Cheap leather sewing machine From Amazon- Any good? 

Mine came fully assembled ready to go. I hooked an electric motor to it and have never looked back. I’ve sewed everything including tarps,upholstery, bags,belts and leather 1/4 inch (6mm) thick. Keep it lubricated and it will last a lifetime.Get yourself one .you’ll never regret it

sewers note that you probably already know. when they are that complex never un-thread it. cut the thread at the spool and just tie your next thread on and pull it through from the needle end.

Dude, I swear you are the most valuable channel to anyone that does anything. I’ve had this machine for 2 years and have not come across a good video about how to assemble and use it. This is perfect. Thank you for being the absolute best!!

My wife bought me one of these things a few years back. After cranking for far too long, about 15 minutes, I decided to mount it to an old treadle sewing machine base. After putting a new table top on, that left the free arm clear, I had to add a couple pullies to redirect the drive belt. Now it seems be have become a family tool. My wife did a lot of sewing and my daughter makes hand bags. The length of the free arm is incredibly useful. Great revue and we couldn't agree with you any more.

If this machine has any issues down the road, I definitely want to know in a video. This was a great opportunity to give us an honest opinion and I feel like I can trust your judgment. I know a lot of leather crafters wouldn't lie about their reviews BUT some of them are also endorsed by the company that provides some of their machines 🤷‍♀️ so sometimes it's hard to tell if the review is genuine or not when I'm doing research. This video gives me a better idea on if I want or need a cheaper leather sewing machine now, or if I need to wait and buy a really expensive one later

The oil on the metal is usually Cosmoline, and is indeed common for shipping unpainted cast parts; even high-end table saws come covered in it

I've watched a number of videos about this machine, but Cl3ver is by far the most engaging presenter so I will gladly watch another video about this machine.

My wife bought me one of these years ago for $250 before they hit the US market. There was no option for a leather sewing machine in the US for less than a thousand dollars or so. I forgot about this machine for years and realized recently they are selling on Amazon for $100. Crazy how easy they are to get now.

Thanks! I have had one in the corner of my shop, still in the box, for probably 2 years. I was very disapponted when it arrived and I seen the condition of it, like yours, mine came in a busted up box. I looked at the condition of it and just left it and have continued to hand sew most of my leather projects. I had forgotten all about it till seeing this video, I am now inspired to actually assemble it! Thanks, again!

Little tip, I use a rare earth magnet to pull out the bobbin. With that, it comes out easily. Also, love your pros and cons for the machine. I've had similar experiences with mine. Oh, and I plastidip the foot to keep it from maring the leather.

Very informative....but, lose the loud music. By the way, the ears above the needle are for turning the walking foot so that you don't have to move your material. Just turn the foot in the direction that you want to sew, and it will stitch in that direction...without turning your material. This is how you can stitch things onto sleeves, repair shoes, bags, etc.....

Been running mine for a couple of years now, I have to admit, mine was far better looking out of the box than yours. And that screw head you had to mill down, mine was already done. I used the stand for my ice fishing camera, lol. The channels on the back of the crank wheel are where I used some white lithium grease. Just a touch is all you need and it works so smooth I barely have to make an effort to crank it.

love the video. I've had mine for over a year now. it was BEAST to get operating correctly.. it it took me weeks of tuning and fiddling to get it operating correctly. but after that. DUDE. its worth the money i saved. i have a leather business on the side and also use it to make custom camping gear and packs. its been great. i love it. if you have the time and patience to invest in getting it operating right its worth the 100$

So glad you love it since I was one of the people who voted you should get one. Looking forward to seeing what you make with it. Next step: attach a motor. I bolted a pulley onto the crank wheel to make my machine belt-driven, using a windshield wiper motor from an old Ford. Helps a lot when you want to be able to control your piece with both hands. You can probably come up with something more elegant, but that's what I had on hand. A treadmill motor would be ideal, because the range of speeds is wide and continuously adjustable.

