Wizcrafts

I believe that the Tippmann Boss uses System 7x3 and 7x4 needles, which are the same ones used in the Cowboy heavy leather stitchers. The 7x3 are round point, for cloth and webbing. The 7x4, also known as System 794, have various leather points. The most commonly used leather point in these harness stitchers is the Schmetz S point. You can find the best match for a given size of thread and needle in this thread and needle chart.

Try our members @CowboyBob at Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, or @shoepatcher.

Maybe the timing is retarded due to slop in the gears. Does your 29 have an adjustment hole on the front of the base, where a screwdriver goes in to turn an eccentric screw that advances or retards the timing?

You may be able to improve the stitching (and get rid of skipping) over 1/4 inch by adding pressure to the feet, and/or increasing the travel of the check spring, and/or by moving up one needle size. Also, needle shape impacts the stitching at the outer limits. Try different points. I find that the diamond points give more clearance in the holes than slicing points. The last thing to do, if you expect to sew this thickness regularly, is to alter the timing. Since your machine is new, try the simpler adjustments first. You don't want to void any warranty by dinking with something they don't want users to dink with.

Our member @shoepatcher can probably help you. He rebuilds Claes, Adler and Singer patchers here in Michigan, USA.

It is unlikely that the lift while sewing can be increased without some custom modification. You might ask dealers who sell the machine. One of those is an advertiser here. Check and refresh the banners on top for mention of industrial sewing machines. Your mini walking foot machine has dual feed, with the outside presser foot and feed dog driven. Your needle and inside foot remain in place, but move up and down. From my experience with various types of walking foot machines, any change to the height of one of the feet affects the lift of the other. They alternate up and down. I know that I can increase to maximum lift of the feet on my triple feed machines by about 1/16 inch. But, with the feet mechanically lifted all the way, the needle bar hits the inside foot. So, when I did that I had to be careful not to use the hand lift lever to hold the feet up and then rotate the balance wheel too far. There is that tradeoff. I simply don't know if your driven presser and alternating foot can be lifted higher without hitting the needle bar when it moves down. You don't want to damage the machine for a small increase in sewing thickness.

You can avoid all these hassles by simply finding the closest length between the pulleys and ordering a Type 3L v-belt from an industrial sewing machine dealer. Your motor should allow for plus or minus 1/2 inch of adjustment. The reason your measurement showed 1/2 inch is because these are V shaped belts, with a cut off on the small side. The top may well be 1/2 inch, but the inside taper will fit the 3/8 inch inside the tapered pulley groove.

Hmm. We’re having trouble finding that site. We can’t connect to the server at www.estcarpet.com. I recommend getting a Consew 206rb-5 which sews up to 3/8 inch. It has a larger M size bobbin and easily handles #138 thread. The bobbins are horizontal axis, inside the left end, instead of dropping in vertically from the top on the right.

The following suggestion was sent in by a guest who cannot post here. It looks like they painted the purse not shoe polish. Shoe polish would have come off with the saphir stuff you used.

I found these manuals for the Pfaff 341 series. There are different types of feed on sub-classes. One I uploaded and the other is on ManualsLib.. https://www.manualslib.com/products/Pfaff-341-8830949.html Pfaff_341.pdf

Juki is one of the best sewing machine brands. It will be a great machine to start with. Later on, if business picks up, you can search for a cylinder arm machine to sew around gussets and round shaped items, like bags. Actually, if you can find a used Juki LS-341, or clone, you'd be golden.

@ChipperBags- I am trying to understand what you plan to sew, so I can give a meaningful recommendation. You seem to be looking into various types of sewing machines, from a portable flatbed dual feed Sailrite Leatherworker or Fabricator to a cylinder arm compound feed Cowboy or Artisan. Then there's your used machine search that isn't going anywhere fast. Can you define the materials and thickness to be sewn for me? I recommend you do as much research as possible before buying a new machine. If you buy the wrong machine for your work you may have to try to sell it off and buy a different machine. I wasted a lot of time and money looking for the right machines when I started out sewing leather.

If I had to choose right now, I would say 1/2 inch (12.5mm).

