Was looking into rolling my own stuff. From garment alterations, to pouches, belts, bags, and whatever else.
I've seen some Juki 8700s and 9000s for sale for a not so bad price,  but that price still stings. And it's single stich, which still might be ok.
Was looking at the Janome MC6650. Its a little cheaper, has more stitching options and presser feet options. Also seems capable to do dual stitching. Can do some bartacking, which is nice to have without a dedicated machine. Just not sure how strong it is, although I know it can sew several multiple layers of 8ply denim.

What recommendations are there for something thats strong enough, and versatile, without breaking the bank too much?
Bias binding option would be a plus as well.

perhaps one for leather

I had a friend who had a really old Singer machine that would sew leather not sure of the model but it was before they had all the fancy stitch options just a really basic machine

possible

I have an old singer machine. I dont know the model...it has the decorative end table that the machine folds into.
One of the old black iron singers. It doesn't work. Ive never used it. Power cord is dry rotted into peices. But id like something a bit more modern

Why not replace the cord and give it a go? Old stuff tends to work.  I don't know what model you have, but I'd give it a shot.  I am an electrician, but this shouldn't be a difficult project.  If you think that's beyond your capabilities, send it to me.  I'll fix it and send it back for the cost of shipping.

A home sewing machine, a selection of shirt patterns, and some lighter fabric are an excellent combination to learn sewing fundamentals.

If you want to stack the deck in your favor and have some expectation of success, while not hobbling your learning curve with a less than optimal machine, get an industrial compound feed sewing machine for stitching gear as we know it.

Concern yourself not with name brand.  Juki, Brother, Consew, Durkopp Adler, and others all make an industrial compound feed machine.  Probability is high that the right machine is in a metropolis near you for well $1,000.

A DDL-8700 is a wonderful industrial machine for high speed light apparel production.  It's awful for bags or pouches.

The same crowd that pushes HBARs and 10x12 plates will incorrectly suggest that a DNU-1181 is a compound feed machine.  It's not.

A Brother LS-2, a Juki LU-563 (maaaaaybe a 562), a Consew 255 (206 just doesn't have the chompy chomp sometimes necessary to maintain stitch length over humps and, like a 1541, has the less desirable horizontal bobbin), an Adler 467 or 767, Juki 22XX and 28XX are all excellent machines for the application.  Double check the subclass and make sure it's not something odd.

There's no substitute for a proper industrial, compound feed, single needle, flat bed sewing machine for stitching gear.  It's seductive to think there's this, "one weird trick," of a lesser sewing machine that will stitch gear correctly.  It is akin to buying a Home Depot 110v wire feed welder and and trying to 1/2" steel.

Ha ha yeah this is truth being laid down here.  IMHO the optimum sewing machine for nylon tactical gear is a Juki 8700H.  Around 850-ish.  This gives you a nice set up for cordura and webbing and so forth.  Yes maybe a little pricey but like a lot of other things, you waste a few hundred dollars on a less capable machine before you realize what you really need.  Things to look for.  A machine that will take at least a size 18 needle, with 20-21 being preferable.  And of course at least no 69 nylon bonded thread.  Heavy duty feed dogs and needle plate.  At least 3/8" presser foot lift.  Low speed motor.  This is longer the issue it was.  With the new servo motors you can turn the speed way down until you learn how to stitch (bitch).  

Find one of the current parachute rigger manuals.  I used Dan Poynter's classic (vol 1 especially), but Sandy Reid's new manual is very good as well.  All the sew tips, materials and so forth are directly applicable to load bearing equipment.

Lotsa guys use heavier walking foot machines but I've always been partial to ye old single feed machines.   I would stay away from any plastic sewing machine, regardless of price range.  These work great for typical home projects in cotton but usually don't have enough ass for our stuff.  

You can also get many attachments/specialty parts for the 8700 series.   Things like "zipper" foots for tight spaces, binding tape folders, both bolt on and in bed, and so forth.  These things are dirt cheap compared to what they charge the typical home sewer for their plastic machines.  And go figure.

I need to learn sewing.

There are two things I have to have altered including my plate carrier should straps and frankly I'm dreading having to go into a tailor here in town and ask them to do it for me since I know they'll look at me like I'm some weirdo for asking for a plate carrier to be altered.

Diz is for real.
I picked up the Juki 8700H a couple years back and it is a great balance of cost/capabilities. I think I paid $799, but they are currently going for around $850.

Steve at Sewing Gold would be a great dude to order from, if you are going new.
My buddy just ordered one from him and did the motor upgrade, but skipped the needle synchronizer.

I wanted to get mine to run even slower while I first learned. So I swapped out the factory pulley on the servo motor to a 1 1/2" and shorter belt to match.

Switch the servo motor down to 300rpm and pretty much anybody can run the thing.

It's a beast and can sew through just about anything you can fit under the presser foot.

I've sewn through plastic with mine, making reinforced mag pouches. It goes through 1/32" hdpe like it's barely there, with a size 21 needle and 69 thread.

I use mine mostly for making my slings and it does a good job.

In the last 2 years, I've probably put more than 60,000 yards of thread through mine and it is going strong.

