Takin' The Plunge

It’s pretty daunting, trying to try to determine what type of industrial sewing machine you need, where the heck you’re going to find it and how the heck you’re going to pay for it.

All the time, keeping in mind that quality used industrial sewing machines are usually at least thirty years old and you better hope to find one that has been well maintained and serviced.

It seemed that every machine on ebay was touted as “heavy duty” and could sew leather.

Not so.

On craigslist, I found an industrial Adler cylinder arm machine that seemed like it might fit the bill. Off to Connecticut, drivin’ through the remnants of the previous night’s snowstorm, to do some negotiatin'.

I have to admit, firin’ up the Adler was a bit intimidating. Fortunately, after searching the internet, I found an online manual with the threading pattern. I didn’t find this a particularly intuitive process and between threading and tension adjustments, it can get pretty frustrating to figure out.

After drawing and sewing up a few of paint tarp totes, I took a leap and ordered some canvas, to continue the process. I had some scrap leather and copper rivets from previous projects, so I was able to cut handles.