p40whk

Thanks @Wizcrafts, I'm not looking at the machine as a business purchase. I'm retired and do my leatherwork as a hobby and have always hand sewed everything. I have two projects that are driving me towards purchasing an industrial machine (a 22' X 25' shade sail and outdoor cushions for an outdoor kitchen I'm building, all synthetic material with the shade sail being the thickest stuff). Having a machine I can sew leather projects with is the bonus that makes the purchase easier to stomach. Most of the leather work I do is bags and hats (Tony's DieselpunkRo patterns) and some of my own designs along the same vein. So I wouldn't need a super heavy duty machine, just something that would work for both projects and I'm hoping the Cobra Class 26 or the Cowboy CB341 would do that. It's one of the reasons I was looking at the Consew 206RB when I started doing this research. Unfortunately I've found through a lot of the advice I've gotten here, there is no "one size fits all" machine it's just defining the "one size fits most" that I'm having trouble with.

I was surprised that my searches didn't come up with any threads asking this question before but what are the advantages and disadvantages of pedestal vs U shaped sewing table for Cylinder arm machines? I like the pedestal just because it's a smaller foot print and I would prefer to stand while I sew but it has less area to support larger pieces (even with the add on table) than the U-shaped table which is a sit down table with larger foot print. I am considering the Cowboy CB341 which costs $150 to upgrade to the pedestal table (it comes with the U-shaped table) however the Cobra Class 26 comes with the Pedestal table at the same price as the CB341 with the U-shaped table and these machines similar specs. Curious as to what most of you prefer?

@kgg Thanks you for the info! Leather work would be a secondary use for the machine but I get the "buy once, cry once" idea. I'll start looking for a cylinder bed machine, there are a couple of Adlers near me but one is a bit out of my price range https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1124346508889397/ and this one may be way more than I need https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/722330700007923/ I'll look into the Juki's you mentioned as well. There's another Adler close to me but it's a flat bed machine, don't know much about this model but the price is right https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/828243542059689/ @jrdunn I may have to see if I can find someone in Texas that could pick that up for me, thanks!

I've been looking for a used Sewing machine that I can use for both upholstery and leatherwork and the Consew 206RB seems to be the most popular machine from the research I've done here. I'm not near a major metropolitan city so finding used would require a 4 hour drive at least and that's if one comes available. Everything I've seen on the used market is running $800 and up and I'd have to spend some $$ to get the machine to where I'd like it. A new 206RB-5 would cost me about $2K shipped and setup with what I need. Should a continue my search for used and wait for a unit made in Japan or spend the extra money on the RB-5? Should I consider any other machines? (I will probably not sew anything over 3/8" thick primarily making bags and hats and at the most 3 layers of 7oz veg tan) I was going to call Toledo Industrial Tuesday to see what they had in stock (both used and new) but are there any other recommended vendors? Thanks for your time.