dreamsicle23

Thank you! I'm glad to hear it's probably not just me

My machine is only 5 months old. I was expecting an initial breaking in period, but at this point I'm fairly confident I'm having some kind of issue with the belt. I've spent a bunch of time re-adjusting to get the tension and alignment correct, but it seems like there's certain spots where it struggles so much the machine will actually stop unless I have the speed cranked way up (servo motor). I tested rotating the hand wheel with belt vs. without, and it's definitely the belt, not metal rubbing or lack of lubrication. Is it possible to just have a crappy belt? Any other tips to ensure perfect tension and alignment between the wheel and motor pulley?

It looks like this is exactly what I need. Thank you!

Hi all. I tried Google for an answer but I think I'm not searching the right terms. This is the only place I know of where there's a group who regularly use industrial walking foot machines. I'm wondering if it's possible, and if so - how, to make the outer foot lift higher when it takes it's "step". I don't necessarily want to reduce the pressure, and I don't want it to be higher when it's in the down position, but right now it gets hung up if I go over a thick seam and I get a wonky couple stitches. My machine is a 111 clone, if that matters. Thanks in advance!

Thanks for replying. You're doing a great service sharing all your knowledge! That Consew is one of the others I kept coming back to. Do you, by any chance, know how much of an ordeal it would be to transition between setup for lighter materials and heavier?

Thanks for the advice. I've been avoiding spending that much time on the phone but I'm probably going to have to suck it up!

I've been researching low-to-mid end industrial machines exhaustively for months, and the #1 advice I keep seeing is, "Go to a local dealer and try them out with the materials you use." That sounds lovely, except that I apparently live in a sewing machine desert. I am a little outside Boston and I can't seem to find listings for ANY legit dealers less than 3-ish hours away, and the few I'm finding look to only have one or two brands. Is there a secret network of dealers that don't really advertise themselves to the public? Do any of you who know the industry better know of any dealers in New England? In the meantime, I try to keep an eye on Craigslist, Ebay, classifieds etc. but since I haven't been able to try machines out I'm still not 100% sure on the right one for me. I am not looking to sew leather exclusively, but I'd like to be able to include leather components on bags & wallets. An ideal machine would be able to handle a couple layers of canvas or upholstery-weight fabric on the low end, and 2-3 layers of mid-weight leather or 2-4 layers of heavier fabric + 1 layer of mid-weight layer on the high end. If that's too big of a range, the higher-end is more important than the lower end, as I have a couple domestic machines that can usually handle stuff like that. It really looks like the Juki DU-1181N would be "enough" for me, but I'm terrified of ordering something that's over $1000 and winding up disappointed. If anyone has any insight that I likely haven't come across searching this forum I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

If you just want to try it out, wax your own. I refuse to pay the crazy prices and only use a small volume so I don't mind spending the time. I try to find bigger remnants from Joann's (so $3.50/yard if it's on sale that week) then melt up a mix of 90% beeswax 10% parrafin (mini crock pot with the Reynold's liners is great for this) and paint on thin layer with a natural bristle brush. Then I take my cheapo iron with a layer of aluminum foil over it, and to a few passes over the canvas so the wax melts into the fibers. It doesn't come out as perfectly even as if you bought it from a manufacturer, but once you work with it and you start seeing the fold marks and patina developing it looks great.