Wizcrafts

Thanks Eric and Welcome Back Cotter!

Contact the dealer you bought it from and ask if you can do a motor exchange, or get the missing parts. Dealers often stock factory replacement parts for motors they sell. Those parts may be difficult for you to find as an end user.

My Family Sew FL-550s with a 50mm pulley meets that description. However, a lot depends on the diameter of the machine pulley. I use this motor on several machines and it has the most low speed torque on machines with larger top pulleys. The others need a speed reducer. I would say that if your machine has at least a 4" pulley you will be good to go with just this motor and its 50mm pulley. In the event this exact motor isn't available where you are at, try to find a Consew equivalent and buy a 50mm pulley that fits its shaft (I think it is close to 5/8 inch, or a metric equivalent). Just make sure the motor has brushes and a knob to control the speed.

Can this machine be fitted with a side feed folder? They work great on inside curves.

I don't know the metric size, but in the USA the standard walking foot and straight stitch table is 20" x 48" x whatever height is set on the legs. The average height is between 28 and 29 inches. Top mounted thread stands, bobbin winders and flex lamps may interfere with sliding it into a car. Be prepared to unscrew these things and box them. Also, there will be a drawer for bobbins, needles and accessories that needs to be removed and boxed.

Apparently, there are no #18 needles left in System 7x3. The smallest currently available is #19. This lets you sew with #92/T90 thread on your 441 clone harness stitcher. I detailed the process of "dumbing down a Cowboy CB4500, Cobra Class 4, or similar harness stitcher" on my leatherworks blog. This process lets you sew thin material with thin thread and needles that would otherwise not be possible on a big harness stitcher. I don't recommend this if you already have a standard walking foot machine unless your other machine is a flatbed and you must use a cylinder arm and it is a harness stitcher.

Fire Retardant Sewing Thread Guide

I would want to have as wide a set of feet as is available. Fire suits are heavy. If you get a CB3200, order both the harness and blanket feet and feed dogs. Order System 7x3 round point needles for cloth and webbing and System 794 for leather. Bonded nylon thread is the most common for normal use objects. Bonded polyester thread is recommended for outdoor use items. It is UV resistant. The CB3200 and its larger brothers have super beefy take-up levers and crank shafts. These heavy parts can withstand the stress of passing Nomex and Kevlar thread through the tensioners and guides. Learn about the breaking strength of various sizes of Nomex. It is much lower than a similar diameter in bonded nylon. This could be an issue along a seam that gets stressed. You might have to use T135 Nomex to secure a seam that would only need T90 bonded thread. Nomex is basically 50% to 60% as strong as bonded nylon of the same Tex size. Here is a good page of details comparing Nomex to other types of thread. PS: It's Wiz, not Whiz ;-)

Assuming you have or will get written permission to sew firefighter turnout gear, the fully capable CB3200 may have to be run with undersize needles and thread. The nominal needle size range is from 23 through 26, covering bonded nylon thread sizes 138 through 346 (Tex 135 through Tex 350). Nomex is rated in Tex sizes, like T60, T70, T90, T135, etc. All of those sizes require smaller needle diameters than those sold for leathercraft sewing. I have purchased round point System 7x3 needles from Bob Kovar in very small diameters, in needle sizes #18, #19, #20 and #22. You will probably need a couple packs of each because the long thin needles are easily deflected and broken. Make sure you buy round point 7x3 and not 794 leather points. The Schmetz "S" point needles that usually ship with Cowboy machines will slice the fire retardant material inline with the stitch line, weakening it. You want perfectly round holes, at the same spacing as the originals. It will be important to match the thread and needle sizes for the tightest fit. So, you won't want to poke a large hole with a #23 needle while sewing with T90 Nomex. That calls for either a #19 or #20 needle. If you end up using T135 thread, a #22 needle may provide the best tightest fit. In leather you would have to use a #23 needle because of the extra resistance the hide has. Don't even contemplate sewing fire retardant gear with bonded nylon or bonded polyester! It melts way to soon! Finally, you may get better feeding if you change the feed dog and presser feet to the so called blanket foot set. These items have teeth that grip hard and the feed dog has an almost round needle hole instead of a long slot. If you didn't get this set with the machine, your Cowboy dealer probably stocks them.

If your machine has a lube pot on top, buy a quart of silicon lube and fill the pot. Run the top thread through the lube pot on the way to the top tension disks. If you don't have the lube pot, contact Bob Kovar to get one, with the required threaded bolt.

The Sailrite binder is a swing away style that does straightaways and outside curves best, When you sew inside curves the binder gets pushed backwards to let the binding flow better than a fixed binder would allow. This binder does not necessarily require special feet, although a wide, short inside foot and a left toe only outside foot will improve its functioning. The second binder, which is a complete set, is an inside binder that favors inside curves and requires the special feet and throat plate. If you were contemplating purchasing that set, look elsewhere. That website is insecure http only. Any website that processes financial transactions, and/or processes logins and passwords, must be https. This requires a special SSL Certificate, which that company has failed to procure. They even have a notice in the shopping cart that they are unable to perform direct online transactions. The Sailrite website is fully secured with https.

