bcurrier

I also just read this (haven't been on the site for a while). Gregg was a terrific resource for all kinds of machine history, applications, repair, and more. Every contact I had with Gregg or with Keystone was prompt, courteous, and 100% accurate. I appreciated his expertise and contribution here. He'll be missed. 46 is very young indeed ... My heart goes out to his family on such a sudden and unexpected loss.

When I first contacted the seller, I asked him about the (arbor and other) presses he had listed. He’s keeping those. He said he’d “definitely” deal on the Ferdco machine, though. I asked him the lowest price he’d take for it as it’s an oddball Ferdco. Never heard back.

Ken, it’s not a 900B. Uwe, I had also found the Thor machine, which is clearly the same, as is the Cowboy 7205. I’ve also looked through Singer history and can’t find a match. I’m beginning to suspect you’re right about Ferdo - at least in their later history. What makes this interesting is the Super Bull labeling, as that’s late in Ferdinand/Ferdco’s branding, and they were still using 441 machines for the Super Bull Pro 2000 branding. Keystone Sewing (keysew.com) has a short Ferdinand/Ferdco history that reads as though it came from Ferdco: ”The Pro 2000 was designed by Ferdinand JeanBlanc in 1991 using a Juki 441 frame from Juki USA. In 1995 we went to a Tiawan manufacturer and had the 441 changed to our new specifications which we use now. Once the casting is delivered to us, we convert the 441 into the Super Bull Pro 2000 that you see advertised today. You may be familiar with some of the other proceeding versions of the Bull or heavy stitchers Ferdinand has designed and built in the past. These would be: The Chandler 305 Bull - From 1964 to 1968 The Alder 105 Bull - From 1968 to 1979 The Adler 205 Bull - From 1980 to 1985 The Ferdinand 900 Bull - From 1985 to 1993 The Juki Pro 2000 - From 1993 to 1995 And the Ferdco Pro 2000 'Super Bull' - From 1995 to Present” In any event, it’s a machine I think I’ll pass on, as parts and maintenance are always a concern. That’s the beauty of the clone machine market, I guess ... keeps things alive.

The take-up arm on a 441 is on the end face of the machine. This one has it on the front.

Anyone know what machine this Pro-2000 is based on? It looks mostly like an Adler 205 to me, but the front-mounted tension is atypical. Ferdinand built the Pro-1010 that looked almost exactly like this, but I haven’t seen this version of the Pro-2000.

I recently moved my Artisan Toro 4000 to a small stand, as we moved into a much smaller house, and am selling the original heavy-duty pedestal stand it came on. Please see attached pictures, including one of the original setup with the head, motor, speed reducer, light, and thread stand in place. The second picture shows the bare stand as I’m selling it (machines etc. on the floor not included). The stand is height-adjustable, on casters, and made of very heavy steel. 2 pedals - one for the motor, the other for the foot lift. The top is drilled for the Artisan Toro 4000, which is a Juki 441 clone. $75 (which is a bargain). Pick-up only. I’m in the Jacksonville, FL area.

It’s expensive, no doubt. I like it better than others I’ve seen, though. It’s heavy duty, made of substantial steel tube ... and a 441 clone is a heavy setup to put on a small table.

It is indeed a nice table. It’s also available in colors (for extra $$). It’s not obvious from the picture, but it’s also height-adjustable. I have it set on its lowest position, which, on 4” casters (also extra) leaves it exactly the same height as my old table.

Brmax - I’m a long way from Missouri. I’m in Northeast Florida (Jacksonville area). I thought I’d toss in a few progress pictures. Although this kind of machine move takes a bit of time, it’s not hard to do. In this case, I used the old tabletop as a template for the layout and drilling. 1) Blank (new) table in front of old setup 2) Disassembled! 3) Old Top 4) Old top clamped on new (with offset) 5) Drilled and marked 6) Slot cut 7) Speed reducer mounted 8) Motor mounted, guard installed. Ready to turn over.

Thanks - I had something like that in mind. Problem is that the current knee lifts I see are all made to fit the bosses in oil pans. The Adler’s has a nice A-brace setup. I may end up fabbing something if I can’t find it.

We moved from a much larger house, going from a 40’ x 24’ sewing and craft space to a spare bedroom ... 12.5’ x 11’. Saving inches is critical and moving my leather stitcher (Artisan Toro 4000) is part of that. I’ve been looking for a good, small table for a while now, finally finding it in a Merrow Machine Helmsman table. My wife already has a Merrow machine on one of these tables, so I was able to measure for feasibility first. It looked good, so I ordered another.The result? Very stable! I moved the head as inboard on the table as I could while still keeping a good amount of free space under the cylinder arm. The larger casters on the Helmsman actually roll better than the larger table (the room is carpeted). Although it might not seem to be the case, the pedal is completely comfortable to use. I haven’t figured out a solution for a convenient foot lift yet (knee lift perhaps), so am using the hand lever for now. Please see the before and after pictures. Also, the old table (in perfect condition) is for sale. I’ll post that separately in the classifieds.

Disclaimer - I don't airbrush, but have been looking into it lately because of posts in this forum. One thing I found that I thought would be useful (or maybe not, given the comments here on Createx) is a paint buyers guide on the Airbrush Action site: http://www.airbrushaction.com/pdfs/aba_2007_PBG.pdf I don't see any pattern regarding paint types as it relates to leather in this guide (Createx "acrylic" is listed as usable for leather, for example, while several other acyrlics are not). Still, it has a lot of information. Bill

Thanks for posting the link. I've become interested in airbrushing myself from references in leatherworker.net. I'm not sure yet that I'll do anything about it, though! Just what I need, more equipment purchases ... Bill

Wow! And they say women don't like drawing attention to their, ahh ... saddles ... Bill

Jim, I'm glad you came back to the thread and posted your experience with the maul. I was wondering how the PVC would work out. I just might give it a try myself. Bill