rschreiber

Thank you so much. That really clarified what was happening and how to check for the correct tension. I am sorry for the delayed response, my problem was the presser foot tension. It was too low. Bob actually told me to check the tension but I thought it was OK. Leather was sliding under the foot. I was using oil tanned leather and it is quite slippery to begin with because of oil. On top of it the feed dog and the presser foot are very smooth and naturally do not provide a lot of traction. It is a trade off: you get traction with teeth on the feed dog and the presser foot or you get no "bulldozer" marks on leather. In the attempt to make less presser foot imprints on my work i decreased the pressure and that created the problem... It seems to be OK when the tension knob is above the machine head by about an inch. I do not know about others. To test your tension please take a test piece and start stitching forward, then while you doing that switch in reverse. Pull the piece slightly towards yourself at all times. If the tension is too low you will see significant difference in stitch length forward vs. reverse. I believe you should be able to switch in reverse at any time of stitching cycle.

I am curious if you were able to correct the problem of uneven back-stitching and if it has been a problem for many others?

Thanks so much Art. You are exactly right about the designations. I have been looking at an older Toro 4500, about 2002, and I have been told by Jerry at Artisan that the Toro 4500 is not really suitable for leather work as the bottom feed will mark the leather. This is a bit confusing to me as all the current literature on the Toro 4500 says that it is actually designed for leather. Not sure how to proceed. Thanks again. Russ Hi Russ, I believe the 4500P is the Highlead version of the 4500R. The Highlead version is built like a tank, for factory use, but the other version is also very heavy duty and will last a leatherworker forever if properly maintained. You probably cannot get the 4500P from Artisan any longer and as far as I know (Artisan please correct me if I am wrong) they are exploring other opportunities at the present. If you want that type of machine, you should check here. Art

I am new to the forum. Does anyone know the difference between an Artisan 4500R and a 4500P? Are they both equally good for sewing leather? Thanks. Russ