WHICH IS THE RIGHT SEWING MACHINE

[NickH]

Hello all,

I have read all the threads containing defining machines. I really need the help of all of you to assist me in getting the right machine. My wife and I are both into leather and making a small business out of it. we have a little money now and able to purchase only one machine for the both of us. My wife sews handbags and purses and I deal with wallets, journals, books, sheaths and belts. the most I sew is about 8-9 ounce with a 3-4 ounce lining. I want a Cobra Class 3 which has a cylinder but says its best for 6 ounce to 7/8 think leather. Will the Class 3 sew garment style leather? thank you all in advance,.

[Constabulary]

So YOUR total would be at max 13 ounces? I´m sure a Class 18 can do that! I think up to 20 ounces are possible with the Class 18 so you have not reached its limit with 13 ounces. The Class 3 is probably "the cooler" machine for a guy but I would say the Class 18 is sufficient.

But if I were you I´d check with Leather Machine Co since they are quite close to you and I´m sure Steve or one of his employees will help you to find a proper machine.

http://www.leathermachineco.com/

[RockyAussie]

I would think that this machine would be great for the heavy weight products but the products you mention without some pictures make it hard to say. The thread size used would have to be considered carefully. I make all of the products you've mentioned and most get done on lot smaller machines which have the advantage of being able to go in tighter curves which is important on bag gussets and even wallets if you stitch all around. A lot of products we make go from 46tkt /60metric through to the 138tkt/20m and these are done on smaller machines.

Check my web page for some reference if you like. In the longer run it would be best to have both sized machines but which is better to start with is the question.

[Uwe]

[Jedi voice:] "The Cobra 3 is not the machine you're looking for"

For the sake of marital bliss I'd strongly recommend two machines. Get two used ones for about the same or just a little more than one new Cobra 3.

For your wife's bags, a medium duty cylinder arm machine in the Juki 341 or Pfaff 345 class would be a good fit.

For your own flat workpieces, a nice vintage flatbed like a Juki 563 or a newer Consew 206RB will make you a happy sewer.

Check out your local brick and mortar vendors in the LA area (Atlas Levi, Alberoni, etc.) to see what they might have in their used corner. If you must have a Cobra for the manliness factor, they're fine machines, too. 

Trying to sew all the things you both want to do with just one Cobra 3 is like like hiring an army drill sergeant to recite your poems - he'll do it but it won't sound quite right.

If you must make do with just one machine, I think a Juki LS-1341 clone like the AtlasUSA AT3341 is a much better fit for your range of projects than the Cobra 3. Our banner vendors also sell similar versions of that class machine (e.g. TechSew 2750), but having a local, no-shipping, carry-in-service option is a BIG advantage.   

Edited January 24, 2017 by Uwe

[bikermutt07]

The solution is a no brainer......

Buy your wife the machine she needs.

Buy your machine next year.

Cheers to your happy wife.

[Techsew Ron]

11 minutes ago, bikermutt07 said:

The solution is a no brainer......

Buy your wife the machine she needs.

Buy your machine next year.

Cheers to your happy wife.

This will likely be the best answer in this thread.

But on a serious note, for sewing handbags and purses you'll likely want to use a light/medium, cylinder walking foot machine that can handle garment leather and thicker leather up to 3/8". A cylinder bed will give you added versatility for sewing into hard to reach areas vs. a flatbed machine. You can find these machines at any of our sponsors' websites (see ads above).

Ron

[NickH]

Thanks all for all the comments and suggestions. We just went down the the Leather Machine Company yesterday and purchased a cobra Class 26. It looks just like the Class 3 but meant for medium to light work. Impressed it will sew two 9-10 ounce leather pieces together no problem and will handle the 277 thread. I understand we will need two machines to be able to sew the 346 thread for that special look but for now this has been a dream come true. They don't advertise it on their site but the distributors can get it. For a novice sewer like myself the servo motor is a dream and so easy to dial in. Currently working on experimenting with needle and thread size. We are using 138 bottom and 207 top with a 23 needle. They really focus on customer satisfaction overall a great experience and the 4 hour round trip was worth it. Not to mention lifetime warranty that in itself is amazing. Tried to upload some pics but this site doesn't allow files over a certain size and they are normal pic anyways if you want to see the machine email me deep6leatherworks@gmail.com and I'll shoot some pics and video. Thanks again for all your words of wisdom and super stoked my work is about to improve. 

[Uwe]

Good choice! The Cobra Class 26 appears to be a copy of the Juki LS-341 design, one of my favorite sewing machine designs. You should be in good hands with local support and expertise.

I posted some image resizing instructions recently in this topic:

I do wish the administrators would create a pinned topic or send new members some instructions on how to deal with image uploads in a welcome message. We have several instances every week with new members facing the image upload gauntlet.

