What kind of sewing machine for webbing?

[Father]

I'm guessing you need something with a little more punch when sewing through webbing and such.

Withouth breaking the bank, does anyone know of a good, easy-to-work machine?

 

[tomfcrist]

Without breaking the bank...not really.

I'm lucky enough to still be active duty...so I have the Parachute Riggers sew my stuff up....costs me a can of coke.

 

[mrfixitchapman]

Depends on how much work you are going to do. And how much money are you willing to spend. I have a Sailrite sailmaker's sewing machine. If you are only doing a few inches of stitching it isn't worth it to spend that much money. And it takes a while to set up the machine and adjust it for each project. I don't mind doing all of that if I have to stitch a few hundred feet of zigzag seams. For smaller stuff I use a Speedy Stitcher

Amazon.com : Stewart Manufacturing Company 200 Speedy Stitcher Sewing Awl - Clampack : Boating Tools : Sports & Outdoors

I use V92 polyester thread for most of my work


Amazon.com: UV Resistant Polyester Thread for Outdoor Leather Upholstered ITEM4EVER Brand (Large, Black): Arts, Crafts & Sewing

But if you only have a small project or it involves several layers of different materials I hand stitch using the '2-needle harness stitch'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrgY9Oftv4Q

I frequently use an awl for creating the holes for the harness stitching. Using the 2-needle method lets me position the knot so that it is buried halfway through the thickness of the materials.

DC

 

[tbone1004]

best ones are actually the old heavy duty singers. You can get them for around $100 on craigslist in the US. Singer actually makes a new one that will hold up to light use.

 

[rhwestfall]

a visit to a sail maker, shoe maker, etc.

unless you are talking production work - that is the best value....

if stitched is not a requirement, "double width" sliders are a great alternative...

 

[Rich Keller]

You might get away with using a standard machine if you can use seat belt webbing instead. Or forget the sewing machine and just pop rivet the webbing together. This works well for standard weight belt webbing or if you want something simpler like a stand by harness you can use seat belt webbing.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I do some stuff but not enough to warrant the cost of a machine. I just sew by hand using carpet needles, a leather palm pad, pair of needle nose pliers, and heavy duty nylon thread. But then I used to sew a lot of jeans and stuff when I was younger. Heck used monofilament fishing line for buttons. They never come off .

---------- Post added January 7th, 2015 at 05:00 PM ----------

Gives me an idea for the next project. Spider wire Fishing Braid, Superline, Stealth | Spiderwire®

 

[rhwestfall]

used monofilament fishing line for buttons.

or waxed dental floss.....

 

[mrfixitchapman]

I've used SpiderWire on a few projects. I don't like the way it knots compared to polyester V92. Same opinion about monofilament. It works okay, but I like the V92 better. I only used dental floss once. It did not last, but on that project I had to re-do it anyway. I also use waxed whipping twine sometimes. Easy to use, knots very well, last a long time.

Whipping Twine

I generally use #4, sometimes #8. Both work really well with the Speedy Stitcher.

DC

 

[Father]

Looking only to do small things like attaching quick-release buckles, rings, etc.

I've been using the gliders and they're good for some things I've done but work for a few other things I want to try.

This is the sort of stuff I'd like to be able to do.