dikman What machine should I go for

[Ballu]

Hi all, Iam from India and Iam new to leather stiching, Iam using a 31k15 for all my works(backpacks, sling bags.etc) I use heavy canvas and leather, Iam pushing 31k to its limits,hence Iam going for an up grade, so now I have to choose between two options 1) brother ls2b837 and 2) adler durkoff walking foot lock stich, but the second one is three times more expensive, also it in beter condition than Ls2, so what do you guy's think I should go for, my needs are - should sew through thick material -should be able to use heavy thread- and should be with less mentenenc. Thanks all in advance, waiting for your reply 

[Ballu]

Anyone reply please, the durkoff is 267

[dikman]

Ballu, be patient regarding replies as you may have to wait overnight for answers due to time differences. I don't know anything about those machines other than a google search, but the Adler is considered a very good machine from what I can find out. Either would be better than what you've got as they're both walking foot.

You need to define what you mean by heavy thread? Up to #138 or heavier? If heavier then you will likely need a bigger machine than these.

[Ballu]

Hi dikman thanks for the reply, 138 thread is alright for my work. 

[brmax]

Im not yet familar with the brother machine yet, the other 267 is interesting.

Curious on the Durkopp, what is the other number part ( 267-373) possibly. As I understand the older ones are probably much better, being made in Germany.

As mentioned the 267 is very good quality and very expensive as I understand.

While looking around I see the brother can really sew fast and this describes to me it must be balanced very well for this style machine.  It has an 8mm max stitch length, Wow!.  I noticed in description it has a oil pump, so if its been taken care of this in my mind can be a great machine for you. I would like and need to hear more about the oil system, as these are really capable for fast sewing I question myself can it still oil as well sewing very slow.  This has been discussed before on many others. And for that matter the other machine may have a oil pump also. So if either has been taken care of well they should be a great machine.

 

good day there

Floyd

[Wizcrafts]

The oil pump situation that Floyd referred to is that some machines have an oil pump on the bottom of the machine that sits in an oil pan and forcibly sucks up oil and pushes it to wicks along the top and bottom of the machine. These machines usually need to be run very fast to get oil to the extremities.This generates a lot of heat and makes for a hard to control machine that may have a 1:1 motor pulley to machine pulley ratio. Failure to maintain a proper oil pan level, or only sewing at slow speeds can lead to damage to the machine, as can be noted in the sticky topic about Venator's Adler 467 that seized due to a bad oil wick system.

The rest of the machines have oil holes that the operator has to fill with fresh oil every now and then. These machines are not usually run at very high speeds and don't generate as much heat as a high speed garment machine. You can sew at very slow speeds with these machines as long as you place a few drops of oil into all the oil holes before or after  using the machine or letting it sit a while. The machine will leak a little oil that you'll have to wipe off the lower surfaces to avoid soiling your materials.

If you are planning to sew at slow speeds, buy the manually oiled machine, if it is still in good sewing condition.

[Constabulary]

If the Brother has a large capacity hook just as the Durkopp 267 I would choose the Brother. Why? Because it is a Singer 211 based model and parts and accessories (like different presser feet) are available almost everywhere and they fare fairly cheap. You can also use a lot of Singer 111 (predecessor of the 211) parts and accessories. If the machines are set up to factory standards the sewing capacity should be approx. the same compared with the 267.

But if you don´t mind please post detailed pictures of either machines because machines can be set up with different "bells & whistles" and to compare them some more information than just the model name would be helpful. Condition, accessories and motor also matters. What are the prices the seller is asking for?

[Ballu]

Hi constabulary thank you for your reply, these are the pics of adler durkoff and the Ls2,       seller is selling adler for 30000inr (aprox--500 usd), and the Ls2 for almost 150 usd, the adler is in good condition with motor and table, Ls2 does not look very good in working order but some parts missing.

 

12 hours ago, brmax said:

Im not yet familar with the brother machine yet, the other 267 is interesting.

Curious on the Durkopp, what is the other number part ( 267-373) possibly. As I understand the older ones are probably much better, being made in Germany.

As mentioned the 267 is very good quality and very expensive as I understand.

While looking around I see the brother can really sew fast and this describes to me it must be balanced very well for this style machine.  It has an 8mm max stitch length, Wow!.  I noticed in description it has a oil pump, so if its been taken care of this in my mind can be a great machine for you. I would like and need to hear more about the oil system, as these are really capable for fast sewing I question myself can it still oil as well sewing very slow.  This has been discussed before on many others. And for that matter the other machine may have a oil pump also. So if either has been taken care of well they should be a great machine.

 

good day there

Floyd

brmax, yes this adler is german made 

[Ballu]

11 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

The oil pump situation that Floyd referred to is that some machines have an oil pump on the bottom of the machine that sits in an oil pan and forcibly sucks up oil and pushes it to wicks along the top and bottom of the machine. These machines usually need to be run very fast to get oil to the extremities.This generates a lot of heat and makes for a hard to control machine that may have a 1:1 motor pulley to machine pulley ratio. Failure to maintain a proper oil pan level, or only sewing at slow speeds can lead to damage to the machine, as can be noted in the sticky topic about Venator's Adler 467 that seized due to a bad oil wick system.

The rest of the machines have oil holes that the operator has to fill with fresh oil every now and then. These machines are not usually run at very high speeds and don't generate as much heat as a high speed garment machine. You can sew at very slow speeds with these machines as long as you place a few drops of oil into all the oil holes before or after  using the machine or letting it sit a while. The machine will leak a little oil that you'll have to wipe off the lower surfaces to avoid soiling your materials.

If you are planning to sew at slow speeds, buy the manually oiled machine, if it is still in good sewing condition.

Hi wizcrafts,  I was about to ask that,  I wont be stiching at very high speeds, will that be a problem,  

On my 31k Iam used to stich all my leather hand crancked

Thanks for your reply. 

[Wizcrafts]

14 minutes ago, Ballu said:

Hi wizcrafts,  I was about to ask that,  I wont be stiching at very high speeds, will that be a problem,  

On my 31k Iam used to stich all my leather hand crancked

Thanks for your reply. 

It could be a problem with a self oiling machine, but not a manually oiled model. Some folks with self oilers will unthread and run them at full speed before sewing commences. This pushes the oil around the extremities so that there is oil where it needs to be as you sew slowly. You normally wind bobbins on an industrial sewing machine as you sew. But, intentionally winding a bobbin at full speed is another way to distribute the oil.

Be sure you are able to try out these machines before you commit to buying one of them. Go with the one that you feel better about as you sit in front and press the floor pedal. Is the motor speed controllable? Can you sew slowly, or is it off to the races? If so, you'll likely need to buy a servo motor replacement.