Buying first leather sewing machine

[Mocivnik]

So,

since I'm quite new to the leatherwork, I'm also new to machines. I do all of my work for now by hands, which consist of stitching together (most of the times) 2-3 layers of 5/6 oz. or 7/8 oz. veg tan leather, but I would like to upgrade that with a sewing machine.

Since I come from a very small country and don't have much of a choice, I'm quite limited to only 3 companies, that sells their leather-sewing machines (their distributor is in my country only) and we're talking about Durkopp Adler, Golden Wheel and Juki, but I don't know the proper models. Let's just say, that distributor can get them all :D
The budget isn't something much, but I'll try to get what people here would recommend, so any recomendations are welcome!

The things I would like to sew are mentioned before, so 2-3 layers (and occasinaly even 4 but that's rare) of 7/8 oz. veg tan leather.
And the optional would be with double stitching, such as shown on picture below:

[Uwe]

Since your budget is limited, you'll probably get a Golden Wheel, the brand of the Chee Siang Sewing Machine company. Luckily, Chee Siang is one of the very big companies that produces high quality copies of many original designs. They make nearly everything, or so it seems. I have yet to find a famous machine design that they don't make. The Golden Wheel brand doesn't have much of a presence in the U.S. But I strongly suspect they are behind many of the aftermarket brands that are sold in North America.

Check out the website at http://www.golden-wheel.cn/en/product-2  in the "Heavy Duty" section, either under Flatbed or Cylinder bed. Each of these categories have a "Unison Feed" section. There you will find all the candidates for your work. For example they have cylinder arm machines of Juki TSC-441 (CS-441) , Durkopp Adler 205 (CS-205), and Pfaff 335 (CS-335) designs. That small sample right there covers the majority of machine designs people on this forum use and recommend.

On the flatbed side, check out their version of the latest Durkopp Adler 867 design, the CSU-8671 (not cheap, but it's the machine design I would buy new right now - it's bound to be a future classic.) The other flatbed unison feed machines are all designs you'll recognize from discussions on this forum.

One other nice part is that Golden Wheel posts most manuals right on their website, which is how it should be. They also make and sell parts for their machines, not all aftermarket companies do.

Good luck with finding a nice machine!

 

Edited August 6, 2017 by Uwe

[Mocivnik]

Hmm..yes. The budget is quite holding me back at most of my work lately, but I always try to get as much as possible for the limited budget.

Also there's the thing, that I probably will never sell my leatherwork (or at least as much to pay off the sewing machine), so I will just try to buy something from middle-class. I don't want the cheapest, as I want to work good and for a long time with the machine, and also not the very top, because I'm new to leatherworks.

I guess I should also list down things I want to work (one day..), so...the leather machine should be suitable for knife/axe sheats, leather belts (6/7 oz. veg tan), maybe messenger bags/pencases, gun holsters, belt holsters for various things (such as cameras, phones, etc.). As from amateur's view point, I think that there should be a single sewing machine, that would handle all listed things I'd like to make.

I'd also like to point out the fact, I'm using the 150D Leather Sewing Waxed thread (link to the thread).

And what prices are we talking about for example something from middlerange from Durkopp Adler or Golden wheel? The seller in my country hasn't listed any prices and demands to give prices only for single offer.

List below shows the sewing machines, that dealer in my country currently offers, is there any of them suitable for me?

Durkopp Adler:

Durkopp Adler 888-160122

Durkopp Adler 888-260122

Durkopp Adler 888-460522M

Durkopp Adler 523i

Durkopp Adler 524i

Durkopp Adler 525i

Durkopp Adler 887-160122

Durkopp Adler 669-180010
 

Golden wheel:

Golden Wheel CS-8881 (Pfaff 1591BL)

Golden Wheel CS-8883-MBFT

Golden Wheel CSR-8891D-LBFT (Pfaff 591)

Golden Wheel CSR-8892D-LBFT (Pfaff 592)

Golden Wheel CS-8830 (Pfaf 574)

Golden Wheel CS-8850DN-MBFT/L (Durkopp 888)

Golden Wheel CS-4060 (Strobel)

Golden Wheel CST-4060 (Strobel)

Golden Wheel CS-8910SC

Golden Wheel CS-8911C

Golden Wheel CS-8911M

Golden Wheel CS-335L-PH

Golden Wheel CS-8369

Edited August 6, 2017 by Mocivnik

[Uwe]

You may not be able to use your braided waxed thread in a sewing machine, at least not for long. You'll spend two hours cleaning the wax out of the machine every time you use it.

