Oceanmonkey Report post Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) Good afternoon I would like to say hi to everyone, I live in the UK, male and having been made redundant wish to take an interest to a new level. I have spent some time researcing and putting into place a business plan but am stuck with what now seems to be one final hurdle. I am aware that hand stitching is by far the best and will be using this practice but for some economics will need to use a machine occasionally. Straight lines! with a machine how do I sew lets say two lines of stitching along a 36" run just 1/2" apart in a perfect straight line. Are there guides or attachments that you use, this is something I am really stuck with. I asked by email a supplier of a machine I have looked at and they said you need a special arm, but thats all they said. If there is an option with certain machines I would be grateful for some advice. Leather I will be stitching will at most be 2 x 4mm leather straps together otherwise 2.5 - 4mm single veg tanned. I have attached an image as an example. Thanks in advance. Some help would be grateful Edited December 13, 2016 by Oceanmonkey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLSleather Report post Posted December 13, 2016 You can do that with a simple edge guide. The type you need will depend on the machine you're using. Some mount to the bed of the machine, others mount to the machine head itself. Strange that the machine dealer wouldn't fix you up with what you need. I got mine from a member here. By way of example.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWd4FlRHv-Q Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oceanmonkey Report post Posted December 13, 2016 Thank you for the quick response. That is great, maybe I look elsewhere for a machine. Unfortunately where I live there is no-one who sells them so I have to rely on the web which is not ideal. Thanks once again Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLSleather Report post Posted December 13, 2016 If you post which machine you have, most likely someone here will know JUST what to tell you Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TinkerTailor Report post Posted December 13, 2016 Also, there are many Uk users on here that may be able to direct you to either an honest used machine dealer or clone seller in the isles. College sewing is a great resource, both because they are local but also because they have a decent website for searching for things. They sell a wide range of parts and accessories for industrial sewing. There have been clones made of most every sewing machine made, however there are many brand names for identical machines. Over here, the cobra 4, the cowboy 4500 and the techsew 5100 are basically the same machine, all cloned from the juki tsc-441. I don't know the names but there are other brand names for these clones in europe. Because these machines are chinese clones, it is the dealer that orders them that pays for the quality control, or doesn't. They also support the machine after sale. Do your research and my advise is even if the price is a bit higher, choose the dealer you like and trust. Closer is better, however not worth it if the guy/gal is a scam. I wouldn't even hesitate to pay the long distance to phone one of the north american dealers on this site for their advice on what machine and where to buy it from. As a token of appreciation, order a pack or three of needles, or a tool, or something from them. Consider it a 20-40 dollar consulting fee you get a bonus back for. While many of them gladly give advice for free, It doesn't keep the lights on. As to edge guides, most every machine made ever has a provision for an edge guide. If not there are magneticly attached ones. One tip is a swing/flip away edge guide as opposed to a completely fixed one is much more useful. Sometimes the edge guide will get in the way when turning corners and things, and flipping it out of the way, turning, then flipping it back down solves this. Watch this video of an edge guide in use ripping through straps. It is from Bruce Cheaney, a user on here. He has a bunch of leather sewing machine videos. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oceanmonkey Report post Posted December 13, 2016 I realise now that the machine recommended over here to me (a Singer) would certainly not be up to the task. Where I thought I had done all my homework I have opened a can of worms. I keep looking at the Janome HD3000 but its not available in the UK so have just contacted Janome for some advice. I will head over to the forum for sewing machines for some help but appreciate what you say about giving something back for advice, even a small gesture goes a long way. Thanks for response and the video which is really useful. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TinkerTailor Report post Posted December 13, 2016 Forgot to say welcome to the forum, As far as advice, I was saying to contact the advertisers who sell machines at the top of this site. They also happen to be forum members. The machine in that video is way overkill for the straps you want to do. It can sew nearly 25mm of leather, plastic or plywood...... You are under a half an inch. A smaller machine will work, as well as give you finer stitch lengths than the cobra. I just posted it to show you how fast and easy an edge guide is. As far as leather sewing machines, There are loads and loads of people out there selling home machines that "will sew leather"....The question is for how long. Any singer or pfaff without the motor mounted under the table, and any janome, kenmore, babylock, brother, portable machine is a waste of time and money. The reason you want to get a real industrial machine made or modified for leather is that they have the sturdy parts and motors for punching power, they can handle the bigger threads that leather requires, they can go slow enough to control and they have feet and feeding mechanisms that prevent marking and also allow the machine to handle multiple layers without them squirming. Nice proper walking foot used machines that can do what you want can be acquired for $500-1500 depending on the model and features. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites