Very minimal and poorly written instructions if you're not experienced sewer. I had watched several YouTube videos prior to purchase and one brand is same as another basically. If it has an issue, your best recourse is to search YouTube. Otherwise, for the money, it is serviceable, it will sew thru very thick leather, and requires just a few tweaks to get it in great shape. Strongly suggest building a stand or mounting it to something sturdy. Tripod legs aren't too great. I actually saw someone who had built a fitted tabletop to give a flat surface for when more straight stitching is needed which seems like an option I may explore.

I bought this fully expecting to have to muck about with it to get it to sew. I did. It did.
I have learned that:
Smoothing the bobbing shuttle is mandatory.
Smoothing the bobbin is mandatory.
Tweaking the timing, and needle depth is mandatory.
The bobbin cover smooth out of the box.
The foot will rip up tooled leather out of the box, but, if you smooth the teeth too much, it doesn't grab the leather to pull it through. A 3d printed PLA (or, better yet, PETG) foot works well.
The slightest variation from the ideal state WILL result in a popped thread, but, it is not terribly difficult to fix.
For the most part, it just sews, once you get it dialed in to your needle, thread, and leather combination.

I've hand stitched leather for years, usually with linen thread, an awl, and two needles, but I have also declined to make quite a few products due to the time and effort that hand stitching requires. For saddles, tight areas, special work, and a traditional look, hand stitching can be the answer, but long belt edges, apparel, and several other items can do very well with machine stitching. I long planned to set up my old treadle sewing machine, but never have found a good place to put it. To get some kind of solution, at long last, I looked online for a compact sewing machine that would make a good stitch, not a chain stitch. I soon found this Chinese design for cobblers. Next, of course, I had to find out if people thought that it was good. On YouTube, I watched a presenter punch easily through two layers of very thick leather, and several people said that it was worth purchasing. Thus, I went ahead and got the black model of the BEAMNOVA Leather Cobbler Sewing Machine.

The machine isn't entirely small and light in weight, but it is quite good in that regard. It is quite easy to move around, push out of the way, or pack up to go places, which my treadle machine won't do. Not needing electricity is a great advantage in many circumstances, and it sets up almost anywhere in a minute or two. It can be run fast, spacing very well and easily making straight lines, or it can be turned slowly with the most deliberate placement of every stitch. It easily penetrates thick leather, and it works smoothly with other materials both fine and coarse. I haven't yet tried it with a thin needle and delicate fabrics, but that's on the list. It has a long, narrow bed, which is very handy for maneuvering around oddly shaped work pieces and for placing the needle plate deep inside of hollow pieces, such as shoes, archery quivers, arm bands, and the like.

Some people complain about its light, quite loose-jointed tripod, insisting that this part needs to be immediately replaced, but I disagree. It will easily tip if one mounts the machine as some videos show, for reasons I can't fathom, with a single leg under the body. This offers almost no resistance to a tip. On the contrary, tripod mounting becomes comfortably stable if one rotates the pleasantly strong mounting bracket to put two legs under the body and centers the weight of the machine between the two legs. The factory provided slots do permit this positioning. Spread the legs wide, and, even though the legs are a bit loose, the machine will sit nicely for stable use, or so I have found to be true. Since lifting the machine can allow legs to fall off, I lift any two legs at one time, leaving the third leg on the floor, and rotate the machine to move it a foot or two in whatever direction, but I take off the legs (not the bracket) to move the machine any large distance, and then just slip the legs on again. Using the factory tripod in a way that gives good support and balance, as described, keeps everything simple, compact, lighter in weight, easy to set up and break down, easy to transport, and easy to use in small spaces.

I wanted try out the thick threads that I have used for hand stitching, but I quickly found that a size 110/18 needle cannot hold the 7-strand linen thread that I often use, nor can that thread fit through the bobbin holes. Then, naively, I tried loading up Tandy waxed hand stitching thread (about .5mm diameter, near T-240 in size). I was able to coerce it through the needle by shaving the end thinly, and it easily routed through the bobbin holes. After trying some stitches with that, things bound up and the thread broke, in numerous tries. That led me to look up thread thicknesses that can be used with particular needle sizes, as well as to see how thick a needle I might be able to find in the "universal" type (known as Groz-Beckert 130/705, HAx1, or 15x1), which this machine uses. I also learned that one never uses waxed thread in a sewing machine (since it gums things up), nor thread so thick in a size 18 needle. I wiped down the thread route with a paper towel lightly sprayed with WD-40, cleaned all holes involved, and loaded some T-70 thread instead. Everything again worked fine. I'll continue to experiment with needles and thread thicknesses, but it is great to have a sturdy, compact, powerful, manually driven, heavy duty sewing machine that is ready to go in almost no time at all, and that I don't need to handle with kid gloves.

Got this in the mail this morning. Took a little trial and error to get it working but seems to work just fine. The legs are sturdy enough to use until I build a table for it. The most annoying thing about it is the oil that is on it to keep it from rusting. I'd suggest getting some rubbing alcohol and rags for it and wipe it down first thing. Also get some 3 in 1 oil for the moving parts. Sets a little low on the stand but I'm short anyway and the height is good for the crank. I found that if I put the thread on the floor instead of on the holder that it comes with it works better and doesn't break the thread.

They say, "you get what you pay for," and to a degree that holds true. If you're looking for a perfect machine for $130 that is just going to amaze you when you open the box, you should look elsewhere. If you don't mind some tinkering and adjusting this machine will be a useful addition. There are videos all over YouTube to help you get up and running. Also, listen when everyone says to build a stronger base. The one included isn't worth assembling.