kgg

For the dollars you have chosen ($400) I would suggest looking at the Reliable Barracuda it is a portable walking foot that has the zig zag feature. It can handle up to v92 if you purchase at your local Home Depot for $500 or up to V138 if you get it from Reliable. It has a decedent presser foot clearance of 10mm which is just a touch over 3/8" . Good starter machine. Then there is of course the used market.

You may want to give either Reliable a call (800- 268-1649) for a complete list of resellers in Alberta but I think Mac 1 Sewing Machines in Calgary sell the Reliable line of sewing machines. The Reliable Barracuda is a nice portable machine which can handle V138 but the presser foot can be a bit aggressive which can be easily solved. I have owned and used one with no problems what-so-ever. However if you want dependability, accessories and good resale value down the road buy a Juki. Buy Once, Cry Once. For what you are describing for it's use I would probably consider a Juki DU-11811N (approximately $1600 CA) walking foot as it should probably handle the lighter weight stuff better. I would also suggest you look at a couple of video's done by SewingGold.com for the Juki DU-1181n and the Juki DNU-1541S for their video comparisons of them sewing light, medium, and heavier materials to see which category your stuff best falls into. kgg

It maybe a good idea to give Central Sewing a call at 1-866-469-1147 Edmonton, Alberta as they are the ones selling the Titan machines, it maybe be their own branded house clone. kgg

But will it take the bite out of walking, looks snappy to me. kgg

To help you get more informed suggestions. You need to provide more info on what you plan on sewing and what is your budget. kgg

All the machines you have been looking at a mostly used in the home garment area. To do upholstery reliably you need to move up to a walking foot machine. On the lower end of the price scale look for a portable walking foot like the Reliable Barracuda which can handle up to V138 thread and can be purchased at your local Home Depot store for about $500 US. kgg

My experience with bird nesting (thread gathering on the underside) is that it has more to do with bobbin thread tension issues then the top thread tension. A lot of times it can be as simple as the bobbin being place in the bobbin holder incorrectly so the bobbin thread is unwinding in the wrong direction. Done that more then once myself. The needle size and needle could also be a culprit. Needle maybe damaged / bent / have a burr / installed incorrectly or incorrect size for thread size being used. For needle size reference I would look at the Toledo Sewing Chart ( https://www.tolindsewmach.com/thread-chart.html ) to see what size needle should be used for your thread. kgg

If the presser foot has to much downward tension this can easily be adjusted by the presser foot tension knob. If the presser foot is too aggressive it can either be changed to a smoother foot or the teeth be filed smoother. I think for the thickness you mentioned the the Juki 1541, will do the job and give you the option of thicker materials in the future as it is compound feed (feed dog, presser foot and needle). I have to be careful with thinner materials with my Juki1541S and do the necessary adjustments to thread tensions and presser foot tension. That said it likes thicker stuff and will sew whatever I can stuff under the presser foot. The Consew 206RB-3 is I think a compound feed machine as well. In my opinion given the choice between a Juki or a clone in the same mechanical shape I would pick the Juki. If you come across a used machine be prepared to put a servo motor on it for better sewing control, they are much quieter then a clutch motor and more energy efficient. kgg

Question AusSimon what are you or planning on making? Since you have been using a 4411 with a degree of success moving up to a basic walking foot maybe all that you need. Example would be a basic portable walking foot like a new Reliable Barracuda (~$650 CA) or a new industrial walking foot like a Juki DU 1181 (~$1400 CA). kgg

I am going to assume you are using V69 thread. My suggestion would be try a sample with the leather on top, 1/2" foam layer next and a sheet of ordinary paper on the bottom. If that works the paper can be torn off latter. Another suggestion would be to back off the presser foot tension so the material just moves rather then trying to compress it so much and use the largest leather needle you can get. kgg

To sew the thickness of leather you noted you need heavy iron which does take space. Mounting a machine on a table with wheels and having a smaller foot print may help. The only other option is maybe a one armed bandit like the Outlaw but they still will require a fair bit of working space. kgg

Just to add to the confusion when you by a servo motor you need to know if it is rated using the Metric horsepower or the Imperial horsepower rating. Imperial HP has 745.7 watts and the Metric HP is 735.5 watts. Maybe the horses in the metric countries were a touch smaller and a little less powerful. haha kgg

It I think will come down to your thread size that you want to use. The machines that you have listed are going to limit you to small thread sizes range. Have you considered a patcher like the Cowboy CB29 that will allow you to sewing in tighter spots and use up to V138 thread? kgg

My bad, you are correct. kgg

I feel your pain, there is never going to be a exact conversion between Metric and English measurements. In Canada we often buy items that are weighted in pounds but priced in kilograms, lumber is still mostly English while liquids are metric (1 litre = 1.057 US quarts or 0.88 Imperial quarts). Can get a bit confusing. The best you can hope for are approximate conversion values. The easiest thing is to get a good metric ruler / tape /meter stick (.9144 yards) and forget about trying convert, it will just drive you crazy. Personally I prefer the Imperial measurements. kgg

If you are looking for a nice backup machine that won't take up much space I would suggest looking for a used portable walking foot machine. Like the Reliable Barracuda, Sailrite, Techsew 611 to name a some. kgg

Buy a Juki that fits your present and foreseeable future needs. Buy Once, Cry Once kgg

Like the idea. Maybe if you used a larger calibre spent casing like a 45-70 it could be used in the construction of a belt. Seating the bottom cutoff of the casing so the prong of the belt buckle would go through the primer hole rather than just the normal hole in the leather. What a shame. kgg

That sounds about right. The size of cone you are using is approximately 4 oz. There has be discussion on the problems associated with the 8 oz cones particularly black in colour from China in the past. I can see that the problems would be that much greater particularly when you get down towards the last 10 to 20 % with such a small cone. I would suggest replacing the thread cone with a new one of a larger size (1 lb would be best), check the needle and size of needle making sure it is fully seated and installed correctly. kgg

Some good advice given. I would for upholstery class sewing recommend Juki DNU-1541S or Juki LU-1508n. For holsters definitely going to need much heavier iron in a 441 class machine. kgg

Have you tried contacting / checking out American & Efird at http://www.amefird.com . Great quality thread with the technical specs of their thread available. kgg

I think it looks to be similar to a Durkopp Adler 867 single needle machine. kgg

The amount of magnetic field is not only going to depend on the size of magnet but the type magnet you are planning on using. The best solution is to remove the magnet from the design and come up with a different method of attachment otherwise you may have some unhappy customers with scramble info on their cards. kgg

Why not give "Current Applications" a call they are the company who manufactured the motor shown in the photo and they are still in business in Watertown, NY ( https://www.currentapps.com/ ). kgg

Real murky, clear as mud. I couldn't find what a limited lifetime warranty includes / excludes in my searches. I like clearly defined warranties that way I know what I am getting / not getting. You are so close to both save the shipping charges / sewing shops markup and buy direct from either Reliable or Japan Sewing. When it comes to accessories folders, binders, needles, etc buy from Japan Sewing that is who Reliable gets their stuff from. Let us know which machine you got. kgg