Sailrite LS-1 or LSZ-1?

[Alex W]

Originally Posted by jimrafford

You might want to look at Defenders machine. It's $500 That's what we have.

That is the one that I mentioned earlier.

The major differences between the two machines are:
* the Barracuda (sold by Defender and Amazon) doesn't come with the case. The case is worth the ~$100
* the clutch on the Barracuda slips more easily. Sailrite make a very nice improvement here that is expensive to add on. The "Cuda Crank Wheel" from Defender/Barracuda gets you part of the way there by using set screws to lock the wheel instead of using the stock clutch.
* The Sailrite machine has a lot of internal improvements that aren't immediately obvious and I don't think they change the sewing results, but may allow the machine to last longer. There have a video that shows them, and the Barracuda is identical to the older Sailrite machine that they compare to.
* The Barracuda manual is nearly useless, but at least you can buy the Sailrite one for $10 (online/PDF).

Once you add the case ($125) and Cuda Crank Wheel ($100) the price difference between the Sailrite machine and Barracuda machine is under $200 (less when Sailrite has a sale).

alex

[harbin2]

I'm pretty sure the LSZ-1 machine makes a significantly smaller zig zag than the more expensive industrial machines used to make most of the commercial sails. I'm not sure how significant the stitch size is in sailmaking and repairs.

[Sumner10]

Originally Posted by Alex W

....Once you add the case ($125) and Cuda Crank Wheel ($100) the price difference between the Sailrite machine and Barracuda machine is under $200 (less when Sailrite has a sale). alex

We buy all the time from Defender, but wonder if they stock all of the parts for that machine like Sailrite does. Most are probably interchangeable, but you wouldn't know for sure since Sailrite has made some changes to their machine.

You will need parts if you sew much. So far we have had to replace the following. Sooner or later the needle will hit these parts and you will know it because the thread will snag and start to unravel and bunch up at the needle.



The above you can file and sand smooth again a number of times but sooner or later you need one.



The same with the shuttle above. The needle can hit if, usually your fault, and nick it. I've been able to file/sand/polish ours so far but we now have a spare.



The needle plate on ours finally broke and we had to get another.



The takeup spring will probably also finally break and need replacement. Here is a link to just some of the parts available from them....

http://search.sailrite.com/category/...-machine-parts

...and they make a nice kit for cruisers with parts you might need....

Cruiser's Spares for Ultrafeed Sewing Machines

...while away. We bought the kit along with some other backup parts.

There are other small springs and numerous tiny, tiny screws that can be dropped and needed. All in all the machine has been rock solid and we have sewn a lot of projects on it. I'm sure some people have probably not had to replace a thing.

The point is that any of these machines that have forward/reverse, zig-zag, adjustable stitch length and walking feet have a lot of parts in them and sooner or later you might need one of those parts and if so they are just a call away with Sailrite.

Sum

Our 37 Endeavour --- Our 26 MacGregor --- Trips With Both

[TejasSailer]

Originally Posted by harbin2

I'm pretty sure the LSZ-1 machine makes a significantly smaller zig zag than the more expensive industrial machines used to make most of the commercial sails. I'm not sure how significant the stitch size is in sailmaking and repairs.

Not having made sails, the following is academic. The LSZ-1 zig-zag width is 5 mm. James Grant's Sailrite sail construction series states that the zig-zag stitch should be 3/16" (or just about 5 mm.) The Sailmaker's Apprentice doesn't seem to mention an optimum width, but it's about 500 pages so the width might be in there somewhere. Don Casey in This Old Boat recommends at least 6 mm.

However, too wide of a stitch could be a snag problem.

While not stated, these widths are probably for two-point, single-step zig-zag. Multi-point, multi-step zig-zag could be wider without the snagging problem. For example, the maximum width for the Sailrite professional, a four-point, three-step machine, is 10 mm.

The widest two-point, single-step zig-zag I've seen is 12 mm for the no longer marketed Sailrite Sailmaker which was based on the Brother TZ1-B652 and has separate feet, feed-dogs and throat-plates for straight-straight-stitch, 5 mm zig-zag and 12 mm zig-zag

[wmarinecanvas]

Hello everybody,

As a marine canvas fabricator who started out doing canvas on a cruising sailboat using an LSZ-1 I thought I would throw my two cents in as well.

When I first started doing canvas work using the Sailrite machine I thought that the zig-zag was an absolute necessity for the heavy-duty sewing of marine canvas due to strength of the stitch.

After having returned to life ashore a few years ago I went to work in a sail loft doing custom canvas work and I recently opened my own custom canvas shop here in Annapolis. During my time working in a sail service loft (all repairs, no new sails) I can tell you that for most sail repairs on cruising sails the zig-zag stitch is not necessary.

The zig-zag stitch and the three- or four-step zig-zag that a lot of the industrial machines are capable of is necessary in sail-making more for the even stretch of the sail than for the strength of the seam. Most cruising sail repairs that are done by a sailrite machine are not precision jobs and don't need to be. Especially if your boat is longer than about 35' I would imagine that you'll need to get it to a loft occasionally to take care of the bigger jobs which means that the Sailrite repairs are more of a temporary fix.

Anyway, to sum up, the zig-zag stitch isn't necessary for 99% of the DIY repairs out there but a lot of people think that it looks nice and nautical in which case sure, go for it. Is it worth the $150 extra? I would say only if you plan on doing a lot of spinnaker (or gennaker, screacher, code-zero, etc.) repairs which rely more on the even stretch of the stitching than a big heavy cruising main or genoa does.

Just my two cents.

[paul323]

I got the LSZ-1 a little while ago, and straight out of the box I thought it was a good machine. I later added their "Monster Wheel", and realized it was a GREAT machine. Although I do use the zz (I am a noob, so no expert) I would put the Monster Wheel as a higher priority than the zz. The machine runs smoother, and deals with varying layups - and thicker layups - more easily. It made a huge difference.

As for the power, as an example, I was working on a thick layup the other day, and the needle got deflected and punched straight though this steel plate


Sumners advice on parts reflects my own. Bought and used all of those...

I would also encourage you to buy from Sailrite. (disclaimer: Just a satisfied customer). As stated, they are very friendly, helpful, and patient. I needed a bit of help to get to grips with the machine, and their manual, videos, and telephone support is unequaled.. Parts do break and get out of alignment; the Sailrite machine is easy for you to repair, tune, and get parts for. And once you start making stuff, having a supplier you can depend upon is well worth it.