Beginning to look for a sewing machine.

[mcmuck]

I'm new to leatherwork and am accumulating tools and material doing small projects and beginning to look at sewing machines,  after a bunch of reading I think the Techsew 2750 Pro, Cowboy CB3200 and the Cobra 26 I like the versatility of the cylinder machines and all of these have a small flatbed attachment so can do both. I'm in Canada but I have a mailing address in Montana or a friend there I can ship to.  There is almost nothing used up here so I'm looking south. The Border has to open eventually : ) Have I missed some good machines or a valuable resource for used ones? your help and advice would be appreciated. 

[DonInReno]

There are websites that allow you to search all of Craigslist that can turn up some used machines once in a while, but geographically you’re in a tough spot.  The Rocky Mountain states just don’t have a lot of big leather machines floating around.

Covid also seems to have had an effect on used machines - people are doing more at home and in many places only a fraction of machines are popping up.   On the other hand there are some really good deals as people get in financial binds and they need cash pretty quick, but you need to be close by with cash in hand.

To be honest, the for sale section here is pretty good, but it’s hit or miss for your area and good deals sell fast.

Don’t overlook eBay - machines there are few and far between, but they do come up and sell fast.   eBay is somewhat safe, but if the machine is listed as not working and it shows up a pile of junk, you don’t have a lot of room to get your money back.

Beware of anything that seems flakey - don’t put any money down to ‘hold’ a machine.  The scammers list leather sewing machines from time to time, so be careful.  Personally I wouldn’t buy a machine that has to be shipped unless through a dealer or eBay - there’s too many ways to get screwed.

I also look at google images - once in a while a used machine on an out of the way place like auction site will show up there, but it’s a big time waster.

Overall, you should be checking twice a day at as many places as possible.

[kgg]

Some other resources would be kijiji.ca for your province (used machines). I don't know how close these would be to your location but Longview Leather in Longview, Alberta carry the Cobra lineup, Mac 1 in Calgary, Alberta carry the Juki and Reliable lineup. I guess it depends on what you want to sew (thickness), what size of thread and of course the dollars you want to spend. I do agree that adding a flatbed attachment to a cylinder bed makes it much more versatile but each type of machine has a purpose. If you are sewing mostly items that are better suited to a cylinder machine 90% of the time and only need to occasionally use the flatbed feature then buy a New cylinder machine and later a Used flatbed machine. For me it was Flatbeds (Juki 1541S, Juki1181n, Pfaff 1245) first then Cylinder machines (Consew 223, Kobe 1341) somewhere in there I a got a Chinese Patcher.

Stay Safe,

kgg

 

[mcmuck]

Hi There! Thanks for your replies and info, I'm on the for sale sites as often as i can be but asking someone to disassemble and ship a machine is a lot to ask so I'm slowly getting my head around a new CB3200 it seems to have the most features and be bast suited to what I think I'll need. The Fellow in Longview apparently isn't carrying the Cobra machines any longer, at least I read that somewhere but there's a kijiji Add that says Someone in Calgary is going to be a Cowboy dealer. Tandy in Canada has bee on again off again with Sailrite but now is carrying Cobras. first impressions are that freight will be the killer there as they're buying them out of the US and drop shipping to your door. As I do more research I'm thinking the 3200 and the machines in that category will be overkill but when I look at the next machines down in the lineup (341) it's very close to the same price but has no freight program so ends up being more money in the end. If / when the border opens I can drive a couple of hours and pick up the machine so I think patience will pay off in the end, in the meantime I'll keep watching the boards and see what comes up. Is there any merrit in posting a "Wanted" ad, I never look at those but perhaps other people do?

Again your help and opinions are appreciated, this is proving to be more complicated than I'd first thought : ) 

[Greenwood]

Hi,  McMuck.  I live in Regina just east of you and have a lot of equipment that may be of interest to you..   The list  too long but here's a short sample Cobra 3, Juki 563, Singer 132k6, bench machines, etc., etc.  After all is said I'm selling as a package only.  If interested let me know.  Leo, 306-five 4 five four 1 three 9, cell 306 five 3 six 8 zero 2 five. 

Stay safe, Leo

[Northmount]

@mcmuck  Look at Longview Leather south of Calgary for Cobra machines https://www.longviewleather.com/cobra-machines/

And Techsew in Montreal.  They will ship to you, all properly packaged. https://www.techsew.com/en/techsew-2750-pro-cylinder-walking-foot-industrial-sewing-machine.html

 

[MtlBiker]

On 12/8/2020 at 7:35 PM, mcmuck said:

I'm new to leatherwork and am accumulating tools and material doing small projects and beginning to look at sewing machines,  after a bunch of reading I think the Techsew 2750 Pro, Cowboy CB3200 and the Cobra 26 I like the versatility of the cylinder machines and all of these have a small flatbed attachment so can do both. I'm in Canada but I have a mailing address in Montana or a friend there I can ship to.  There is almost nothing used up here so I'm looking south. The Border has to open eventually : ) Have I missed some good machines or a valuable resource for used ones? your help and advice would be appreciated. 

