Used Industrial Machines

[materbona]

I found two industrial machines here for sale. One is a Singer 280-3 and the other a Consew 220. Are these capable of sewing leather????? Thanks for any info.

[Art]

the 220 is a High Speed garment machine, drop feed only, self oiler, no reverse, probably setup to run like a scalded cat. In working trim and good shape, worth around $200. Not what you want to sew anything but garment weight leather. The Singer 280-30 is a huge long arm machine and might be up to some light leather.

Art

I found two industrial machines here for sale. One is a Singer 280-3 and the other a Consew 220. Are these capable of sewing leather????? Thanks for any info.

[materbona]

Thanks Art--I am still determined to find a leather machine at a not exorbitant price--do you have any ideas??????????

the 220 is a High Speed garment machine, drop feed only, self oiler, no reverse, probably setup to run like a scalded cat. In working trim and good shape, worth around $200. Not what you want to sew anything but garment weight leather. The Singer 280-30 is a huge long arm machine and might be up to some light leather.

Art

[TwinOaks]

The issue usually isn't the cost of the machine head, it's the total package. Even though you may find a used machine head, there's a lot more too it that just plug it in, add thread, and start sewing. The 'leather stitching' machines are slowed down a lot. This adds to control, and most importantly torque. Shoving a needle through a thick wad of leather is a hard thing to do - if you hand sew, you know how true this is. Most industrial machines are set up for a textile factory setting. Speed is all important there. If you search a lot of the industrial machines that look like the Cobra, Cowboy, etc., you'll see speed ratings of up to 3000 spm. That sounds like a loud buzz and then you've overrun a stitch, or sewed your hand to a piece of leather. The leather machines use a different motor, and typically a speed reducer, so while you might find a machine head (lots of ebay auctions for "machine head only") you'll still be out another couple of hundred dollars for the rest of the components before you have a machine that might work. You'll still need to check the timing, make adjustments as needed, and have it mounted in a table of some sort. If you're a sewing machine mechanic, no big deal, you do it on a daily basis anyway.

One of the best threads I've ever read on the subject is here: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=25239. It's worth taking the time to read it. It's also well worth the time to call Steve Tayrien at Cobra Leather. He'll talk to you, let you know what's what, and is pretty dang nice about it too. I've spoken with him about machines other than what he sells, and he was happy to help me out with the minor little problem. But...read the thread in the link. It's very helpful.