taliah Report post Posted June 4, 2014 I posted here a long while back about what kind of leather sewing machine I should buy as a new leather worker working in mostly upholstery leather, but wanting to up the game to do thicker leather work. I received great responses - and wrote a grant for an artists grant here in Indiana to try and get the money to buy the machine. (Chandler 406 RB ) The jury is still out and won't grant money until late July. Which, is soon, but. I now have the opportunity to purchase a Brother DB2-B714-3 Industrial Sewing machine from a friend who's moving across the country - for $450. I'm heading over to try it out and see what I think, but I wanted to see what others might think of this machine. I can't seem to find any reviews of the machine itself - though I've just started looking because she just facebook messaged me and it kind of has to happen really quickly. They're moving next week, so the machine would be mine now...so I have to make a decision. Any advice, thoughts? (photo attached) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gottaknow Report post Posted June 5, 2014 The machine your asking about is a light duty, drop feed garment machine. It won't sew much in the way of leather at all. Perhaps a lightweight garment leather, but the feed mechanism won't do well for you. I'd pass. Unless of course you want a machine to sew lightweight fabric like cotton or nylon. Regards, Eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Curtis336 Report post Posted November 12, 2023 On 6/4/2014 at 7:03 PM, gottaknow said: The machine your asking about is a light duty, drop feed garment machine. It won't sew much in the way of leather at all. Perhaps a lightweight garment leather, but the feed mechanism won't do well for you. I'd pass. Unless of course you want a machine to sew lightweight fabric like cotton or nylon. Regards, Eric Hi, I had a similar question. Does anyone know if it will sew canvas, nylon strap, car upholstery, marine seat vinyl, etc? I do product design and am looking for a versatile, professional-quality machine I can use to make parts for prototypes. I can get one for $200. Perhaps even less. But so far, I have found zero info on it. Thx for any info. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kohler Report post Posted December 8, 2023 It has been almost ten years since the last post into this topic. Anyhow, I will tell what I know of my last purchase, a Brother industrial sewing machine type named here. Most of you are pros compared to me, here you may find nothing new at all - I am happy to read your comments. This particular sewing machine is for high speed sewing of clothes, thin and semi-thick garment materials. Really high speed - I was told by a sewing machine technician that even 8000 ( eight thousand!) stitches per minute was done in a clothes factory. This is approximately 1,5 miles a hour! I was also told, that with that speed some of the machine parts got so hot, that polyester thread started to melt, which was the limiting factor in the production. In comparison, home sewing machines do up to one thousand stitches per minute at their best. Mine has a 550W motor and a clutch. I also learned there is not very much information on this particular db2-714-3, especially what comes to hobby or repair shop use. I list here some advantages what I found using it or reading in the internet: + It makes uniform length and tension stitches regardless of the garment type; silk, cotton sheets, jeans, furniture upholstery*, bags and sturdy canvas. + The variety of thread thicknesses is from "hair thin" to sturdy "bear thread", all mechanisms are precision made and the extremely bulky body - you adjust the thread tension once and my machine really keeps it right. + It does only straight stitch. You want to sew thousand bed sheets, this is the machine! + The capability to sew through thick layers of garment material, pocket corners of jeans for example is convincing; the machine does not even change sound when it runs over thick seams or similar spots, where a domestic machine will stop and start wheezing like a fly caught in a spider's web. Now to the question, is this the machine for my man cave? Can I fix all the strong stuff what cars, boats, belts and outdoor stuff is made of? I would say ... well, yes ... well... if you have the following in your mind; (Please note; the foot I write about here in my text is the little foot next to the stitching needle NOT the foot pedal you operate with your leg) - This machine is for garment, clothes material, it does not have a walking foot feeder pinching the material during a stitch, all material feeding is done by the feeder underneath the garment. - Which means, your car upholstery often has 3-6 layers; support garment, then "sponge", then support for the top layer, top layer garment=the visible upholstery, and double garment edge tape filled with a round nylon "or electric wire". A sewing machine like this with underside feeder only, without a walking foot on the top of the material layers, is a way less suitable to do the job keeping all the layers on their place while sewing. - This applies also to waterproof hood and vinyl materials, you can find a suitable needle and thread for the job, the machine may do the stitch, but feeding the material will not happen or be constant without a walking foot. - You can not add a walking foot feeder to a machine which is not intended for it. A separate actuating shaft and levers operate a walking foot. This model does not have them, this is not a slow, high torque rock crawler, this is a super saloon speedster. - there are roller/wheel type foot for sewing machines, I have no idea if they are available for this Brother machine? - The speed is way too much if you do not slow it down. Original pedal and motor are way too much for me! What you need is like 2 stitches a second when repairing a backpack or sewing a belt etc. The machine will be happy to run 50-100 stitches per second and your belt will disappear behind the table before you even noticed what happened. How to slow down this beast? This particular model is not made for slow sewing with high needle punching loads, there are models designed for heavy leather and similar work. There are many videos on YouTube how to reduce the speed of an Industrial Sewing machine. Look for these topics; 1. Adjusting the speed pedal of an industrial sewing machine 2. Clutch motor or servo motor for industrial sewing machine 3. Changing the pulley of an industrial sewing machine Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
