juki 246-6 or brother c51

[marsiede]

Hi i need help with these machines..which is better for leather crafting and belt stitching?

[Darren Brosowski]

The Juki is in the same family as the Seiko CW-8/Consew 227r so #138 on the bottom and maybe #207 on top. Compound feed.

Brother part number is incomplete

 

[marsiede]

i think it is brother ls-c51-158

[Uwe]

The two machines you're considering are very close in cylinder arm design and overall capability.

Both the Brother LS3-C51

and the Juki DSC-246

are slim cylinder arm machines with horizontal axis hook. Either one is probably a fine machine and you won't notice a great deal of difference in using either beyond the different stitch length adjustment methods.

Do some searches on documentation and normal wear parts or accessories like feet, throat plates, feed dogs, hooks, etc. Pick the machine for which you can easily find documentation and affordable parts. Of course the relative condition and price of either machine plays a big role as well.

 

 

Edited January 11, 2017 by Uwe

[marsiede]

But are they good for sewing leather?

[Constabulary]

I´m sure they are as good as any other walking foot cylinder arm machine of this class. However - test them before you buy them - if possible.

[Uwe]

Yes, they are good for sewing leather - their nearly perfect within a certain range of applications.  But sewing heavy leather belts doesn't really fall within the range of applications that these machine are designed for.

Squeezing all that engineering into those slim cylinder arms requires some compromises.

Machines with larger diameter cylinder arms (e.g. Juki LS-341, Pfaff 345, etc.) have more room to pack larger, more robust mechanics, full four-motion feed dogs and vertical axis hooks with huge bobbins inside those arms. 

If your "crafts" include gun holsters and horse saddles, you need to step up to the big boys like Juki TSC-441 class machines

If your main goal is to sew leather belts and flat crafts like wallets and book covers, then you don't really need (want) a cylinder arm machine. You can buy a cheaper flatbed machine like a Juki LU-563 with better feed dog motion and larger material and thread handling capability (compared to your slim cylinder arm machines, not the big boy above).

 

 

Edited January 12, 2017 by Uwe

[marsiede]

Thank you very much Uwe very helpful info

[MADMAX22]

What kind of belts are ya making? Some guys like to glue and stitch a bend into the belt and some gun belts are pushing 20oz of leather and stitched with 277 or larger thread. Just saying be aware of exactly what you want to do so there is no buyers remorse. Personally I would look at the max thread and leather thickness you want to make your stuff out of then find the machines that handle that range be it flatbed or cylinder arm. 

[marsiede]

Actually i am working on wallets and bags at the moment. Belts are occassional projects. I just want to be able to sew them when I need to or if I get an order. I hope the juki will do it. The unit I'm getting has an old servo motor attached...too old that it's still not digital :((((