Sewing machine for heavy and light weight materials?

[Elkoholick]

Looking for advise on a machine as I'm way out of my element here but really excited about making and modifying gear. My question is is it too much to ask of a machine to do heavier stuff like canvas/duck (think wall tent) and also be able to do ripstop, silnylon etc.... do I need two different machines or can you do this with just one? Any advise would be really be apreciated, makes and models of machines, setup, needles, etc.... Thank you in advance.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

To do it all well ideally 2 different machines. Machines handling primarily heavier material may have aggressive feed dogs that would be rough on silnylon for instance. A machine with less aggressive feed you may have to help it alot when feeding heavy material through. But you can make due if needed. The other thing to keep in mind depending on how much stuff you are doing is you have to change you needles, thread, and tension settings on your machine when jumping back and forth, its nice to avoid that if you are doing stuff regularly.

 

[Kootenay Hunter]

If you're doing a mild amount of work, you can use a run of the mill machine, but as mentioned above, get the right needles for the job and get the tension right with trial and error. also buy quality thread.

For a wall tent and large canvas pieces, you might want to look into a handheld/portable style machine....as moving 10ft+ of canvas through a machine can be a nightmare.

If you start doing siltarp stuff, etc. you will need to look into the right seam tape/sealing and thread otherwise all the seams will leak.

 

[Beendare]

Yeah^ you can get some of the run of the mill machines to work- but its a challenge. The older 1950's,60s, 70s machines with steel gears are pretty good too.

The thick stuff like webbing can be a challenge. I have a Juki that blows right through the tough stuff and will also do the silnylon.

 

[KEVINSENC]

I bought this machine last year after struggling with a garage sale find that drove me crazy, I made a bunch of pullouts on the older machine and it would take me forever, after buying the new machine I could knock one out in 10 minutes, it was just so much easier to operate and heavy duty, went through thicker material as well a lot easier...I purchased it on amazon for 125 bucks last year but it looks like it may have gone up in price, may be able to find it cheaper though...

SINGER | Heavy Duty 4411 Sewing Machine with 11 Built-in Stitches, Metal Frame and Stainless Steel Bedplate, Great for Sewing All Fabrics

 

[deerkiller]

Yeah^ you can get some of the run of the mill machines to work- but its a challenge. The older 1950's,60s, 70s machines with steel gears are pretty good too.

The thick stuff like webbing can be a challenge. I have a Juki that blows right through the tough stuff and will also do the silnylon.

If you are buying new the JUKI is THE machine - If you are shopping used a Consew or older Singer will work fine but often are coveted which runs up the price - The old Singer 531B8 is a basic clone to the 206RB-2 Consew except the older Singer had the best screws and springs in the industry EVER, I sew everthing up to, but not, leather with my 206RB up to 13 oz canvas is a breeze no matter how many folds you need and heavy duty webbing is no problem

 

[Elkoholick]

Thanks alot you guys, good stuff. I really only got one project in mind thats on the heavier side of things and that would be a wall tent I already have a frame for that I probably wont use much anyway. I'm more excited about doing lighter weight stuff, tipi, woobie, pullouts. Think I'll see what I can find based on some of your sugestions and just kinda dive in and see where I end up. LOL Thanks again!!