Wizcrafts

You may have overlapped some windings on the new bobbin, causing it to bind as it feeds. Or, maybe the starting thread stub is long enough to catch on the bobbin case spring. That stub should be cut flush with the bobbin. The bobbin winder has an adjustable sliding block that the tension disks are attached to. If the bobbin winds mostly on one side, loosen the screws that secure the sliding block and move the disks to the other direction. Secure the screws and try again. There is a bent lever that flips down over the bobbin while it is winding. There is a screw on top of the lever. Adjust it away from the bobbin to load more thread.

Installing a speed reducer is not trivial for a first timer. Not only will you need to position it exactly under the flywheel on the machine, you'll also need to align it with the motor pulley. Plus, you'll need to purchase two new v-belts: 1 from the motor to the large pulley and 1 to go up from the small pulley to the machine. Once you install a reducer you will need to loosen it to remove the belt going to the head, in order to flip the head for oiling or adjustments, if any are needed. Finally, make sure that the reducer you purchase has ball bearings. In the meanwhile, a 2" motor pulley and 1 inch shorter belt will make a noticeable improvement in your low end controllability and torque. You may not need a reducer at all! But, if torque is still lacking, a better motor might make a world of difference.

There is a bobbin winder assembly on the right end of the machine. I can see it in your first photo. The big wheel on the winder gets pushed forward into the main drive belt, with a fresh bobbin mounted on the shaft on the right end of the winder. There is a lever on top of the bobbin that will get pushed up when the thread loads to whatever density that lever is set to trigger at. When the lever pops up, the wheel is pulled back, away from the drive belt. You need to load thread from a spool on the thread stand, up, then down to the back end of the winder frame. Go through whatever loops or guide holes are provided, then around a spring loaded tension disk set, then on to the bobbin. Feed the thread through a hole on the outside of the bobbin and hold it as you load the bobbin. If the bobbin loads too little before releasing, screw the lever counterclockwise to raise it and its trigger point. If the bobbin overflows, lower the lever.

You can purchase a smooth feed dog and left and right toe (plus double toe) feet from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, or Leather Machine Company (Cobra), or Techsew, all of which support this forum. They also carry alternate throat plates and other accessories you may need some day. Ask for accessories for a 441 clone.

If you have oiled and adjusted (bend finger down to release sooner) the release finger mechanism and the bobbin winder still won't release when the bobbin is full, buy a new winder assembly.

I seem to remember something Bob Kovar told me about the Cowboy 227R machines having a wick inside the openable base. Slide the lever latch open in the base and tilt the head back. See if there is an oil wick and container in there.

In Computerdom, we use the word "Foobar" to explain the same thing, or when something is broken.

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The only consequence of over-oiling a manually oiled sewing machine is dripping oil. If you are sewing black bridle leather the oil has no effect. Otherwise, keep a cloth or paper towel under the feet and needle to absorb the oil dripping down the needle bar. Wipe oil off the presser bar that is visible under the head. Wipe dripping oil where you see it, but leave the rest inside the machine.

If you haven't already done so, open the faceplate and place a drop of oil into the tiny oil holes on the crank arms inside the head. If you can't see a hole, drop the oil at the front or back of where the outer crank encloses an inner stud. Place oil up at the top of the needle bar, where it pivots. There is sometimes a wick inside that pivot point. After oiling inside the head, place paper towels under the feet for a while. There will be a lot of dripping!

Definitely, you'll need two machines, minimum. All of the bar tackers sew within their metal frames. You will need a separate machine to sew long lines, curves, edges, etc. The X tacker will be exactly what you need for that operation. Because it lays down regular straight stitches, rather than a tight zig-zag, it can probably be used with heavier thread than #69 (10 or 11 pound test). Ask the dealer about the thread and needle handling capacity before buying a machine. If it will tension #92 thread, run through a #19 or 20 needle. it will provide a better tack on straps that might be heavily stressed by the wind and elements.

There is nothing inherently wrong with a swing-away binder. But, one that bolts down in place will be more predictable. The best type is the right angle folder, with a special throat plate and feet. This binder allows you to sew inside curves as easily as outside curves. A straight-on binder is more difficult to use on inside curves. Further, it is a good idea to mount your edging so it feeds smoothly from the right front edge of the table. If your edging in on a roll, you should get a bias tape roll attachment for the table. Otherwise, feed it as straight as possible, to avoid having it twist on the way to the attachment.