Fellow Canuk here...  I just bought a new Techsew 2750 PRO, and I must say I'm thrilled with it (other than for a couple of minor issues).  I also have a flatbed Consew 206RB-5, so I don't really see myself installing the flatbed table attachment for the 2750.  I got the 2750 with speed reducer and it's incredible... I can just tap the foot pedal and it will sew just one stitch at a time.  Great for control.  And at continuous sewing I can slow it down to one stitch per second or even slower.  And the needle position (NP) motor is also great.  I've seen mentioned that some folks rarely use it, but as quite a beginner I'm finding it very useful.  With that set, the machine can be set to always stop with the needle positioned in the material so turning corners is a breeze.

Good luck with your search!

 

[mcmuck]

Hi Greenwood, Northmount and Mtlbiker. Thanks for your info and suggestions. I keep watching videos and looking at features There's a lot of information to Digest, I will say A cylinder arm machine with a flat bed is probably what I'll end up with. I read a wise comment somewhere that mentioned you can't turn a flatbed into a cylinder machine but you can add a flatbed to a cylinder machine, as a total greenhorn it made sense. Should that scare me? : ) I contacted a fellow with an ad on kijiji for Cowboys but it turned out it's the same sort of drop ship arrangement Tandy has. Not sure why yet but I find the cowboy machines attractive, maybe it's price to early in the process to tell. When I do the math on a Techsew unless they have a freight program the 2750 Pro could easily end up between 3500 and 4000 by the time you add speed reducer, flatbed and taxes at least that how it looks to me. Northmount, I read Lonview wsn't selling machines anymore? was that false? MtlBiker, I followed your posts on the Techsew, I'm glad that worked out for you, they seem to work hard at customer service, thats nice to see, it isn't all that common these days but I have to say the leather goods companies I've dealt with so far definitely work hard at it and in my opinion are being successful. On with the research : )   

[Northmount]

1 hour ago, mcmuck said:

I read Lonview wasn't selling machines anymore? was that false?

The page referenced, plus the Class 3 page make no reference to them no longer selling, but says to contact them for pricing and delivery.  I'd suggest you go to the horses mouth to find out rather than hearsay or speculation.

[mcmuck]

Good advice! I will check them out.

[mcmuck]

Has anyone dealt with Mo at Dixie Tailoring in Toronto? They have machines called JapanFuji I'm looking at a JF 341, very attractive price and appears to be in the 18 to 23 needle size and up to 210 thread which as I learn more seems to be the range I'd be in, I'm not doing saddlery and don't see myself using material much over 6 to 7 oz and that rarely. One thing I have learned is that everything seems to be a clone and some times a clone of a clone : ) kind of confusing for a beginner. So here's what I think I want, please tell me how wrong I am : ).

I think I need: cylinder arm with flat bed attachment, servo motor 550 or 750W (110 volt must have) 10 to 13mm capacity stitch length? I think 10mm but I could use advice here.

speed Reducer. large bobbin, end load the top load bobbins look fiddly for my old fingers : )  Needle positioning would be nice but not a deal breaker.

When I price out a new TechSew 2600Pro with freight and reducer I'm really close to 4000.00Cdn as is the cobra 26 and most other comparable machines.  This JF 341 is on sale for 2100.00 Cdn and 150.00 freight but I can't find much info so I'm asking here. Thanks for your help please comment if you have info or suggestions. 

[kgg]

I would also check out Japan Sewing Machine and Company who are also in Toronto. Their clones are called the "Kobe". Ask for Chris, great to deal with. I have purchased three new machines from him.Two flatbed machines, Juki 1541S, Juki 1181N and one cylinder bed machine a Kobe 1341. The casing on the JapanFuji seems a little rougher then the Kobe. They call theirs a LS-1341 but in reality it is 341 clone. I was pleasantly surprised as I went to buy a Juki LS-1341, decided to give the Kobe a try. The price was right and like yourself some of the other clones were in the ball park of a true Juki.

