Boss Tensions & Blowouts.

[Chavez]

Hi all!

I'm now getting better with my Boss, however, I still have a few problems and I hope someone will help me with some advice.

1) Can somebody please post their tension readings on top thread (coming out of the tube) and bottom thread (being pulled straight out from the bobbin). I now have a pull gauge so I can actually measure my tension and I want to compare my readings (~1lb out of bobbin and ~6lb out of tube!) with others.

2) I get really bad marks & blowout on the backside of the stitches. Are there any easy solutions to this problem? How does everyone deal with it? Does anyone groove the stitch lines for the Boss by the way?

Thank you very much for your help!

[TwinOaks]

The marks are caused by too much pressure on the presser foot, ease off the tension until the leather lifts a little on a test stitch, then increase it slightly. That will set your pressure at 'enough to hold down the leather' but not be too much.

The blowout can be caused by a dull needle, needle size, as well as the leather itself.

I crease my guide lines and let the machine pull the stitches into the grain.

[Chavez]

Thanks!

Any advice on tension readings?

[shtoink]

HA!

I read the topic for the thread and the fisrt thing that came to mind was someone that was venting about issues with their boss (employer) and not Boss (sewing machine.) So, when I started reading the first line, I was totally confused. I thought that maybe they had a impossibly horrible boss and needed to get some guidance on how to deal with it. It wasn't until I got to the part about tension that things started to set in that it probably wasn't about an employer but possibly about a sewing machine. Clearly I needed to reread it.

I realize that this doesn't have anything helpful contained within, but I thought it was rather amusing and still worth sharing...

[TwinOaks]

I'll have to see if I can borrow a trigger pull guage...

[Chavez]

Thank you!

Would anyone else share their tension settings?

[mlapaglia]

Ill try to get mine for you.

[Chavez]

Did anyone have a chance to measure the tension?

Thanks!

[particle]

Regarding your second question - make sure your needle is sharp so it's not tearing through the leather. Run your fingernail over the tip and see if it snags as it slides off the tip. If it snags, replace it.

The lack of a lower feed dog is part of what contributes to the puckering. To fix it, I always dampen the leather, then hammer the stitching closed with a smooth faced hammer. Even though my Cobra Class 4 (I used to have a Boss) has a lower feed dog installed, I still get a little puckering, but the feed dog helps to smash the puckering flat. When I switch to the stirrup plate or holster plate (I no longer have the lower feed dog), the puckering is much worse. Just the nature of machine sewing. The smooth faced hammer is an easy way to minimize it after the fact.

Regarding tension - I seem to remember reading somewhere to back the top adjustment screws all the way back to the point where they just start making contact with the spring. Then, tighten the primary 2 full turns, and the secondary 1.5 turns. Or 1.5 and 2 (reversed). That's the starting point from what I recall. Once I had those set, I adjusted the bobbin until my stitches were correct.

[Dwight]

Regarding your second question - make sure your needle is sharp so it's not tearing through the leather. Run your fingernail over the tip and see if it snags as it slides off the tip. If it snags, replace it.

The lack of a lower feed dog is part of what contributes to the puckering. To fix it, I always dampen the leather, then hammer the stitching closed with a smooth faced hammer. Even though my Cobra Class 4 (I used to have a Boss) has a lower feed dog installed, I still get a little puckering, but the feed dog helps to smash the puckering flat. When I switch to the stirrup plate or holster plate (I no longer have the lower feed dog), the puckering is much worse. Just the nature of machine sewing. The smooth faced hammer is an easy way to minimize it after the fact.

Regarding tension - I seem to remember reading somewhere to back the top adjustment screws all the way back to the point where they just start making contact with the spring. Then, tighten the primary 2 full turns, and the secondary 1.5 turns. Or 1.5 and 2 (reversed). That's the starting point from what I recall. Once I had those set, I adjusted the bobbin until my stitches were correct.

He nailed it, . . . that's how you do it.

I only do one thing more, . . . which is add a little more tension to both the top and THEN the bottom, . . . as I much prefer my stitches pulled very tight, . . . but that is just "Dwight's" way, . . . not everyone's.

And, yes Chavez, . . . I do stitch groove for my Boss, . . . and as much as I can (depending on the product I'm sewing), . . . I groove both sides.

On belts especially, . . . I think they look much better than if they weren't grooved.

There are a few products I do that I won't use a stitch groover on, . . . I wet the leather and make an impressed groove with the dull end of a pair of dividers, . . . but mostly I just use the old groover. I actually almost have to, . . . as it is the "line" I'm looking for as I am sewing the item.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited November 30, 2012 by Dwight

[mlapaglia]

Sorry, I havent been able to find my trigger pull gage. Im going to look hard this weekend

[Chavez]

Thank you!

I'll keep experimenting!

[mlapaglia]

I finally found my tension gauge. My upper tension taken from the outside of the left hand side of the machine, after it exits the pass thru after the take up tension arm. The tension arm so completely down and not adding tension.

My upper tension was exactly 6 lbs. Bottom tension is 1 lb.

Hope that helps.

[Randy Cornelius]

I had 2 happy days when I had my Boss, the day it was delevered and the day I sold it...

[mlapaglia]

I finally found my tension gauge. My upper tension taken from the outside of the left hand side of the machine, after it exits the pass thru after the take up tension arm. The tension arm so completely down and not adding tension.

My upper tension was exactly 6 lbs. Bottom tension is 1 lb.

Hope that helps.

I made a mistake, My thread arm that sits over the spool was bent somehow and the thread was jamming, I fixed it and my tension on the upper is 2 lbs not 6. 2 lbs make more sense to me. Now thats with the tension arm all the way down.

[billymac814]

Another thing that is very important is to make sure your bobbin is wound evenly. If it isn't the thread can get tight and create a lot of tension on the bobbin and the end result is a a knot on the backside of your work instead of being pulled in.

There's nothing wrong with a Boss, once you get the hang of it it is a great machine for its intended use. It's not the end all be all but it will make you lots of money and you'll eventually be able to get something better.