Sewing Machine For 10-11Oz Leather

[Austyn]

I'm in the market for a leather sewing machine.

I make belts, suspenders, dog collars, etc. I use 10-11oz leather. I'm looking for a used sewing machine but I'm not sure what type or what works best with 10-11oz leather.

Thoughts?

Thanks.

[Wizcrafts]

Almost any compound feed walking foot machine will sew not only 10, but up to 20 - 24 ounces of medium temper leather and webbing. Mind you, the typical maximum thread size is just #138, but each stitch would have 22 pounds breaking strength.

Walking foot machines are available in both flatbed and cylinder arm models, from a wide range of brand names and manufacturers.

The thing about buying a used walking foot machine is a combination of the wear in the moving parts and the speed that the motors are typically setup to run at. Many leather crafters who buy used machines will discard the old clutch motor and buy a new servo motor, equipped with a very small diameter pulley. This lets the machine sew very slowly and still have punching power.

[Darren Brosowski]

Wiz is correct in terms of breaking strain but that is rarely what breaks the thread. A big factor is the wear resistance of the specific thread and some threads with a lower breaking strain can last longer under stress if their wear resistance is higher.

More to the point with the work you want to do is that people love to see a big heavy thread on things like a dog collar.

While it is at the bottom range of its working end I would suggest a GA5/Cowboy CB105