Wizcrafts

The Cowboy CB3200 is an entry level 441 clone. It can sew with thread sizes #138 up to #346. Its range of thicknesses is from about 6 ounces up to 32 ounces. If that is too heavy duty, the CB227R will use thread sizes up to no more than #207 on top, with #138 in the bobbin, and thicknesses from about 2 ounces up to 20 ounces. If you want to get into very heavy work, the Cobra Class 4 can sew over 3/4 of an inch.

There are several esteemed industrial sewing machine dealers who advertise their wares via banners on top of every page on our forums. They pay to support us and value their reputations when it comes to customer service. You should consider using these banner ads to investigate the machines and prices from these dealers. Many of us own machines from two or more of our supporting dealers. I personally own machines bought from Cowboy Bob (Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines), Cobra Steve (Leather Machine Co.) and have parts purchased from Techsew. These are not the only places I buy machines and parts, but are my primary suppliers. I can tell you from experience that these dealers do support their customers. But, the first two are not large scale operations (2 or 3 people) and it may take a while for the owner or technician to reply to messages and emails. Despite any delays, none have ever left me hanging. Sometimes a servo motor may quit (electronics!) or a v-belt may shred, or I may need accessory presser feet, a different needle plate, needles, bobbins, thread, or oil. In my experience, the item is usually in the mail or on a truck the next day after talking to the company.

Skipped stitches all the time can be caused by inserting the needle 180 degrees out of phase. The scarf (cutout) above the eye should face due-right on a Cobra Class 4 (and all other similar machines). If you inserted the needle with the scarf facing to the left, the hook can't pick off the loop effectively.

I used to own a Singer 96k40. I can only imagine that it is similar in design to your 96k21. If true, your machine is nothing more than a tailoring machine for cloth garment sewing. You'd be lucky to sew 1/4 inch (6mm) of denim, but it's more likely that it will not even handle that thickness. Plus, that machine, if like my previous k40, is only a drop feed machine , which is not good for leather sewing. Thread-wise, the k21 might handle up to #69 bonded thread, which has just 11 pounds strength per stitch. That is strong enough to set a zipper into a biker's wallet, or for hemming a leather garment, but not for sewing 11 ounces or more of medium to hard temper leather.. Now, your friend/source recommended a machine capable of sewing 22mm of leather, which is 2mm over 3/4 inch (just under 7/8 inch). This requires a Juki 441 or clone, or a top of the line Adler 205 or 969, or a Campbell Lockstitch machine. My Cowboy CB4500 can sew 20mm (3/4 inch) with little adjustment, or 7/8 inch with some lessening of the foot lift and total cranking down of the pressure spring on the presser foot. Further, these machines can easily use thread size 277 and 346, with tensile strengths of 44 and 56 pounds per stitch.

That is the correct point for leather (in addition to the sometimes available diamond points). If you need to sew denim or other cloth, buy some 7x3 round point needles. The spear or chisel point you got will shred cloth.

I may put this idea to work in my shop on my CB4500. Thanks Uwe!

The DBx1, 16x257, et al, needles Uwe posted the picture of are the ones I use in my 1921 Singer 31-15. I have them in round and leather points, from sizes 12 through 20. My machine maxes out with #69 bonded, or #80 cotton jeans thread, so a #20 needle is bigger than I will ever need. My machine cannot tension or clear #138 thread on top at all, so there's no need for a #22 needle. Maybe NatCamp's 1950 model has a bigger hook than my 1921 model. If for some reason the proper needle system doesn't fit his needlebar and clamp, somebody along the way may have installed the wrong needlebar and clamp for that machine and meant it to use a different needle system (unlikely, but possible). But, if the shank of a DBx1, et al, fits inside the needlebar and clamp but won't pick up the bobbin thread, the bar may have moved from an impact, throwing off the timing. Installing the proper needle system and lowering or raising the needlebar in its clamp inside the faceplate should bring the top of the eye just below the oncoming hook on the upstroke. Finally, the cutout scarf above the eye must face due right to position the loop properly for the hook to pick it off.

NickH; The hook on your model 26 is not designed to use or even pass #277 thread. There are insufficient clearances for such big thread. You should begin saving for a 441 clone to use thread sizes 207, 277 and 346.

I sometimes use a #23 needle with #207 on top and 138 in the bobbin. But, I always use a #24 if I have 207 top and bottom.

I recommend using either a #24 or #25 leather point needle to sew with #277 thread.

Bingo! It works perfectly and the scan is excellent. Thanks.

Ferdinand went out of business a few years ago. All their remaining parts were sold to an industrial sewing machine company in Chicago who know nothing about leather sewing machines. Your chances of finding any parts specific to that machine are somewhere between null and void. Ditto for servicing. But, if the machine is pristine and fully equipped with parts and accessories, that's about the right price in current depreciated Canadian dollars. A new Cowboy CB3500 would cost about the same money in $ CDN.