If I don't like it after six months I'll sell it and get a true Juki LS-1341. So far it has handled everything I have thrown at it. It came with table, servo motor, both a knee lift and foot lift for raising the pressor foot as well as thread holder (which I never even took out of the box, I use my own). It can handle V138 top and bobbin out of the box but I think I could easily use 207 as the top thread.  Some people like the needle positioner and others not so much, depends on what you need/like/want. a needle positioner can be installed later should you need/like/want one.  For my needs I didn't need the speed reducer.Once again if you find that you need/like/want one it can easily be purchased and installed later. A nice thing is I can use and interchange bobbins between all three of those machines. I do recommend you get additional true Juki bobbins as they seem like they have much better manufacturing tolerances.

In the picture I have it setup for binding with a mini 8" x 8" flatbed, which maybe a little difficult to see in the photo.

Which ever machine you decide on all the best of luck.

Stay Safe,

kgg

[mcmuck]

I have a couple of questions : ) Am I better to buy a good used Juki LS-1341 or the new clone. the fellow selling the JapanFuji's has some used Juki's so it too is an option. from reading here the Juki has an excellent reputation so what say you all? : )

Kgg: Thanks for your help with this, where did you get your small flatbed? I did an amazon and Google search and came up empty or I'm searching for the wrong name. 

Thanks to everyone that has contributed to my education! It is greatly appreciated. I'm waaay less confused than I was (yeah right) : )

 

 

[Wizcrafts]

1 hour ago, mcmuck said:

I have a couple of questions : ) Am I better to buy a good used Juki LS-1341 or the new clone. the fellow selling the JapanFuji's has some used Juki's so it too is an option. from reading here the Juki has an excellent reputation so what say you all? : )

Juki makes some of the most reliable industrial sewing machines in the World. They still produce the TSC-441 from which the Cowboy, Cobra and Techsew (our supporting advertisers) harness and holster stitchers are cloned. Sewing factories and garment producers have buildings full of working Juki machines. They are not the only top name, but are among those. Proof of this is that most of the Juki line is cloned by lower price manufacturers.

As for buying a used Juki, make sure you know up front what condition it is in and what, if anything was wrong when it was traded in. Any sewing machine can be worked hard and need some new parts or at least a good going over and adjustments. Sometimes a dealer leaves those tuneups until the machine is about to be sold. It would be wise to see the machine sewing. Bring in your material and ask them to sew it with the type of thread you plan to use.

Be aware that new Juki machines can sometimes cost twice as much as their clones. Some of this has to do with the duty charged on Japanese imports. If a particular model is built in China, a different duty rate may apply. These charges can ramp up the prices unexpectedly.

[kgg]

Buying a used anything you really need to see and hear it in operation as Wiz has suggested. Which in this case is going to be impossible as you are 3000km away from that particular dealer in Toronto. Juki's tend to be costly on the used market. While Juki's privately owned do occasionally come available most have been used in an industrial/commercial setting.  If you can find one from a dealer within a reasonable drive, in good shape and for about the same price, probably a little more, then a new clone I would choose the Juki over the clone. In your area they maybe as scarce as hens teeth.

 

9 hours ago, mcmuck said:

Kgg: Thanks for your help with this, where did you get your small flatbed? I did an amazon and Google search and came up empty or I'm searching for the wrong name. 

Probably not going find them as all the accessories in the photo are some of my designs and 3d printed. Slip on mini table (takes under 2 minutes to attach/ release), holders for scissors/needles/bobbins (at the top of the machine), bobbin holder (over the bed), the binding guides and binding tape platter, the accessories holder for needles / bobbins (to the right of the machine) and the 3 spool thread holder (at the rear of the machine)

kgg

[mcmuck]

Hi Folks! So in the end I found and bought a used Juki LS-1341 with a servo motor which needs some help (the machine not the motor it's new : ). I've found and downloaded the parts manual. owners manual and the Engineers manual Have I missed one? I see nothing in any of these about replacing the timing belt which I will need to do. I may have a service shop do it but I'd like to read up on it. from looking at the machine I think I know how it would be done but I'm new to sewing machines but not machinery and so far it's been pretty straight forward to disassemble things for cleaning and oiling and make the repairs I've made so far. Like any used piece of equipment it is suffering from the various inept people syndrome Kgg has been an enormous help coaching me on all the things of which I have no knowledge. Needles, thread etc etc. Steep learning curve for a beginner! Does anyone know of a site that has the length of time models were made or production run times? like when the 341's were started and stopped and I mean the Juki's not the copies that would be impossible to do. Stay Safe!

 

[kgg]

6 hours ago, mcmuck said:

I see nothing in any of these about replacing the timing belt which I will need to do.

This link even though it is for a Juki LS-341 it may offer some insight.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/917750/Juki-Ls-341n.html?page=11#manual

kgg