Well, folks I have dived into this leather thing deep. I just purchased a 125lb. industrial leather sewing machine. It’s huge, sitting on its own caster wheels. The whole thing came on a 325lb. pallet. Sits about 4 1/2 feet high.
This is the preferred machine for professional saddle makers and is capable of sewing leather up to 3/4″ thick. It’s clearly overkill for making little harmonica pouches, but it will allow me unlimited growth moving forward.
Thing is, it takes me the better part of a day to hand-stitch a 9″ x 12″ tool roll. With this baby I can do the same job in minutes. This provides my aching, aging finger joints and back a real relief and allows me to price my products to be much more affordable.
Don’t worry, though, there are many items that just can’t be stitched with a sewing machine, like my wet-formed diatonic cases or my chromatic cases. Plus, if you truly appreciate the beauty and strength of hand-stitching, I will always offer that service.