The Sewing Place

Sewing machine graveyard

Mocarroll

Sewing machine graveyard
« on: September 18, 2020, 22:22:08 PM »
Paid a visit to Sewing World at Pratt's Bottom (yes it is a real place!) and had to enter the shop via the back door.  In the garden there was a huge pile of "dead" sewing machines. Wish I'd taken a photo but when I asked what they were doing there I was told that they were unrepairable, plastic innard machines. Lesson to all looking to buy a starter machine. Buy an older, reconditioned machine rather than a cheap plastic one!

Ohsewsimple

Re: Sewing machine graveyard
« Reply #1 on: September 19, 2020, 13:06:13 PM »
It doesn’t have to be an old machine particularly just one that is made properly and has a chassis. 
The cheap end of the market, including some of the Brother machines, have the working parts bolted onto the plastic casing.  We used to see quite a few of them.  A machine with a chassis has separate covers that can be taken off revealing the workings inside. 

Mr Twingo

Re: Sewing machine graveyard
« Reply #2 on: September 19, 2020, 22:51:12 PM »
Paid a visit to Sewing World at Pratt's Bottom (yes it is a real place!) and had to enter the shop via the back door.  In the garden there was a huge pile of "dead" sewing machines.

You're the second person this week I've heard mention this. I would definitely want to rescue a few motors from those machines… perhaps I should phone and ask for a few machines?

The cheap end of the market, including some of the Brother machines, have the working parts bolted onto the plastic casing.

My first machine was a low end Brother, and was exactly as you describe. Furthermore, any metal inside was about as strong as a paperclip, and just as easily bent. Ghastly piece of junk. It put me off Brother machines.