Good advise is highly appreciated.

[ornale]

Happy weekend to all,

 It's a pleasure being here among so many talented artists. I'm new to this forum but not new to leather art making, Iv'e been doing leather bags/ goods for almost 20 years (with few years break in between) Up to now, I've done my bags hand crafted only using lacing as a method of sewing the bags.. I wanted to jump higher to using a leather sewing machine for bags (sometimes with a thicker bottoms), belts, purses, ets.. I have a minimal experience with regular sewing machines and never dealt with leather sewing machine before. I've done  some research (read a lot of topics in here) and came down to two machines that I think may fit my purpose: 

1)  the Cowboy CB341 - Looks good, steady, & looks like it can handle my (sometimes) thicker bag bottoms. 

2) the Techsew 2800-B - while a thicker leather with this one may be a challenge, what I liked about it is the binding attachment which I know I'll be using quite a bit.

Does the cowboy machine can have a binding attachment attached to it? Are the Techsaw just as good and as capable?

Any good recommendation even regarding different machines that may be better for me would be so appreciated  

Thank you all & looking forward for communicating & sharing.

Ornale

[TinkerTailor]

My recommendation is to phone both Toledo sewing machines and Techsew, and tell them what you are doing. They are both known for being great helps to people, and getting them into the right machine. Both machines you are looking at are Chinese clones of other machines meaning the difference between brands is really a service issue. For example, the techsew 5100 and the Cowboy4500 are the same machine, and are clones of the  japanese juki tsc441. These dealers may even have used japanese machines in stock as well as the clones. Well worth some phone time. It may be that 2 used machines will suit you better than one new clone for the same money.

Which dealer is closer, and you hit it off with over the phone is really the main decision. All the dealers that are on this site have years of experience with this.

[ornale]

Thank you very much TinkerTailor, I've actually had a chat with Steve (Cowboy) but spoken to him before I saw the Techsaw with the binding feature.. I'll definitely go with your recommendation and contact these dealers to see what'll be best for my purpose. I'm really tempted to go for the CB341 but would love to know that there's an option for the binding attachment in this machine.

Thank you & pleasure to meet (handshake)

Ornale 

[Uwe]

Both machines are capable of synchronized binder operations. The Cowboy CB-341(copy of Juki LS-341, same as Techsew 2750) is bit hard to find and I'm not sure if the necessary binding parts (swivel arm, feed dog, throat plate, etc.) are readily available for the 341 type machines.

The two machines you're considering have very different cylinder arm designs, each with their own advantages. The thin cylinder arm of the Techsew 2800 great if you need to get into tight spots and can live with a few compromises. The thick cylinder arm design of the 341 allows for beefier parts, bigger bobbin, thicker thread handling, improved feed dog movement, etc. 

The video below shows binding operation on three different machine designs, two of which are the ones you're considering. The first machine is a Adler 205 - a very large and heavy duty machine. The second machine (1:30 mark) is an Adler 269 clone with thick arm design very much like the Cowboy 341 for medium/heavy duty. The third machine (starting at 2:45) is an Adler 69 that has the same arm design as the Techsew 2800( also Pfaff 335) for light to medium duty.

 

Edited December 7, 2016 by Uwe

[ornale]

Thank you so much Uwe for a very informative reply 

At the end and after so much digging my debate came down to the Techsew 5100 SE & the  Cowboy CB341.. leaning much towards the Techsew as it looks like a machine that I'll be able to use for different thickness of leather (I'll mainly use the machine for bags manufacturing using different leather thickness) I'm quite a newbee in the machines area but what made me think that this would be the right machine for me is the various thread & needle sizes I can use. One thing scares me though... that if it'll be a much thinner leather than it shows in their video, my leather might get all crumpled out..  As for the binding attachment, I saw that there are few options to purchase a separate attachment that I can hook up to the machine somehow.. I'm waiting Techsew reply to let me know if they can provide this attachment.. if not than I guess I'm gonna have to learn how to master it without any attachment help (good luck to me on this one.. lol)

Unless I'll come across a machine that would make me feel that it may be a better fit, I think that I'm pretty much ready to order..  

Thank you again for your help, enjoy a great great weekend ya'll.

[Techsew Ron]

29 minutes ago, ornale said:

Thank you so much Uwe for a very informative reply 

At the end and after so much digging my debate came down to the Techsew 5100 SE & the  Cowboy CB341.. leaning much towards the Techsew as it looks like a machine that I'll be able to use for different thickness of leather (I'll mainly use the machine for bags manufacturing using different leather thickness) I'm quite a newbee in the machines area but what made me think that this would be the right machine for me is the various thread & needle sizes I can use. One thing scares me though... that if it'll be a much thinner leather than it shows in their video, my leather might get all crumpled out..  As for the binding attachment, I saw that there are few options to purchase a separate attachment that I can hook up to the machine somehow.. I'm waiting Techsew reply to let me know if they can provide this attachment.. if not than I guess I'm gonna have to learn how to master it without any attachment help (good luck to me on this one.. lol)

Unless I'll come across a machine that would make me feel that it may be a better fit, I think that I'm pretty much ready to order..  

Thank you again for your help, enjoy a great great weekend ya'll.

The 5100-SE is great for anything from 5-6oz leather up to about 7/8" thickness. If you're only using softer leather you may be better off with the 2750 which can handle soft, garment weight leather up to 3/8" max.  Binding attachments are available for both machines.

Ron

[ornale]

On 3/3/2017 at 9:55 AM, Techsew Ron said:

The 5100-SE is great for anything from 5-6oz leather up to about 7/8" thickness. If you're only using softer leather you may be better off with the 2750 which can handle soft, garment weight leather up to 3/8" max.  Binding attachments are available for both machines.

Ron

Hi Ron, Thank you for your reply  I spoke with Mike from Techsew (very nice and helpful pro) and inquired about both machines.. he actually pointed out to me the 2750 which I didn't checked before.. it may be a better option to what I'm mostly will be doing (bags, purses, skirts, belts) the heaviest leather which I'll be using will be for belts, so he recommended the 2750 pro since it will handle also light weight leather better, he said that the 5100 SE would have too much tension to handle lighter leather and that I may get marks or wrinkles on a lighter leather. As someone who knows nothing about leather sewing machines, I think I should take the pro advise.. just being a little nervous because I really want to make it right and wouldn't want to have a hard time sewing heavier leather (belts as most). Thank's the only thing who keeps my fingers on hold from calling Techsew and place an order.. lol   

[Techsew Ron]

1 hour ago, ornale said:

Hi Ron, Thank you for your reply  I spoke with Mike from Techsew (very nice and helpful pro) and inquired about both machines.. he actually pointed out to me the 2750 which I didn't checked before.. it may be a better option to what I'm mostly will be doing (bags, purses, skirts, belts) the heaviest leather which I'll be using will be for belts, so he recommended the 2750 pro since it will handle also light weight leather better, he said that the 5100 SE would have too much tension to handle lighter leather and that I may get marks or wrinkles on a lighter leather. As someone who knows nothing about leather sewing machines, I think I should take the pro advise.. just being a little nervous because I really want to make it right and wouldn't want to have a hard time sewing heavier leather (belts as most). Thank's the only thing who keeps my fingers on hold from calling Techsew and place an order.. lol   

Mike knows his stuff ! 

I would 100% agree with his advice. You'll have no problem sewing belts on the 2750.

[ornale]

Thank you Ron for your awesome advise & support, will be placing my order today (omg, I'm so excited!!!)