Sewing machine

I wonder if one of you has some recommandations for a sewing machine.

I did practically all of the interior for my 73 by hand (using leather needles) like the carpet and using a basic sewing machine

for stuffs like the headliner (coton), the dash pad (suede leather), restore a few issues on the back seats etc...

Busy thinking my 71 interior, I want this time do a full leather interior, my sewing machine can't go thru 2 soft leather layers

(Connolly quality like) so I want move to a simple but powerful one. Prices range for these are from 150 to ten times that.

So I wonder if one of u uses one and could guide me a bit?

https://www.naaimachineshop.nl/site/naaimachine-kayser-hobbymatic-heavy-duty

http://www.shelikestosew.com/best-sewing-machine-leather/

Please post some pics of your 73 interior in this thread. Sounds like you do nice work. I'm more of a purist but for interior mods . your sound really nice.

THX

Ray

I would go with an industrial quality, with the longest arm you can find. Search for an upholstery shop that is upgrading or selling/closing and selling their equipment.

@don C, yes (missed a second hand one by 24 hours, with extra log arm) tho good news is, I've got all done once with a basic Singer, and the short arm was long enough. The one that requires most volume while sewing is the headliner, but because it needs be sewed in the inverse presentation to the machine, the material is outside.

@bossRay,

here you go... sorry for lighting, but car is in garage, and its bad weather outside.

Never liked the cheap plastic (in any car). Always got sick in cars after 15 minutes when I was young.

My father working at Renault we always got a new car every 6 months that it was new plastic hell all the time.

So when i got my first car (this one), I wasn't planning keep this crap around in my own car really

added picts (of old picts) of the build of my steering wheel that I made years ago (the 71 will get its own as well)



here's the interior. mix of wood (maple) for the lights knobs, console latch, steeringwheel.

suede leather, black leather and alu.





here the dash pad



coton and suede that matches the pad



here closed



exit the cheap plastic, cardboard...



few details...



car is about to go to paint, so got some rails and other details that need be prep/sorted...

but so you see the dashpad (bad lighting)



Seats were totally dismanteld, cleaned up (amazing the dirst stored in these)

refurbished. but kept the original center patern, as I did not have any knowledge of leather sewing

So this may go away one day...



not on picts, but one challenging thingy was to create the "tulp", so that you get the offset and yet still have the wheel turning

and keeping its own rotation plane. Had to make some kind of press for this and ensure the metal would distort only at the connections and on all branches.

Great workmanship and attention to detail.

Well, in the following I want to mention some best Leather Sewing Machines. Such as:

1. Singer 4423 Heavy

2. Singer 4452 Heavy

3. Singer 4432 Heavy

4. Brother ST371HD

5. Janome HD3000

Source:

http://sewingmachinesview.com/best-leather-sewing-machines/

I bought a used Singer 1191D machine several years ago. It will sew anything you put into it, lol. We stacked up material 1/2" thick and it will sew and most any commercial machine will also. When I went to the tech College here to take a course the instructor use to sew Leather for the dental chairs. He cautioned everyone to maybe practice with cloth because if you sew leather or vinyl wrong and take apart the holes do not heal like in cloth. He was amazing how fast and straight he could sew a seam.

I was at an auction few weeks ago and brand new commercial machine went for $400. In the south there were thousands of them that became available when all the sewing went off shore.

I was going to play with mine some I have three bench seats for Mustang I was going to cover the seats to just put in garage.

I did seat and door panels for a 50 Ford street rod I started. This is not a deep throat model and not needed for most situations either.

The old machine last forever with the oil pan and oil pump supplying oil to all the machine.

Be sure to get the foot with the machine to sew around cord.

My ex wife used to run a business making heavy weight curtains. She found the Brother the best for the job. Make sure you go for one that comes with its own table. Theres one similar on Ebay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350568214140

You need a heavy duty sewing machine that easily sews the heavy material like the Leather. Some of the heavy-duty sewing machines are Brother ST391HD, Janome HD3000, TOYOTA J34. I've tried Brother ST391HD for making the seat cover for my Car and it did a good job.

Source: https://bestsewingmachineforbeginnerstoday.com/best-leather-sewing-machines-reviews/

I have been working with leather for 6 years. The point is not how powerful the machine is, but how accurately it works with the skin based on its power. Sites like http://bestsewingmachinesguide.com/ able to help with choice, but you have to discuss this topic with experienced professionals

At home I have a Sailrite LSZ-1 (quite useful since it's portable - I use it during my work trips, at home and at the garage when needed), at work I have a Juki DDL-8700. Won't recommend Singer or Brother since they're quite fragile to deal with leather. Industrial ones are way much better, but they will cost you a sum. 

These guys have great recommendations for upholstery: http://www.get-up-and-go.com/upholstery-forum/index.php

Fabrice i got chatting with a 76 year old upholsterer who has done the job since he was 16. He showed me his sewing machines. He has one for normal stitching and a second machine for sewing the piping. The shape of the foot on the second machine was obviously designed to go down each side of the piping. The machine that does the piping runs at a slower speed to the other one

Hi everyone,

Please can anyone tell me from where can I get this GT Shock Absorber for Fort Mustang?

Hi everyone,

Please can anyone tell me from where can I get this GT Shock Absorber for Fort Mustang?

Click to expand...

You should start your own thread and post more info. Please introduce yourself and what car you are working on. This forum deals mainly with 1971 - 1973 Mustangs. The struts in the pic look like maybe a Fox body. Most any of the automotive parts houses can supply you with the struts. You just need to take the Year, model, engine, transmission information and they can look them up. You can also go to their web sites and look them up.

My ex wife used to run a business making heavy weight curtains. She found the Brother the best for the job. Make sure you go for one that comes with its own table. Theres one similar on Ebay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350568214140

Click to expand...

aah, that brother brings back memories, my mum used to sew at home part-time work using a Brother like that. sadly she got rid of it, could have come handy for retrimming...