I've had a CLSP for almost 8 years...sits in my basement...used it for a project sewing baseball gloves; I've evolved into way finer leather work and dusted it off the other day... Thanks for this reminder demo, I feel / felt the same way about it...I'm excited to using it again... Thank you!!!

Had one of these for a couple years now. I even have a video on replacing the racer bearings. This is a great video on this machine. It is not for everyone, but I works for a lot of the things I do.

"The ritual behind the work" I love all of this!

If you are mechanically inclined… you could make a foot treadle to power the machine so you can use both hands to guide your leather.

When I first started leatherworking, I considered one of these machines, but after thinking about it, decided against. Not because I didn't want to fine tune it myself, or that I thought it wouldn't work, but I considered the type of seam it creates in my leather versus a reliable saddlestitch. Once a section of your thread wears down, the whole seams comes undone, where with a saddlestitch, the remaining stitches still hold tight, giving you a chance to repair the seam without your project falling apart. How long will it take for this wearing down of the thread take? Who knows, depends on the use, but that's the main reason I did not go with one. Plus, unlike your's, my leatherworking hobby is meant to be a time-killer, hand stitching suits that. :)

Yes, I am that kind of person. I love to buy things that doesn’t work and fix them. You’re great! Thanks

1:38 im pretty sure you're right on the money! My machining professor (who worked in a machine shop for like 35 years) says that cardboard and other wood products are HUGE rust magnets because of the tannins. Anything that gets packed in cardboard, especially long term (such as something thats shipped overseas, will be sitting in a warehouse, etc,) needs a generous coating of oil, as well as some kind of isolation layer, just in case. I suspect that this is drop shipped from existing stock in china, so a heavy layer of oil and plastic wrap checks out. Not always fun to recieve, but definitely better than recieving a rusted and unusable machine!

Thank you so much for making this video. I was ready to send mine back. It's actually together and operating now. I love it! It's able to sew this denim fabric like a dream! I have lots of leather scraps i plan to sew as well. I appreciate your positive encouragement to stick with this project and not pass judgment on it until seeing how it operates. Crude, but oh so useful!

I have it myself and I love it.. Very reliable when you thread it correctly and it stiches allmost everything.

Hey Clever, I work in a kitchen. The oil coating does help prevent rust, we do whats called "seasoning the grill" where we oil it so it doesn't rust. Helps with stuff like that too. Keep up the excellent work dude love your cinematography and lighting!

I love your review! I am a hands on woman and have the fingernails to prove it. 😂i don’t mind hand sewing projects in the winter but I want a quicker alternative during busier times or when a friend needs something in a hurry. Thank you for being real! I don’t usually use affiliate links but you definitely earned it!

Hand made by a master blacksmith! That alone should make someone want to support the craft. 😀

When it comes to pulling the bobbin out of my machine I keep a magnet handy, it saves so much swearing.

I've been subscribed for a while now and just recently I realized all the work and dedication you put into each AMAZING video! You've helped me so much! Thanks!

Your enthusiasm is infectious 😁. That little machine is so darn cute. And yep that's at its most basic what a sewing machine is. You could also find yourself a handcrank regular sewing machine and have just as much fun making some outfits. I have one of these handcrank sewing machines and love it so much I've never been able to give it up (plus I bought it when a I lived on a canal barge so you didn't want to waste battery power 😂😂😂, guess its gonna come in handy now we have a power crisis 😂, who'd have thought).

Okay so for what I did with mine is polish all the bobbins makes them spin easier. Next buy a lot of the leather needles. you will go through many. Now I also made a deck for going around the lower arm. so I have better control with sewing the leather. So i think this machine is so worth it. You will need to practice with it.

