NoPleather

Interesting question. It's a little cold here today and while my garage is somewhat temperature controlled, it's still cold. I'll take a pic. My problem is that the pedal has no control over the speed; it's either going or not. Hang on...

I wanted to add, Alexander slowed the motor down to possibly its slowest setting, and that's ok. But I will likely speed it up just a tad, as the motor on my Cowboy seems to stumble; either on or off, but no ramp-up speed, and that bothers me a little bit. My motor appears to lack crisp speed control, it's "chunky" in its operation. I recall Alexander mentioning something about it as well, suggesting it may need another motor. I may follow-up with him on that.

I'll explain then show pictures when I get home. The thread guide on the top of the machine he removed. He didn't trust me not to use it, so he took it off. So now the thread runs from the spool, through the first thread guide, but then wraps around the first pressure guide twice. From there it appears to be standard threading like Bob suggests in his video, but I'll post anyway. I did some pretty heavy searching on how to thread and adjust these machines, and there is several ways to run the thread. I my opinion, whatever works for you, works for you. Getting the precise pressure to get the machine to work properly sometimes requires some creativity and diligence. And that is something Alexander has down--He is in tune with the machines. Something I noticed; the thread moves through the machine very smoothly. I believe this is primarily due to the crappy thread Alexander had me throw in the trash. It had fuzzy spots and would catch anything that my be protruding from and eye, guide, needle, whatever. The smoother the thread, the fewer your problems. I saw a nice piece from the "Wiz" about thread, and where to buy it and the type he recommends--I'm going that route.

I had some time to enjoy my hobby last weekend and knocked out about 8 book covers through 9 oz leather (doubled-up) without as much as a hesitation. It ate it up. I am very pleased with the operation.

Sure, let me post it up tomorrow. Tough day at work today. No clue. But as another poster stated; there are a thousand ways to thread these machines. I have seen several myself. Thank you. I greatly appreciate the tip--will do.

I have been busy with other projects, given the Christmas break provides opportunity for me to get a lot done. I did sew on it earlier this afternoon and oil ran all over the leather, but no matter--it was a sample piece. It is laying down very well and I plan to sew some books tomorrow. It could have been a combination of things, bad thread, a possible bur on the foot that would catch the fuzz on the thread, poor adjustments and in need of a more thorough oiling. I don't know which one or all. I do know that he completely re-routed my thread and it seems to run smoother. The more places you run it through, the more opportunity there is for problems.

Update: The Asian group ended up going to Vietnam for the week so I missed them. However, Bob gave me the name of a local gentleman, Alexander, in the Dallas/Fort Worth area that took a look at the machine for me and spent a good amount of time working on it, and changing the routing of the thread and sanding the foot where the thread goes through. But in the end, he suggested I throw the thread away and left me a new spool. My thread had fuzzy areas on ocassion and you can't stop during a project and solve it. Needless to say, I am extremely grateful to Bob and Alexander. These machines might be made of steel and weigh a ton, but they are VERY sensitive. The threading of the machine is completely different than anything I have seen, and the thread is a very nice smooth consistency. While Alexader stitched just about every thickness you can imagine, I have not had time to put the machine through its paces yet. But Alexander's work was top-notch. In fact, that guy is a scientist when it comes to these machines. Shout out to Alexander in Dallas. Hell of a guy. Thank you. I'll post back shortly with comments and pictures.

Sewing machine repair guy stopped by on his way to a client's house, and took a quick look at my machine and immediately stated the thread was of very poor quality; inconsistent and fraying (white), the black was far too stiff but should sew better than the white. He suggested throwing them both away and getting better thread before trying to make any adjustments to the machine. He plans to drop by on Friday to work the mechanics out with better thread. Any attempt at making any lasting adjustments with poor thread is a waste of time, in his opinion. Interestingly, the white thread looks better (when it works) than the black thread. But I've had problems with both. I'll update all on Friday or Saturday before rendering a final diagnosis.

Yes, that is the other machine. I have counted no less than 5 ways to thread, and I chuckle until my machine goes wonky on me. Interesting idea; 277/207. Hell, I'll try anything a this point. My white thread is fraying and spindling and even busted a needle off by throwing off the rithym of the needle speering the tip off into my thumb. I pulled it out with little fan-fare other than a burning pain. Never forget how dangerous these machines can be and wear eye protection--I always do. Any suggestions as to where I can get some good thread?

Well Tinker, I have heard nothing back from Bob, even asked for a local contact with no luck hoping I could get some counsel. I do recall Bob mentioning he had picked-up some bad thread and just maybe I bought it. I can state that when I changed the thread the problem has disappeared. The problem is it's a funky color. I changed it out to see if it would make a difference. Apparently the thread is getting all spindled and tangled too. Using this other thread has at least eliminated the problem. So, if you have any suggestion for a thread supplier, please pass along. I'm still having the Asian Contingency out to the house for grins. There are some pretty nice videos on youboob for an identical machine, but different name that runs through a step-by-step bobbin cleaning, adjustment etc operation that was easy to follow. My machine was spotless, screws appeared to be in order etc.

Yeah, you know I found a burr on the spool of thread that was causing some hang-ups. I could not tell how far down the line it was but cut it out anyway. A few minutes later while trying to test the unit after replacing the needle and bobbin, the thread ran out on me. So the end was closer than I thought. Sadly, the problem continues after trying every suggestion noted above. Four hours of working on it has yielded a variety of results that eventually ended me back at where I started. I am having a sewing machine specialist come out to the house next week. He used to work in the factories in China maintaining these machines so I imagine he'll make short work of it. I am convinced the bobbin is the problem. My wife owns a national children's clothing company with sewing facilities in Bangladesh, China and Vietnam, and more recently the US. The quality has become quite poor, and they knock everything off with cheaper materials and thread and sell it for change. They are basically fishing for ideas when they produce your products. Needless to say, the wife looked at it and told me your bobbin isn't working properly. So she's sending her guy out. I'll keep you posted...

I have had this problem a few times, but am usually able to correct it, sometimes by myself and other times with Bob's help. This time, neither Bob nor I can figure it out and am losing confidence in the machine. Thread, needle and machine all acquired from Bob. I have adjusted and rethreaded at least a dozen times, lubricated, and cleaned the botton bobin area, checked the bobbin and tension etc. So, the machine has become a major nightmare. Edit: CB4500 Machine. Pic attached of the problem...