Good Beginning Sewing Machine

[aguilerag]

Hello everyone. I have been reading through the posts and was wondering if anyone had a good suggestion for a starter machine? I need it to be able to do some pancake holsters and wallets.

Any good suggestions? Looking for something cheap that would "just work" till I get good at sewing then I can upgrade to a much better machine.

Thanks

Gabriel

[pcox]

Any good suggestions? Looking for something cheap that would "just work" till I get good at sewing then I can upgrade to a much better machine.

I hear this all the time and I disagree. The less experience you have the better machine you need. Untill you know your way around you will never be sure if it is you or the machine that is causeing a problem. A person who has ran machines for years can do some pretty good work with a machine that others will not get along with at all. Don't settle for a make do machine get a good one if your skill and interest turns into something big your set, if it goes the other way you will be able to get all or most of your money back if you need to sell the machine.

[aguilerag]

@pcox, thanks for the reply and that makes perfect sense. I currently have 600$ saved up for a machine right now. Should I save up more and just buy a good industrial machine?

[pcox]

$600 should get you a pretty good used machine. Call Bob Kovar in Toledo to see if he has a used machine that will do what you want.

[aguilerag]

Will do. Thanks

[Techsew Ron]

A basic walking foot machine for pancake holsters, wallets and other leather products will cost $875-$1200. I would recommend saving a bit more and purchasing the right machine for your needs.

Here to help!

Ron

[aguilerag]

Thanks for the info. I will do some more research and probably save more to buy a better machine. The resale of a better machine if I dont stick with it makes good sense.

I emailed Bob about machines so am in contact with him too.

Gabriel

And looking at the Techsew webpage right now too.

[TwinOaks]

I would recommend saving a bit more and purchasing the right machine for your needs.

I'd go a little further and say get more machine than you think you'll need. Staying strictly within your parameters (wallets and pancake holsters) a reconditioned Singer 111 style would work. It should handle the wallets with ease and most of the flat holster work...but the holsters could be st the maximum capacity of the machine...which could cause some additional wear to the machine. What if you need to sew a liner into the holster? Upgrading to a Consew 205 (or clone) would increase the capacity a bit for the holsters, and still handle the light work well. The point is that all machines have a physical limit to how much and what they can sew. As long as you stay inside those limits you're fine, but the choice of machine can limit your ability to do some projects. By having a machine with more capacity than your requirements, you don't wear out your machine, AND you have a little room for expansion.

If at all possible, stick to our sponsers - not only have they earned their reputations, but they do a lot to the machines to set them up specifically to sew leather.

[Jimbob]

You will not be able to make a serious holster on a flat bed machine and shurly not on a Singer 111, what you need is a more serious cylinder machine...unfortunatly it will cost you min. 1000 bucks and up used....new ones run 1500 to 5000....so here is NO cheap in this matter...but sometimes you can find one on Craigs list, epost and classifieds for less....I have an Adler 105 and it suits me well....they are not cheap any more either....you will be in a heap of trouble buying some weak or unusable machine....better save more bucks and say lesser bad words later....just my 2 cents.

James

[Dwight]

I was in your shoes back about 6 or 7 years ago . . . when I saw my first Tippmann Boss.

Cliff notes version: I've had one ever since, . . . love it, . . . and so far, I have not been disappointed in what it will or won't do. True, . . . when I get an order for a 55 inch belt, . . . I wish it had a motor, . . . but otherwise, it does all I want.

I am looking for a chap machine, . . . electric, . . . as the Boss is a bit of overkill for chaps and billfolds, . . . but there are very few holsters it won't handle, . . . and pancakes are easy as pie on it.

May God bless,

Dwight

[aguilerag]

Thank you all for your advice. I am going to save more and buy a good machine (still researching which one)