stickandtin

Hi Bob, I know I can call you anytime and I appreciate that. I just didn't want to trouble you with basic questions that I felt could be asked/answered on the forum. I'll give you a call next week. Thanks!!

Gregspitz, thank for sending the video. That is some slowwwww sewing. Uwe.....the first industrial machine we ever purchased was the Juki. Since it had an English translation, I assumed all manuals would be that way. Owners manuals for every power tool I buy come in several languages. Again, yes I know I can call Bob. Calling Bob will be a last resort as I am guessing he stays pretty busy and I choose not to bother him with newbie questions. This is why I am asking on this forum. Every day I see posts from people asking details about machines and others sharing that info. I would like to hear from people who are using a Cowboy 538(or same type machine branded with a different name)in some kind of business or hobby. Back to needle size, thread range and other minutia....thought that would be in the manual and it might be. I just can't read Chinese LOL.

Photo of needle mechansim

It has an oil pump, but three manual oiling spots on top of machine. Here are some pics.

Mikesc.....yes, I can place a call to Bob. I just thought maybe some other people on this forum may own and use this model machine and would share some info about it.

We ordered a Cowboy 538 from Toledo Industrial. It arrived yesterday. As usual, Bob Kovar was wonderful to deal with and we got the machine in less than a week(Toledo to Lubbock, Tx) from the time we ordered it. We bought the machine to primarily sew draperies. However, we are wondering what else this needle feed machine can be used for and what it's capabilities are. Can it sew leather, vinyl, canvas? What thicknesses? What range of needles and thread can it handle? As far as manuals to operate the machine, the main book is written in Chinese. Why does Cowboy include a user manual that is written only in Chinese? Other than some illustrations it's of no use to us. There was another smaller supplement written in English that covered some basics. Our Juki manual at least had English translations. Because the main manual is in Chinese, I'm sure we will have plenty of questions about operating the machine. We would appreciate any input on other uses for and capabilities of this machine. Thanks!

Did some more digging through pics on the Internet and found these two chairs. The chairs in the first pic are made from leather panels sewed together. Guy that made those claims he used "1/4 inch saddle leather", whatever that means. Second chair is laced with leather. Not sure how that is done either because I assume you can only make a leather strip as long as the hide is. Can my juki 1541 sew through 1/2 inch of leather?Does anyone have any idea how the lacing on the chair in the second pic was made?

I was digging around the internet trying to identify what type of seat material these frames originally had. Finally struck pay dirt. They are literally called basket chairs. A large woven tapered basket made out of some kind of cane material was inserted inside the ring. The only thing holding the basket inside the frame is the friction created by the taper. I can see now why the frames were bare. The cane had broken or rotted long ago. I have no idea how to weave a basket LOL. I am now exploring ways to modify the frames so I can create seats for them using leather.

Appreciate all the suggestions, but how do you get this shape to the seat?

Leatherwytch, thank you for the help. I have no idea how to weave leather to form a seat. Weaving never crossed my mind as an option, but that approach does make a lot of sense. I was originallythinking along the lines of sewing solid pieces to form the seat then somehow attaching that to the frame. Honestly, with my lack of knowledge about working with leather or leather weaving this project may be way over my head.

Found these frames at a junk store and was thinking about trying to cover them in leather. I know nothing about leather, but I do have a juki 1541S to sew on. What kind of leather do you recommend trying to make the seats out of? Is my juki the right machine to sew seats for these frames? What would be the best way to attach the leather to the frames? asked these questions in another subgroup but didn't get any response. Thought maybe I asked in wrong area so trying this one. Thanks for any help or advice.

Maybe I asked this question in the wrong subgroup. After looking around here, it seems to be a place to showcase projects that are finished rather than ask questions about how to do something. I'll try another area. Thanks.

Found these frames at a junk store and was thinking about trying to cover them in leather. I know nothing about leather, but I do have a juki 1541S to sew on. What kind of leather do you recommend trying to make the seats out of? Is my juki the right machine to sew seats for these frames? What would be the best way to attach the leather to the frames? Thanks for any help and advice.

Tried the socket approach to getting rid of the dimple. My sockets have rounded edges so couldn't get close enough to the dimple. Went with the dremel tool and had success polishing off that dimple. Put bobbin back in basket and everything works perfectly. Wife is sewing merrily along again. Thanks everyone for the help.