QUALITY CONTENT! My machine just got delivered today, so glad I found a solid review

This motivated me to finally buy this sewing Machine. Took about 5 hours to Clean, build a stand and figure out the bobbin timing. 100% worth it. Got a few pouches sewn up that I've been holding off on due to how much I hate hand sewing. Such a time saver after getting it set up!

I see mead making is on the list, super exciting! I just did some flavoring on a batch of mead I made last month, and I always love seeing how others go about it. It's a super simple process, but is very fun to do!

Best video on the internet. Thank you so much for caring.

This should be the official assembly guide video 🏆

There’s a lot of people that like this machine! There’s also many in the community that have added electric belt-drive to them quite easily!

Dude. Old machinery is captivating. And I totally agree about the ritual of doing certain things.

The more I watch you, the more I dig your energy. At first i thought you were way over the top but now......Ya can't help but smile along with you. Keep it up.

I have a similar unit, added grip-tape around the big wheel to make the bobbin threader grip & run better!

Thank you for sharing. It’s the most detailed and informative video I have seen on this machine. 🙏🏽🔥

Loved the vid. Love your channel . Always keep it oiled. I scoured mine down, smoothed the rough edges, and gave it a coat of paint. Nylon or teflon washers on the pivot points of the rocker arms reduce wear and help it run a lot smoother/quieter. I've sewn plenty of holster leather with it even going up to the size 24 needles and 207 thread. There's just a little DIY and a learning curve. Filing down the teeth on the presser foot a bit is a big help on relieve the marks it leaves. My only wish would be a bigger bobbin for stitching belts. I've wasted a hunnerd bucks on a lot worse gadgets. Enjoy :)

I was looking online yesterday at these. I felt uncomfortable about threading it but after watching your video I may buy one . I think I’d enjoy it.fantastic video . Thank you. I BOUGHT ONE. THANK YOU. I HOPE FROM WATCHING YOU I CAN SEW SOME NICE LEATHER couch covers .

Shout out to the man. Thank you so much for the details. Still waiting for mine to arrive...come on already Amazon. I've been through most every 'tube video on these and they cover much the same stuff. But thanks yours is the first for me to show how to adjust the walking foot stitch length. That's going to be a game changer. You have probably already found out that the work piece can stay in position and the needle barrel with foot can rotate clockwise or counter to change stitching direction. Beauty! Thanks again

I just happened on this video. Never knew these machines existed but I think I will need to get one! Thanks for the great instructional review!

I don't know what I liked more... the great information or watching this cute AF highly animated, eclectic dude go at it. The hands and facial exoressions crazy fun!

Really a great video! I'd just discovered your channel maybe a month or two ago, and been digging into the videos further and further back. The judgement on whether one should get this or wait for a more professional machine clicked in my brain, as my kids and I are reading Fellowship of the Ring, and just got to the part I like where Frodo essentially says "Go not to the Elves for counsel for they will answer both no and yes" 🤣

This is good to know. I had looked at this machine, but was hesitant, so this is cool to see! Thanks, Clever!

you don't want the mid-arm support if you are going to cobble. You need to insert the arm into the shoe.

I have one of these. Sure it's rough and nothing even approaching modern, but it's also just a hundred bucks. Once you deburr, clean, and grease it it's a hell of a lot faster and cleaner than hand stitching for about the same price as a good set of punches. It's obviously not as good as a several thousand dollar industrial sewing machine but for what it is it's great.

I can't wait for mine to show up

great video! can't imagine many people getting this thing working, let alone, liking it. it's strangely attractive and I love the simplicity

Thanks just what I needed to decide if I am going to buy it

I had decided not to get one of these but now you're making me reconsider

Thank you for the awesome video I love how simple the machine is just like you and To me that has a lot of benefits you can literally see how the machine is running and therefore if something's not running correctly you can follow the path and figure out why without paying somebody to do it for you. I very much appreciate that there are experts in fields and items but sometimes it's nice when you can do things on your own

Do you have any plans to make an update video on the the machine is doing? Any problems that have cropped up, and any further mods you have made to it.

