Machine for dog harness

[Theworks001]

All,

I need some help identifying a sewing machine, preferably, a walking foot cylinder machine. The machine will mainly be used to see patches on hats but, I would like the option to start sewing dog harness. I believe 2 12/13oz leather pieces. I was looking into the cobra 26 but I’m not sure if it’ll sew through 2 12/13 oz leather. Any help will be appreciated

[Burkhardt]

A 26 will do 1/2 inch so easily what you're asking for both hat and harness.

[TomE]

That's a very thick dog harness, which will be stiff and perhaps uncomfortable during the break in period.  Also it will be thicker where the leather wraps around hardware, and might be difficult to sew on a Class 26.  I make horse halters out of 2-3 layers of 9 oz leather.  Leather halters are designed to break if a horse pulls back hard.  This is a safety feature of leather vs. biothane or nylon.  I doubt a dog could break it and I'm sure I couldn't hold on if an animal pulled that hard.

I think a well constructed harness made of 9-10 oz leather +/- a liner would be adequate for a large dog.  One option would be to use 10 oz bridle leather with a pasted back, skip the liner, and focus the sewing on the ends of the straps.  Main thing is to use high quality leather cut from the back of the hide for straps that need to be strong.  Sewing against hardware with a machine takes practice and I hand sew some pieces of halters.

Bottom line: the Class 26 would be great for patches and harness that is a bit lighter than you describe.

[kgg]

13 hours ago, Theworks001 said:

The machine will mainly be used to see patches on hats but, I would like the option to start sewing dog harness. I believe 2 12/13oz leather pieces. I was looking into the cobra 26 but I’m not sure if it’ll sew through 2 12/13 oz leather.

What size of thread are you planning on using?

Looking at the spec of the Cobra Class 26:

i) it " sews up to 7/16 " and the thickness of 2 layers of 13 oz would be about 13 /32 which would only give you maybe 1/32 of freedom. Depending on the type of leather you are basically at the max abilities of the Cobra 26.

ii) the Cobra 26 uses system 135 needles. With smaller thread and needle sizes you may wind up with needle deflection problems when sewing at the max thickness.

I am not saying the Cobra 26 will not sew your items but if you are planning on sewing at the max capabilities of the machine regularly I would suggest moving to a Class 441 machine which would use the thicker 794 needles and wouldn't be struggling with handling the thickness of leather for your dog harness. The downside to that is for doing patches the hole size and feeding of the material maybe too aggressive on a Class 441 machine if it can be done.

Since you are at both ends of the sewing spectrum I would suggest you look at two machines, one for putting patches on hats probably a 29k type or a post bed machine and a Class 441 machine for doing the thick leather. No one machine will do everything.

I would also suggest taking a sample of the items you are planning to sew and visit a dealer. 

kgg

 

[AlZilla]

You know, my gut reaction was that it fit in the spec of the machine, so why not?

@kgg and @TomE make very good points and I'm glad of the education.

[Wizcrafts]

23 hours ago, Theworks001 said:

All,

I need some help identifying a sewing machine, preferably, a walking foot cylinder machine. The machine will mainly be used to see patches on hats but, I would like the option to start sewing dog harness. I believe 2 12/13oz leather pieces. I was looking into the cobra 26 but I’m not sure if it’ll sew through 2 12/13 oz leather. Any help will be appreciated

When I sew leather together that's between 3/16+ and 5/16- I use #207 bonded thread. Between 5/16 and 7/16 inch I use #277 thread. At 1/2 inch, I definitely use #346 thread.

If you mostly sew patches, you need a machine optimized for #69 or #92 bonded thread, using a #18 to #20 needle. For rifle slings and guitar straps, up to about 10 - 11 ounces thickness, you want it optimized for #138 thread and a #23 needle. If you need to sew up to its maximum thickness, it must be optimized for that thickness and heavy #207 thread with a #24 needle needed to hold that thickness together against the forces trying to tear it apart.

You may need to ask the factory to set up the machine so it can handle this wide range of thread/needle/thickness without skipping stitches, or ratting the thread.  Better yet, buy a light duty machine for patches and a heavy duty harness quality stitcher for the heavy stuff. Neither machine will be stretched above or below their optimum capacity.

If two machines aren't in your foreseeable future, buy a heavy duty machine and dumb it down to sew thinner work with thin thread. We have two members here who make specialty feed dogs, throat plates and even presser feet that let you sew a Cobra Class 4, or Cowboy cb4500 with thin thread and soft leather. I have a narrow set from both custom builders and can testify that I can go from sewing a holster with #277 thread and a #25 needle, down to #92 thread and a #20 needle to sew a wallet back to an interior, or sew a new zipper into a leather jacket, or chaps.

FWIIW, I don't try to use my harness stitcher to sew patches on with #69 thread and a #18 needle. I have two patchers, a post machine and several flat bed machines that are better optimized for that task.