I hate to side track this talk of high dollar sewing machines, but do u really need a $800 Juki to just sew webbing for slings and such?  I know, if I start there, I will just end up wanting to make bigger projects, but I don’t have the time or patience for that. Something to simply sew doubled over webbing would be all I want. Preferably sub $200. Any thoughts?

Your bare minimum is going to be something like a Singer 31-15.  A household machine just won't work for different thicknesses and materials.

Like the AR and M1911, Singer made millions of them starting in the 1910s.  The United States military bought them by the thousands in WWII for Quartermaster parachute riggers, fabric repair, and bath and laundry units.  In civilian industry it was called "The Tailor's Machine."

Most don't look this good:



You can find one (or its equivalent knock-off made by a dozen other companies) for around $300 with a table and electric motor (check your local craigslist -- there's one near me for $145).  It was so common (and copied-cloned) that different manufacturer's parts will all fit.

Once you start building thicker stuff you will want to transition to a walking foot machine.  I bought a Consew RB 206-3 from a gal getting a divorce from a family upholstering business for $600 complete.

Here's a link to the FAA Parachute Rigger's Handbook.  It's got lots of good information on materials as well.  There's a chart in the sewing machine section that shows you the equivalent machine across different brands:  FAA Parachute Rigger's Handbook

I have a Singer Consew 225 in my basement right now.
It's a monster. Never used it yet and I think it would take my arm off...

Attached File

Yes.  $800 will get you into a proper compound feed machine.

Apparel machines, like the 8700, are suitable for apparel and will not be found on a professional pouch or bag making line.

One can consistently ring a 300 yard gong with a pistol.  It doesn't mean it's the right tool for the job.

8700s are excellent apparel machines.  They're not suitable for gear as we know it.

I have a couple singer 111w models, a 107w sig zag. The old industrials are real heavy duty machines. I’ve made backpacks, chest rigs, and various other shooting bags. I’ve also made a couple anoraks with crye precision stretch multicam on a nearly 100 year old singer 96-47. I’ve made enough making and selling items to pay for all of the machines. That being said, a modern machine with reverse is invaluable for both time savings and ease of use. Once I make enough I will eventually buy a Juki walking foot. You can make just about anything with an old singer 95 or 96, you just might have to use the hand wheel for thick layers of fabric/webbing. Modern home machines are more difficult to fix and repair because more parts are plastic and cheap.

Sailrite Appentice

Well, on the topic of suitable sewing machines.  Ideally you would want to be in the mid-range of your machine's capability, so when we sew all our goofy shit, there is a nice reserve for when you decide to sew that really thick build-up.  To WTF's point, for production sewing of all this stuff, something like the Consew 206 series really rocks out.  So if you're trying to make a buck at this, that is a machine to consider.  Where I would beg to differ with him, would be for the knucklehead DIY guys like us, who tear apart and modify all our shit, just cuz.  This is where the 8700 series really shines.  Regardless of what class machine and what it was really intended to do, this kind of machine has proven to work well for many stitch bitches over the years.  Taking as a starting point that you can damn-near use any sewing machine to make this stuff (and there are a shit-load of guys that have posted their stuff online to prove this), where you have plastic home sewing machines on one end, and walking foot industrials on the other, I think the 8700 series strikes a really good balance between capability, ease of sewing, and maybe price.  

So if you are a young, entrepreneur, what WTF is saying certainly makes a lot of sense; it is conventional wisdom that most guys in the biz are using what he recommends.  But if you're like me and just can't find that right pouch, so you're gonna do it yourself, I think the 8700 is money.  That is why I tell most guys who ask to get one of these things.  It's much easier to learn on, can do about 90-95% of what the bigger machines do, and can actually sew in some tighter spaces (especially with a "zipper" foot) than a walking foot.  So for repairs, modifications, one-off stuff, it rocks out.  But for production runs, not so much.  

I used machines very similar to it (the old Mitsubushi 130 series) in a paraloft setting for many years.  You have to make lots of repairs to canopies and containers (and some times harnesses) which require getting into tight spaces, sewing "vertically", and being able to join anything from parachute nylon to cordura and webbing.  If I was using "E" thread (No. 69) I was usually on a machine of this type.  We only used walking foots like a Consew for "3-Cord" thread, and a "Class 7" Singer 7-33 for "5-cord" harness work.  I only point this out because all the materials and techniques (not to mention machines) are directly transferrable to tactical nylon work.  So if it's a "one-off" piece, this machine handles it very well.

On the other hand, when I worked at Bianchi/Gregory, here you would do a production run of say 10K gun belts.  So you would have maybe 10 different machines set up for sub-assemblies, with each machine tuned to whatever was being made underneath it.  This is what I think WTF is really referring to, when he says the walking foot is the way to go.  And it is, when you're doing production batch work like this.  You would get a tub of say 50, and work your way through it; one particular sewing lay up, all week!  The walking foot is king for this.

This is in contrast to the way I usually sew, which is one guy, one machine, one complete item at a time.  This is a complete waste of time for a real production facility!  And I found out the hard way, being good at custom sewing for your buddies is light years away from what they do there.  So I thank the whole crew there for putting up with me as long as they did.

Bottom line here I see apples n oranges being discussed, where what a very professional OEM sew shop recommends is not necessarily what the solo stitch bitch would recommend.  Two different worlds really; lots of overlap, but radically different ways of operating.