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Posted

Look at tippeman boss, cowboy outlaw if you like manual machines, or a juki 441 clone of some sort, they should be able to do holsters without any issues.

Posted
6 hours ago, Frodo said:

My patcher is tearing up veg tan. it is great for other stuff

Have you tried to smooth out the aggressiveness of the presser foot on your patcher? Also what thread are you thinking about using?

 

6 hours ago, Frodo said:

what brand name am i looking for that is a 

narrow slotted jump foot machine?

Wouldn't a walking foot be better rather then a jump foot like whats on your patcher? Wouldn't a Singer 7-33 class machine be more suited to what you would be looking for then the J&R?

kgg

Juki DNU - 1541S, Juki DU - 1181N, Singer 29K - 71(1949), Chinese Patcher (Tinkers Delight), Warlock TSC-441, Techsew 2750 Pro, Consew DCS-S4 Skiver

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Posted
17 hours ago, Frodo said:

 Will the   Reliable Barracuda  sew holsters?   1/4'' leather?   0r  3  1/8''  pieces totaling 3/8'' ?

I sew holsters, gun belts, knife sheathes, pouches and cases. I have a room full of industrial sewing machines of all descriptions. However, I don't use my upholstery grade, patching, tailoring or light duty cylinder arm machines for holsters. These are serious projects that need to be sewn with serious thread. Peoples lives may depend on the integrity of the stitching on a holster. Don't dink around with your customers' lives, or the public they interact with. If you want to machine sew holsters, get a proper heavy duty holster rated sewing machine like the Cowboy CB3200. It sews up to 1/2 inch with up to #346 bonded thread. This is a serious leather sewing machine.

I personally have a longer arm Cowboy machine that sews at least 3/4 inch. In fact, I have sewn almost 1 inch thick holsters with it, but it is difficult at that thickness.

When I call a machine upholstery class or grade, it means that the machine was designed to sew and transport soft to medium temper leather about 1/4 inch thick. Most can walk over 3/8 inch seams if setup correctly and the machine itself allows it. None are built to handle the heavy thread required to sew holsters carried in the public. These machines stop at #138 thread but may handle #207 on top only and #138 in the bobbin. This means that the bottom thread is smaller, weakening the stitches down to #138 level. Additionally, the moving and take-up parts are not built to withstand the forces of heavy thread, big needles and dense leather.

Posted IMHO, by Wiz

My current crop of sewing machines:

Cowboy CB4500, Singer 107w3, Singer 139w109, Singer 168G101, Singer 29k71, Singer 31-15, Singer 111w103, Singer 211G156, Adler 30-7 on power stand, Techsew 2700, Fortuna power skiver and a Pfaff 4 thread 2 needle serger.

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Posted
23 hours ago, Frodo said:

it is advertised as a industrial 

To a LOT of folks on eBay, Craigslist, etc - if it's painted black, that means it's industrial.  We know better! 

- Bill

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Posted
9 minutes ago, billybopp said:

To a LOT of folks on eBay, Craigslist, etc - if it's painted black, that means it's industrial. 

Or if it's made of cast iron. Or if it's set in a table. Or if it vaguely looks like some sort of sewing machine. They've found the word "industrial" bumps the price up, so they use it, no matter if it's right or not.

  • Contributing Member
Posted

If you absolutely want to stay below $600, your best bang for the buck to make holsters is ... a drill press.  Not a joke - a drill press with a sewing needle instead of a twist drill... will poke holes perpendicular to the surface, with the proper shape and orientation, with little effort.  Mark the stitches out with an overstitch wheel, "poke" the holes with a needle in the chuck (don't turn the press on!), and then HAND sew it in those holes.  Bonus.. pull the needle and swap for a burnishing tool and you got ONE machine pulling double duty.  Doesn't take much to hand sew a holster.

A "deal" is not a deal if you end up with something that doesn't do what you need.

Adding - I would be okay with a holster sewn with 207, but I wouldn't go smaller than that.  And my holsters are glued AND sewn.  207 thread gonna require a #23 needle (some fellas prefer a #24), so maybe look for a machine that can take a #23 needle.

JLS  "Observation is 9/10 of the law."

IF what you do is something that ANYBODY can do, then don't be surprised when ANYBODY does.

5 leather patterns

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