kc1200r

DC and Eric, thanks for your information.

Thanks sark9. I had the impression that needle feed would be relatively necessary for the slicker fabrics. Do the vintage-ish home machines do ok with that? Lee

Hello. A newbie here, looking for a versatile sewing machine that can handle a wide variety of outdoor materials, from lightweight silnylon to heavy cordura nylon, and canvas, and up to some degree of soft leather. Through some other posts, it looks like a Singer 281-22 needlefeed would pretty much fit at least most of that bill. I found a manual that covered several machines in the 281 series. It doesn't mention reverse. Do those machines have reverse? If not, anyone know how that operation was intended to be done in a production setting? Was the fabric just rotated, or was it maybe assumed the machines would be run on 3-phase AC motors with their ability to run in reverse? Also, would the 281-22 have the capability to sew two layers of 5/6 oz chrome tanned or deer tanned cowhide in a lap seam? ( I don't know if there is a more standard term for deer tanned cowhide...) Hoping wizcrafts or gottaknow will have an interest in the question. Thanks, Lee