Mike516

Different coasts, so sending it back isn't an option. I guess I'm going to have to try their suggestion and go from there. And I will keep calling as long as I have a problem. I'm not real mechanical with machines like this.

I REALLY didn't want to call them again. I feel like that pain in the butt customer that buys something then they're calling every day with a problem. I never thought I'd be "that guy". Good thing that guy Dave that works there is a saint. He said it's the adjustment you said Art. But the instructions were either translated word for word or they were written by someone for who english isn't their first language. Either way I can't make heads nor tails of them.

The Leather Machine Company. I just got it last week. It's brand new.

Right, but all the blades are dug into the bottom roller. The ends are fine. Why would the middle be the problem?

I decided on the AK 20. Winds up it comes with a foot controller after all lol. Oh well I'm sure I can get used to it. I ran a couple test pieces through and it seemed fine. But I just ran about a 9" X 48" piece of 6/7oz double shoulder through it for 1" straps and about 3 straps in on either side and in the middle few inches of the pieces, it didn't cut all the way through. Is there a trick to this or an adjustment - am I doing something or not doing something?

I finally got around to the worktable I was wanting to build. 62" X 30" table top with shelf and power bar. Hung a light over it as well. It's sturdy, level and everything is squared. The design left me with plenty of wiggle room for adjustments. And I completely scrapped the plans pulled off the internet in favor of the Lowe's guy named Dave who gave me a few ideas. About $80 in materials minus the light, power strip and jig saw that broke in the middle of notching the shelf. The only thing I'm thinking of adding is a back board which will enclose the shelf on 3 sides. I don't really need it but I have some scrap left over and it looks unfinished without it.

I brought my wife, who sews a little, with me for her opinion on it. She didn't help me load it at all, so it's a good thing Chris is a big dude. I could use him for when my strap cutter gets here. I didn't consider how I'm going to get this 400 pound monstrosity in my basement at the time when I ordered it.

Which one did you get? I got the Juki DNU1541S. Same thing with us, he explained it front to back and I have very little sewing experience.

Ray I'm considering this. How many plates are there?

Chris is on here and I think he reads the sewing machine topics. But yea, that's his mother and she's great. I had to call back a couple of times to ask stupid questions and to order a foot once, and they were really awesome about answering the questions and speaking to me about the foot I wanted. But I wouldn't leave a message, I would keep calling until one of them answers the phone. Not a knock on them for not returning phone calls, but they are very busy and I've found that to be the best way to talk to them as opposed to waiting for a call back. Otherwise, they do provide outstanding service and he took as long as we needed to explain the machine in store that we bought. They're good honest people in my opinion.

No, but I just ordered a machine from Steve at Leather Machine Company. Never ordered from there before, but he's a member here and I think a sponsor too, so I trust them. Just worried a little about such a heavy machine being shipped across the country. I ordered my sewing machine from Chris at Keystone also, another member here and nothing but great things to say about him and his Mom. If you're worried, I think I'd be more leery about buying something from someone with 1 post asking you to send payment as a gift through PayPal.

Going back and forth, we ended up negotiating for 2 machines, the strap cutter and a Cobra leather burnishing machine. Both are used, but they know nothing about them except that nothing comes with either of them and they were barely used. I don't know how they know they were barely used or what happened to the spacers and all the accessories, but that's what they told me. So when I asked what they would do for me if I bought both machines, the price actually went up. I suspect they were left in the building when they got there due to their weight because this isn't any kind of company that would use machines like these and the pictures were taken in a place that was being painted and stuff. They had no idea of the value but they needed to get them out of the area soon to finish renovations. Plus the person I was emailing with back and forth knew absolutely nothing about these machines and there was no one there she could ask. They were going by the list price from a website they found that they said they got them from, but I don't think they were being honest about it. So I called Steve at Cobra last week and he was really helpful. I wound up calling him back yesterday, after a weekend of back and forth with the people with the used one, and ordered a new AK20. It wasn't worth the hassle dealing with the other people for the used one. They were playing games and I was getting frustrated. I'll update when the new machine arrives and probably after my hernia surgery from getting it in my basement shop

I bought one today, thanks.

