YinTx

I appear to have issues with the tension adjustment on the bobbin case as well. It does not seem to matter whether the screw is loose or as tight as possible, the bobbin free wheels as you draw the thread out. Any suggestions? YinTx

Here are the instructions for the safety clutch adjustment. If anyone understands this, please let me know and help clarify! Also, the instructions for adjusting timing, if anyone understands this, please let me know and help clarify!

I seem to be having the same problem with a similar machine, see my post http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=61016&page=2 with the photo of the blue strap done on a 2700 variant. Is this what you are experiencing? If so, when I figure it out I'll let you know why mine was doing it! YinTx

on the small machine: Fiddled around with it, since the bobbin was now spinning better. read the 227R-2 owners manual up to where they discuss the safety clutch. Very difficult to understand but I did what I could with it. Suddenly, the needle was going through the leather! I have no idea what I did. When I learn, I will type it up for sure. Since it seemed to be running a stitch, I went ahead and started on a strap. First 2 feet came out ok, so spun it around and started the second side. Not so good, results in the photo below. One thing I have noticed is that the presser foot pedal seems to bounce when the machine is running. Don’t know why. On the upside, I have some stitches now. So seeing improvement. Definitely more to go, so if any of this clues anyone on an idea, please share! Now on to the 4100: After opening, cleaning, oiling everywhere something was rubbing metal to metal, bearings, etc. I discovered a few things. While turning by hand, there is binding in the head and near the bobbin area. I discovered the presser foot spring was catching in the threads on the adjusting screw, so I turned it over, which seemed to help. Also found that a shaft is catching the same spring and binding it up randomly. This seems to lift the presser foot while stitching, in additition to making the machine hard to turn by hand. The outside presser foot jumps and jambs during the cycle when it should be down. If you hold the presser foot pedal slightly, this reduces the incidents of binding. When it does bind, the presser foot pedal is hard to push, and it releases very suddenly and everything runs fine again. Photos of the shaft binding with the spring attached. You can see slightly the spring is compressed on the top, and looser on the bottom. The round shaft directly in line with the take up lever and behind the spring appears to be what is binding. I have also attached photos of the needle position to verify it is installed correctly. The clearance in the bobbin area is so tight, I can’t imagine turning it without it binding and deflecting the needle. Perhaps I am wrong. I ran some new stitches over 4 layers of soft veg tan. Photos below. Still not entirely happy, and don’t like all the binding noises in the machine. The machine does stop itself and I have to push the presser foot lifter pedal to unbind before moving on. Because of this I have done very little practice/test stitching. Image of back of threads from 4100 on 4 layers veg tan.

Goldmine for me, thank you! I'll read them through so when I talk to Ron at Techsew, I can at least speak the same language. YinTx

Regarding bobbin tension: that explains one thing. My curiosity got the better of me yesterday, and I decided to pull that screw out in the bobbin basket holding the flat metal strip as you can see in the photo, thinking maybe something in there was binding up the thread coming out of the bobbin. I blew it out, put it back in, and now the thread comes out much easier! I did not know that this screw adjusted tension. I have tried to search this site everywhere regarding bobbin tension, but always just says adjust bobbin tension. Everyone has photos of top tension adjustments, and how to, but never the bottom! lol. So I will put a picture on this post, you will see where I have pulled the screw out (pointing with the jewelers screwdriver), and I am presuming now that is a bobbin tension adjustment for the 2700 and variants. But I am still having issues with the machine punching through any leather without the clutch mechanism slipping where the pulley attaches to the machine. I put in a brand new size 23 leather point needle without thread in the needle, and it will not go through a single layer of 1/8" veg tan. It will run through thin thin leather though. Not sure why this is. Again, able to get some stitching with larger thread in nagahyde/pleather, still skipping occasionally, and no backstitching capabilities. No luck with the small thread and needle. I am installing the bobbin correctly, have even tried to install it backwards for assurance: nope, doesn't work installed backwards, so I have had it in correctly this whole time. Unfortunately, I have no books, drawings, DVD, instruction manuals or anything for these machines, so struggling as I go along. If anyone knows where I can get books for them, I would appreciate that info too! Also, I am in Texas. YinTx

Additional image YinTx

This is the second project that I have ever done. I think the hand stitching is a bit better than the first project I started. Still had a little trouble going around the corners. Not sure if I would start from scratch with veg tan leather again, but I like the feel of it. I enjoy stitches, to me they are art when they are done right, so I like them to show really well, which is why I chose the heavy white thread on a dark background. I think most would prefer a black thread here, let me know. The color is one I came up with myself, let me know if you like it. Constructive criticism is always welcome, as I am trying to do this art well! YinTx