Thanks, I've been wondering about this thing for a long time.

These machines are absolutely great. I have used a weaver 205, which is 3k easy, and bought one of these a few years back because the weaver wasn’t at my house and I’m a lazy lazy boy. These beasts can handle just as many, if not more, than the weaver. Getting used to keeping lines straight with one hand is a hurdle, BUT you can easily modify it to have a motor! Just buy an Amazon motor, attach a sewing machine pedal, groove the hand wheel, throw on a belt and bam, you saved $2800. Plus you can detach the motor if you’re going to an event or lose power. Best investment ever. Edit: I put a groove in the hand wheel for a belt with a dremel bit socketed into a battery drill. The battery drill stands up, so I just scooted the drill to the wheel, pulled the trigger, and just spun the hand wheel to start the groove. It’s not the most fun task ever, but it’s insanely worth it. Also take off the hand crank if you’re using the motor or you’ll hit yourself with it repeatedly, trust me lol

Thanks for doing this video! I do saddle repair, want to branch out into making other leather goods, and wanted an alternative to endless hand stitching without breaking the bank for an expensive machine. I got one of these, but sent it back due to a number of missing parts (like yours, mine came in a box that was comprehensively mangled, which may have been the reason for the missing parts). I was dubious about ordering another, but after watching this, I'm going to give it a try. Thanks again - great information!

Don't know if anyone mentioned this but, like some of the older machines you can run the string thought one of the tension wheels while you are trying to put string on the bobbin. That way you don't need to hold it in tension and can just focus on distributing the string evenly on it.

I use a strong magnet that I took from a scrap hard drive to (very easily) remove the shuttle & bobbin. I am a retired sewing machine mechanic so I figured it all out for myself and made a workable stand. However, there are plenty of youtube videos like this so that anyone can get this machine working. One thing you did not mention is the universal directional feed by rotating the two 'wing nut' thingummies. Good video, thanks.

oh man, thanks for posting this video. I was thinking about purchasing one, as my hands are still sore from my last hand stitching project, but was worried about the mixed reviews ive seen. yes hand stitching is a pain in the ass! thanks again

Im a machine mechanic.. im sold after your in depth video.

Your carpentry skills make me happy.

*looks at the 15x15 canvas drop cloth ive had for 10 years* *also looks at the various scraps of leather i have laying about* *also the 5 lbs of beeswax and 20 lbs of parafin wax* Yep, its on the list

i never considered buying this until i saw your video, thanks!

I love mine! It is capable of so much

I'm developing arthritis in my hands, and for a maker, that's practically a death knell when you do a lot of hand-stitching in leather. This machine looks amazing, and I can actually *afford* it! I'd definitely do the same or similar mods that you did for stability and preventing wear on parts like the base mounting. Having it on a big wooden plate makes it simple to move around my workspace, too. Thanks for the informative video!

thank you for doing this video,very helpful!😻

Awesome video! thank you so much for uploading this content!

I just love your enthusiasm its so nice to see ......keep it up ......

I have one of these. Your video is excellent. It helped me. Thanks.

Mate I've got a tip for ya , that little wire with the hook on the end , if you get a old guitar string and bend the end and chop it to size you have a feeder thing . My late wife got me to make her them . Great stuff mate 👍

This guy is REALLY GOOD! Brilliant instruction. Bravo.

Just got mine about a week ago. So far, cleaning and threading the bobbin took the longest but now I am facing the issue of thread breakage. I’m sure I’m doing something wrong and I’ll figure it out but I love this thing already. Kudos to all the hobbyists who have the patience to fully use this thing.

