looking for a beginner machine

[TheITMan]

my fingers dont like sewing by hand. im looking into options for a beginners machine. my budget is about 300$. i see a lot of singer units on craigslist. are there any models i should look for? what do you recommend?

[Colt W Knight]

What do you want to sew? To be brutally honest, there really isn't a such thing as a beginner leather sewing machine. They are typically big and expensive.

[TheITMan]

i would need something that can sew at least two layers of 7-8oz. iv seen people using older singer units for this purpose. plenty of those to be had at decent prices. 

[Colt W Knight]

I think most of us have been here before, and tried those old Singer home machines. They just don't work for sewing vegtan leather reliably. I know I watched a bunch of youtube videos and internet stuff that said they would work if they were setup right. So I went out and bought one, upgraded everything, and it would sew garment weight leather and heavy canvas/cloth reliably, but never would sew two pieces of vegtan together reliably. It could do short runs, but it would never do any real projects. It would either loose control of the feed and wouldn't stitch the SPI consistently, fray thread, or drop stitches. Plus, they will not sew with larger thread.

There are plenty of old Singers out there that are capable of sewing leather, but they are not cheap like the old home machines.

 

Edited July 8, 2016 by Colt W Knight

[TheITMan]

at the very least what models would i be looking for? i might be able to scrape up enough fun money to boost my budget to 4-500. at this point i really cant justify spending 1k+ on a machine for a hobby.

 

[Wizcrafts]

2 hours ago, TheITMan said:

my fingers dont like sewing by hand. im looking into options for a beginners machine. my budget is about 300$. i see a lot of singer units on craigslist. are there any models i should look for? what do you recommend?

Maybe you can find a used walking foot machine being sold by an upholstery shop, or an individual; who did upholstery at home, through your local and nearby Craigslist ads. We also have a classifieds section on Leatherworker.net, called the Marketplace. There is a section for used sewing machines. look for a compound (triple) feed walking foot machine, like a Singer 111w155, or Consew 206RB-something, with a 20x48 inch table with a big 1/3rd or 1/2 horsepower motor underneath. These often show up within a hundred miles of major metropolitan areas. A typical price is between $500 to $800 in working condition. Those in very good condition and having thread, needles, bobbins and other accessories may go for a little more. Junk machines can be had for $300.

[TheITMan]

1 minute ago, Wizcrafts said:

Maybe you can find a used walking foot machine being sold by an upholstery shop, or an individual; who did upholstery at home, through your local and nearby Craigslist ads. We also have a classifieds section on Leatherworker.net, called the Marketplace. There is a section for used sewing machines. look for a compound (triple) feed walking foot machine, like a Singer 111w155, or Consew 206RB-something, with a 20x48 inch table with a big 1/3rd or 1/2 horsepower motor underneath. These often show up within a hundred miles of major metropolitan areas. A typical price is between $500 to $800 in working condition. Those in very good condition and having thread, needles, bobbins and other accessories may go for a little more. Junk machines can be had for $300.

just the info i was looking for. what thread size can these handle?

[bikermutt07]

Me neither. But recently i started investigating the  machines just out of curiosity. Mostly because  there are so many  posts concerning  them. From what i can gather,  anything less than a 2000.00 dollar investment will fall short of what i would be happy with. That's a  lot of scratch for a hobby. Maybe someday I  can justify it or just afford it and get one. Till then it's  hand stitches for me.

[Wizcrafts]

7 minutes ago, TheITMan said:

at the very least what models would i be looking for? i might be able to scrape up enough fun money to boost my budget to 4-500. at this point i really cant justify spending 1k+ on a machine for a hobby.

 

The higher your budget, the better the machine you will end up with.

Brands to watch for include:

• Singer 111w155
• Consew 206RB-(number)
• Consew 255 series
• National 300N
• Seiko walking foot machines
• Juki LU-562
• Juki LU-563
• Juki DNU-1541
• Some Brother walking foot machines
• Mitsubishi walking foot machines
• Cowboy and Cobra walking foot machines (Chinese, but well made for USA use).

4 minutes ago, TheITMan said:

just the info i was looking for. what thread size can these handle?

All of the aforementioned machines max out with #138 bonded nylon thread.

[TheITMan]

13 minutes ago, Wizcrafts said:

The higher your budget, the better the machine you will end up with.

Brands to watch for include:

• Singer 111w155
• Consew 206RB-(number)
• Consew 255 series
• National 300N
• Seiko walking foot machines
• Juki LU-562
• Juki LU-563
• Juki DNU-1541
• Some Brother walking foot machines
• Mitsubishi walking foot machines
• Cowboy and Cobra walking foot machines (Chinese, but well made for USA use).

All of the aforementioned machines max out with #138 bonded nylon thread.

thanks for the wealth of info