Ron, Thank you for your offer, I will certainly give you a call on Monday, as I had planned to order the DVD from your web page. To be fair, since you are offering assistance via phone, you should be aware that I have been referring to the smaller of the two machines I have as a 2700 to avoid confusion with those reading my postings. It is in fact a Bogle Greenwell, which appears every bit identical to the 2700. My larger machine is indeed a Techsew 4100. Since I have been unable to draw the bobbin string up with the smaller thread at all (and no, I've never seen someone do this with leather in the machine, seems it would make a mess when you are trying to finish threading the machine), I have reloaded the smaller machine with 135 thread today, and the hook is picking it up now. However, I still have tension issues, as the knot is below the material, regardless of thick or thin, hard veg tan leather or soft pleather. I increase the top tension until the machine barely pulls the thread through the plates without stalling, still knots on the bottom. The only place I am aware of to adjust bobbin tension is when you wind the bobbin. This is set pretty loose right now, but not helping. It is possible there is thread bound somewhere in the bobbin case, but I don't want to start pulling screws out and discover I have taken something apart I should not have, and wind up in a worse place than I am now. If someone knows another place to adjust bobbin tension, please fill me in! Again, I am very new at this and hoping this is truly operator error and not a machine issue, so I am trying everything being suggested. Presumably, I will learn the ins and outs of these machines to where I don't get in stitches over issues! Thanks again to all for continuing to suggest where I am messing up here, and when I get this figured out I will post the results. YinTx

Catskin, Thanks for your reply. It is a bit confusing for me though, don't all machines catch the thread so that you can pull the bobbin thread up through the plate without any material before you start to sew? I can not even do that 95% of the time. I did follow the threading procedure outlined in the Techsew Youtube videos, so unless I shouldn't be doing something they are doing when I am using thinner threads? YinTx

Been following everyone's advice, and so far I can't say things have gotten better. Again, I am sure operator error. The presser foot pressure is so low the threaded post is about to come out of the top of the machine. The foot has been ground down and polished even. The work literally lifts 1/2" from the plate when the needle is coming back up, so I don't think I can have less pressure. When the needle was making the correct shaped holes, the long groove was on the left side, but seemed to make a scraping noise in the bobbin area, so I rotated it slightly until the noise stopped. I will be ordering the maintenance CD from Raphael Sewing in the hopes it may have some info that will clue me in. Steve, thanks for the offer for needles, but I already have more than I will use in some time as noted in DoubleC's first post. Eventually, I suspect I will find the size/style I want, and at that point I may call and order some. I don't really want an S needle, as I am looking for a decorative slanted stitch. In fact I would have tried the "P" needle, but the place I bought them from didn't have any at the time. Since I got frustrated with the Techsew 4100, decided to move over to the 2700. I needed to work with a smaller thread on a project, so I changed out the needle and thread, started to try to sew on scrap with absolutely no luck. The hook is not catching the thread from the needle, so no bottom stitch, which means no stitch. Fiddled with tension, but no change. The best I ever got was one stitch to catch. Took the lid off and watched the timing, everything seemed fine, but the hook is not catching the thread off of the needle, just passing it by. Did this without leather, just slowly rotating the machine by hand. Is this because of the smaller thread? I am using a Black BNT 69 thread with a Groz-Beckert needle, I am assuming size 18, which from what I can tell is the top end for this thread ( here I don't have a smaller needle, yet). The numbering on these needles is just short of cryptic: 135x16 RTW, NRTW, DP x 16 LR, 389,200 AC01LR, 10 Nm 110/18. The machine doesn't want to push the needle through thin leather, it just binds and the clutch mechanism at the belt to machine pulley slips. Even with no thread in the needle. Takes a pair of soft nosed pliers to pull the needle out of the holder, even with the retaining screw fully removed. I checked to see if there was any thread filament bound up, pulled the caps off of the bobbin section, turned the machine over, vacuumed it out, wiped the oil, re-oiled it, rethreaded it following the Techsew video on Youtube, etc. Stitching at the slowest speed the servo motor will run at. No luck. Tempted to take it to the nearest recycle for the iron content. One of those days to throw the towel in. As always, very open to suggestions, as I have tried everything suggested above, and willing to try more. I have way to much $$ invested in these machines for zero stitches.

PM sent. thank you.

No, it didn't sew well with the round point needle either. From everything I can find, round points aren't necessarily intended for leather anyhow. I am hoping this is operator error here.

I think I could use some help here. Recently removed the round point needles that came in the Techsew 4100 machine I purchased, and installed Organ 794 LR Size 230/26 with white 277 thread. First round was a complete disaster, finally managed to get the results shown in the photos. Not certain it is what it should be though, and I can't say that I'm happy with it. Any suggestions on what I should be doing to get this to be a better stitch? Also looks like it is blowing out the back, not a clean exit. One row is just with the needle, the second row has the thread.