Every machine leaves here sewing

What a service is, and what it costs

A service here is a strip and clean, fresh oil through every bearing, the hook cleaned out and reset for clearance, the timing checked against the needle bar, and both tensions balanced until the knot sits inside the cloth instead of on top of it. A domestic is R450 and goes back the same week. An overlocker is R650, because there are four tensions, two knives and a differential to set instead of one of each. Industrial heads are R850 on our bench, or R1 200 if we come to your floor — worth it once you have more than three machines standing. A swap to a quiet servo motor is R1 850 fitted, and a new belt is R180. A full strip and rebuild, meaning bushes, hook, feed dog, wiring and the lot, starts at R2 400 on a domestic and R4 500 on an industrial, and takes about two weeks. Bring the foot pedal and the bobbin case in with the machine. Half of what comes in for skipped stitches leaves with a new needle and no charge at all, and we would rather tell you that than take your money.