Wizcrafts

If I lived within a hundred miles I would scoop it in a heartbeat!

Aside from the previous replies about installing a smaller motor pulley, adding more free movement with the motor's clutch/brake adjuster screw, and/or lengthening the motor's control arm, you could disassemble the right end of the motor and smear a little grease on the clutch pad. This should let it slip a little, allowing you better control before the clutch fully engages.

I have a CB4500, which is the big brother of the CB3200. I have sewn leather as light as ~6 ounces on it - with #92 bonded nylon thread. When it comes to sewing thin leather, it must be firm or it tends to get pushed down into the throat plate, or worse, into the hole in the feed dog. So, in those instances, I may remove the feed dog and change the throat plate to a flat one that has a narrowish slot. Further, when using thin thread, I back off the thread tension on the check spring and top tension disk, balancing via the bobbin tension spring.

I would like to add one more item to your checklist, Paqman. Check the functioning of the thread retaining paddle shaped spring (Singer #8656) inside the needle bar. Many owners of patch machines aren't even aware of this spring's existence. It can really only be seen when the needle bar has been removed from the revolving head. The job it is meant to do is to hold the top thread static as the bar moves down to BDC, then makes an upward jog to form a loop for the shuttle hook to pick off. If that spring is weak, broken, missing, or bent, the top thread will have nothing stopping it from dissolving the loop as it tries to form. If the spring on top of the trapeze shaped driving arm is still engaged, it will simply pull the thread loop up before the hook gets there. This used to drive me crazy until I figured it out and learned how to replace the spring. In some older machines, especially those that were using #138 thread, not only have I found worn paddle springs, but also slight thread depressions under them in the steel needle bar. This double wammy makes even a new spring fail to secure the top thread on the up/down stroke at pickoff time. Note: Anybody planning on removing the thread retaining spring 8656 should note the positions of the two tiny #590 screws as you remove them. Keep them apart and reinstall them into the same holes when you replace the spring. They are usually filed on one side to avoid binding and gouging the inside of the revolving bushing as the bushing it rotated. Left as is one or both will hit the bushing in certain rotational positions.

Contact Bob Kovar (Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines) or any authorized Cowboy sewing machines dealer near you and ask them about placing an order for the new wide mouth vibrating binder attachment for the Juki 441 and its clones. Allegedly, it has enough clearance through its mouth to feed and add binding to leather edges (I don't know the maximum thickness). It has to be custom ordered by a dealer as far as I know. Be forewarned that this attachment sells for about $450, landed, in the USA. New information The Cowboy/Hightex binder appears to be a complete set and is described as follows: "HT-BH01 Binder: synchronized with presser feet and needle plate that allows binding of acute radiuses, for binding heavy materials, such as shoes, carpet, bags, pouches, belts."

They used really thin 3 cord glazed linen thread. I have some of this thread in my shop on a mini spool. It is thinner than the 3 cord linen thread from Barbour. I'm guessing between #69 and #92 in diameter. Could be Tex 80.

Almost all of our belts are made of bridle leather. We just rub out foot marks and any other scratches or range marks with a modeling spoon, and sometimes even a teaspoon.

papaw; Supreme is just a brand name badge. Without close up photos there is no way for us to figure out if it is a clone of a standard type of machine, or is a special build. It is possible that there are additional model details on a metal tag or stamped into the bottom of the frame.

When you see a thread size like (digits)/3, it is describing a 3 cord cotton or polyester, or polycore garment thread. Then there are spun silk thread sizes. These measurements, especially the Japanese NM system do not correlate to bonded thread sizes in any direct manner. For a full explanation, read this page on SuperiorThreads.com

I like how Patrick fitted the hand wheel from an old domestic Singer machine onto his industrial 188k. Not only did it have a bigger diameter - slowing the machine down a bit - but also has a release mechanism to wind bobbins on its built in bobbin winder, without driving the machine itself. The coat hanger to secure the reverse lever was interesting too.