There are a few binder attachments for thick material, mostly for carpet binding machines. I would recommend contacting an industrial sewing machine dealer about this. He will be able to match the best unit to your machine, as well as the specialized throat plate and presser feet (they are usually sold as a set) that is required for a right angle binder. A straight line binder uses your standard throat plate, but benefits from the binder foot set. This features a very wide inside foot and a left toe only outer foot. Typically, these feet have teeth on the bottom, but can be ordered without.

Almost forgot... It is also easier to pull the top thread out through the needle is the needlebar is on the downstroke a bit. This has to do with the angle of the thread as it leaves the last steel loop guide, then goes through the guide on the needle bar. Just jiggling the wheel back and forth, with the feet raised (and work out), helps loosen the thread for removal.

I have my machine (CB4500) and my friend's Cobra C4 set up so we can pull the work out by simply lifting the feet. But, I find it works best when the threads are pulled backwards and down. The only time this doesn't work is when I have had to crank up the top tension tighter than usual. There are even a few instances where I had to also tighten up the bottom roller disk, to get enough pull to bring the knots up. Then, I do have to pull the thread out of the take-up arm manually. But, those are exceptions for me. I have tried a lot of brands of thread and found that no two are the same any more. Black thread is the most troublesome, both for sewing, coiling up, and pulling out. Some brands of thread unravel too easily (poorly bonded). I have 2 spools of light colored thread that are almost useless because of unraveling.

Try backing off both the top and bottom tension springs. Also, get another spool of black and run it instead. Black thread is often double-dyed, making it drier and springier than almost any other color.

Something happens during those stitches to cause the tension to go awry. The problem is either in the bobbin/bobbin thread, or the top thread and its path. Watch the top thread as you sew a long strap. You may see it twist around a post, or even itself. Make sure that the bobbin thread feeds under the bobbin spring and stays under it. Load the bobbin so it feeds counterclockwise into the slot in the bobbin basket. Check the bobbin to see if the starting thread has a stub sticking out that might be catching on the case, basket, or shuttle.

The check spring is used to keep the thread taut as the take-up occurs, which reduces shock and awe. This is mostly during the take-up and slightly in the take-down cycle. The longer the stroke of the check spring, the longer the thread is held taut. However, if the thread continues to be taut during the hook's pick-up point, the loop will dissolve before it can be picked up.

That shouldn't matter if the top tension is not screwed in too far AND if the bottom tension is not screwed all the way in, or the thread has twisted or jammed along the path.

You may also need a one inch shorter v-belt, due to the lesser diameter of the motor pulley. It depends on how your motor is mounted, whether the old belt can be tightened enough with the adjuster bolt..

Once in a great while, after loosening the top thread between projects, I find that it gets outside of the bottom disk and wraps tightly around the shaft. Sometimes, if one isn't careful about keeping the top thread taut, it can loop around that post with loose thread between the take-up lever and the spring loaded thread guide below it. This happened to me so many times, with springy black thread, that I learned to pass the thread through the forward side of that guide, rather than the back side. The extra 1/4 - 3/8 inch of space caused by the little center post/screw is usually enough to counteract this anomaly. Some thread is springier than others and tends to uncoil under the spool, or twist around the upper thread guide in the thread stand. I have even watched this kind of thread form a tight knot on its way to the machine. So, make sure that your thread isn't to blame for the tight top thread situation. Lastly, if you tighten the tension adjuster nut too far in, it gets harder to separate the upper tension disks with the lifter lever or pedal. The same applies to any sewing machine. The top tension disks must have some room to move to allow the thread to be pulled through them after sewing is done. If the spring is tightened all the way in, there is no more room for the disks to open.

It could be caused by the thread being too springy, or not feeding off the top of the cone.

Whatever servo motor you get, make sure it has a 50mm or smaller pulley installed. Most of the eBay dealers and I suppose industrial machine dealers who primarily supply the upholstery and tailoring trades, supply motors with 70mm or larger pulleys. Some are as large as the machine's flywheel pulley, causing the machine to run at 1:1, or about 2500 to 5,000 SPM. These speeds are typical for those trades.

Wrong motor pulley! Where did you buy the machine? If a dealer, contact them to see if they can supply you with a small (2"/50mm max) pulley and a shorter belt to match the difference in diameters of the old and new pulleys. Before you contact them, try all of the speed settings to ensure that all or most make a difference. The slowest speed on my similar motor is labeled 350. With the 2" pulley, at the 350 position, it sews at about 3 stitches per second. If the motor won't slow down at the lower settings, it may be defective.

If your servo has up and down buttons to control its functions, one of the positions will control the direction. On mine it is S2. I get there by holding the down button until it stops at S0. Then I push Up until it gets to S2. If you have this configuration, once at S2, press up or down again to change direction. Try running the motor and see if that did it.