I found exactly one image of a Cobra Class 26 online.

Cobra Class 26

Juki LS-341

 

[Uwe]

There is a video by Al Bane about the Cobra Class 26. Al Bane has some good videos but this isn't one of them. He make so many wrong statements that it's obvious he didn't do his homework before talking about this machine. But at least you can see what the machine looks like. Just don't believe most of what he says in this video. 

 

[NickH]

Thanks Uwe,

glad you concur with our machine. We looked at the Pfaft 345 as well but he said he would have had to make some modifications to sew thicker leather. And we didn't want to canabolize a 2000 dollar machine of the get go. Glad we found this one. 

[bikermutt07]

Congratulations on your purchase.

There is one thing I would like to add for future readers. No one (including myself) ever asked which of your items you sell the most of.

This should be considered. 

If you gear your purchase towards your most popular items, it would stimulate income faster towards the second machine purchase.

Have fun.

[NickH]

Thanks bikemutt07! Lucky this machine will do what I want to do and what my wife wants. She was going to win anyway I just happened to get lucky this time. Pays to pay it forward!

[dikman]

Nice one, Nick! . As for the photos, you just need to resize them (smaller). I use irfanview, it's free and has default settings for resizing - easy.

Uwe, that photo has got me thinking (bit dangerous). My Pfaff 335 is fitted to a normal table, but now I'm wondering about making something like the photo as it would save a bit of room in my shed.

[Uwe]

Let's also take a moment to appreciate that beautiful paint job on the Cobra Class 26 in Al Bane's video above.

[NickH]

Thanks dikman! I'll try a resize the photo and post it it's th newer model of the one shown in this thread. 

[NickH]

[brmax]

Now that paint color is more like it, Cobra cool!

I'm now interested in any presser feet accessories, and I didn't start this : )

But hey being i'm here looking around, might as well take a look see at the leather and regular needles, presser feet/smooth zipper feet etc.

That machine is going to work out great for you all, and really envy the reducer there.

Id still like to see Cobra on it or at least Copperhead

 

Good day there

Floyd

[dikman]

That makes a change from the usual black/silvery grey hammertone/beige. Now that you've mastered the photo thing, how about a couple of the rear and underside of the table and motor? Might give me a few ideas.

[Constabulary]

What I like on the machines from Leather Machine Co is that most of them (as it seems) come in a quite distinguishing / typical  brown color. So even w/o stickers and badges everyone could tell that these are Cobra machines from Leather Machine Co.  All other China machines nowadays are just white and A copied from B and B from A and when you remove the stickers and badges they look all the same.

I know back then the machines were all black but you are at least able to tell them by their casting (with some exceptions) or some technical details.

[XIranch]

Hi Nick, I was wondering if you could give an update on your experience thus far with your new machine.  How is it working with the different thicknesses of leather? I am currently looking for a machine that will sew the same things ( handbags to belts) and would like to hear how it's going before I make my decision.  

Thanks for any insight!

[NickH]

Machine works great other than We tried the 277 top and 138 bottom and it didn't work so great. I need to call tomorrow and get the skinny on what we need to do to make it sew that because the specs say it will. We've been using 207 top and 138 bottom with a 20 or 22 needle still experimenting but that works great. My wife hogs the machine a little to much but she's happy! We've sewn thin velvet alone and up to two pieces of 8-9 ounce with no problem. I like the look of the bigger thread so I need to get on that. I am still sewing on 5 for speed slow but steady. For what I make books, wallets and belts it a dream. I hope this helps I'll post more once I talk to them about the 277 thread. The bobbin winder works great to. We are going to have a local guy come out and give a tutorial on the thread and bobbin tensioners I'll post more on that too. Again it's the Cobra class 26.  Sti hoping to get the class 3/4 for that 346 thread. 

[Wizcrafts]

NickH;

The hook on your model 26 is not designed to use or even pass #277 thread. There are insufficient clearances for such big thread. You should begin saving for a 441 clone to use thread sizes 207, 277 and 346.

[Uwe]

Can you please post some close-up pictures of your hook and also the spec page of your manual? If your hook as a part number referenced anywhere in a parts list or diagram, that would be super helpful, too. 

I am curious to see how the specs differ from the Juki LS-341 original. You're one of the few people who have access to this exceedingly rare Cobra Class 26.  The Leather Machine Company for some reason is  almost secretive about that machine. A postage stamp size image is all the info they offer online. 

It is possible that your machine's clone manufacturer made some modifications and perhaps used a hook that is different from the original Juki design.

Some Juki machines (e.g. Juki LU-563) support two interchangeable versions of their hook,  B1830-563-0A0 and B1830-563-BA0, the latter designed for "thick" thread. Perhaps there's a comparable thick thread version of Juki LS-341 hook design available. 

Edited February 24, 2017 by Uwe