i've had one for about a week, watched all the videos, polished , lubed, greased and adjusted it. Put it back together and it sews with the thin mono line crap it came with flawlessly. I bought heavier thread t135 and size 22 needles and it sews thin stuff 3/16th" or thinner very well, two pieces of 10 oz nope at least not with the 135, the top thread snaps. i have ordered lighter thread and will let you know on that.
What i have concluded in my short session is its a machine i will set up for one thing/ thickness and pretty much leave it alone lol. You need to realize It is made to patch shoes which are usually pretty thin leather so making it sew something it isn't designed for wont work any better than trying to do the same with a 1500 dollar machine, it has its limits
. I am still in the tinkering stage however and may come up with a workable way to sew a little heavier stuff. I'm trying for two layers of 10 oz, i think that's about the max you would ever get it to reliably sew
One thing i did notice that i haven't seen on any video is the thicker leather will actually hit the taper of the needle causing it to stick in the hole and then it lifts the foot. But i have also seen that you can adjust it use the longer industrial needles so that may not be a problem just more tinkering lol.
1.It has a place in the world of leather and It will work but not for every thickness of leather just the same as the spensive ones.
2. you will know the basics of how a sewing machine works.
Good luck!!!!!!
Ps it sure sews heavy canvas to leather really well so i see some oil cloth back packs and haversacks in my future lol. and it will prolly pay for itself plus a better machine with this strategy in short time.