So I Bought A Thing: Juki DDL 5500
June 14, 2023
The Juki DDL 5500
So I bought a thing and it's an industrial single stitch and bobbin winder Juki DDL 5500. It's a machine made in Japan sometime between 1975-85. Our embroiderer Ethan has been begging me for a machine for months to better sew in tags, clip tags, patches, etc and I finally found one from a guy who seemed like he knew what he was talking about. A fun craigslist/marketplace thing I've noticed since the pandemic is that the retired people who got bored started doing their careers or hobbies as a side hustle to pass time. This man was from Jersey and he was a sewing machine mechanic for 40 years and repairs them in his free time. He sold us a completely refurbished machine, head to toe, removal of all the computerized parts that are not obsolete and a fresh gallon of machine oil all for hundreds of dollars below market cost. The other best part of these situations is that if the machine ever breaks he's the first one who's getting a call and is happy to do so. I highly recommend going this route if you're ever buying anything niche or industrial that you're not a complete wiz at. You'll know as soon as you get on a call with someone, they want to talk shop and will normally say 'It's good that some young people are getting into this trade now.'
This machine is smooth as butter, the gas pedal under the table gives you a lot of control once you find the sweet spot. There's a kick-plate lever that hangs under the table you can control with your knee. The entire machine is controlled by a rubber belt that doubles as a bobbin winder with an attachment. If we can get comfortable on the machine we'll be introducing sample work, custom bags, and sewn on patches on shirts/beanies that we can also produce in house. I have a pattern done for a sling bag I'm dying to produce. Side note: sewing in tags is hard!
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