Devid82 Report post Posted June 26, 2021 Hi everyone, I would need some help from you as I'm not really sure which sewing machine will suit my needs best. I live in the UK. I started a motorcycle leathers repair business last year and currently working from home. I have a flat bed walking foot sewing machine and looking to purchase a second one. Now the thing is that, with a flat bed, I really struggle when I have to do top stitching or get inside arms and legs for example. So I'm not sure which one of the 2 to get. Also, some times it happens that I would need to sew through plastic, like knee, shoulder and elbow protections. Please see picture below to get an idea of the kind of plastic I just mentioned. I know that the post bed is ideal to sew through plastic for different reasons, but would I be able to get inside arms legs etc without a cylinder arm? What would you do? Thank you very much in advance. Devid Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kgg Report post Posted June 26, 2021 I would go for a cylinder bed machine as I think it would overall be more versatile then a post bed. I think most post beds would limit your thread size to V92. I would recommend you drop by to a machine vendor with a sample and test drive it on a post bed and a cylinder bed. kgg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted June 26, 2021 I too sew on patches for a living. In my shop I have flat bed, post bed and cylinder arm machines. I use the flatbed for sewing through the fronts and backs. I use the post machine to sew over a back liner that zips open on the bottom. I use boot patchers to sew over pockets. Since you are looking into another machine, I recommend a long arm, big bobbin patcher. You can find used ones made by Singer (29 series) and Adler (30 series). I have a short arm, small bobbin Singer 29k71 treadle machine and a long arm, big bobbin Adler 30-7 on a power stand. The Adler does most of the work. The Singer has a tiny bobbin and the short arm has its limitations. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Constabulary Report post Posted June 27, 2021 17 hours ago, kgg said: I would go for a cylinder bed machine as I think it would overall be more versatile then a post bed. I think most post beds would limit your thread size to V92. I would recommend you drop by to a machine vendor with a sample and test drive it on a post bed and a cylinder bed. kgg agree - visit a dealer and test different machines. Sewing through that plastic material may be quite challenging for certain machines. That may require a needle feed or triple feed machine. Maybe you end up with two more machines - a post bed + cylinder arm machine. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kgg Report post Posted June 27, 2021 6 hours ago, Constabulary said: Sewing through that plastic material may be quite challenging for certain machines. Sewing through the plastic is also what caused me the most concern. kgg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Devid82 Report post Posted June 27, 2021 14 hours ago, Constabulary said: agree - visit a dealer and test different machines. Sewing through that plastic material may be quite challenging for certain machines. That may require a needle feed or triple feed machine. Maybe you end up with two more machines - a post bed + cylinder arm machine. If I had the possibility, I would get both machines. At the moment I don't have much space unfortunately. I was thinking about a cylinder arm until my dad started confusing me saying that the one I need is a post bed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Devid82 Report post Posted June 27, 2021 (edited) On 6/26/2021 at 12:40 PM, kgg said: I would go for a cylinder bed machine as I think it would overall be more versatile then a post bed. I think most post beds would limit your thread size to V92. I would recommend you drop by to a machine vendor with a sample and test drive it on a post bed and a cylinder bed. kgg I have been thinking about swapping my flat bed for a cylinder arm and getting a post bed. Would a flat bed really be necessary for repairs? Also, I watched a few videos where people said that it is possible to turn a cylinder arm into a flat machine with an additional table. Edited June 27, 2021 by Devid82 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Devid82 Report post Posted June 27, 2021 On 6/26/2021 at 5:04 PM, Wizcrafts said: I too sew on patches for a living. In my shop I have flat bed, post bed and cylinder arm machines. I use the flatbed for sewing through the fronts and backs. I use the post machine to sew over a back liner that zips open on the bottom. I use boot patchers to sew over pockets. Since you are looking into another machine, I recommend a long arm, big bobbin patcher. You can find used ones made by Singer (29 series) and Adler (30 series). I have a short arm, small bobbin Singer 29k71 treadle machine and a long arm, big bobbin Adler 30-7 on a power stand. The Adler does most of the work. The Singer has a tiny bobbin and the short arm has its limitations. Thank you for recommending these machines. I'll have a look at them and see. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
