shoe Report post Posted January 2 Hey how, happy new year y'all. This machine is 3 hours away and withing my budget. Singer 201, fwy locking stitch he said. I can't afford a $1500 machine yet, this one is $300. Here is what I've made so far, I know I can make more with a machine. www.reservationleather.com no saddles, more wallets and guitar straps. Thank you Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kgg Report post Posted January 2 8 hours ago, shoe said: This machine is 3 hours away and withing my budget. I would pass on this machine. This machine is a domestic drop feed machine made for fabric which means the movement of the item under the presser foot is moved rearward by the feed dog only. Being a domestic machine the max size of thread it was rated for was V69 but can probably handle V92. The machine has a Class 15 bobbin which has a small capacity. Someone did do a nice job on doing a custom speed reducer for this machine to give the machine more torque (punching power). kgg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shoe Report post Posted January 3 Thank you, I really appreciate your experience KGG. I'm selling some livestock to buy one, maybe $500. Getting enough leatherwork made ahead to buy one has proven impossible. I hand sew fine. A machine may put me up a notch to make generic wallets while I hand stitch the harnesses. Www.reservationleather.com is my work. Here is the fellas listings. He's about 3 hours away. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/profile/1095530711/?ref=permalink&mibextid=dXMIcH Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kgg Report post Posted January 3 3 hours ago, shoe said: A machine may put me up a notch to make generic wallets while I hand stitch the harnesses. Yes, the right machine would. This machine in my opinion would be a waste time, effort, money and probably would put you off from purchasing another machine. kgg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CowboyBob Report post Posted January 3 (edited) 1 hour ago, kgg said: Yes, the right machine would. This machine in my opinion would be a waste time, effort, money and probably would put you off from purchasing another machine. kgg @kgg Did you look @ the other machines he has for sale? He really gives them all a sales pitch,I'll bet he's on ebay to trying to pawn these off too as Heavy Duty! He has a 31-15 listed for $400.00 w/table which would be a way better choice than the little portable machine with the pulleys. Edited January 3 by CowboyBob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted January 3 I bought a hand-cranked 201 (same machine) many, many moons ago, before I got into leatherwork. When I had to make some holsters I soon learned it wasn't suitable for sewing leather! (A steep learning curve followed!!). What I did use it for was pre-punching the stitching holes, in ONE thickness of leather only, which gave me a neat, evenly-spaced guide to use the awl when I folded and glued up the holster. The same process would work for you BUT it is not designed to sew leather, the same with virtually any domestic machine irrespective if they are called "heavy-duty", "semi-industrial", "suitable for leather" etc. They are domestic machines intended for sewing material. While this is a nice-looking machine, with a well-made speed reduction setup, it is not what you need. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kgg Report post Posted January 4 6 hours ago, CowboyBob said: @kgg Did you look @ the other machines he has for sale? Yes I did. He really likes the words "heavy duty" throughout his facebook listings and also his webpage ( https://roberts-se.com/heavy-duty ). Some of his adverts on facebook have a disclaimer others not which differs from his webpage disclaimer. One is " DISCLAIMER: Even though our machines are heavy duty and leather capable, they are not marketed as or represented as Commercial or Industrial Machines. Our machines are recommended for household applications." kgg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted January 4 Hmmm, think I'd be a bit wary of dealing with him unless you know exactly what you're doing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handstitched Report post Posted January 5 That machine looks weird. The amount of time money and effort gone into that could have gone towards a decent leather machine. HS Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlZilla Report post Posted January 5 (edited) It's not a 201, if he has it listed that way. It's a Class 15. Not that it makes any difference to all the foregoing comments. It's still heartache waiting to happen. Your work looks quite nice. Keep saving! EDIT: Actually there are 2 different machines pictured. The bottom is a 15. Maybe the top is a 66? Regardless, doesn't change anything. Edited January 5 by AlZilla Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shoe Report post Posted January 6 Thank you very much, I truly appreciate the kind words and the sage advise. This is why I love this forum. On 1/4/2024 at 8:57 PM, AlZilla said: It's not a 201, if he has it listed that way. It's a Class 15. Not that it makes any difference to all the foregoing comments. It's still heartache waiting to happen. Your work looks quite nice. Keep saving! EDIT: Actually there are 2 different machines pictured. The bottom is a 15. Maybe the top is a 66? Regardless, doesn't change anything. Thank you, I appreciate the nod. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites