I Can't Decide, Please Help!

[kriten]

I just graduated from college and am looking to buy my own leather sewing machine. At school we used a Juki-1341, which I cannot afford. I've done a little bit of research and read some posts on here (which have been very helpful and informative), but I'm stuck between two machines: the Consew 206 RB5 and a Juki 1541S. I am more familiar with the Juki brand, and that's about the only reason I am leaning toward it. The Consew however is about $200 cheaper.

Mainly, I will be sewing handbags with lightweight leathers (probably never more than 2.5-3 oz.), but don't want to limit myself for future endeavors.

I would appreciate any advice, or hearing if you have personal experience with either of these machines.

Thanks so much!

[Art]

Hi Kriten,

Both the 1541s and the 206 RB5 are great upholstery machines, what leatherworkers would call "medium weight" machines. The Consew is built in China, The Juki in Japan, they are both needle feed, walking foot machines with a safety clutch, they both take what we call 111 feet, all this is good stuff. You will be limited to sewing about 20oz or so of leather total, either veg or chrome tan. These are flat bed machines, so you have to use construction techniques that accommodate that. If it is only $200, I would get the Juki. These machines are mostly set up for fabric sewing, they have aggressive feed dogs and presser feet, they are also set up to sew quite fast, something we as leatherworkers don't particularly care for.

Sewing machine dealers at the top of the page set machines up to sew leather. They install speed reducers and variable speed motors to tame the beasts, and smooth feet if required. These machines are made by Highlead in China, and work very well, I have one which is generically known as a 618 SC-1, or Cobra Class 18. They run without problems and the dealers can provide excellent service. These machines cost about $1500 complete, plus shipping. $1500 is about the cost of a Juki 1541s head alone.

Art

I just graduated from college and am looking to buy my own leather sewing machine. At school we used a Juki-1341, which I cannot afford. I've done a little bit of research and read some posts on here (which have been very helpful and informative), but I'm stuck between two machines: the Consew 206 RB5 and a Juki 1541S. I am more familiar with the Juki brand, and that's about the only reason I am leaning toward it. The Consew however is about $200 cheaper.

Mainly, I will be sewing handbags with lightweight leathers (probably never more than 2.5-3 oz.), but don't want to limit myself for future endeavors.

I would appreciate any advice, or hearing if you have personal experience with either of these machines.

Thanks so much!

[kriten]

Thank you, Art. That helps alot. I'll take a look at some of the other dealer you mentioned.

If you don't mind answering one (or two) other question...I found a juki that has a servo motor installed. Am I correct in thinking that that is a speed reducer which you mentioned?

Also, how difficult are these machines to set up once i receive it? Sorry to bombard you with questions, and I really appreciate your time!

Kristen

Hi Kriten,

Both the 1541s and the 206 RB5 are great upholstery machines, what leatherworkers would call "medium weight" machines. The Consew is built in China, The Juki in Japan, they are both needle feed, walking foot machines with a safety clutch, they both take what we call 111 feet, all this is good stuff. You will be limited to sewing about 20oz or so of leather total, either veg or chrome tan. These are flat bed machines, so you have to use construction techniques that accommodate that. If it is only $200, I would get the Juki. These machines are mostly set up for fabric sewing, they have aggressive feed dogs and presser feet, they are also set up to sew quite fast, something we as leatherworkers don't particularly care for.

Sewing machine dealers at the top of the page set machines up to sew leather. They install speed reducers and variable speed motors to tame the beasts, and smooth feet if required. These machines are made by Highlead in China, and work very well, I have one which is generically known as a 618 SC-1, or Cobra Class 18. They run without problems and the dealers can provide excellent service. These machines cost about $1500 complete, plus shipping. $1500 is about the cost of a Juki 1541s head alone.

Art

[CowboyBob]

If you don't mind answering one (or two) other question...I found a juki that has a servo motor installed. Am I correct in thinking that that is a speed reducer which you mentioned?

Also, how difficult are these machines to set up once i receive it? Sorry to bombard you with questions, and I really appreciate your time!

