Hi Everyone,
I've been lightly making and fixing my hockey equipment for the last few years with a basic sewing machine and leather awl and want to get something a bit more this century that won't break every 2 days. I tried using a hand crank shoe cobbler that I got off Amazon but the timing always feel out and I didn't like it.
Local marketplace ads have multiple industrial machines but from my digging and research they're just higher speed than the one I'm using. I'm mostly sewing Jenpro, Terry cloth, velcro, elastics, suede and Cordura, with a max thickness of about 5mm/.2". I'm wondering if this is strong enough or will I encounter the same problems where I just break needles and wreck the timing? Anything labeled leather and a walking foot seems like at least a $1200 machine.
Can I get a few suggestions of a machine to target or a cheaper alternative? Right now I'm on 135/17? needles and a thread of 159?
Thanks