School Me On My New Machine. Mitsubishi Dn-260

[Mohawk Dave]

Hi all,

I'm still saving up for a Cowboy or Cobra 25", but this Mitsubishi DN-260 just popped up on CL for $75 so I googled it real quick with little results and decided to grab it.

I paid the guy tonight and will pick it up tomorrow. He is the owner/user of it and did vinyl banners.

He stated it does not have reverse.

So, what did I get myself into? What weight of leather can I do with this? Dos and Don'ts of this machine? Its capabilities and pros/cons?

Thank you all, Dave

[gottaknow]

This is a double needle needle feed machine (needles and feed dogs move together to feed fabric). It's easiest to compare it to a Singer 112 and 212. It performs best on fabric. You can sew lightweight canvas. It's not really suited for leather except perhaps garment weight. Without a walking foot, it will be very limited for leather. Being a double needle machine, it does have the ability to sew two parallel lines whatever the gauge is set up for. I can't tell from the picture, but it looks like either 3/8" or 1/4" gauge. If you want to sew with one needle, use the right needle which works better with the very common left twist thread. In factories, we use left twist thread on the left side, but I set the timing different to prevent thread untwisting. It will be really happy with T69 thread, T90 will require more needle tension. Size 16,18,20 needles are what it will work best with. It will handle denim with no issues. Mitsubishi machines are well made and usually come with Seiko hooks. I keep a couple in my storage area for overflow work and the give me little trouble. I wouldn't sink a lot of money into it. Set up with a clutch motor in a decent table it's worth about $250.00. Parts are easy to get.

Regards, Eric

[Wizcrafts]

You can see a slightly newer Mitsubishi dual needle machine, with reverse, in action in this YouTube video. It will show you the speed which it is meant to be operated at and the type of material it is built to sew.