Kristen,

No, a speed reducer is added under the bobbin winder & consists of a large & small pulley that reduce the speed approx 3x less than what the motor runs.Some servos do not run slow as others so you might want to try it out b4 buying.

There is a servo available with a builtin reducer

that works real nice & is better than have an added reducer because you can tilt the machine back w/o hove to take the belt off every time.

HTH,

Bob

Edited March 28, 2011 by sewmun

[Art]

Hi Kriten,

The speed reducer is different than a servo motor. It gives an additional 3x reduction in speed, but more importantly a 3.x multiplication in torque. There is a motor that has a built-in speed reducer that works well on the medium sized machines. You won't find many, if any, used machines with this motor as they are relatively new. If you buy from one of the dealers here on Leatherworker, the machine will already be set up. You basically take the head out of the box and put it on the table, you have to put the belt over the handwheel. You screw the light on and connect three wires to the light and you are ready to go. You call the dealer before you crank her up to make sure you didn't forget anything. It takes some of our dealers 4 hours of mechanic time to prepare a machine for the customer, it will take you a lot longer. That is why I recommend the dealers here, they are also the ones to know how to set the machine up for leather. They replace a few parts that are specifically for leather. User machines have seldom, if ever, been used in the custom leather trade, they usually need quite a bit of work.

Art

Art

Thank you, Art. That helps alot. I'll take a look at some of the other dealer you mentioned.

If you don't mind answering one (or two) other question...I found a juki that has a servo motor installed. Am I correct in thinking that that is a speed reducer which you mentioned?

Also, how difficult are these machines to set up once i receive it? Sorry to bombard you with questions, and I really appreciate your time!

Kristen

[neelsaddlery]

Juki and Consew make fine machines, there is no doubt about that. But, you may also want to consider some of the other clone machines that are out there. A new Juki 1341 will cost you around $2995-$3995 depending on who you buy it from. We sell a clone of the older version of this machine for around $1750.00 complete.. The machine is a clone of the Juki 341, the predecessor to the 1341.

One other thing to remember about Juki and Consew. There are some Juki machines that are still made in Japan, but there are A LOT, and I do mean A LOT that are made in China nowadays. Juki has three assembly plants in China, and there are an overwhelming amount of Chinese vendors that supply parts to Juki. If you are buying a Juki, there is a good chance that you are buying a Chinese made machine with a Japanese name on it, and paying a Japanese price for it. The last time I was in China, I visited a factory that makes parts for all of Juki's overlock machines. The parts were spot on perfect, but nevertheless made in a Chinese factory. Juki was one of their biggest customers.

My arguement with the big names that sell machines that are made in China is that you are buying a Chinese built machine, but paying a very inflated price for it. There are many factories in China that can rival those factories than manufacture for the big names in Japan and the USA, but do it for a much lower price. It is not that the big names are paying the Chinese factories any more for the machines, it is just that they are charging more for the machines when they hit the USA because you are paying for the name, and not for any increase in costs due to perceived quality differences or country of manufacture.

Most of the Consew machines are made in China nowadays. The Consew 206 RB-5 is made in China. We actually buy a machine we call the 0797 HD from the same supplier that makes the 206 RB-5 and the 205 RB-1 for Consew in China. All of the labels on Consew machines say Osaka, Japan on them. This does not mean the machines were made there. Lot of people think that, and that is what they woud like you to believe. However, I have many contacts in China that work at the same factory where the 205 and 206 are made, and I can asure you, they are made in China.

The other interesting point is that if you look at the packaging on all Consew machines, the name of the country of manufacture is conspicuously missing. US import laws require that the name of the country of manufacture be placed on all packaging. I do not know how they get around this, but somehow they do.

Consew and Juki make fine machines, there is no doubt, but you may also want to consider some of the clone machines out there, as you can often buy a machine that is of the same quality, but of much lower price.

Hope this is of some help to you.

[Don Ayres]

What are the brand names of the clones of the consew 206rb-5 ?

Thanks