New To Working With Leather And Not Sure What Machine Would Be Best For My Needs. Any Input?

[Bonadrag12]

I'm currently a fashion design student and I'm realizing my senior year that I would like to focus on leather. Originally I was just going to get a Juki 8700 and rig it with Teflon foot, plate, and feed dog but now I'm considering a walking foot industrial machine. I'm mostly going to be working with lambskin but I may start toying with veg tanned cowhide later down the road. I currently have a home Brother machine that works pretty well so that's why I was thinking walking foot, since the 8700 will just be a step up from the brother as far as what weights it would accept.

Could someone please direct me to what industrial machines I should be looking for? ILike I said before, I'm a student so money is a bit of an issue. I could probably spend $1000 at the most and I have no issue with it being a used machine.

Thank you!

[amuckart]

When you say "lambskin" do you mean wool on, or thin lamb leather?

The sort of machine you need to sew garment weight leather and the sort of machine you need to sew thicker leather are quite different.

I think that for lighter weight leathers a roller foot machine (ideally with a roller feed) is a good idea. A post or cylinder bed machine will allow you to sew complex 3D shapes as well as flat things.

For heavier leathers, you'll want a walking foot machine. For medium weight work a Seiko STH-8 or Consew 206 (both clones of the Singer 111) is a good bet. They're common, easy to get feet and parts for, and reliable. I don't know if they can be adapted to sew thin soft leathers like lambskin though.

[Colt W Knight]

When you say "lambskin" do you mean wool on, or thin lamb leather?

The sort of machine you need to sew garment weight leather and the sort of machine you need to sew thicker leather are quite different.

For heavier leathers, you'll want a walking foot machine. For medium weight work a Seiko STH-8 or Consew 206 (both clones of the Singer 111) is a good bet. They're common, easy to get feet and parts for, and reliable. I don't know if they can be adapted to sew thin soft leathers like lambskin though.

I own this machine, and it works great for garment leather and medium weight veg tan leather. It will easily sew up to 3/8" of leather using up#138 thread. Used machines can be found within your budge, and new for around 1300$. But there are dozens if not hundreds of machines that would work in this application. I think the real trick is finding one that fits your needs, gives you some room to grow, and is easily maintained with parts readily available.

I don't know much about garment making, but if you would like to make things like Purses ,you will want a cylinder arm machine.

I spent a lot of time searching for used industrial foot walking machines that sew leather well, and there is generally not a lot available on the used market. If you are wanting to buy one quickly, you will want to watch the classifieds daily, as they often sell extremely quickly, especially when they sell for a good price. Most likely, you will need to buy new if you are in a time crunch if nothing pops up locally used. New machines are going to be more than your 1000$ budget.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Colt W Knight

[Bonadrag12]

When you say "lambskin" do you mean wool on, or thin lamb leather?

The sort of machine you need to sew garment weight leather and the sort of machine you need to sew thicker leather are quite different.

I think that for lighter weight leathers a roller foot machine (ideally with a roller feed) is a good idea. A post or cylinder bed machine will allow you to sew complex 3D shapes as well as flat things.

For heavier leathers, you'll want a walking foot machine. For medium weight work a Seiko STH-8 or Consew 206 (both clones of the Singer 111) is a good bet. They're common, easy to get feet and parts for, and reliable. I don't know if they can be adapted to sew thin soft leathers like lambskin though.

Hi, thanks for responding. I would be using garment weight lamb leather without the wool. The heaviest type of leather I'll be using is a medium weight veg tanned cowhide.

I'll definitely look into the roller foot machine. I think I can buy a roller foot for the Juki 8700? This is better than the Teflon foot?

[Bonadrag12]

I own this machine, and it works great for garment leather and medium weight veg tan leather. It will easily sew up to 3/8" of leather using up#138 thread. Used machines can be found within your budge, and new for around 1300$. But there are dozens if not hundreds of machines that would work in this application. I think the real trick is finding one that fits your needs, gives you some room to grow, and is easily maintained with parts readily available.

I don't know much about garment making, but if you would like to make things like Purses ,you will want a cylinder arm machine.

I spent a lot of time searching for used industrial foot walking machines that sew leather well, and there is generally not a lot available on the used market. If you are wanting to buy one quickly, you will want to watch the classifieds daily, as they often sell extremely quickly, especially when they sell for a good price. Most likely, you will need to buy new if you are in a time crunch if nothing pops up locally used. New machines are going to be more than your 1000$ budget.

Thanks for replying!

The Consew 206?

So far I've come across a Juki Dnu 1541 and a Juki Dnu 241-h-7 within my price range. Yet to inspect them though. So im not sure if they are worth the money or even what I need.

I have a lot of time before I need to make a purchase. I'm basically just trying to set up my home studio so I can practice and learn before I open my own garment/accessories line.

[amuckart]

Hi, thanks for responding. I would be using garment weight lamb leather without the wool. The heaviest type of leather I'll be using is a medium weight veg tanned cowhide.

