What Kind Of Sewing Machine?

[ChelseaC]

I'd love help finding a Sewing machine that can sew through 2-5 layers of 2-4 ounce leather....Cow Hide, Goat, and deerskin is what I normally use. I have a Brother cs6000i right now and it does fairly well with thinner leather. I am making baby shoes/moccasins and have up to $1000 to spend, but $700 would be better I read through the amazingly informative sewing machine post, but I am still lost in the sea of machines!!

[Art]

$1000 is not a lot of money in the new leather sewing machine world. If you get something used, it would need a speed reducer to slow it down and increase power. Your best bet is to talk to one of the advertisers here on leatherworker.net. They can match machine to your needs. Something that can do what you need will run at least $1595. Try to find who is the closest and pay them a visit.

Art

[JAZZMAN]

Sorry Chelsea, i know nothing about sewing machines as i hand stitch everything, i could not help but tell you how fantastic your shoes look though.

Edited April 26, 2015 by JAZZMAN

[ChelseaC]

Thank you Art! I guess really I should stick to 2-3 ounce leather if that makes a difference. I can only spend $1000 right now and I don't mind used or old, as long as its functional and can sew pretty smoothly/without getting jammed. any suggestions would be so great, so I can do some research.

Thanks so much Jazzman! I'm really enjoying making them and hopefully can find a machine in my budget

[ChelseaC]

this is an example of what I need to sew through and of course its a little different with each hide

[ChelseaC]

This is a Juki DD 5550, could something like this work for what I need?

[ChelseaC]

or this one?

[ChelseaC]

or there is the sail rite ultrafeed basic walking foot machine that is $600 way more on budget, but I wonder about function.

[dirtclod]

If you said where you live maybe somebody knows somebody that wants to sell.

[ChelseaC]

I am in Southern California