I only found a picture of that machine online. I know nothing about Rex machines, but it resembles a Consew 206RB. I have a few manuals saved for various incarnations of the 206RB series. One may cover your clone machine. It's a crapshoot though. 206RB-1.pdf.pdf 206RB-4Parts_Pages.pdf 206RB-5_SEIKO.pdf 206RB-5(2).pdf 206RB-5.pdf

So, it was a loose balance wheel all along?

If you do make this style for a Cowboy 4500 and Cobra Class 4, please let me know.

I am starting to toss the idea of making a round reins attachment for my cb4500. I sometimes replace purse straps and leashes and some are round. I do some on my long arm Singer walking foot machine, using a 1/2 or 5/8 inch piping foot set. But, the seam is always lying flat when I sew it. With a proper piping attachment, the round part would be half way up and down as would the seam.

Too bad you don't have access to a Campbell-Randall Lockstitch machine. They have round reins plate/foot attachments in different widths. I think there might also be attachments for a Union Lockstitch machine. I might have had a set of them with my first ULS, in the early to mid 1990s. The foot resembles a piping foot. The throat plate was raised on the right and had a channel on the left for the round portion. This is from my old memories. I'm trying to visualize a modern day setup you can fabricate on a Cowboy or Cobra harness stitcher. It would begin with the raised holster plate and the paddle or inline rear foot. The holster plate might need to be trimmed on the left edge. You'd need to create a side jig on the left of the holster plate that holds the round strap in position with just enough side clearance for the feet and needle to pull it along. This jig might slide over the arm, or stand up from the left end of the pedestal. This is all I've got until the coffee sets in and takes affect.

If you can't sew these seams with a paddle or inline foot, find a shoe repair shop and pay them to sew it on a curved needle sole stitcher. It does need about 1/4 inch of space from the raised sides, just like a shoe might have.

You're assumption was correct. Some gear has slipped on the top shaft. You are going to have to find that gear and tighten it back down. I would leave it loose until the needle is close to the correct position relative to the hook and feed dog. Then tighten it down and time the hook as required.

Thank you very much for linking to my blog article! I know it has helped a lot of people with 441 clones. I also use the narrow feed dog and throat plate made by RockyAussie. It does it all so far. I do have another custom feed dog and plate that I need to install and try out. It is more limited though and is strictly for smaller needles.

This is a small bobbin patcher. It uses the exact same shuttle and bobbins as the 29k71 and all models except for the large bobbin models (29k72, 29k172). In reality, you can buy bobbins and shuttles for the 29-4 and they should fit this machine. All over eBay. Or, call Bob Kovar, at Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, for bobbins, shuttles, needles and other parts. He is an advertiser here, on top of each page. The needles are system 29x3 round point and 29x4 leather point. They are equivalent to system 135x16 and 135x17 walking foot needles. They are also known as system 332. Sold almost everywhere industrial needles are sold.

@kgg Since you are missing the paddle spring, you may also need the two tiny screws that hold it on. You can get them with the spring from @shoepatcher, or from any long time industrial sewing machine dealer near you. If the old screws are still in the needle bar, leave them in place until you get the new spring. Carefully unscrew them and set them apart from each other so you can screw them back into the same holes they came out of. This is because the head of one or both may have been filed down to clear the round housing as it revolves around the needle bar. If you install them in opposite holes the head of the screw or screws may gouge the housing. If you have to install new screws, tighten them all the way and carefully file across the outer edges of the screws to taper them into the curve of the needle bar.

Many patcher owners are unaware of the importance of the little paddle shaped spring inside the needle bar. Oftentimes, when someone has tried all of the usual troubleshooting techniques for a patcher that skips stitches, they don't mention examining this spring. The paddle spring has one job: it holds onto the top thread above the needle as the needle bar makes its down - up - down jog when the loop forms on the right side of the needle's eye. If the spring is firm and there isn't any thread fluff between it and the thread channel, it presses against the thread so the spring on top of the take-up arm doesn't pull it up and dissolve the loop. If the spring is bent, weak, or missing, it is almost impossible to get reliable stitches.

I'd first tighten the 3 screws on the round plate. If that makes no difference, or they're already tight, remove them and see if there is another screw under the cover to lock down the adjuster screw.