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I would appreciate some advice here. I have a Juki DNU-241 walking foot machine. I have been using it for about 3 years to sew mainly bags, briefcases and other medium weight leather goods. I use 138 and 207 bonded nylon or polyester thread with it. The problem I have is this machine is so unpredictable for me. I have had very few occassions to use it when I didn't have to stop what I was doing to problem solve. The tension has been difficult to perfect for me. I am not a novice and feel as though it shouldn't be this hard. Some of the issues I have had with it are: it regularly shreds and breaks my thread, will sometimes bunch up or skip stitches, if I tighten the tension ALOT it will sometimes sew a little better but is nearly impossible to remove from the machine then. I have adjusted the timing at least a dozen times. The reverse is also unpredictable and you can feel a "jump" when the machine reverses and those stitches usually look crappy. A couple months ago I decided to put all machine stitched projects aside (they were being mangled anyway) and focus on getting this thing in a much more workable condition. I ordered parts and replaced the tensioner dials on the front. This did not help much so I replaced the entire hook assembly with very little gained from that. After adjustments in every other area I could find as a potential source of problem, I finally decided to call a professsional. Lol! I had a repair man who specializes in commercial machines come from 2 hours away to fix it. He spent several hours at my house working on it but never got it to sew the way he wanted it. He was perplexed (but that actually made me feel a little validated, lol). He took the machine with him to continue working on it. He contacted me about two weeks later and reports that he has been able to get my machine running forward and backward but with 138 size thread only not 207. I guess I'm ok with that, but it should be able to handle 207 is my understanding. Now, here is where I need advice as well....... I am going to pick up the machine next week. I am a little hesitant and, frankly, fed up with this machine. I know the Juki is a good machine but I pretty much want to throw it out the window most days. He tells me that he has a Consew 206rb5 (or maybe 4, he said the plate is missing) that we could possibly do a trade on. I will probably need to do something different with my table but I'm sure my servo motor will work the same with the consew (right?). He says the consew machine is running well and from what I can find it seems comparible to my Juki in as far as it will handle the same weight/thickness of leather. Is this machine less persnickity? More like to actually just sew something when asked? If in my shoes would others consider this to be a wise move? Thank you so much for your time and advice!!! Patty