Consider not buying from your local dealer, especially if they're all weird about even giving you a price. You're country is part of the EU and the Schengen Zone, which makes for super easy cross-border travel and purchasing. Take advantage of that.

Personally, I'd plan an overnight road trip to Bayreuth in Germany (6 hours drive) and visit Sieck.  Germany is place to be to get good, used original Durkopp Adler machines. Sieck has lots of nice, original machines both new and used and their prices are very good in my opinion. The Sieck website lists prices for almost everything they sell - it's a great reference. 

Consider the SIECK 267-373, which is their version of the Durkopp Adler 267-373 for 1.800 Euro with a nice servo motor. They also have the original Durkopp Adler 267-373 machines used for even less.

 

Edited August 6, 2017 by Uwe

[Yetibelle]

I struggled with "what machine is good for me" for the last few years.  I am glad I started with old antique machines so I could get use to the big machines before I got a new machine.  Chances are the first machine you get will be good but you will realize you should have got a different one.  I  recommend finding a good used machine and spending as little as possible starting out.  You can practice and get over the learning curve for less money.  

[Mocivnik]

@Uwe:
Hmm...and unwaxed with same dimensions? The wax I'd say is optional here and just offers as much as gliding while sewing and "sticking" just a bit while it's done. But I don't find it decisive (I hope I'm not wrong).

Yep, but that's the only thing I've had for an option, until I started to think "outside the...country". Yes, I know that a Germany is very good for used items and even proper to find things as such there. I will try to search german ebay also, I just might find anything there.

What type of machines should I be looking for or "how will I know, that the machine will stitch 3 layers of 7/8 oz. veg. tan. leather"? What's the crucial information for me here?

Also, what about foot-drived sewing machines? I found used in my country EXTREMELY (~200$) cheap and for a good start, I'd reconsider about using one?
Most of them are Pfaff or even Singer, but you can get them in mixed conditions, some even on tables, that came along.

@Yetibelle:  Yes, certainly I want to practice with different sewing machines!

[dikman]

For what it's worth , I have some braided thread that is ex-factory, used for shoe/bootmaking, and I cannot get it to sew reliably with any of my machines. The braiding always seems to snag somewhere at some point. Pity, it's really nice thread. Your list of things that you want to sew is fine for probably most "medium" machines that are commonly used here - except for holsters! They require a heavy duty machine. If you look at the list of machines that I have they're probably amongst the most common types, but none of them can do holsters (unfortunately). Holsters I still sew by hand.

[Uwe]

I'd stay away from Ebay until you know what you're doing - it's a gamble under the best of circumstances.

Buy from a reputable dealer or somebody you trust. Most people on Ebay do NOT know how to ship a sewing machine and thousands of machines have died in transit.

In general, industrial sewing machines are designed to sew whatever you can fit under the foot. Look for unison feed (bottom+top+needle) machines with at least 10-12mm foot lift.

Resist the temptation to change the question every time you get an answer.

For sewing multiple layers of leather, a bottom-only feed machine will not make you happy. 

[Yetibelle]

13 hours ago, Uwe said:

I'd stay away from Ebay until you know what you're doing - it's a gamble under the best of circumstances.

Buy from a reputable dealer or somebody you trust. Most people on Ebay do NOT know how to ship a sewing machine and thousands of machines have died in transit.

In general, industrial sewing machines are designed to sew whatever you can fit under the foot. Look for unison feed (bottom+top+needle) machines with at least 10-12mm foot lift.

Resist the temptation to change the question every time you get an answer.

For sewing multiple layers of leather, a bottom-only feed machine will not make you happy. 

I think this is my new meditation chanting mantra:

"Resist the temptation to change the question every time you get an answer."

 

 

Edited August 7, 2017 by Yetibelle

[Mocivnik]

Thanks everyone for answers!

 

@Uwe: Sorry for changing question every time, but I don't know nothing about sewing machines and therefore I'm just asking tons of questions..like I will do now:

 

How about sewing machines by hand (or how they are even called?!)? Are they worth  of buying?

Like that one on the picture below: