Buying first leather sewing machine

[dikman]

You've sort of got it right with your photo, basically there is the needle bar, an outer foot and an inner foot.

You can do belts on a cylinder arm. Some people make a small table to fit around the arm so it acts as a flatbed. There are photos on the site showing these (Uwe makes a really nice one). Either cylinder arm or flatbed will work for you, it's a matter of what you can find (and afford). For most of us this is only a hobby, although it can get expensive if the "machine collecting bug" bites!

[mikesc]

The juki you posted the photo of is one sort of walking foot ( similar to my 490-4 )..but better for what you want to do is the system here at this link
https://floridasewingmachines.com/walking-foot/singer-211g165-walking-foot-1-needle-2-thread-lockstitch.html
click on the small detail pictures..in particular the third picture from the left..that is the more common arrangement for walking foot machines that sew leather without marking it..
That machine won't sew holsters..but will sew 9 to 10 mm of veg tan..cylinder arm machines are even more versatile with that 3 bar arrangement.

Edited August 27, 2017 by mikesc

[Mocivnik]

3 hours ago, dikman said:

You've sort of got it right with your photo, basically there is the needle bar, an outer foot and an inner foot.

You can do belts on a cylinder arm. Some people make a small table to fit around the arm so it acts as a flatbed. There are photos on the site showing these (Uwe makes a really nice one). Either cylinder arm or flatbed will work for you, it's a matter of what you can find (and afford). For most of us this is only a hobby, although it can get expensive if the "machine collecting bug" bites!

Hmm. Why is then on any kinds the flatbed machine better than cylinder?

Yeah, it's already getting expensive for me, I've spend some money on tools and leather already, now I really want a machine..but I'm afraid, I wont get it really soon.

I'm not into machines to collect them, they present "a tool" for me, not something to collect. I have other things to stuff them in leather and collect (as it's a reason, I'm buying the machine :D )

[Mocivnik]

3 hours ago, mikesc said:

The juki you posted the photo of is one sort of walking foot ( similar to my 490-4 )..but better for what you want to do is the system here at this link
https://floridasewingmachines.com/walking-foot/singer-211g165-walking-foot-1-needle-2-thread-lockstitch.html
click on the small detail pictures..in particular the third picture from the left..that is the more common arrangement for walking foot machines that sew leather without marking it..
That machine won't sew holsters..but will sew 9 to 10 mm of veg tan..cylinder arm machines are even more versatile with that 3 bar arrangement.

Jup, got it right That's how I imagined the whole thing.

Well, i'd really be glad if I could ever get anything under 300$ (or 250€) that's working. Doesn't have to be new, doesn't have to be nice..just that i will be able to sew with it. Unfortunatelly, I live in a country, where's not much of an offer and I can only buy from other countries in EU, but then the shipping comes expensive...ah well, I'm not in that rush with the machine.

[dikman]

If you're making clothes, making/repairing rugs, sails, tarpaulins etc then a flatbed on a large table will make it much easier to handle the material. For what we do a cylinder arm has a bit more flexibility, but it's not essential.Many on here are happily using a flatbed for their work. My suggestion is to read as much on here as you can, looking at which machines members are using and what works for them. You will see that the same brands/models often tend to get mentioned. Make a list of what will suit you and then start looking to see what's available.Sometimes it can take a while until the right machine appears (unless you're very lucky, occasionally we've all had that happen ).

[Mocivnik]

7 hours ago, dikman said:

If you're making clothes, making/repairing rugs, sails, tarpaulins etc then a flatbed on a large table will make it much easier to handle the material. For what we do a cylinder arm has a bit more flexibility, but it's not essential.Many on here are happily using a flatbed for their work. My suggestion is to read as much on here as you can, looking at which machines members are using and what works for them. You will see that the same brands/models often tend to get mentioned. Make a list of what will suit you and then start looking to see what's available.Sometimes it can take a while until the right machine appears (unless you're very lucky, occasionally we've all had that happen ).

Nope, not anything as such. Knife sheats mostly and things such as pouches/bags etc. That's what I'd like to do in future.
Yup, that's what I'm planning to do, but before all, I need to know first, what I need. Like the type of feed and decide whether should I use flatbed or cylinder one..

[gigi]

7 minutes ago, Mocivnik said:

whether should I use flatbed or cylinder one..

You can use a flatbed attachment on a cylinder arm machine. It is easy to attach and you have both options in one machine. 

Edited August 28, 2017 by gigi

[mikesc]

Something else to think about..given that the items that you want to produce are small size..you can look at older machines ( both cylinder arm and flat bed ) that do not have reverse ( easy to turn around small items, rather than putting the machine into reverse to lock off stitches as most of us do with larger items )..older machines without reverse are cheaper, sometimes by a lot .

Edited August 28, 2017 by mikesc

[Mocivnik]

On 8/28/2017 at 0:07 PM, gigi said:

You can use a flatbed attachment on a cylinder arm machine. It is easy to attach and you have both options in one machine. 

Yup, that's what I was hoping for.

On 8/28/2017 at 1:02 PM, mikesc said:

Something else to think about..given that the items that you want to produce are small size..you can look at older machines ( both cylinder arm and flat bed ) that do not have reverse ( easy to turn around small items, rather than putting the machine into reverse to lock off stitches as most of us do with larger items )..older machines without reverse are cheaper, sometimes by a lot .

Hmm..I hope I can find any. And yes, it's true. I don't need a new one

 

ps: for everyone, that ever used the leather sewing machine, driven by foot: how difficult is to operate with that kind of machine?

[DrmCa]

Seeing how in Slovenia there is a shortage of used industrial machines, you might be better off sewing sheaths by hand for the time being.

Those household machines in your pictures will do you no good, they will break thread, break needles, even break take up levers pulling thread through heavy leather if you tried.

If you are handy with a grinding wheel, you can make awls and pricking irons from old chisels and files to get you going.