Is it a good choice? Seiko CH8B cylinder bed

[dikman]

The 335's are considered to be a very good machine for their class. Like most of them I see that it is setup with a binder, and while you can sew normally with the binder feet you will probably need to replace them with "standard" feet. By the way, I just read your OP a bit more carefully, and as Brian pointed out if you want to sew 12 mm you may need to go bigger. The 335 is designed to max out at 3/8"/10 mm under the feet. Depending on the leather you may squeeze 12 mm under it.

[Ehgreen]

A sample bag of mine, 0.3cm veg-tan leather, the thickest part of the bag is about 1.1cm, so 335 Can’t do the work;(

 

 

[Ehgreen]

Used this type of  Adler to sew the bag in a bag making course, also it’s the only cylinder bed I have tried.

Edited August 2, 2018 by Ehgreen
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[Wizcrafts]

You'll need a machine with as much longer needle to sew 1.1cm. They most affordable model I know of that is available in the land of OZ is the Cowboy CB3200, which can sew a solid 1/2 inch of leather with heavy thread. Lookup our members Singermania and Darren Brosowski for pricing and shipping details.

[RockyAussie]

18 minutes ago, Ehgreen said:

Used this type of  Adler to sew the bag in a bag making course, also it’s the only cylinder bed I have tried.

I think those may be the Adler 69 type of which I have one here. They are pretty similar to the Pfaff  335 type. I prefer the smoothness of the Pfaff. I'll give you a call shortly.

[amuckart]

I looked at a CH8B when I was hunting for a big stitcher a few years ago. In the end it wasn't worth it because feet and needle plates and other parts were too difficult to come by.

Irrespective of any other merits and flaws, the Juki 441 clones from manufacturers like Cowboy/Hightex, Cobra, and Highlead have become the de-facto standard for modern heavy leather stitchers and as a result there is a much wider range of feet and needle plates and other accessories available for them than there is for other similar machines like the Seiko you're looking at.

I ended up buying a Hightex (Cowboy) 441 clone from China. It was a bit of an adventure but I got a machine and a full set of harness feet and needle plates and a pedestal stand for only a little more than the Seiko I'd been looking at would have cost me. Since then I've acquired a Highlead 441 clone which is better built and noticeably higher quality (and at normal price, quite a lot more expensive) which the feet and needle plates fit on to just fine.

As others have noted, a 441 type machine is probably overkill for what you want to do. You may well be better off with a smaller machine that'll handle thinner materials more gracefully.

 

[Treed]

Not many replies from people who own the Seiko ch 8. I bought mine in 2000 and have used it on everything from all sorts of bags to halters for Saddle bronc horses. I have sewed 5-6 oz to 2-3 oz chap leather using smaller needles and thread to sewing two layers of 13 oz harness leather together in a bucking horse halter using heavy needles and thread. Like i said I bought it in 2000 and used it everyday in the construction of bags and holsters and never had a repairman look at the machine. It is limited to the type of feet and other accessories. I have considered getting rid of it a couple times to gain the accessibility to these accessories but changed my mind because of losing the versatility of the machine. I just ordered extra double feet and made my own.... I make primarily chaps, holsters, gun belts, purses, messenger bags, and horse tack. 

[brmax]

There are a few post from the past on the forum here that I read early today on the Seiko. I personally consider the brand a premium machine manufacturer. 

In searching its easily done and many times more productive using google. Although using this site as a lead in, IE

site:leatherworker.net : seiko ch8

 

good day

Floyd