really helps to have a knowledgeable person give feedback in real time when learning a new skill.
I took a course a couple years back locally and just like almost every trade, I developed a great respect for those that do it professionally. It's something where you have to concentrate on what you are doing inch-by-inch while also considering what's ahead. Modern materials and techniques may make it better and easier, but it's still the same craft as it was a hundred years ago and more. Doing a single example of something VS mass mechanized production is always going to take more time, money and effort.

 

Best description of using a commercial machine with a walking foot that I have ever heard.

 

Yeah, everyone in class wanted the machines to go 10X slower. The teacher said "you just need to learn how to use it as they are".

 

That’s the first thing I though about my machine! Slow down! Crap! I have even thought about changing the pulleys on mine! Might be ok for a pro! And while I’m changing the pulleys I just might throw in a transmission so I can “ back up” !





Bones

 

First thing I did was replace the clutch style motor with a servo motor for mine. Made learning 1000 times easier.

 

Another thing it's good to understand is that the idea behind the machines is very different too. The domestic machine is the swiss army knife, it can sew thin fabric, it can sew relatively heavy fabric, it can sew straight stitch, zig zag, and (since the ~1950s) often dozens of other seams too, it can sew buttons, button holes, free motion embroidery/darning... It isn't great at all these jobs, but it's usually good enough. This makes a lot of sense, especially long ago when buying the machine was a very large investment, it had to do as much as possible to be worth the investment.

That sort of "one machine does most jobs" doesn't exist in industrial machines. There you have one machine for straight stitch in light fabric, another for zig zag in light fabric, another for straight stich in heavy fabric, another for making buttonholes, another for sewing buttons, and so on. The industrial machines are built to do ONE job, do it great, and do it hour after hour, month after month. Need to sew multiple types of seams on one product? No problem, you have machines for each in an industrial setting.

This means industrial machines can be very reliable beasts. It also means you need to know what the machine needs to be able to handle (thread size, material thickness, stitch length) when you go out to buy a machine for upholstery (or whatever), because even if it is a compound feed straight stitch machine it doesn't have to have the appropriate stitch length, there might not be room for the desired thuckness under the foot, it may not be able to handle as thick thread as you need, or just want for the right look. There are walking foot machines for making thin leather gloves, as well as for sewing something more like 3/4" thick heavy leather for horse saddles etc.

 

Early on I had a commercial walking foot machine. It only sewed 5 stitches per inch. Sewing pleats with a good quality vinyl and 1/2 inch foam with scrim on one side. I felt like the stitch length shortened to much sewing the thickness. More like 6 or 7 per inch. So I upgraded to a 4 stitches per inch.