Thoughts On Sailrite Walking Foot Machines

[spurdude101]

I've been reading quite a bit here about walking foot machines, and all seen to favor the Consew, Techsew, so forth. However I don't see to see much input about the Sailrite machines. they appear to be very similiar to the walking foot machines mentioned. I tink they are made in America, service and warranted here. the new MC-SRC motor system looks very good, I think the industrial model is the 111. any thoughts?

[TwinOaks]

The 111 is a clone of the Singer 111, and there's been some discussion about their machines on here.

The small portable machines are not suitable unless you're assembling chrome tanned items. The feed dogs leave noticeable tracks on the back side of the leather.

Several members tried them....then ended up selling them.

The produced one of the videos showing how the MC-SCR was so much superior to 'servo' motors. I pointed out that they never revealed what kind of wattage comparisons they were making, and IIRC, they never responded. It's pretty easy to show superiority when the motor you're using is a 1/2 horse power stronger.

My opinion is this: Sailrite was trying to get a foot in the market for leather machines, by touting one of their sail machines as capable. It very well may be. But when you look at the cost of the 111 with the -SCR, you're over the price of a more capable machine (Consew 206...more thread capacity and more clearance under the foot).

[Wizcrafts]

I started out in leather work wanting to sew a leather vest. My requirements were modest at that time and I bought a straight stitch old Singer 96k40 that did a good job for me.

It wasn't too long after I finished the vest that I decided to try sewing belts. This is when I began learning about the limitations of many industrial sewing machines. A man's gotta know his limitations!

Every time I bought an industrial sewing machine, I tried to exceed its thread size or thickness capabilities. This led me to always look for a bigger and better stitcher. I have owned several walking foot machines, made by Singer, Juki and National. Each had its strong points and weak ones.

It is an established fact that once a person decides to become a leather worker, and lets others know, the work requests will come in and will get into larger requirements than most are equipped to handle, at first. Almost every leathercrafter on this forum has stated their intention to sew wallets, or vests, plus some belts, holsters, sheathes, etc. Most newbies expect to be able to machine sew with the same thread used in hand sewing. They are usually unpleasantly surprised to learn that this is not likely on most industrial sewing machines, or even most heavy stitchers in common use.

Back to the Sailrite topic...

The Sailrite portables are very good machines for making and repairing vinyl sails, biminis, seat covers, awnings and other items made from heavy cloth and vinyl. They have positive double feed, over and under, with aggressive teeth on the feet and feeders. These machines are designed for sewing marine items not exceeding 1/4 inch, or so, in compressed thickness, using thread sizes 138 or less.

Some of our members have bought portable walking foot machines, then tried to modify them to sew into 3/8 inch of veg-tan belting. The results can be disastrous to both the machine and material. The metal used in the drive and take-up system is not strong enough to withstand the pounding imposed by hard temper leather when you sew into it with a #23 or larger needle. Sure, if you restrict your sewing to #69 bonded nylon, using a #18 needle, you should be able to sew 1/4+ inch of leather together. The pressure required to hold down the leather as a #18 needle, carrying #69 thread ascends is not that much. As long as the pressure spring has moderate tensile strength it can hold down 1/4 inch of leather, using small needles and thread.

But, ramp it up a notch! BAM! Load the machine with #207 thread and a #24 or 25 needle and see what happens on the upstrokes. The needle will come up and so will the leather. This causes skipped stitches and broken needles and thread, plus jamming of the bobbin mechanism. Before the machine breaks, it may sew for a while. But, the knots will be on the bottom of the leather. So, you will crank up the tension on the upper tension disk thumbnut. Before you realize what's happening the take-up and walking foot drive parts will bend and start to bind. The needle bar will move due to the impact, throwing the machine out of time. You will try to overcome the binding and skipping, which may finish the machine off for good.

You don't have to believe anything I said here. Life is yours to live, for better or worse. If you listen to the advice of those who proceeded you in this craft, you will save a lot of time and frustration. Most of us have worked our ways up through all manner of sewing machines, breaking many along the way.

My advice is to save your money until you can afford a real, industrial walking foot, triple feed machine. That is for sewing up to 3/8 inch and not all day long. Sewing machines that are run at full thickness and hardness capacity wear out quickly, or go out of time. Figure out what you intend to sew, both now and a year down the road. Buy more machine than you need now, so it will still handle the work you get down the line. If you are going to be sewing veg-tan leather, in thicknesses exceeding 3/8 inch, a regular walking foot machine may not hold up. The thicker the thread, the larger the needle required to poke a big enough hole to pull the bobbin thread up into the leather, to form the lockstitch knots. The bigger the needle and thread, the harder it is to hold the leather down as the needle rises out of it. The more spring pressure you apply to the feet, the harder the machine pounds on each stroke.

When it comes to buying a real heavy leather sewing machine, cheaper is usually NOT better. Walking foot flatbed machines are built to sew soft upholstery material, not 5/16" or thicker belts or holsters, with heavy bonded thread and #24+ needles. Even the ones that have high lift still don't have an easy time with hard temper leather and big thread. There are things that can be done to improve these machines to a certain point, like sewing with #207 thread, but you have to know their limitations. Eventually, you'll need to sew a leather project that is 1/2 inch thick and the upholstery or sail-maker's machine will not be able to handle it.

Edited October 29, 2012 by Wizcrafts

[Anne Bonnys Locker]

I imported a couple of the base machines out of Taiwan - 2000U-33W - and I was not at all impressed. In the end I was very careful to sell them to people who only needed a very light duty machine and certainly didn't want to sew leather.

the concept is great but these are not machines I would ever suggest for leather and, in fact, I have decided not to import them at all as their application is quite limited. Somebody else has decided to push these in Australia and I wish him well but at the price he is selling them I fear for his long term survival as he has left little margin for warranty.

As Wiz has so rightly pointed out, you need to save your pennies and sink them into a machine that is working in the middle of its range as pushing the limit day in and day out will end in tears !

[Massive]

Sailrite machines are asian imports that have been hot rodded here. Sails often have leather in them, and the places where they do have leather, are pretty thick. Sailrite machines also have optional feet for leather, to eliminate marking, there is nothing about a sailrite machine that will mark leather any more than any other machines that have walking feet. I have an LZ, whatever the top of the line model and options are.

Spiniker sails have material in them as light as 3/4 oz, and that is the lower end of the machine range, so the upper end is pretty limited. Sailrite machines do not use parts that you can buy from most stores. I would not buy another machine, gulp, maybe I just did, where the basic accessories are so overpriced. I just bought a 16" saddle type machine, and cost wise, there are lots of real leather machines that are competitive with even the LZ machines. Sadly, if you want to do sails, you need a machine that does zigzag, and if you want a leather machine, they general, or probably always, do not. They are just different machines that do not overlap that well. Sailrite machines are highly regarded in the sail biz, and you can find out about them in boat forums like the woodenboat one.

[Anne Bonnys Locker]

A proper sail sewing machine uses a three step zig-zag and this is usually associated with cam operated machines so they are even limited in their main market!