Which sewing machine is best...

[rcon1991]

I sew firefighter radio strap and sometimes do up to 3 layers of 8oz leather. I use 207 thread and want to upgrade to a juki but I am unable to see which juki machine can do that kind of work. Anyone have any suggestions? 

 

Thanks

[Cumberland Highpower]

What are you using now?  

[rcon1991]

31 minutes ago, Cumberland Highpower said:

What are you using now?  

It's a tippman boss which does fine but my parents wanna buy me an automatic sewing machine so I'm not arguing.

Edited 15 hours ago by rcon1991

[Cumberland Highpower]

1 hour ago, rcon1991 said:

It's a tippman boss which does fine but my parents wanna buy me an automatic sewing machine so I'm not arguing.

I like that answer.

If your'e using a Tippman boss you're in a heavier class of machinery.  Juki makes a large stitcher that's pretty similar work wise, but they're expensive.  Most guys here buy Juki 441 Clones from China (Weaver leather and others sell them).  That's probably your best bet.   A real Juki 441 is pretty pricey, but I think the copies sell for around 2-3k.  

 

Edited 14 hours ago by Cumberland Highpower

[AlZilla]

6 hours ago, rcon1991 said:

I sew firefighter radio strap and sometimes do up to 3 layers of 8oz leather. I use 207 thread and want to upgrade to a juki but I am unable to see which juki machine can do that kind of work. Anyone have any suggestions? 

 

Thanks

You're in the US, this guy (Bob, or on the forum, CowboyBob) posts here nearly every day, helping people with their machines:

https://tolindsewmach.com/

He sells many brands including Juki.

[kgg]

7 hours ago, rcon1991 said:

I use 207 thread and want to upgrade to a juki but I am unable to see which juki machine can do that kind of work.

Since you are using 3 layers of 8 oz which will be about 3/8" thick and using V207 thread you would be at or close to the max of all Class 341 machines like a Juki LS-1341 machine, brand name or clone. Since you are using a Class 441 machine, the Tippman Boss, you would have to move to a Juki TSC-441 or a clone machine. The Juki TSC-441 will set you back somewhere around $8000 USD which for most hobbyists is out of their price range versus a clone costs about $3000 USD.

kgg