WP Jackson

Thank you for the feedback folks, my questions are answered and I understand that to sew both lighter and heavier leathers I will need at least two machines.... Time to re-assess the budget, eh?

New guy here, and a bit confused. I know absolutely nothing about sewing machines, so I'm reading a lot of material (great site, by the way!) about the different sewing machines and I see a lot about 441 clones. When I finally get around to buying a machine, it will be used for anything from purses to western belts and holsters. Another question I have is about the thread sizes being used. I have seen where thicker thread is used on top and thinner thread on bottom. Doesn't this defeat the purpose of the thick thread? And finally, a member posted pictures of his machine which had two foot controls. My left foot is not capable of operating anything with any type of finesse, so I would like to know if this is normal for sewing machines or was that a special setup, maybe? Thank you in advance for any help, and for not laughing at my ignorance. Well, if you want to laugh at me, at least have the courtesy to do it behind my back...