Needle Feed Vs Walking Foot...

[JimC]

I know the practical .. we sew medium weight canvas with a Juki DLN-415; my operator busts a lot of needles, but is comfortable with the machine -10hrs/day- so it's not an issue. We have four active walking foot machines, so again I know the concepts and much of the practical.

But, where I need to expand into is heavy webbing ..and it is outside my experience. I'd love to simply buy the most expensive 3-action feed machine to cover all bets, but you do not stay in business pretending it is 2005 and money grows at the end of your pen. I have found two pretty capable, heavy machines, one a walking foot .. the other a needle-feed. Maybe one of you has run both and can comment. Luckily, I have been able to stay around long enough for this internet .. I certainly bought a bunch of boat anchors before I sorted out the machines I have. Thanks in advance. Cheers.

Jim

[CowboyBob]

Jim,

You didn't mention the make or model,but get the walking foot for canvas otherwise you'll be wondering why the bottom layer is shorter than the top after a long seam.

Bob

[Ferg]

Jim,

Wiz, Art, or Bob Kovar is better equipped to answer you than I but I believe with all the info I have read you would be best informed to look at the heavy stitchers. Long arm perhaps. Wiz has a machine that will sew the heavy lifting webbing etc. Sounds like that might be your best bet.

ferg

I know the practical .. we sew medium weight canvas with a Juki DLN-415; my operator busts a lot of needles, but is comfortable with the machine -10hrs/day- so it's not an issue. We have four active walking foot machines, so again I know the concepts and much of the practical.

But, where I need to expand into is heavy webbing ..and it is outside my experience. I'd love to simply buy the most expensive 3-action feed machine to cover all bets, but you do not stay in business pretending it is 2005 and money grows at the end of your pen. I have found two pretty capable, heavy machines, one a walking foot .. the other a needle-feed. Maybe one of you has run both and can comment. Luckily, I have been able to stay around long enough for this internet .. I certainly bought a bunch of boat anchors before I sorted out the machines I have. Thanks in advance. Cheers.

Jim

[TwinOaks]

You'll definitely want to speak to one of our sewing machine specialists, one on one. That aside, there's more than one solution to the problem. A walking foot moves the materials together. A needle feed can use what's called a 'jump foot', and relies on the needle to move, and keep aligned, the material. The third and probably best option is to get a UNISON feed, which uses walking feet AND needle feed to assure that the materials feed together while the needle helps keep it aligned. That's an oversimplified explanation, but I can't accurately describe the details.....so I'll leave it to the pros. However, there is a very good reason why unison feed has become somewhat the standard, so it's something worth considering.

[Wizcrafts]

What about a long body Chandler 406? This machine can sew heavy webbing for sure and is also very useful for large tarps, covers, sails, car wash cloths, etc.

[JimC]

Thanks all - I have had a long-arm Consew for many years. It punches pretty good. We did a nice load of vinyl covers for a trailed piece of equipment the SeaBees use during disasters. The long-arm is really handy for big stuff like that where ideally you want two people to shove it around the table, but I find it pretty useless, or cumbersome to operate ..for non-oversize work of under about 10lbs total weight. Thanks again.

Jim

[Wizcrafts]

If none of your existing machines are suitable for heavy webbing, what may I ask is the thickness, width and thread size you need to sew?

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

I know the practical .. we sew medium weight canvas with a Juki DLN-415; my operator busts a lot of needles, but is comfortable with the machine -10hrs/day- so it's not an issue. We have four active walking foot machines, so again I know the concepts and much of the practical.

But, where I need to expand into is heavy webbing ..and it is outside my experience. I'd love to simply buy the most expensive 3-action feed machine to cover all bets, but you do not stay in business pretending it is 2005 and money grows at the end of your pen. I have found two pretty capable, heavy machines, one a walking foot .. the other a needle-feed. Maybe one of you has run both and can comment. Luckily, I have been able to stay around long enough for this internet .. I certainly bought a bunch of boat anchors before I sorted out the machines I have. Thanks in advance. Cheers.

Jim

Jim,

Nearly drove past your area down to Arlington, VA this past weekend.

As questioned, what constitues 'heavy webbing'? Seat belt webbing? 5 ply. one inch think webbing lifting slings with 554 thread?

If your looking for a heavy stitcher, flat bed, I always keep in stock Seiko SLH-2B-FH-1 and Consew 733R-5 and are avaible for demo. I also have good demo condition 744R30 to sew on, if necessary. I don't like running down my list of products on a message board, but just wanted to make it clear I have items within your reach to demo at the drop of a hat, if necessary to see for yourself what works.

[JimC]

... thanks Wiz, about a 1/2" of 4ply of plastic coated webbing. I know that almost any modern machine that is close to a 7 Cl. machine will punch thru .. I was just attempting to discern whether there was an advantage to either needle-feed over walking foot in this particular situation.. if your choice was limited to these two. The comment by TwinOaks is probably 100% correct, but when a compound feed machine is almost 2X of a used walker/needler .. then you have to factor in how much more work you need to produce to cover that investment.

Greg, Thanks. We spoke last week. For people who have not dealt with them, I cannot more highly praise Keystone Sewing Machine. For 20+yrs, I can call for parts (as I did this morning) and expect to see them in 48hrs. Good folks.

Jim

[Wizcrafts]

I would use a walking foot, triple feed machine to sew multiple layers of webbing. The inner foot keeps the material under pressure, as it moves with the needle. On a jump foot machine the layers can shift sideways on the needle, unless you use an edge guide.

Since you intend to sew 1/2 inch of webbing, look for a machine rated at 5/8" or better. You don't want to be always operating at the top end of a machine's capability.

Also, go for a machine with a very large bobbin, which can properly tension #277 thread.

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

... thanks Wiz, about a 1/2" of 4ply of plastic coated webbing. I know that almost any modern machine that is close to a 7 Cl. machine will punch thru .. I was just attempting to discern whether there was an advantage to either needle-feed over walking foot in this particular situation.. if your choice was limited to these two. The comment by TwinOaks is probably 100% correct, but when a compound feed machine is almost 2X of a used walker/needler .. then you have to factor in how much more work you need to produce to cover that investment.

Greg, Thanks. We spoke last week. For people who have not dealt with them, I cannot more highly praise Keystone Sewing Machine. For 20+yrs, I can call for parts (as I did this morning) and expect to see them in 48hrs. Good folks.

Jim

Oh, that was you?!!

OK, we'll see you soon. LOL.

[Wizcrafts]

I'd like to see Greggs shop also. I kinda go nuts in industrial sewing machine stores. Something about machines that go tapokita, tapokita fascinate me.