I own a CB4500 and one of my best friends owns a Cobra Class 4. I sew on it every now and then and it is just like sewing on my Cowboy. They use the same needles and bobbins and have the same tensioners and pressure screws. Both will produce top quality results within their intended design parameters. I do own a Techsew machine, but it is a smaller, lighter duty machine. It works as it should and gets plenty of use. All three brands offer certain modifications, additions, or accessory packages. The only question mark for me is what type of motor does your machine ship with? In the good old days, sewing machines usually had clutch motors that one had to learn to feather in - until it was off to the races. Nowadays, these machines have electronically controlled servo motors. There are basically two types of servo motor in common use over here (vs over there!). 1: brushless with multi-function pushbuttons and LCD readouts to control the speed and direction (big learning curve); 2: with replaceable brushes and a simple rotary knob that limits the top speed and a slide switch for direction. The three brands you asked about are all advertisers here. They keep the lights on for us. I can tell you that anybody I know who has had a problem and asked for help from the dealer they bought the machine from got all the assistance they needed to get things back on track. In fact, some folks buy these machines second hand and the dealers will still assist the new buyer even though they legally don't have to. Until last year there was a Cowboy dealer in Arlington, Texas. that's not too far from Louisiana. Unfortunately, he closed his business. Your nearest Cowboy dealer is in Toledo, Ohio. Cobra is headquartered in Ontario, California, with an authorized dealer in Springfield, Mo. Techsew is based in Montreal, Canada, but has a US shipping agent. You will have to factor in shipping charges no matter whom you buy the machine from. This could change the total cost, especially if you have it shipped to a location lacking a truck loading dock. All shippers charge extra for a lift gate delivery truck.

Yes, if it is in good condition and the pressure on the clamp is able to hold down the webbing. I'd use a #18 or #19 round point titanium coated needle. Note, that the Singer 269w8 is a bartacker, not an X tacker. It only sews a 42 stitch bar pattern, up to 5/8" long, and from 1/16" to 5/32" width. The maximum clearance under the foot/clamp is listed as 5/8 inch, but is probably best limited to actually tacking 3/8 inch. It make the most wonderful CLANG at the end of each cycle. Lifting the foot should cut the thread for you and leave about a 1 inch thread stub. The needle system is System 1628/16x5. If you haven't purchased it already, I would strongly recommend testing the machine, or have the seller test sew on it, before buying it. A video would be good.

They may be able to sell you a small pulley and shorter v-belt. You will probably have to mic the diameter of the output shaft. Call them at: 866-362-7397, or use the website's contact form.

Please start a new topic about your machine and its issues.

This motor looks good according to the specs. It also has a speed dial. However, it appears that it ships with a 75mm pulley. That is too fast for a leather sewing machine. The motors I get from Toledo Industrial have 50mm pulleys that give more low speed torque.

There are basically two types of servo motor. One has brushes, like a regular clutch motor has. The other is an electronic brushless motor. The motors with brushes usually have a simple rotary switch or potentiometer to limit the top speed. The brushless types usual;ly have push buttons with multiple functions and are complicated to setup. The dial type motors usually start at zero, with less torque, then gradually speed up with foot motion. The pushbutton controlled motors usually start at 200 or 300 rpm, with good torque, then increase to the preset maximum. I have had both types and will probably never ever use a brushless pushbutton motor again. I have added 3:1 speed reducers/torque multipliers to the servo motors where I need lots of torque at very slow startup speeds. I have four of the Family Sew FS-550s motors mentioned by JJN. There are box style and free standing reducers listed on the same page.

Yes I ran #69 standard bonded thread top and bottom in mine. The thread was made in Canada. There was no need for silicon. Totally depends on how tight the mechanism is and how much wear is in the bearings and crank shafts.

I think Artisan is still in business and can probably help you if nobody else can, or if parts are missing/broken.

It will have to be an industrial sewing machine store to get those needles. You won't find them where they sell domestic zig zag and embroidery sewing machines.

The gear that drives the shuttle carrier must be really loose, or maybe even missing. It shouldn't move more than about 1/16". It's also possible that the teeth on the gears are worn out. Finally, there is an eccentric screw under the main body that connects to the rack gears under the arm and it could be backed out too far, or shot. There is a small screwdriver hole on the rear of left end of the arm, where you can use a 1/16" blade screwdriver to try to tighten the set screw on the driving pinion gear. You will need to rotate the hand wheel until the screw is lined up with the hole in the arm. You can use 1.75" long System 29x3 and 29x4, or 135x16 and 135x17 needles in it. Household needles are much too short.

Personally, I have returned sewing machines that were damaged in shipping because they weren't properly secured for shipping. The flywheel is probably on an angle because the shaft got impacted and bent. Have fun straightening it out. Use a rubber or rawhide mallet.

No, we are two distinct and separate people. "CowboyBob" is a sewing machine dealer. His toll free phone number is 866-362-7397. I am but a humble and lovable UnderDog.

Unless you made a mistake in the model number, the 15-91 is not a leather sewing machine, nor even an industrial machine. It is a domestic model for home use on cloth and outside the scope of this particular forum. That said, the original foot pedal speed control is via a moving metal slug inside coils that are embedded in bakelite. The slug can be adjusted in and out for better foot control. These parts wear out over the years and become unreliable and hard to feather to slow speeds. You can probably replace the entire cord and pedal with a more modern electronic foot pedal made to plug into the Singer 15-91 AC socket. These are available from many sewing machine dealers, especially those selling on eBay. A Michigan seller, 231Terry comes to mind and I've bought replacement parts for domestic sewing machines from him. Here is his listing for a modern speed control that fist a 15-91. You should be cautious aboiut running the machine if there is any smell of something burning in the motor. Those pod motors can catch fire if the windings lose their insulation, or the machine is run too long without the proper motor grease (also sold on eBay).

Please be aware that the 211g140/141 (w/rev) are needle feed flat foot machines, while the 111w153 and 155 are compound feed walking foot machines.