Sewing machine question for riggers

[dumstuntzz 0]

i understand the difference between a machine w/ dog feed and a machine w/walking foot .but which one is better overall?which one will produce the least amount of shrinkage??

[riggergreg 0]

What material are you wanting to sew?

[dumstuntzz 0]

mostly canopy fabric,but also occasionally a layer or two of cordura.

[KevinMcGuire 0]

First off, all machines are dog fed in one way or another but the asnwer I think your looking for is...

Walking foot machines are better for heavier work such as multiple layers of courdura and webbing. Standard feed or needle feed machines are better for light work such as ZP or F111.

If you plan to do more work on light materials than heavy, then I'd say stay with a standard feed or needle feed.

Walking foot machines rarely work well on very light weight materials but with a standard feed machine, you'll still be able to do moderate to "kinda heavy" work with good results
K

[milehighpres 0]

i have a 206-rb5. and there is a walking presser foot as well as a feed dog. walking presser foot on top and a feed dog on the bottom. the 206-rb5 is a medium weight machine.

"the sky is not the limit....the ground is"

[KevinMcGuire 0]

The difference between a "heavy" walking foot and a "medium" or "light" walking foot is really just a matter of what type of hook set up the machine has. If the hook is horizontal, meaning you'd have to lay the bobbins flat into the hook race from a door on top of the sewing bed, then it is typically considered a heavy machine. If the the hook assembly is in a vertical configuration meaning the bobbin is first inserted into a bobbin case, then bobbin and case are both inserted under the sewing bed and onto the hook race vertically from the bottom of the machine, then the machine is considered "light" duty. Why is this? Beats me. I've asked this same question of many machine manufactures and there answers never satisfy. O.K. What ever.
I have a "Light duty" walking foot machine that out performs any "heavy" duty walking foot machine I have have ever owned and I've owned quite a few of them. I sold all the heavy ones and kept my light duty walking foot.

On thin slippery plys of material such as f111, zp, taffeta, silk, ect..., the vibrating feet or "walking" presser feet as they are more commonly referred to, tend to cause excessive amounts of bunching. Of course every machine is different and undoubtedly some one out there has a heavy machine that does great work on light materials but that machine would be the exception to the rule, not the norm.
K