Need Help With A Cowboy Cb3200

[BHPshooter]

Before I get into this, a few warnings:

1. At this point, I'm a little bit frustrated.
2. I don't know an awful lot about sewing machines.

My Cowboy CB3200 got here this week, and I managed to get it put together. I gathered some scraps to practice with, and attempted to start sewing.

The first thing I noticed is that the flywheel is REALLY hard to turn. Is that generally the case with these?

I started running a few test stitches, and I would only get a few stitches in before it started to skip stitches. For some reason is isn't always picking up the thread from the bobbin. I noticed the needle that was in the machine had a blunt tip. I changed it and tried to stitch two more test scraps (same results -- skipping about 1 in 5 stitches), and then noticed that the tip of the new needle had again been blunted.

I can't see what the tip of the needle could be contacting to cause this.

Can anyone offer some help to a sewing machine newbie? In the meantime, I guess I'll be riding the stitching pony again.

Wes

[Wizcrafts]

About the motor being hard to turn: Barely touching the big pedal should release the cork brake inside the motor. The brake is there in case you sew fast, to prevent run-ons. If you can't adjust to the brake, unplug the motor, open the read cover and use the correct Allen wrench to remove the two screws holding the brake to the control lever.

Not sure why or what the needle is hitting. Conduct an experiment. Turn the wheel without any thread or leather and see if it enters the middle of the hole in the feed dog. If so, either the leather is deflecting the needle, or the top thread tension is so tight the needle is being pulled so far to the left it hits the throat plate. This will be obvious if the plate now has needle point wounds.

[Toolster]

Hey BHPshooter,

While Wiz has some very valid points I must ask the question, where did you purchase your machine from (new/used)? Unless you bought it used your dealer should be able to help. I recently (two weeks ago) received my CB3200 from Ryan Neels @ Neels Saddlery & Harness (national distributor for Cowboy) and it worked flawlessly straight out of the box. I'm willing to bet he would be willing to help you troubleshoot any issues you are having even if he didn't sell you the machine. He's "good people". Give him a call @ 330-692-1418, he IS the Cowboy guru IMHO.....

Just sayin'

JW

[Chief31794]

You might want to check the feed dog, you have to remove the bobbin shuttle to tighten it but you should be able to see if it's loose by wiggling it with your finger. Mine came with the feed dog loose, a couple of other screws loose, etc. As was previously said, call youir dealer.

Chief

[Troy I]

The timing my be off a little...my 4500 was doing the same thing, until I reset the timing. Also, if you are using a leather needle. ..they are a little blunt...they are not as sharp as a fabric needle.

Please call a dealer before making any adjustments. ..Cowboy Bob is a good resource. ..you can get the number from the ads at the top of the page...He is one of the sponsors of this site.

Also make sure you have it threaded correctly. This may cause skipped stitches as well.

Edited July 4, 2014 by Troy I

[Wizcrafts]

When replacing the needles, make sure that the cutout "scarf" faces due right, or very slightly to the right-rear direction. Don't angle the eye so it faces forward on the right. That places the loop farther away from the hook, which arrives from the rear moving forward.

Ensure that the needle is pushed all the way up into its mounting bracket and tighten it securely.

Check the top thread path to make sure the thread hasn't twisted over something unintentionally. This causes excessive top tension and will pull the needle way off course. It also leads to skipped stitches, or filigreeing of thin leather if the top thread flips over and locks up around the lower disks. This happens more often with black thread which can sometimes come off the spool like a coil spring.

Rawhide inside the leather can break or deflect needles. I recently cut some belts from a side of belt latigo from Tandy. There is rawhide running across the leather, from the backbone downward. It broke two strap cutter blades. If I had tried to sew through it, the needle would have bent or broken.

[earlthegoat2]

Rawhide inside the leather can break or deflect needles. I recently cut some belts from a side of belt latigo from Tandy. There is rawhide running across the leather, from the backbone downward. It broke two strap cutter blades. If I had tried to sew through it, the needle would have bent or broken.

By rawhide, do you mean, literally, untanned leather within the Latigo itself? Never ran into that with the Latigo I bought from them but that is interesting. I've cut a fair share of horse hide with my Osborne clone cutter from Tandy and never had a blade break even though I have had some problems with the material being too tough. Rawhide is a different story though. Edited July 4, 2014 by earlthegoat2

[Wizcrafts]

By rawhide, do you mean, literally, untanned leather within the Latigo itself? Never ran into that with the Latigo I bought from them but that is interesting. I've cut a fair share of horse hide with my Osborne clone cutter from Tandy and never had a blade break even though I have had some problems with the material being too tough. Rawhide is a different story though.

Yes, that is what I mean. It looks like glass or metal from the side and usually lies close to the flesh. The side of Latigo I bought from Tandy 2 weeks ago has rawhide across the middle, starting at the backbone. I believe it came from Argentina.

[Divafnk]

Hey BHP- I was kind of in your shoes about a month or two ago. Never sewn before, got a VERY quick lesson from a friend then got a Cowboy. I was ALL kinds of confused. This video helped immensely:

It does get better. Try to refrain from changing anything but the longer tension knob... I changed all kinds of things because frankly the instructions sucked. Now I can pretty much rethread, sew, pick up the bobbin thread, no problem.

I'm not on here a lot, but will add a subscription to this thread, so ask away!!

[BHPshooter]

Thanks very much for the advice, everyone. I think I may have it sorted out. The top thread tension was way too tight, and it was in fact jerking the needle sideways. I never did find what the needle was hitting, because I don't have any visible scars on anything, but you could actually see the needle jerk to the left.

About the motor being hard to turn: Barely touching the big pedal should release the cork brake inside the motor.

Right you are!!! Thanks, that helps a ton.

I changed all kinds of things because frankly the instructions sucked. Now I can pretty much rethread, sew, pick up the bobbin thread, no problem.

You're not kidding, the instructions are pretty vague. Thank you for the video -- very helpful!

So far, things are a TON better. I'm very surprised how smooth and quiet the machine is.

This forum is awesome! Thanks again, everyone. I truly appreciate all of the help.