Leather sewing machine for 3oz leather

[Texan417]

Advice on leather sewing 

So I’m in the market for a machine that can sew leather my first thought was 111W but having a hard time affording one of those seems like they are all above 600$. So here’s my question I’m in the middle of a restoration of a classic diesel truck and on a budget trying to find a machine that will sew leather seats start to finish without any issues trying not to break the bank here the leather I intend to use isn’t overly thick (3oz) I wanna say average thickness for leather seats (not king ranch leather or anything of that nature) can you guys point me in the right direction of what models I could aim for ? That would do the job and if anyone has one for sale I’m all ears…  I was looking at 111W singer sewing machines but they are harder and harder to find for reason or prices… last comment I have is would I be nuts for just doing all the seats by hand without a machine?

[Northmount]

3 hours ago, Texan417 said:

I’m in the market for a machine that can sew leather

Moved your post to leather sewing machines.

You should review this thread

 

 

[Cumberland Highpower]

Try looking on FB marketplace for a Consew.  Sometimes I see them around the $600 mark.  You can always make an offer, sometimes sellers actually want to sell! 

Singers are decent machine generally.  It's harder and harder to find one in good shape at a reasonable price though.

I've got a Nakajima 180 in the classifieds here for sale.  it would work decently if you bought a SMOOTH presser foot. (You'd only need a smooth presser foot, the feed dog can stay serrated for bite as you're not displaying underside)

a unison feed/triple feed machine could be a little better though for larger upholstery panels of leather like you plan to sew just in case you had some slippage.

Edited Thursday at 05:26 PM by Cumberland Highpower

[dikman]

Simple fact is for that work you need an upholstery-class machine, they typically have walking feet, 3/8" clearance under the feet and handle #69 thread (and sometimes #138). Singer 111/211, Consew, Seiko, Juki are all good solid machines in that category. All you can really do is keep looking, something is likely to turn up eventually.

If you come across something and aren't sure or need advice post info/photos on here. Good luck with your hunting.