Wizcrafts

I have a Cowboy CB4500 and have used it to sew a one inch thick holster. I had to remove the standard throat plate and feed dog and replace them with the low riding, narrow slotted throat plate. Then, I reduced the alternating feet lift ratio to the absolute minimum setting. This gained just enough extra clearance to move the leather for each stitch. With the standard setup, the machine maxed out at 7/8 inch. However, due to the feed dog being gone, reverse didn't match forward stitches. So, I learned to set the stitch lever to the zero position and double tap into the same holes to lock the knots inside the holes without moving the leather. I finished this process after removing the holster by pulling up on the top thread to get the double knots well into the hole. I also recall I used a Diamond point needle instead of the standard S point. If this isn't enough clearance, there is a Campbell High Lift available from Campbell-Randall Company, in Texas. It sews up to 1.25 inches of leather. If you contact your primary dealer for these machines he may be able to set it up in advance to sew one inch out of the box. This might be at the cost of the feet not reaching all the way down on thin leather. In that case you would lose the ability to sew thinner jobs without repositioning the presser bar. At the very least you would have to increase the alternating lift ratio to clear new layers at normal thicknesses.

Further down, in the details, they reveal that the leather was sewn with #69 bonded nylon, probably with either a #16 or 18 needle. If you intend to limit your leather to 10 ounces, and the feed dog teeth get enough grip on the bottom to feed the leather, it should do until you can afford a proper industrial leather sewing machine. Hopefully, you won't burn out its tiny 1.2 amp motor before then. They smoke and smell bad when overloaded by sewing hard temper leather. I know this from my own experience with a very similar Sears Kenmore machine I bought a dozen years ago for peanuts. It blew up trying to sew a leather bikers' vest. The reality of the situation is that it is purely a domestic sewing machine for household sewing of garments and light weight home accessories. It was not built to stand up to the pounding it would get regularly sewing leather denser than 4 or 5 ounces. You need a real industrial sewing machine, preferably with a compound feed walking foot system to sew medium to hard leather on a regular basis. These machines have motors rated between 1/2 and 3/4 horsepower. The motor on the Kenmore is 1.2 amps at full speed and probably puts out 1/15th hp. If you need more information, read my sticky article about the type of machine you need to sew leather.

That machine would have to mechanically 100% to properly handle 20 ounces of leather. It was not built with this in mind. It was for leather and vinyl upholstery. I had a similar machine with the National nametag. It worked great sewing 12 to 16 ounces, but struggled with anything above that. I had to crank down both foot pressure screws almost all the way to keep the leather from lifting with the needle on the upstroke. It let me use #207 on top with #138 in the bobbin, but was happier with #138 top and bottom (above 8-9 ounce thickness), down to #69 for thin leather seams. I paid for it sewing rifle slings and guitar straps for a friend who had a business.

Try downloading it now. It is in pdf format. Most devices are able to open pdfs. SQ5000Instructions.pdf

I don't see any evidence of moderation on any posts in this thread. Are you sure you pushed the Submit button?

In a nutshell, that's what this forum is here for. It exists to discuss industrial leather sewing machines and help others experiencing problems who don't have access to dealer support. A lot of these machines are long out of production, but there is usually somebody with knowledge of the machine in question, or our database can be searched for previous discussions about your machine. We have many manuals that members have uploaded for other members to download for free. Even some sewing machine dealers and repairers take part in assisting members with technical problems. This is a wonderful asset.

The dealers I know are very small businesses, often with one or two people on the job. There isn't much time to do videos when your day involves taking orders, setting up, shipping, receiving, picking up, ordering, or repairing sewing machines, while also responding to email, phone and forum inquiries. Larger companies, with numerous employees, have more time to setup a video room and learn to do it correctly.

There are at least three parts that cause the stitches to get shorter than specs. The primary part that wears down is the Feed Motion Bell Crank Lever, #8559, followed by the Ring Slide Bar, with #1816 cam roller, and the #1801 cam roller on the back of top Needle Bar Driving Lever that fits into a cam on the back shaft behind the balance wheel. I attached the Singer 29-4 parts list in pdf format, below. 29-4 Parts list Original Singer Doc.pdf

You posted this just before I posted my reply. You made a good choice as long as you stay within the stated specs.

