The Upholstery Forum

Hi all. 61 YO male. Looking forward to retirement. Thought this could be a fun way to generate beer money on the side. My focus is marine applications.
I remade all my sailboat cushions on an old Pfaff 30 I picked up for $50. I want to upgrade to newer machine. The Singer 4411 looks like good value. I also see lots of used Juki etc at approximately the same price point. I understand wearing parts etc but I don’t know what I don’t know so what else does one have to consider when purchasing a used industrial machine?
Thanks. And my apologies for the newbie question.

Parts will be the obstacle so JUKI. I won two and they are great.

Look for a triple feed machine. Reverse is nice but don't discount machines that dont have it; if it checks your other boxes. Look at the paint. Always going to be scissor rash and a bit of paint missing on the bed of an older machine, but if most or all of the paint is gone from the bed indicates heavy use. Re painted machines are usually ones that were worn out. Sometimes they're refurbished, sometimes people just throw paint on it to make it look good enough to sell and it's hard to tell the difference. If the machine is complete and you can see it sewing before purchase, you should be good. A used juki will hold its value in the event you want to upgrade or sell down the line.