Cascabel

Are there any SIGNIFICANT differences between the Cobra Class 4, Cowboy 4500, and Techsew 5100 machines ? They appear very similar with similar specifications, and similar prices. Are there any differences, other than name, or are they identical machines with different labels ? Opinions, rants, or useful info. anybody ??

A bit better now. Took 32 seconds to change pages.....

A bit faster now....... One minute and 12 seconds on average to change pages. I have an HP Pavilion, running Windows XP, using Internet Explorer for a browser, Cookies cleared out every day, ATT DSL service. The only other pages I have problems with are ones that are loaded up with advertising, which Leatherworker.net is not. For instance, I quit using Yahoo because all the advertising caused the pages to load very slowly. I never had any speed issues with the old board at all. It's only been since the "improvements".....

Just to give an example....... I clicked on LEATHERWORKER.NET at the top of this page, and it took a full minute and 56 seconds for the page to open. I consider it fully opened when I am able to scroll the page. Apparently there is LOTS of garbage loading in the background. This is the only website that I have problems with. It used to work fine before the "improvements" !!!

Yes, please do !!!!!! Like a wise man once said, "Grandma was slow, but she was OLD !!!" New and improved should not be this slow.....

I don't like the "New and Improved" Leatherworker.net a bit !!!!!! Pages take far too long to load. It wasn't broke, so ya should not have tried to fix it !!! Or maybe the thinking was, "It ain't broke, so we'll fix it until it is !!!" Ya shoulda left it alone......

I have a friend that got hold of a 42-5 that had a much smaller than normal flywheel installed on it for some reason, perhaps to speed it up. Anyhow, because I have machine shop capabilities, I modified an old 29-4 flywheel, and installed it for him. It worked out very well. I did it by installing the 29-4 wheel backwards after machining off the center boss and bolting on a V-belt pulley. The heavy wheel gave the machine back the "grunt" it needed to punch through heavy material.

Great chart, THANX !!!!

Unfortunately, I don't know much about how to tell thread sizes. I got LOTS of spools with my machine, and have not needed to seek out more. The labels on the spools have lots of numbers, and I don't know which numbers designate the size. One spool says "size FF", whatever that means, and some say M 138 BS CLASS A, some seem to be lighter and say 69. Some say VT-295-E, and some say SIZE 'E'. All that I have is Nylon. I just use whatever seems to work best. I gather there are several different size systems for thread, and the charts I have found are not much help in determining what I have. Anyhow, perhaps Wizcrafts or Sewmun can enlighten us on how to decypher thread labels. It is just as confusing as understanding the various needle size systems, (which I finally figured out, at least for what I use). However, I have no difficulty at all in sewing 3/8ths of an inch thickness of leather with my machine, and a full 1/2 inch if I'm careful. From my experience, the 42-5 is a great machine, once you learn it's capabilities and limitations and work within those parameters.

I use standard 135x16 and 135x17 needles in my 42-5 machine sizes 18-25, depending on the job at hand. . As far as I know, the machine has no special modifications to use these easily available needles. These needles also work in my 29-4.

Is this machine you found NEW in it's original crate ?? Anyhow, unless you are in love with treadle operation, I would mount it on a modern type table with a motor underneath. I have one of these, which is a later version with a V-belt drive. A very versatile machine, and capable of anything I ask it to do. Thick leather, heavy and light upholstery fabrics, heavy canvas, etc.

I have a 42-5 that I use for everything. It will handle up to a half inch of veg tanned leather, although it is happier with a bit less. Works well for heavy fabric also. It will climb over most thick seams, but sometimes I need to "bump" the knee lifter if the spring-loaded swinging foot gets stuck on changing thicknesses. I absolutely LOVE the big flywheel. It has enough inertia to keep it chugging through heavy materials at slow speed. I can get it to really move slowly if needed by dragging my hand on the flywheel also. Never skips stitches on heavy leather with the right needle. It uses common 135x16 and 135x17 needles. I love this machine !!