@Tequila Figure out if your best machine should be flat bed or cylinder arm. flat bed machines are best used on flat items. Cylinder arm machines are best for cylindrical or shaped items which have parts hanging down on the left of the arm. This includes bags, cuffs, some holsters and things that have hardware (rings, buckles, loops) on the bottom. Most cylinder arm machine tables can take a table attachment, or one can be made to fit them, or adapted from another model. Some cylinder arm machines can be ordered on a pedestal stand that is wide open under the arm and has holes for a bolt on table attachment. Next, define the minimum and maximum thicknesses you expect to sew together and the height of any other seams that the raised feet and needle will have to clear to get to the sewing area. Thinner work, up to about 1/8 inch, requires thin thread (to hide the lockstitch knots) and small needle sizes (diameters) for minimal holes. Thick work (over 1/4 inch) requires thicker thread and larger diameter needles to keep it all together under the stress of usage. A lot of people are interested in medium duty machines and may try to push them beyond their practical thread handling capacity. When that happens they think the machine is defective, when it is not. If a machine's specs say the maximum thread size is #138, that means top and bottom, as setup at the factory, or the dealership. If you try to use #207 or larger thread, unless the machine has been purposely setup for that size, it may jam in the hook, or cause the leather to lift with the needle, which causes skipped stitches. OTOH, a more heavy duty machine can be dumbed down to sew thinner work with thinner thread and thinner needles. But, it will cost more up front.

I suffer from the same affliction!

Not after it times out following your initial posting. I think that time frame is under a half hour. What did you want changed?

You'd also have to pay a considerable Customs and Duty charge before taking delivery.

The CB3200 is a step down from the 4500. It only sews up to 1/2 inch. I believe that the TS-4800 is similar to the Cobra 26 and Cowboy CB-1341 (aka: 6900).

@CowboyBobprobably has that hook in stock. Call him and ask. The phone number is in his signature.

I suggest that you read my blog article about dumbing down a Cowboy, Cobra, or other Juki TSC-441 clone.

Contact @CowboyBob about this. Or, start a new topic and wait for a professional dealer to reply. Yours is now a non-standard machine. I also have a Singer walking foot machine that @CowboyBob converted to use a Juki U bobbin. He knows the parts and alterations involved in this conversion.

I have a Singer Class 18 left handed machine and it is for light duty sewing with thin thread. I keep #69 thread and a #18 needle in it. I think it maxes out at about 1/4 inch of soft temper leather.

The Singer 97-10 machines were often carried on military aircraft and were used to sew and repair tow straps that parachuted people and equipment onto battle fields.

I don't know if this will work for you, but upholstery leather is sometimes sold as whole hides of 50 square feet or more.There is some heavy weight upholstery leather that might be tough enough for chap use. You could use the left overs to recover a chair or two.

I will move this to the Suppliers section of the forum. This section requires approval before any posts or replies appear.

I use "chap" leather. It is available in thin and standard, where the thin chap is about 4-5 ounces and the thick is about 5-6 ounces. There is even thicker sometimes, up to maybe 6-7 oz. Check with Springfield Leather, Zack White Leather, Weaver Leather, Hide House and ALD.

I also have the narrow throat plate and feed dog set that @RockyAussie makes. I installed it on my Cowboy CB4500 and it works like a charm. I can go from sewing a 3/4 inch holster, with thick #277 thread and a #25 needle, down to sewing a wallet, phone pouch, or chap leather project, with #92 thread, by changing to a #20 needle and backing off the foot pressure a bit. Yes, you have to purchase the narrow set as an add-on. But, to me it is worth it.

DFH is the handle of the member who posted the first reply to this topic, on January 10, 2019. Scroll UP.

I call this Poor Man's Reverse. Many of my old Singer sewing machines, with which I pay my bills, have this type of reverse! Only three of the 11 sewing machines in my shop have Rich Man's Reverse (via a lever).