Sewing Machine Magic

March 6th, 2010 | by admin |

Junkyard Wars audition tape (successful!). Ever wonder how a sewing machine works? See a larger than life model constructed, and the operation played thru.

Nerds speak – Have a Nerd speak at your next event. Or host your own Junkyard Wars style competition – Makes a great team building exercise. Details at http://www.the-nerds.org/lecture.html

Duration : 0:8:43


[youtube bAhmYzmkvcY]

  1. 25 Responses to “Sewing Machine Magic”

  2. By DougPlucker on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    Singer 15 and HA-1 …
    Singer 15 and HA-1 clones: the bobbin is on a shaft inside a cup that fits into the shuttle which is latched down. Clearly the thread can’t go completely around such a contrivance. But I will admit that is does not go around, but oscillates back and forth.

  3. By rjnerd on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    The bobbin doesn’t …
    The bobbin doesn’t sit on a shaft in any machine I have disassembled. They have always sat in the cup that has the thread catching hook on it. The cup spins, the bobbin floats inside it.

  4. By DougPlucker on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    I still don’t get …
    I still don’t get it. Your video implies that the bobbin is somehow magically suspended in air, thus allowing the loop of thread to go completely around it, but in reality, the bobbin is on a shaft attached to the machine. how does the thread get around the shaft?

  5. By sewingmachineheaven on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    Wow that was a lot …
    Wow that was a lot of work even for three men. I’ll have to make a video and try to make it shorter. >;o) great vid!

  6. By RickE1poker on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    Basically right, …
    Basically right, though it would have worked better if th bobbin guy also was a tension guy and the needle/tension guy also had his foot on the fabric to hold the fabric down as the feeddog guy moved the fabric.
    Great job though.

  7. By DNAPROTEINN on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    thank you, great …
    thank you, great presentation. Finally I understand how this works. Was it Sinfer who came this ingenious idea. What preceded it?

  8. By starwarsgeek14 on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    imagine if you had …
    imagine if you had to sew like that. three men. haha :)

  9. By c2thew on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    thanks. this video …
    thanks. this video would definitely delight kids in middle school. good job guys

  10. By fairygodmothercoach on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    This was a great …
    This was a great explanation! I embedded it into my Grandma’s Sewing Cabinet blog.

  11. By kimmarie801 on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    good job! thanks …
    good job! thanks foe sharing!

  12. By antijelly on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    bunch of nerds… …
    bunch of nerds… lol

    i actually liked this!
    yes, i did wonder how sewing machines worked. olol

  13. By holycrap1110 on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    I have been …
    I have been wondering how it works for a while now, THANK YOU!

  14. By TomaLevine on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    That was …
    That was tremendously useful, guys! I actually used it to research the mechanism of a sewing machine for a professional illustration project, and I understand the process I’m illustrating a lot better now. Thanks!

  15. By rjnerd on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    You do realize that …
    You do realize that the bobbin is a spool of CAT-5 ethernet cable…

  16. By clearskyblue on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    Can you take my …
    Can you take my trousers up a few inches.

  17. By ugeenbenhemmer on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    I have been sewing …
    I have been sewing for 40 years but I have seen a sewing machine like that. That was fantastic and very entertaining. thanks !!!!

  18. By coquetscache on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    FANTASTIC idea, …
    FANTASTIC idea, thanks lots!

  19. By thejumpsuitman on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    Great video, guys. …
    Great video, guys. Wish I had a braintrust of friends I could work with, but I’m a lone genius! LOL.

  20. By Chopper894 on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    Thats fantastic,a …
    Thats fantastic,a super training video. Im in the industrial sewing machine business. Now if you can make a 301 lockstitch machine that works without a bobbin, you can write your own cheque and I will sign it. Deal?

  21. By Saraswatiji on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    Hey I have been …
    Hey I have been sewing ALL my life and now I finally get what happens in there…very cool!
    THanks!

  22. By cameramaam on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    Spectacular and fun!
    Spectacular and fun!

  23. By Oldpqlyr on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    Too cool, guys! …
    Too cool, guys! Like what once was so eloquently exhorted on a Monty Python flick, “You lucky, lucky b******s.” What fun! Thanks.

  24. By rjnerd on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    This wasn’t a …
    This wasn’t a general purpose video, it was an audition tape thrown together on very short notice. It served its purpose, it got us to the short list for auditions. As a result, we did 4 episodes of the show “Junkyard Wars” (”Scrapheap Challenge” outside the US.)

    The unrehearsed component was part of the point, the real show isn’t rehearsed either.

    Since it happens to be amusing, and somewhat educational, I put it up here.

  25. By Oldpqlyr on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    The intent was/is …
    The intent was/is noble. Rehearsal and better camera work would definitely enhance the segments i.e. More thought needs to go into planning the shots for clarity for the audience AND fundamental photo techniques -like don’t center-frame a speaker’s face (what’s with all the ceiling?)- and basic post production techniques -like deal with the “CAMERA CALIBRATION” and ‘TRACKING” messages in the final release-. Have you done any others, NERDS? If not… make some! I’d love to see ‘em.

  26. By fredgilman on Mar 6, 2010 | Reply

    Junkyard wars was …
    Junkyard wars was my favorite TV show growing up. You guys were the best! I finally understand how a sewing machine works! Thank you fellas!

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