New Tandy Craftool Pro Stitch Master made by Sailrite

[catskin]

Plus 1 for Bikermutt!!!!!

[R8R]

Cheap generic feet and other accessories avail for this machine all over ebay, etc, just like the rest of the mini walker machines (Reliable Barracuda, etc)

The motor Sailrite specs on these is the real star here and it will push pretty much any upholstery class machine to the limit of what it can do. Holsters though? Nope. Belts and wallets and such yeah but these machines max out there.

I would give a +1 vote to Wiz's suggestion of the Artisan portable setup for the 3200 BT machine. They are decent machines and that setup is specifically for tradeshows, events, rodeos and the like. If you were to lug a machine around to sew holsters and sheaths, and you didn't want to hand crank it, that would fit the bill.

[kgg]

I agree with Bikermutt. It probably has it place in the market for certain items/locations but comparing it to his Juki 1508 is a real stretch at best. Hell that whining sound alone when it's running compared to a Juki 1508 or any other Juki for that matter, come on get real, no comparison.

kgg

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

I've been through this many times.  

It's not a crime to hype, promote, sell, advertise, or provide only the good selling points of equipment offered.  A good sales person or team is supposed to do this, and it's their job.  

The problem I have is when people wind up surprised that the backyard go-cart with lawnmower engine they purchased is not the Maserati that they were told to expected to own.  You have to explain the limitations.  1st thing I do when offering a machine of this type is to qualify the customer by sitting them down on an industrial or asking them about their existing equipment to give a fair comparison.  This way the customer knows what it is they are getting and what to expect from the equipment.  If you are in production, machines of this type are great for on site job repairs, small jobs and the like.  They have a place in life, but are not going to replace a production quality canvas or sail making machine.  One guy who bought a machine of this type told be he lived on a house boat and cannot afford the space of an industrial.  Boom, perfect fit.  Right machine for the right customer.  

Edited February 8, 2019 by Gregg From Keystone Sewing
info@keysew.com

[Techsew Ron]

47 minutes ago, Gregg From Keystone Sewing said:

I've been through this many times.  

It's not a crime to hype, promote, sell, advertise, or provide only the good selling points of equipment offered.  A good sales person or team is supposed to do this, and it's their job.  

The problem I have is when people wind up surprised that the backyard go-cart with lawnmower engine they purchased is not the Maserati that they were told to expected to own.  You have to explain the limitations.  1st thing I do when offering a machine of this type is to qualify the customer by sitting them down on an industrial or asking them about their existing equipment to give a fair comparison.  This way the customer knows what it is they are getting and what to expect from the equipment.  If you are in production, machines of this type are great for on site job repairs, small jobs and the like.  They have a place in life, but are not going to replace a production quality canvas or sail making machine.  One guy who bought a machine of this type told be he lived on a house boat and cannot afford the space of an industrial.  Boom, perfect fit.  Right machine for the right customer.  

well said Gregg ! Right machine for the right customer. Everyone has different needs.

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

6 hours ago, Techsew Ron said:

well said Gregg ! Right machine for the right customer. Everyone has different needs.

Mr. Ron,

Thanks for that, glad you liked it.  I got that phrase from Onik, who recently passed.  I'm guessing that you may have known him as well?

[koreric75]

20 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

This may be an ok or even good machine for what it is designed to sew.

The up and coming problem I foresee?.......

Tandy selling this to any newcomers with more scratch then knowledge about what they are buying. They will Shell out cash for a machine that probably won't suit their needs and wind up having to sell it for a big loss to fund the machine they need.

Also, these folks probably can't roll it back into their local Tandy when they have a problem with it. I wonder if that gets disclosed up front?

I haven't seen any comments about what pressure feet and such are available. I'm assuming they would be something from sailrite that comes with a hefty pricetag.

And another thing, I watched the video from stock and barrel leather (maybe the name is wrong)?  And this guy just couldn't say enough paid good things about this machine. Even went as far as saying it was looking like a better fit for his wallets and bags then his Juki. Really?

I commented and unsubscribed to his channel. I'm all for getting paid, but come on.

To tell the truth, I have no dog in this fight. But, I just see a lot of newcomers getting taken to the cleaners by Tandy on this one. And it puts an itch in my craw.

Just my .02.

Kind of like the Janome HD3000 they have better...honestly i can get it to do almost the same as the stitch master, just not quite the oompf and no servo/speed reducer...but it makes very nice stitches and feels pretty solid.

[Kj4700]

On 1/22/2019 at 10:52 PM, benlilly1 said:

If you get wholesale from Tandy the cost is $1350 if I remember right. I paid $1500 for my Fabricator from Sailrite. I'm very pleased with the quality and they have tons of how to videos. Quality machines.

The fabricator has those teeth on them. Won’t that cut into the leather. 

I just paid for the Fabricator but then she asked me about the leather fed dog and that’s when she looked it up and told me the current setup has the teeth on them so I put a hold on shipment. 

I was able to talk with Bill at Sailrite and he said the had the smooth plate so I could remove the toothed one because I need a machine that will not cut and mess up the leather and exotic skins on my wallets. 

How does your work on wallets. Seems the teeth would mess up the leather. 

Hopefully you get a notification on this because I would like to get the fabricator but it has to not mess up the leather I’m making wallets out of and it’s expensive leather. 

Let me know if you done anything to your machine so the leather don’t get cut up by the teeth. 

Thanks

[CowboyBob]

I've had 2-calls in the last week from people that bought one from Tandy & they both want to trade them in.They won't sew heavy enough & are marking the leather.I was nice to them & mentioned we do not have a market for this machine & don't want it on trade.They weren't very happy about it & now are probably upset with me since I won't bail them out.I'm willing to bet in a few more months Tandy will stop selling them.They are better suited for sewing vinyl for upholstery,sails or tarps.

Edited January 24, 2020 by CowboyBob

[coryleif]

Kj4700,

If a machine has teeth, it's going to to mark the leather. The Fab takes a Singer 111-style foot, so there are a lot of options in that dept. (e.g. https://www.sailrite.com/Leather-Foot-Set-for-Fabricator-Sewing-Machine), but here's what the feed dog looks like: https://www.sailrite.com/Feed-Dog-for-Sailrite-111

Pretty toothy.

Sailrite is more canvas-focused as a company; I don't see an option for a smooth feed dog or a slotted needle plate that removes the feed dog from the equation. The Fabricator/Tacsew 111 is not as common as, say, a Consew 206 or Juki 1541, so feed-dog options might be limited.

I would call Bob or Gregg, who commented above, and see what your options are for smoothing things out.

Good luck, happy sewing!