DDahl

I bought a 1508NH that had a similar uneven stitch problem. It turned out to be the surface finish on the tension disks. The quick solution was to use a piece of leather and jeweler's rouge to polish the contact surfaces of the tension disks to a mirror finish. Problem solved! These machines are designed for course thread. However the thread that I typically use has different friction characteristics. This creates a jerking because of the change between static and dynamic friction on the threads. Polished disks solve the problem. I find that I have to polish the disks periodically when the stitch quality starts to decline. Dave

My new 1508NH had irregular tension problems. In my case it turned out to be the tension disks. I removed them and polished them to a mirror finish with Jeweler's rouge. Problem solved. Juki probably got the parts from China. Dave

I assume you have read this article from Campbell: http://campbell-bosworth.com/articles/Corner-Stitching.pdf It looks like it would take a lot of practice to get really good at it. Quick question: Since you have a Campbell Randall, how do you like its top and bottom stitching? I have heard that the stitch quality can be very nice, and that the bottom stitches can look almost as good as the top. I have found matching upper and lower stitch quality is a real challenge with my 441 clone: 277 through two 10 oz layers of leather (finished side outward). I am considering adding a Campbell Randall to my machine collection in the near future. Thanks, Dave

There is a neat trick to skiving thin leather that I discovered. Go down to your home supply store (home of de pot) and buy a 1" wide roll of Scotch blue delicate surface painters tape (#2080). Now attach a strip to the top edge (finished side) of the leather you want to skive. Trim the ends off close to the end of the leather piece. The tape is very slippery on top and solves and sticking problems nicely. The tape firms up the leather a bit and makes it slide through the skiver like butter. I routinely skive chrome tan leather to a thickness of 0.015" for wallets without the skiver ever eating up the leather. be sure to remove the tape right after you skive it. This with a correctly adjusted skiver (as describe above) will change your world with thin sticky leathers. Dave

Keystone Sewing Machine Company handles both Consew and Seiko (among others). Their 206RB style critical parts are all Seiko or Japan made. Your Seiko is very forgiving. Unlike the 206RB it has a special plate to prevent side deflection of the upper walking foot system. Unlike machines like the Juki 1541S equivalent you can always remove the bobbin case once the needle has cleared the stitch plate (very nice feature). Also you can actually start sewing with only about 1" of thread coming out of the bobbin case even when it hasn't actually been pulled up through the stitch plate (e.g. just dangling under the machine's bed - don't try that with a Juki). I view the Seiko as a real bargan! Japan quality at around a Chinese clone price. I assume you have a Seiko manual. It is very well written and covers all the adjustments in detail. I would suggest that checking and adjusting your machine using this manual will insure you the greatest longterm satisfaction with your Seiko. Remember, no machine ever arrives perfectly adjusted (ignore the dealer claims), and learning how to adjust it successfully yourself is your best insurance that it will be the best it can be.

I have the same model seiko. Seiko is actually a sewing machine manufacturer in Japan. At one time they made the Consew 206RB for Consew (who is only a renaming distributer like Baby Lock). Consew in recent years turned to 206RB Chinese clones of the Seiko (cost?). Make sure that you try to buy critical parts like hooks and tensioners from Seiko or at least make sure they are stamped made in Japan (much higher quality). Same advice goes for any 206RB clone owners.

I have a Claes 30, and with 180 (24) needles or larger (if you can find them) it will sew a great stitch with 207 (top and bottom) through about 1/2" of leather. Unlike the Singers its stitch length doesn't vary as a function of material thickness. Even have managed to mount a swing down guide for use when needed. It's a great machine that is VERY useful for its unique capabilities on the RARE occasions their needed. However, the price is way high and I sometimes view it as a piece of jewelry. Dave

The Tennessee Attachment Company makes custom binders of any type for special applications (e.g. heavy leather). From what I've read you would need to provide a sample of what you want and specifically what machine you are using. They will build a binder that will work the way you want it to. However, it will cost you $300 or more for the binder. Worth it if it solves your problems. http://tennattachment.com/index.html Dave

I have two EPS driven machines. The error you mention is generally caused by the machine turning too slowly. This is because the servo uses a time delay test to protect your fingers and the machine from an open loop situation (position sensor not working properly). If it takes too long to get to the stop point the servo gives up turns off EPS and flags and error. A quick test to see if this is the problem is to set the max speed of your machine to 10 or above. If the problem goes away you have found the issue. Then just slow the max speed down to where the servo stops positioning properly and speed it up a notch. You can also inflict this problem on yourself if you change the belt reduction ratio to slow the machine further. If this results in the position sensor taking too long to hit the target, the servo will throw in the towel and flag the error. Ask me how I know. Dave

http://store.keysew.com/catalog/product/815f974e1b0d421c8157ee348034126c Keystone has drop down roller guides for the 206rb5 for around $170. Check the above link. Dave

No. The painters tape I recommended does NOT appear to leave any residue on the finished leather surface, and it is very easy to remove (thank 3M). I think you will find if you try this tape that it is a total win-win for skiving thin and flexible leathers. Dave

I have a Cobra NP4 Skiving machine (a lower feed only Fortuna style skiver). Obtaining nice skives with thin chrome tan leathers has been a problem. I finally developed an easy trick that seems to work and that you may find useful too! Just attach a piece of blue painters tape to the top surface of the edge of leather to be skived. The tape acts to rigidize the leather and it also acts to reduce the top friction of the leather to make it feed much easier. The best painters tape I have found for the task is Scotch #2080EL with edge lock. This is a tape made for delicate surfaces. It is thin, very slippery on top (almost teflon like), and removes quite easily from the top finished surface of chrome tanned leather. I use 1" wide tape. It is best to tape an edge, skive it, remove the tape, and then repeat the process for any other edges you may need to skive. The use of Scotch 2080EL painters tape has dramatically improved skiving quality and almost eliminated skiving damage and wasted leather for me. Have fun! Dave

I've had similar issues with my cobra 4 and the servo for my Seiko flat bed. If you are brave and persistent you can significantly improve your low speed control. First, those servos generally make use of an optical sensor that is virtually an on and off device. This is because the light block and unblock acts SO suddenly (really bad engineering!). The trick is to force the light intensity (pass through to the detector) to change far more gradually. As you improve (slow down) this transition your servo control will dramatically improve. In my case, I found that adding a piece of paper (taped to the moving light blocker) could help do the trick. Just take a pencil and shade a gradient on the piece of paper so that it is the darkest where the light would first shine through the slot and then gradually lightens to no shading as the assembly is rotated. It may take several attempts on your part (paper, tape, and curses) but if you persist and learn from the effects you observe, you can desensitize the servo pretty much to your liking! Have Fun! Dave

Guess which machine assemblers in China use common main casting and part suppliers for at least certain parts on their 441 clones? Interesting!

I have a Cobra 4 and early on experienced the same problem. On my machine the tension bolt (used to adjust the tension) has the center hole a bit out of true. Thus when you rotate the tension bolt it tightens and loosens on the pressure foot shaft as you make a single turn. If your bolt does the same simply adjust the bolt to the location (during a single revolution) where it feels the easiest to turn. This means that its hole is in the best alignment with the pressure foot rod at that point. This should solve your pressure foot sticking problems (along with using plenty of oil to lubricate the pressure foot rod in its shaft).