I'm a few short weeks away from purchasing a stitching machine to get a new venture off the ground. I'm pretty certain I know what I need in terms of features / performance, and I've done a lot of research on my own, but I'm not finding a ton of options to meet my criteria, so I thought I'd reach out for some advice from the fine members here.
I'm looking for:
Narrow cylinder, < 2" diameter
Min 8" arm length (more is OK but not required)
Reversible
Some type of edge guide (roller guide) that can be set in close to the needle (like 1/4")
Complete set up including bench, motor, etc.
Must be able comfortably stitch from 1/8" (two layers of 4 oz.) up to 3/8" (2x 4oz + 1x 6oz + 1x 8oz).
If possible I'd like to go up to 7/16" ( 4x 4 oz + 1x 8oz + 1x 4oz) as the maximum that I would typically be doing.
Must have reliable customer service / support.
Representation in the Los Angeles area (or somewhere in the southwest) would be ideal but not a requirement.
Budget is an issue - need to keep it < $2500 complete.
Willing to go for used or refurbished for a good deal.
TechSew, Artisan, and some others have some narrow cylinder machines, but their specs say max thicknesses of 5/16" or 3/8". Since that would be a standard thickness for me to be stitching (and I'd like to be able to go thicker) I feel like I might be needing to look at more heavy duty machine. But everything I'm finding that is more heavy duty has a much larger cylinder (like 3.5"+ diameter). I've even started looking at shoe sidewall stitchers look like they would work for some of what I need to do (like running a seam around the end of a 2.25" radius tube), but have serious versatility drawbacks and pricing seems a little elusive on these.
As I'm just getting started, I'm looking for something really versatile, reliable, and economical. Of course that's asking a lot, so I'd love to hear your thoughts on what I should be looking into!
Thanks,
Richard.