Any Comments On This Necchi Machine?

[reddevil76]

I was browsing for a patcher (most of them are too heavy to ship) when I came across this.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/INDUSTRIAL-STRENGTH-Sewing-Machine-LEATHER-UPHOLSTERY-/360392961067?pt=BI_Sewing_Machines&hash=item53e9182c2b

I usually sew through 2 to 3 layers of 3-4 oz veg tan.

[CowboyBob]

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=25239

[Art]

It seems (or seams if you want a pun) that all they are sewing is chrome tan and mostly splits. Different animal sewing veg tan. The motor won't last very long before it is toast, and the parts aren't very heavy duty either. I know 4x the price may be a little hard to come up with, but a Cobra 5550 or a Class 17 will be nice to leave to the kids when you pass on (or get out of the leather business). A singer 31-15 or 31-20 is also a good machine if you fit it with a roller foot and a servo motor. With sewing leather, Walking foot is better and needle feed with walking foot better still; of course every time you add one of those features, it will cost you $250, but money well spent.

Art

I was browsing for a patcher (most of them are too heavy to ship) when I came across this.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/INDUSTRIAL-STRENGTH-Sewing-Machine-LEATHER-UPHOLSTERY-/360392961067?pt=BI_Sewing_Machines&hash=item53e9182c2b

I usually sew through 2 to 3 layers of 3-4 oz veg tan.

[Wizcrafts]

I was browsing for a patcher (most of them are too heavy to ship) when I came across this.

http://www.ebay.com/...=item53e9182c2b

I usually sew through 2 to 3 layers of 3-4 oz veg tan.

You will be wasting your money and shredding your nerves if you buy that home sewing machine and try to sew 12 ounces of leather with it. The so-called walking foot attachment is nothing of the sort. It is better described as an even feed attachment, used by quilters. I bought one for my old Singer 15-91, before I got a real walking foot machine. The attachment has an outer foot that basically follows the material as it is pulled by the bottom feed dogs. When the feed dogs drop down, at the end of the stitch, the outer foot snaps forward. These attachments cause you to lose at least 1/16" of usable space under the feet. So, a machine that could in theory sew 12 ounces thickness will now only be able to fit 8 to 10 ounces under the foot. If you try to compensate by pre-raising the pressor bar, the needle bar will hit the top of the feet on the way down. The consequences could be catastrophic for the attachment, the needlebar, or pressor bar.

Without the "walking foot" attachment, the machine will not feed leather or Naugahyde properly. Your only recourse would be a roller equipped pressor foot. I have one of these and it also loses 1/16" clearance underneath and on top. A home sewing machine with a roller foot will only clear about 1/8" to 3/16" of material, before the needle bar strikes it and busts it open.

Finally, these home style machines are only made to sew with light weight thread. The most you can use would be #69 bonded nylon. This thread has but 11 pounds of tensile strength.

Edited September 12, 2011 by Wizcrafts

[amuckart]

Bluntly, the seller is lying about the capabilities of the machine in an attempt to boost the price. eBay is rife with that scam.

[reddevil76]

thanks all.. the number of machines that comes up when i do a search for "leather sewing machine" on ebay is simply mind boggling for a newbie to machine.

[Techsew Ron]

thanks all.. the number of machines that comes up when i do a search for "leather sewing machine" on ebay is simply mind boggling for a newbie to machine.

Try to search only for machines under the Manufacturing & Metalworking category and ignore anything that says "industrial strength'' in the title.

For the work you're doing, you'll need a flatbed walking foot machine with full table and industrial motor (preferably servo motor for speed control).

Ron

Edited September 13, 2011 by Ronnie