GOC Report post Posted October 26, 2019 (edited) First post on this forum, but have been searching and reading for weeks......lots of good content! Requesting to leverage some of the amazing experience here on this forum to help 'point me' in the direction of a few machines. Small business activity, I do ALL my own production - made in USA. Background and request for assistance: got into sewing needing to fix my tactical military gear (Im USA Army Retired/combat engineer/paratrooper) - 20+ years of learning the hard way where stuff failed etc so before going to Iraq in '03 I purchased a sailrite LS1, taught myself to sew and fixed/strengthened all my gear and even made some additions to things (pockets on my ruck etc) Back home, then retired, focused on 1000d+ ballistic nylon and mil-spec webbing - staying in the V69-92 thread world mostly. Wife has a horse so started repairing light tack for her and friends....(bridles etc) horse blankets, making custom separators for trailers etc..., feed nets etc....you know the deal! Nothing heavy (like saddles etc and dont see that happening any time soon. That expanded into very heavy duty pet leashes/harness and very heavy duty gear for off-road/MX sport. now...that LS1 as MUCH of a tank as it is - I have 10x exceeded what I need it to do and importantly speed and work room etc. Refuse to throw rocks at the machine, I have put numerous 1 pound spools of thread through it and other than 'operator headspace and timing' issues (me) its never skipped a beat. Main sewing tasks now I am looking for a 'true' industrial machine for. PRIMARY are will remain 1000 and 1680 ballistic nylon (multiple layers with Mil-spec webbing) gets up to 3/8 thickness easy. I will be doing equine leather work, for example bridle thickness and such 9 oz or so and sewing it to mil-spec tubular nylon - safety break aways etc. 60-70% of time will be flat bed - the rest Cylinder bed. V92 and 138 on the top end (unless the experts here think I need to go stronger) will be my primary world of poly thread (for the UV and rot). I Box-X all my ballistic nylon/web work stitch wise and with a 1" box-x I get 2500 pound bread strength at the join with 138 on 1" wide webbing. ASK: With all my reading here a common theme for things and some of the weird angles I manage to design and especially when doing repairs etc... Medium weight machine (work with the 92 and 138 thread with ease - do I need 210 capability?) I have read TOO many times on this forum, if you can only have one machine for now, get a cylinder machine and a flat surface addition - I realize if things expand for me in the future you need to right tool for the job and the best bet is dedicated machines for certain tasks (no different than in my shop for mechanical work) - boils down to 'buy once, cry once' get the right machine with the right power. Right now? Looking hard at the Techsew 2700 - - I see the 2750 but while I want to get the right machine, given where I will live 75% of the time (92 and at times 138) do I need the extra ughmph of the 2750 (or like class machine) over the 2700 which can handle 138 from my research all day) Cowboy equivalent? I am not brand loyal at this point - but willing to put the right money at the right machine and yes, buy once cry once. Budget right now - try to keep it at $2500 or less. Hope this helps....right now Im in an analysis paralysis (curse of being an engineer) and its time to pick the knowledge of the experts here around HD machines. Scott Edited October 26, 2019 by GOC Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kgg Report post Posted October 26, 2019 Have you considered making a road trip to a couple dealers that way you could take some of your stuff along and see what machine would work best for you. Purchasing at a dealer fairly close to home maybe something to consider from a support/repair point. kgg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GOC Report post Posted October 26, 2019 42 minutes ago, kgg said: Have you considered making a road trip to a couple dealers that way you could take some of your stuff along and see what machine would work best for you. Purchasing at a dealer fairly close to home maybe something to consider from a support/repair point. kgg Sadly, there are no HD dealers in the area for this class of machine - they can 'order' one but then I am back at sight unseen before it arrives. Scott Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JJN Report post Posted October 26, 2019 I'm about 400 miles south of you, but if you ever go to southern Oregon you are welcome to check out my machines. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kgg Report post Posted October 26, 2019 I would investigate dealers within a two hour driving distance and then expand the radius to four max. Seattle should be fairly close and have industrial sewing machine dealers. kgg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aven Report post Posted October 26, 2019 Check out C. H. Holderby's in Seattle. 206 622 6646 (800-431-6646) . They are at 150 12th Ave. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DonInReno Report post Posted October 27, 2019 I have a straight stitch only clone of your sailrite and also really like it! Then I picked up a juki Lu562 thinking it wouldn’t sew much differently, but it does feed heavy material slightly better do to the additional needle feed. I have no plans to get rid of the sailrite clone, but a used flatbed triple feed machine was a great bang for the buck and worthwhile upgrade. A triple feed cylinder arm machine that sews up to 138 would be nice especially for bags. However... With those heaviest materials mentioned in your introduction I’d bet lunch that you would really like having the extra thread and thickness capability of a cowboy/artisan/cobra/etc Juki 441 clone, not that you would sew everything with it, but it opens up thicker materials and designs that many people don’t know they are missing out on. Thicker thread also holds up to sun damage better. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