I'm not a marine sewer by any stretch of the imagination. But, I do occasionally have repair jobs come in for Bimini covers and for edge stitching tents, tarps and vinyl banners. I sew all of these items on my long body Singer 139w109, which is basically a stretched out 111w151 (no safety clutch and no reverse). The body has 20 inches clearance to the right of the needle. Its maximum stitch length is 4 to the inch and it is perfectly happy with bonded thread sizes 69, 92 and 138. It allows me to not only sew parallel lines deep into the body, but also lets me rotate the work with less bulky buildup from folding it over itself on the right side. The point I am trying to make is that if you sew vinyl or outdoor cloth items that might have stitch lines well in from the edges, a long body walking foot machine will be a benefit.

Splitting the top thread comes from the hook and loop not meeting at the proper moment, or a loop that is too shallow. The check spring is in charge of controlling the formation and size of the loop. Make sure that it doesn't have so much travel downward that it fails to let go over the top thread as the needle goes down through the leather. Most of the time, the best adjustment of the check spring is to reach its bottom stop just after the needle penetrates the top layer. The opposite can be a problem too. If the check spring has way too little movement the top thread will be too loose and can fray on the way down. You can prove this by experimenting on scrap leather with the top thread not going through that spring. Did you by any chance forget to thread through the check spring? If the threading path and check spring travel are correct but the thread is getting frayed, causes include burrs on the needle, throat plate, or tip of the hook, or timing too far advanced or retarded, or badly bonded thread, or thread passing through a guide that has a sharp edge. Skipped stitches can be attributed to bad timing of the hook or insufficient presser foot pressure. If the ascending needle lifts the leather even one iota, a skipped stitch may occur. Crank down the top pressure spring until the leather doesn't lift with the rising needle and thread. Keep in mind that an unthreaded needle has less resistance to overcome than one that is pulling up a lockstitch combination, especially with large thread sizes.

Do let us know if the Monster II wheel has a larger diameter belt pulley than the Power Plus wheel.

I suspect from reading the description on Sailrite's web page for the Monster II wheel that it is bigger around than the Power Plus wheel. Unfortunately, they don't list the diameters of those "balance" wheels (flywheels). The Monster II Wheel weighs 7 pounds. That, coupled with a probable larger circumference, would make for more punching power at startup speeds. Now, it's up to the OP to contact Sailrite about these differences and let us all know the outcome.

The Sailrite portable machine motors feed a small speed reducer pulley that mounts on the right end of the machine, hidden by the flywheel. It looks to be at least 3:1 reduction. But, as you pointed out, the combination is still weak compared to a half horsepower industrial motor, especially if that motor feeds a 2:1 reducer. Torque is multiplied by the same ratio as the speed reduction.

Dave1; This topic is 6 years old and has probably been resolved a long time ago. You should check the dates of posts before reopening such an old topic. But, who knows since the OP never officially ended the topic?

That machine closely resembles my CB4500. I think you should order a holster plate and see if it fits. If the holes are just slightly off, use a round file to enlarge them to fit.

Is your Ferdinand Bull built on a Juki TSC-441 body? That is the basis for the 441 clones, like the Cowboy and Cobra machines and there is a good possibility the Cowboy throat plates will fit it. If your machine was built on a Seiko body, the Cowboy plates may not fit.

I had the same problem on an LU-563 I used to own. Apparently, the stitch lever is held down with a spring. If the spring wears out the lever will float as you increase the speed. Contact a Juki dealer for help and a new spring.

Can you reduce the resolution of photos in your camera or phone? I set mine to the minimum resolution and have no problem uploading pictures from my phone to the forum or Facebook.The larger the resolution of the shot, the bigger the file size, and vice-versa. If your camera or phone won't allow you to reduce the resolution enough to satisfy our limitations, try uploading your photos to an online photo resizer app. Then download the smaller image size and send it to us. If you own a computer, transfer your photos to it and find a decent resizer program to create smaller versions, more suitable for the web. I find that most online photos can be kept to a maximum of 1600 x 1200 or even 800 x 600 pixels and still have great details. The smaller versions you see in posts to our forum are more like 600 x 400, or even 300 x 250, which is similar to standard ad size. Those small picture sizes are about 10 - 20 kb or so, compared to 1mb for larger views.

Again, the Monster II wheel should help get the machine going when you sew leather. Call Matt at Sailrite and talk to him.

Is your machine already equipped with the Monster II balance wheel? If so, does your foot pedal start at zero and slowly increase to speed, or does it change abruptly from zero to some speed too fast for your liking? If your pedal has a jumpy start, contact Sailrite about a replacement pedal. If you don't have the Monster II balance wheel, order one, along with the proper longer belt.