confined space sewing machining!!

[Voyageurs]

Hey Folks,

 I am getting into the leather sewing realm and looking to get a small machine that will give me a few hours a day, a few days a week work as well as sew waxed canvas. The catch is I work out of a tiny 100sqft cabin which is my home and may be moving to a wood heat wall tent this winter as a dedicated location. I need a small rugged machine that is portable and rugged. I currently have a Pfaff 1222 that I baby but can smell the oil cooking when sewing two layers of waxed canvas. I prepunch and hand turn on any leather....I don't really want to kill that machine.

Looking at the Sailrites or equivalent. Naturally cost is big and as a beginner I am learning everyday. What I make puts food in my belly, this is not just a pastime.

[Wizcrafts]

The Sailrite machines are meant for sewing canvas, Sunbrella and vinyl materials. They are dual feed, with teeth on the feet to assist with the top/bottom feeding. The maximum thickness they can sew is 1/4 inch, with up to #92 bonded polyester thread (maybe even #138). If your projects fall withing these specs the Sailrite may be a good solution for your limited space.

Because these machines are built to stand up to sewing soft vinyl and cloth, they may be over stressed by leather. Leather has resistance to the needle and thread. The bottom of the needle hole tends to close slightly as the needle ascends. So, you may need to use one size larger needle when sewing leather. This adds to the work load on the take-up mechanism. You should use leather point needles for leather and round point for cloth and synthetics.

There is one more factor to consider if you buy a portable walking foot machine. That is punching power. Leather requires more punching power and the basic setup of these portables doesn't provide that much. You may need to upgrade from the Power Plus wheel to the Monster II balance wheel to get the necessary torque. That adds $125 to the price of the machine.

The teeth on the bottom of the standard feet will leave marks in leather. you may need to upgrade to the knurled presser feet, which they sell for ~$32.

By the time you are through upgrading a portable dual feed walking foot machine you could probably have bought a Consew P-1206RB industrial compound feed walking foot machine.

[Voyageurs]

Wizcrafts, Thank you and good information. I will probably stick to hand sewing for now until I can find a space to have a real machine.

 

[councilman24]

When sewing with any portable machine your going to need a work space. If you currently have a table you use for cooking, eating, hand sewing you could replace it with an industrial sewing machine on a table. When not sewing the head lifts right out to store where you'd store the portable. Cut an insert to drop on the hole and your back to you just table.  Table would take up about 8 sq ft.