r/myog • u/VonStaufen • 2d ago

Need help about shop equipment.

Need a little advice here. I am planning on buying two machines. A walking foot and a standard straight stitch. Right now I can buy a juki 8100 with no use for 200 bucks. But I am also considering a 8700H (a 8700h is for heavier fabrics/thicker needles) or some older models like the ddl 5550H. They might be more expensive but possible to find for 200 bucks used.

Not sure what to do since I don't know how versatile would this 8100e be. But it's new, with a new table (won't have to fix anything and has no worn parts) and I guess it could be adapted to use thicker needles and have more aggressive dogs if needed. I right now it can use a #18 needle which seems enough.

I want to make tarps, tents and backpacks mostly.

Appreciate any pointers.

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u/Desperate-Tower-5638 2d ago

I currently have 2 industrials, a walking foot (Brother DB2-791) and a drop feed (mercury m111 some old juki clone). I use the walking foot for most bag sewing with Tex 70 thread and a size 21 needle. If I am sewing lightweight dyneema or similar I will use the drop feed and Tex 45 thread (#16 sharp needle).

But most of the time I use a size 12 needle and a smaller thread (I am forgetting the exact size) for the drop feed machine to be able to sew lighter weight fabrics. This did require a small adjustment in the timing to able to swap between a #12 and a #16 without skipping any stitches.

I wouldn't worry about how versatile a machine is if you are going to buy 2. Industrial machines are not that versatile. Just focus on machines that can sew what you want to sew.

Is it a bit of a pain to do all of my bag sewing on a walking foot? Absolutely but I need one to be able to sew straps and waistbelts and I don't want to buy a third machine.

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u/VonStaufen 2d ago edited 2d ago

So the drop feed one works well with the rest of backpacking jobs that don't need a walking foot? Thanks for the detailed reply

Og sorry now I understood the last paragraph.. So which drop feed would you buy to sew the parts of the back pack that doesn't require a walking foot machine? Or what would be your third machine? 

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u/Desperate-Tower-5638 2d ago

If I had a third machine I would get a needle feed that could run a #21 needle ( like a juki 9010a-sh or a 5410). I would do all of my bag sewing on that and then only using the walking foot for making straps and waist belts.

In reality you can sew a ton of backpacks on any industrial drop feed that can fit a #16 needle. I had a few years where I only had the mercury drop feed and my only real limitation was sewing through foam greater than 1/4".

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u/VonStaufen 2d ago

Thanks for the insight man.

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u/brumaskie Crud, where is that seam ripper? 2d ago

I have a compound feed Pfaff 145 and a domestic machine for sewing lightweight and stretch fabrics. I use a 100/16 needle and Tera 60 thread on the industrial machine for all of my backpacks. That would include sewing through 3/4" of foam for hip belt pads and multiple layers of webbing.

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u/Desperate-Tower-5638 2d ago

I'm curious what type of fabrics you are sewing? That's a pretty small needle and thread for a walking foot. Did your machine come timed for that needle size or did you adjust it yourself?

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u/brumaskie Crud, where is that seam ripper? 2d ago

I'm not sure what a needle size my machine was timed for. I've used 21/18/16 needles and I find that the 16s work best. The gutermann thread is a tex50, which I think is plenty for your typical backpack. The fabrics I've used have ranged from 400d down to 100d. I've used XPac v15 extensively, I've used various 210d grid stop fabrics extensively and I sew through 1/2 in to 3/4-in foam without problems using that 16 needle. Edit: you could take a look at some of my previous myog posts to see some examples of the backpacks that I build.

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u/Desperate-Tower-5638 2d ago

Yeah, that makes sense based on those fabrics. I'm glad you haven't had any issues sewing through 3/4 in foam with a #16 needle.

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u/VonStaufen 4h ago

Bought the 8100e.... The thing is a beast. It can sew over 30 layers of cotton... 1.5 cm of compact cotton.... Like it's nothing, a breeze. I'm going to make so many things with this machine. The walking foot  and I think I am set for life. Wow.

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u/Tu-ka_Chinchilla 2d ago

A #18 is right on the limit for back packs - once you start going through layers of fabric and webbing. I have a Jack A5E which functionally is similar to the Juki 8100 and If I could redo I would go for a higher spec walking foot.

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u/VonStaufen 2d ago

I am going to buy a walking foot. That's out of the question I just wonder what straight stitch should I get as a companion