Soul of a New Machine

Back in January, we made the decision to purchase a new sewing machine.  Our heavy duty Adler 166, which we use for the heaviest of sewing tasks is showing its age.  It has had a couple of breakdowns in the past year and we have found it hard or impossible to find replacement parts forcing us to improvise.

Since there are certain jobs only this machine could do for us, the prospect of losing use of it for any length of time during our busy season was a vulnerability for us.  We decided we needed a backup.

After some research, a little negotiation, and an interminable wait, a large crate arrived on our loading dock today.  We attacked the crate with hammers and screwdrivers, and wrestled the contents into the prepared table cut-out.

The new machine, a Solent 366-76 HA, is the descendant of the the Adler, with the same heavy duty sewing ability, but with three times the horizontal and  twice the vertical underarm clearance.  There are also quite a few extra bells and whistles - needle positioner, pneumatic foot and puller lifts, push-button bar tacker, 1, 2, and 3 step zigzag stitch cams, etc., etc.  These are details only a sailmaker will appreciate, but it is going to make it a lot easier for us to deal with big sails (we hope).