Will my sewing machine work well with leather?

[Warhauk]

I've recently gotten into leatherworking and I'm considering learning to sew leather with a machine. I've seen that there are industrial leather sewing machines for several thousand bucks but I got my wife a decent sewing machine a while back. It's a husqvarna viking designer topaz 50. In theory, it says you can use leather with it but doesn't really have any specifics that I've seen in the manual. I've posted on some sewing machine forums about it, but haven't gotten much feedback.  Does anybody have any experience with this machine or something similar to know if it actually does well with leather, max thickness it can work with, etc?

[chuck123wapati]

My two cents, i have tried about four different home style machines, a couple would sew ultralight leather, 1 mm or so thick but with great difficulty and a lot of tinkering your wife wouldn't like. I've went down that road wasted a bunch of time, leather and money and found out what others already knew.

I'm sure more knowledgeable will chime in but as far as any real leather work the answer is no. The leather machines costs thousands for a reason. 

[fredk]

Wot he says

Its a sales ploy 'it'll sew leather et cetera'. I might sew very thin leather, like 0.5mm or so but really its a no goer.

Having said that I use my Singer 99K for punching sewing holes in leather up to about 3mm thick, but I've not used it with thread to sew

[chrisash]

Most domestic machines quote Chrome Tan leather that can be sewn and they are generally under about 1.4mm and soft leather used for many items like coats and upholstery, they may do 1mm soft veg tan but thats about it without pushing the mahine to its limits and out of its intended design range of use. Most these days, also have nylon cogs rather than the stronger steel ones

[kgg]

1 hour ago, Warhauk said:

It's a husqvarna viking designer topaz 50. In theory, it says you can use leather with it but doesn't really have any specifics that I've seen in the manual.

Right up front I know nothing about your particular machine. According to the spec of your machine you have a single needle domestic embroidery machine which maybe able to do some normal tailoring sewing tasks but it is geared more for doing embroidery tasks using generally thinner fabrics. Most domestic sewing machines not domestic embroidery machine can do about 1mm or so of soft leather, chrome tan. The older domestic sewing machines like the Singers could probably handle much thicker soft leather occasionally as they were case iron bodied machines with real metal gears and shafts. 

For leather you need a metal bodied machine with metal gears and the thicker the leather the heavier the machine you need.

I wouldn't attempt to use your machine for leather or thick tough fabric like 21 oz canvas.

Since there is no one machine that will do everything the key in finding a new or used sewing machine for leather is knowing what you would like to sew whether that is wallets or saddles.

kgg

 

 

[Warhauk]

Thanks for the inputs. I honestly was already assuming the same things that y'all told me because the machine does look pretty...frail may be the right word. Maybe dainty. But wanted to make sure before I outright dismissed it, or worse, decided to test it and break my wife's machine.

[Northmount]

Read this

 

[biker55]

If you're interested, they have a chinese leather machine that is sold on ebay and amazon for around $100. there's a bunch of youtube videos on this, if you want to check it out. it's hand cranked, but I've seen videos where people have motorized theirs. here's one video. 

 

[Garyak]

I made a killing with a china patcher. I have a cobra 29-18 also. I can do things with the china patcher the cobra could never do.

[Garyak]

If a person has some serious sewing skills and uses the machine within the limits it’s designed for, it’ll make money, and believers outta the nay sayers…. I’ve shut down more threads with proof the haters can’t deny.

[kgg]

1 hour ago, biker55 said:

they have a chinese leather machine that is sold on ebay and amazon for around $100.

I do have one of these. Usually it will sew and could get you out of pinch but don't fool yourself in assuming you are going to get great results. The quality of these machines are at best on the poorer end of the scale. Yes they do have their place like all machines but I would not recommend this type of machine for anyone as an only machine or a beginners machine as it may prove to be too frustrating. These are what I would consider a true tinkers machine and it was fun tricking it out but it cann't hold a candle to a my Singer 29k's.

kgg

[Garyak]

On 11/10/2021 at 12:35 PM, chuck123wapati said:

My two cents, i have tried about four different home style machines, a couple would sew ultralight leather, 1 mm or so thick but with great difficulty and a lot of tinkering your wife wouldn't like. I've went down that road wasted a bunch of time, leather and money and found out what others already knew.

I'm sure more knowledgeable will chime in but as far as any real leather work the answer is no. The leather machines costs thousands for a reason. 

Thing continues to make cents. Outshining the best patchers in some areas

[chuck123wapati]

17 minutes ago, Garyak said:

Thing continues to make cents. Outshining the best patchers in some areas

outstanding!!!!   start a thread and share your secrets on fine tuning this thing! you seem to be the exception to the rule. lol

[RockyAussie]

8 hours ago, kgg said:

The quality of these machines are at best on the poorer end of the scale. Yes they do have their place like all machines but I would not recommend this type of machine for anyone as an only machine or a beginners machine as it may prove to be too frustrating. These are what I would consider a true tinkers machine and it was fun tricking it out but it cann't hold a candle to a my Singer 29k's.

This what @kgg says I believe to be true. I have had many years of experience using patching machines of one sort or another and they are not a machine I would recommend to start off with if you are doing leather work. Shoe repairs yes.

I should point out that at 3 minutes 58 seconds into the video above you can see the stitching average that a patcher is normally capable of. (Not good enough for my work)

9 hours ago, Garyak said:

If a person has some serious sewing skills and uses the machine within the limits it’s designed for, it’ll make money, and believers outta the nay sayers…. I’ve shut down more threads with proof the haters can’t deny.