From your photos it is obvious that this machine is set-up for upholstery sewing at higher speeds. It has a 2850 rpm motor and about a 3:4 pulley ratio. It will definitely get long seams sewn in almost no time! As for sewing slowly, that depends on the new owner being able to feather the clutch, or replace the motor with a servo motor.

Thanks Floyd!

See this thread and needle size chart

We now have a separate section of the forum where 3D printers and Laser Cutters are discussed and plans posted. If you get time, would you post your photo and files of the 3D printed pulleys in that forum for others to benefit from?

Lindy; Give Bob Kovar (who replied to you earlier) a phone call on Monday, when he's in his shop (Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines). He knows the pitches of all the screws used in Singer industrial sewing machines and has all manner of spare and replacement parts. His shop # is: 866 362-7397

The following assumes that your machine had a screw in/out device on the back of the flywheel and the threads are stripped out. There is a long rod stitcking into the machine with a sharply tapered end, like the pencil point, but steel. Flip open the top cover. Rotate the handwheel slowly. On one end you will find a double sew screw set. The other side has a cap screw that holds a badass spring and ball bearing in place. You absolutely don't want to unscrew the cap screw! Rather, unscrew the top set screw on the other side. Inside is a second set screw that sets the stitch length. Screw in down to increase and out to decrease the stitch length. Reinstall the stop set screw when you get the right stitch length. Then oil the moving block assembly on that offset assembly.

I have a buddy in Saginaw, Mi who owns a Cobra Class 4. The original motor was a brushless servo that started spinning with a jerk at 200 RPM (divided by the speed reducer pulleys). It had an adjuster screw that set the upward control arm travel limit. Raising it to the top gave the slowest startup speed and longest travel downward (increasing speed) the motor was capable of. The motor uses reverse EMF to brake as you release or slightly apply the pedal. When the pedal is not engaged the motor should be freewheeling. There are graduated transparencies available to taper the speed change more gradually. Contact Leather Machine Company to obtain one in the mail. If your motor no longer brakes at all, it is failing. Consider replacing it with a newer type of servo that starts at zero RPM and increases very gradually without any modifications and has a physical cork brake when the pedal is backed off.

See if the motor's speed pedal is letting the the motor control arm return all the way up against its stop. If you motor's arm has a stop screw adjuster, back it off to gain more upward movement.

Different manufacturers used to assign their own system codes to needles when they produced those lines, many of which were based on early Adler, Pfaff and Singer needles. European needle makers called their needles by different codes than American/Canadian makers. There is a gap between SAE/ISO and Metric measurements, so needles made to different measurement systems get different names, even though the geometry may end up the same.

You'll need a machine with as much longer needle to sew 1.1cm. They most affordable model I know of that is available in the land of OZ is the Cowboy CB3200, which can sew a solid 1/2 inch of leather with heavy thread. Lookup our members Singermania and Darren Brosowski for pricing and shipping details.

Yes, that's exactly the Mother machine that is being cloned. The actual Juki model code is TSC-441. This machine is stlll being produced in Japan.

BTW: The Juki U bobbins have twice the capacity of a standard 111 type bobbin and are even bigger than the M style used in many newer walking foot machines.

We have several industrial sewing machine dealers in Australia who are contributing members in this forum. All of them deal in leather sewing machines.

Your Juki LU uses Juki LU bobbins, which fill the bobbin basket with just enough clearance to spin freely. Further, there should be a star shaped anti-spin spring under the bobbin. Make sure you have threaded the top thread around the check spring and that it has clicked into the race around the spring. If you forget the check spring, the top thread can easily get caught in the bobbin post.

Fisrt of all, your bobbin is smaller than the bobbin race. That allows it to wiggle around and shake thread loose. It also appears to be shorter than the top of its post, so it may flop up and down as well. All this unexpected slack may be causing your thread hangup. Unknown is if the timing is spot on, or retarded, or advanced. Make sure your check spring is holding the top thread taut until the needle goes through the leather.