Thanks buddy!!! I really enjoy your videos! I just got one of these and followed what you did

Oddly enough the way you fill the bobbin on that machine used to be considered a very be considered a very big feature because you didn't have to hand wine the bobbin like that's how we used to fill our bobbins we hand wound them at 1st. That also made it harder to control the tension of power the thread was wound onto the bobbin which led to more mistakes and not as good looking stitches.... Although the bobbin can make minor differences in your world it can occasionally decide occasionally decide as to whether or not a sewing project will turn out or be total garbage... For some machines there is attention screw included on most of the bobbin cases for some machines it's more of an automatic thing but I imagine for that machine there's gonna be some kind of tension screw and if you start having issues with your thread nesting nesting on winding really fast being really fast on winding not slow enough if the stitches are too tight or too loose it could have something to do with the bobbin case

Love this video. I am always on the lookout for products that can do modern things without modern conveniences like electricity. This looks like a great buy/investment for future off grid/minimal grid living. Link shows product currently not available. But, I found another similar machine in the suggestions for $130 that has a leather working kit with it. Seems like a good deal as I don’t have any leather working tools yet and will need a starter kit. Thanks for the great videos delivered with enthusiasm and honesty. Grab your ketchup and crunch away.

You're awesome, dude. Every time I hear the Skill Tree intro music I feel happy.

I need to get a cylinder arm to top stitch my bags but I'm not handy but man I wish I was because of hand cranking it you have more control on how fast it goes and it would probably look better. Thanks for sharing!

This is really cool. Something I will look into.

Thanks man. Great video!

now you got me thinking of making the old school leather style saddlebags for my motorcycle

You definitely got one that had been returned or something. We got the same machine and all the little parts were neatly in a bag and everything was packed nicely.

it's definitely a larp/museum type machine, but, it works. when set up it dies have the antique looking quality

So I bought one of these like the week I saw this video when it was first posted, and I'm just now getting it set up. I actually got an old table and cut a hole in it for the wheel so it sits lower down. Gonna thread her up tomorrow and see how she does!

u have no idea how much i needed this video, adding to my cart rn (using your link ofc ;))

I really like how excited you get. I've seen a few other videos and your zeal is infectious. Oh, I meant that to sound like a good thing.

Just got the same machine and came here for setup instructions. Which is neat, cause we already followed you!

Thanks for that. All good to know.

I absolutely love that machine.I am going to look into getting one. I am a 'hobbyist', and money is always in short supply; I think This machine will be perfect for me. Thank you for the video.

I was literally looking at this machine just now. Also your chanel is 🔥🔥🔥🔥. I was telling my GF last night how I want to make a chanel very similar. Me doing projects I find cool. Leather, sewing, epoxy, watch modding etc. This might be the push I needed.

Great video. I just found out about this machine and thought I would like one. Now I really want one. I don't do well hand sewing leather... never can keep my stitch line straight. Thank you for the entertaining and very informative video.

Excellent video mate! Thank you very much for such informative and cool video! Keep the good work and good fights! Cheers from "Down Under" !

Great video. Thanks for an honest review.

I have the exact same machine, and you are 100% correct about everything. The only advice I can give is put some lock tite on the crank nut and bolt. It likes to work loose with use

I have one it runs like a dream

Thx for the video! I think I'll get one... I really like the "Pirate-style" background!

Watched a couple of your videos today, you earned my subscription, great work all the way around.

great video. i just assembled mine last weekend, and i do not like the cheap flimsy legs. so i will be using your idea to make a stand for mine. i cant wait to get mine up and running 100%, it is going to be a time saver for stitching.

I just subscribed to the channel and bought one of those machines. Should work great with canvas. In a previous video you used grommets... I recently bought a grommet press that was in a similar situation. Very rough castings, oily as heck, in other words, not pretty. But after a bit of filing, and base securing it works great. Came with the three dies and a bunch of grommets. The grommets are cheap, but the whole thing was less than 80 bucks if I recall. That sewing machine is a good DEAL! I plan on hooking up a belt and motor to drive the wheel. I have an old sewing machine for the foot peddle parts, tee hee. Thanks for the inspiration.