Your skills with a patcher are very high indeed, so much so that I had to check your profile and see the pictures in your albums. I am curious to know what method you used to make the holes and grooves ahead of the patcher needle. Is this done by a laser or have the leather been stitched ahead first with a heavy weight machine or what? Here a a few of the pictures I am curious about.

 

Edited November 21, 2021 by RockyAussie

[Garyak]

52 minutes ago, RockyAussie said:

This what @kgg says I believe to be true. I have had many years of experience using patching machines of one sort or another and they are not a machine I would recommend to start off with if you are doing leather work. Shoe repairs yes.

I should point out that at 3 minutes 58 seconds into the video above you can see the stitching average that a patcher is normally capable of. (Not good enough for my work)

Your skills with a patcher are very high indeed, so much so that I had to check your profile and see the pictures in your albums. I am curious to know what method you used to make the holes and grooves ahead of the patcher needle. Is this done by a laser or have the leather been stitched ahead first with a heavy weight machine or what? Here a a few of the pictures I am curious about.

 

Nothing but a stitch groove and 3/32 punch. Once pattern is cut, I lay out my stitch pattern and punch the holes before airbrush and antique. This keeps the holes from showing like they would if they were punched after dye. When using white thread I like the stitch grooves to to be antiqued before sewing. The antique in the grooves really makes the stitching shine. Stitching is the most important part of a build to me. Nobodies paying hard cash for something with shoddy looking stitches.  

[chuck123wapati]

9 hours ago, Garyak said:

Nothing but a stitch groove and 3/32 punch. Once pattern is cut, I lay out my stitch pattern and punch the holes before airbrush and antique. This keeps the holes from showing like they would if they were punched after dye. When using white thread I like the stitch grooves to to be antiqued before sewing. The antique in the grooves really makes the stitching shine. Stitching is the most important part of a build to me. Nobodies paying hard cash for something with shoddy looking stitches.  

so basically you are just using it to put the thread through pre-punched holes and not really using it  for the whole process? Can you explain why or is it because it doesn't do a good enough job?       "Nobodies paying hard cash for something with shoddy looking stitches."

I'm not knocking your process your work is awesome but if it wont actually do a good job of sewing the whole process just like the expensive ones can do then folks should know what this machine can really do. 

 

[Garyak]

56 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

so basically you are just using it to put the thread through pre-punched holes and not really using it  for the whole process? Can you explain why or is it because it doesn't do a good enough job?       "Nobodies paying hard cash for something with shoddy looking stitches."

I'm not knocking your process your work is awesome but if it wont actually do a good job of sewing the whole process just like the expensive ones can do then folks should know what this machine can really do. 

 

I lay out a stitch pattern, where they will run, tie in, and dead end. I use the stitch groove and punch to ensure my stitch length is as uniform as possible, doesn’t matter to me what rig I’m stitching on. I’ve always done this , it’s what I was taught and I’ve never had a problem or complaint so I keep doing what works. Again, if someone doesn’t have sewing skills I wouldn’t recommend it. In fact, I recommend sewing classes, specifically in leather if someone can be found willing to teach. For 100$ and a 30$ servo i can’t see a down side. It paid for itself first time it was used. I purchased it to see what the mass confusion was all about. It wasn’t the machine. Besides Claes 20-30, I’ve never had another patcher that sews 207, and sews it like it was made too. All my machines are an extension of my hands. If I get a machine and I can’t make it do what I want it to do, I don’t keep that machine. Tools that don’t  do what you want aren’t tools, they’re door stops. Same thing I thought the patcher would be. It proved me wrong. I now use it solely when 207 is needed.

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, Garyak said:

I lay out a stitch pattern, where they will run, tie in, and dead end. I use the stitch groove and punch to ensure my stitch length is as uniform as possible, doesn’t matter to me what rig I’m stitching on. I’ve always done this , it’s what I was taught and I’ve never had a problem or complaint so I keep doing what works. Again, if someone doesn’t have sewing skills I wouldn’t recommend it. In fact, I recommend sewing classes, specifically in leather if someone can be found willing to teach. For 100$ and a 30$ servo i can’t see a down side. It paid for itself first time it was used. I purchased it to see what the mass confusion was all about. It wasn’t the machine. Besides Claes 20-30, I’ve never had another patcher that sews 207, and sews it like it was made too. All my machines are an extension of my hands. If I get a machine and I can’t make it do what I want it to do, I don’t keep that machine. Tools that don’t  do what you want aren’t tools, they’re door stops. Same thing I thought the patcher would be. It proved me wrong. I now use it solely when 207 is needed.

Awesome!! You have a great technique figured out for sure and it does show on your work. Thank you for the answer to my questions!  I may have to ask Mrs. Clause  for one now.

[Garyak]

7 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

Awesome!! You have a great technique figured out for sure and it does show on your work. Thank you for the answer to my questions!  I may have to ask Mrs. Clause  for one now.

As with any patcher, slow is the key.

[chuck123wapati]

14 hours ago, Garyak said:

As with any patcher, slow is the key.

Where did you source a 30 dollar servo motor? the cheapest i can find is about 100. Plus a guy would need other parts as well wouldn't they like v belt and pulleys, foot peddle and cost to build or buy a decent stable table.

[Garyak]

eBay, again, here goes the 30$ 220v motor on eBay. I’m running 5 of them now. They run 220 and 110. Running them daily for a couple years now. eBay enduro pro 220v is the search. That’s the motor in the picture. Everything I used to make that set up I got out of trash at work…. I got 0 dollars in it. Can’t beat that price.