That is interesting. I too bought a Juki and I love it. But to the point of this discussion; So they're all the same machine with a different table under it. Then I'm likely going to go with the Cobra. I don't like the foot controller and I don't see a need for the light. Plus it looks like the Cobra comes with better accessories and a lifetime warranty. For 2 grand this thing should stain it, put the buckles on and ship it for me lol. Thanks for the info Thor.

Call me naive, but this is the same machine, made by the same manufacturer, for two different companies who each put their name on it? How could that be? You would think someone has a patent on the design. But now that you mention it, this looks a lot lie another one I saw recently. I think it's called a Leatherpro or something.

I think it's between these two: http://www.solar-leather.com/cowboy-strap-cuttter/ http://www.leathermachineco.com/product/cobra-ak-20-leather-strap-cutting-machine/ They look very similar. In fact, the only differences I can see, aside from the table, is the black handle on the right side of the cowboy. And that may be from the angle of the picture. Then the Cobra seems to come with more accessories. Is there any difference in performance?

I don't need straps cut exactly 1/2", 3/4", 1" etc. I just need them perfectly straight. I use one of those wood strap cutters and the cross piece with the ruler on it wanders a bit when I'm cutting straps. Wasn't a big deal but now with my embosser it has become a problem.

Thanks guys. Love the chart! I'm going to have to look this all over. Metrics conversions literally gave me a headache yesterday to be honest with you. It might be worth the extra grand to get the cobra which is in inches and avoid all this trouble. We should either all go with Metrics or convert to inches and feet. These two different measurements is kind of ridiculous in my opinion.

That's a good idea. I wonder what a precision machine shop would charge for something like that. I remember the blade width thing from the Weaver video I watched recently. Took me like 20 minutes to figure out what the heck they were talking about with the 1/16 inch blade thing lol. I'm thinking about getting a Cobra AK20 also. I was looking at used but I quickly realized people don't tell you the truth when they're trying to sell stuff. It's powered by a motor but it's 2 grand new. I can get the weaver but that's the same price and not powered. But I heard it's made better. This is such a hard decision. Everyone likes something different. And the TechSew one I was looking at is like a grand plus $270 shpping because it's in Canada, but now people are telling me TechSew stuff doesn't get good reviews.

I contacted this company in Germany. The machines are really nice and shipping is surprisingly reasonable. I was looking at this one http://www.sieck.de/en/machines/strap-strip-belt-cutting/details/5494/ If my math is right, I figured 1020,00 euros would be roughly $1150 to my door. The downside is, the spacers for their machines only come in metric sizes. They said they could send some 1mm spacers for me to get close to the inches measurements. All my hardware is in inches - 1/2", 3/4", 1", 1.5", etc. If I'm not mistaken, and someone please tell me I'm wrong, I won't be able to convert those sizes using metric spacers no matter how many I use, and is it even worth the trouble? Is there a solution I'm not thinking of?

Good point. Thank you. I know they go for 1900 and up new. But thats with spacers and extra set of blades. The fact that they don't have all that stuff makes me wonder. She sent me a link to the site they bought it new, and it says it comes with extra blades, all the spacers and accessories. But she doesn't know anything about that? It's supposed to be 'practically new'. So what happened to all that stuff? I offered $800. So far she stopped talking to me.

I posted this in the wrong section I think. I have an opportunity to purchase a Cobra AK20 leather strap cutter. They want $1000 for it with no accessories, blades or anything else. Just the machine and table looks like. They don't seem to know anything about it but they know it was barely used somehow. Is this worth the gamble or should I pass on it? Thanks

Thank you Sonydaze!

I'm looking to buy a strap cutting machine, but they seem to be extremely expensive. I was looking at the Techsew Bench Top Cutter. It's portable and under a thousand dollars. Does anyone or has anyone used one themselves or can you suggest a decent strap cutter for under a grand for spitting out leather straps? I'm getting tired and frustrated with my handy tandy wandering wood strap cutter that doesn't make consistent straps anymore seems like. Either that or I'm getting impatient in my old age. It seemed to work pretty decently for the last 4 years but all of a sudden it seems to be 1" when I start and 1 1/8" at the other end and I don't have time to keep fixing it. Sorry, rant over Any info would be appreciated.