I'll definitely look into the roller foot machine. I think I can buy a roller foot for the Juki 8700? This is better than the Teflon foot?

What's your definition of "medium weight"? 6oz or 18oz? It's handy to be as specific as possible because my definition of "medium weight" coming at this from a different area of leatherwork might be very different to yours. In my book, 24oz is "medium" but if you're doing garment weight stuff then I suspect your definition of "medium" is a lot less than that.

Are you particularly set on a Juki machine? They're good, but you pay a premium for that brand. There are older models of machine that will sew garment weight leathers really well that you can probably get for a lot less than $1000. That money might be enough to get you a second hand Seiko TE/TF-6, which are cylinder arm roller foot machines designed for lightweight leather sewing. The TF-6 is a left handed machine, meaning it's arm points to the right instead of to the left like a normal machine and the presser foot and feed are on the inside of the arm. This gives excellent visibility of the seam lines. Both can have a flat table attached. The TE/TF-6 are modern clones of the Singer 16 and 17 class machines.

Another machine that's popular amongst people sewing things like boot tops and shoes is the Singer 31-15, which is a flat-bed roller foot machine. It's a straight-stitch only, and has no reverse, but there are modern versions that do.

The Pfaff 441 (not to be confused with the Juki 441) is another flat bed roller foot machine for leather that can be had second hand. There's a post-bed version too, but I can't remember the model number.

For someone working outside of a factory setting without maintenance staff, the advantage of machines like these compared to more modern self-lubricating direct-drive ones is that they are much simpler and far easier to service and unless you need really high production speeds they will probably serve you just as well.

My recommendation would be to look at the advertisements on this site and talk to Techsew, Toledo Industrial, etc. about what you need and see if they have a machine that will do what you want inside your budget. I've also heard very good things about Melanie Machine Co. in Ohio.

[amuckart]

I don't know what the market is like where you are, but to put your budget in context, but here in New Zealand I bought a Pfaff 441 for NZ$250, and a Seiko STH-8BLD2 for NZ$300, both with motors etc. I had to replace the motors on the Seiko because it was set up for upholstery work and was much too fast for what I wanted but a new servo motor was $150.

[Wizcrafts]

Hmmm. Light weight, soft lambskin leather. I sew that on my Singer 139w101 walking foot machine every now and then.

You are smart to want a Juki, as they are quality machines built in Japan. But, even better, some models of their walking foot machines have what they define as rectangular drive. This defines the motion performed by the feed dog, which I understand is user adjustable. By carefully balancing the motion and lift of the feeder, those Jukis can sew thinner and softer materials than typical upholstery class walking foot machines.

Here is a quote from the Juki web page for their DNU-1541 class machines.

The machine's rectangular feeding motion promises the consistent feeding of materials of all thicknesses without stitch gathering.

[amuckart]

Nice find Wiz. That looks like a really useful feature!

[silverback]

Hi, Amuckart,where did you get your servo for $150 NZ Or Aus.

[amuckart]

Hi, Amuckart,where did you get your servo for $150 NZ Or Aus.

A New Zealand site called TradeMe http://www.trademe.co.nz about four years ago.

[Tejas]

If you decide on a Juki 1541, there is also a 1541S that has a safety clutch that protects the hook in case of a jam. The price of the S model is only about $100 more.

[Bonadrag12]

What's your definition of "medium weight"? 6oz or 18oz?

Sorry, I'm still a newbie. A medium weight garment weight cowhide that I probably wouldn't exceed 6oz. Something along the picture below.

I'm not totally dead set on a Juki. It's just what I'm familiar with since school has their straight stitch machines and they seem like they are pretty well made.

[Bonadrag12]

Hmmm. Light weight, soft lambskin leather. I sew that on my Singer 139w101 walking foot machine every now and then.

You are smart to want a Juki, as they are quality machines built in Japan. But, even better, some models of their walking foot machines have what they define as rectangular drive. This defines the motion performed by the feed dog, which I understand is user adjustable. By carefully balancing the motion and lift of the feeder, those Jukis can sew thinner and softer materials than typical upholstery class walking foot machines.

Here is a quote from the Juki web page for their DNU-1541 class machines.

Thanks! I may go check this one out! My main concern is that if like to be able to sew soft lamb skin but also have the option to grow into heavier cowhides like the photo I posted above.

[MG513]

Thanks! I may go check this one out! My main concern is that if like to be able to sew soft lamb skin but also have the option to grow into heavier cowhides like the photo I posted above.

Hey, what did you decide on?? I too am looking at the Ddl 8700 to see the uppers for sneakers until I can afford a post bed. Was wondering if this machine worked out for you!?

[DrmCa]

I routinely stitch everything from finest Mirabella and nubuck to heavy upholstery leather on a cylinder arm Pfaff 335 and recommend a cylinder arm.

If you buy a cylinder arm machine now, it will save you from spending more money once you realize you need it, and from the headache of finding space for a 2nd machine, or having to sell the flat bed one.