ruffwerkz

Well I posted here a couple of weeks back trying to get some insight on what to get as far as my first leather sewing machine and I was gonna go with a Cobra 4 but went with the Cowboy instead...well because the "Bob's" are awesome guys! The CB4500 came in yesterday on a rainy day in drought stricken California and I was scrambling to get everything in my "workshop" (read garage, tiny by the way) and with the help of my geezer neighbors the machine was up and almost running in about an hour. By the way, to those new to leather sewing machine....this thing is a BEAST!!! It's heavy as heck and definitely would need another set of arms to help you unpack and get it assembled. The picture in Bob's website doesn't really do it justice and scale...I'm a small guy (5'5") and it's big to me. First thing I did was watch Bob's YouTube video on how to thread it and so I did and tested it on some scraps....smooth as buttah! But it was making a mark so I loosened up the presser feet tension all the way up...like almost popping it out and then loosened the top thread tension just a tad. Some of my scraps had the knot showing on top so I loosened the top thread tension just a bit more and that seemed to fix it...I have to warn you though I had no clue as to what I was doing but fiddling around with tensions and whatnot I finally got it to where I was satisfied. I kept the sample leather that came with the machine just to have a reference on how it's supposed to sew when it came out of Bob's shop. First thing that I noticed, and this is for the newbies on this machine, when you turn off the switch, the servo motor still has a "load" in it and will still move the machine, so make sure to wait a few seconds before fiddling with anything especially with the needle. I will move the on/off switch further out of the table so I could see it easily and I plugged in the lamp which is left in the ON position behind the servo motor so that I know when the machine is ON or OFF and that gives me another way of telling that yes, it's on or yes the needle went through your finger. I like redundant safety systems and so I don't mess anything up because I love my fingers. With that said, I got the hang of the machine last night and decided on making my dog a collar using #277 thread that came with the machine, I stitched at the slowest setting first and bumped it up a couple of notches because the slowest is...yep, reaaallllly slow! I was enjoying the machine last night and the only thing that ruined it was that I have to go to sleep. I'd like to thank Bob and Bob again for being such cool guys and answering all my newbie questions and giving me advice on what to really works with what. I just ordered a lighter spring for the CB4500 and a few more spools of thread and that should tide me over for a bit until I get another machine from him. Wow this was a long'ish post, just goes to show how stoked I am with the machine and if you're trying to decide on what kind of machine to get, I would wholeheartedly recommend the CB4500 or the smaller versions if you don't need this big of a machine. I still have a long way to go but learning from the pros here in LW saved me a lot of time and energy and I'm so glad that I went with the Cowboy.

Thanks rdf1967, I'm pretty sure that I will😁

Hi Bob! No worries, I wasn't expecting a quick delivery and since the purchase is complete, I will have time to rearrange my workspace and finally get my behind in building the storage shelves for my stock and get my work area organized. Thank you again Bob!

Alrighty then, Thank you all for the recommendations I finally pulled the trigger just a few minutes ago and bought the Cowboy CB4500 from Bob Jr. it will take sometime to get to my side of the boonies, but this will also give me a lot of time to rearrange my tiny workshop (garage) and open up a spot for it. I went with the package deal with all the extra stuff that I might never use, but according to my wife....better to have the extra stuff than not having it when you actually do need it. I'm excited and terrified at the prospect of using the machine, but I'm a very hands-on person so I'm sure it won't take me that long to figure it out. Thanks again Bob Jr. and Toledo Industrial....also, you'll have to thank my wife since she's the one that actually decided for me to go with you guys Now the wait begins...

Wish I could do a pick up like you did rdf1967, I need to do another call to Bob and Steve if I can actually talk to him and finally decide on getting one today.

Never got an email back from Leather Machine Co. or a callback....on vacation maybe or just dropped the ball? Do people that ordered from Leather Machine Co. ordered online or called it in to order?

Thanks littlewing6283, Great input and although I live up north and 7 hours away from Ontario, my wife was eager to go on a roadtrip and just head down to the shop and pick it up. Save me some dollars on the shipping and the wife get's to enjoy some R&R. I am going for the longer arm now that the consensus is to go bigger/longer (sounded dirty there for a bit). Thank you for that!

Thanks Art, My workshop is small, so the CB4500 is the max that I can go with. Bob is a great guy when I spoke with him and I'm highly deliberating just going with him, but I gotta speak to other retailers as well and see where I will ultimately land as far as machine goes. My budget is 4K and I'd rather not use the whole thing up, I can buy additional threads and needles or leather with what's left...or get a leather splitter or strap cutter since cutting multiple 1.5" straps in a straight line is a pain in my behind.

Hi Dwight, Just called Toledo Industrial and spoke with Bob, asking what I should get and had to hang up and will give me a call back because he's got some customers waiting. We'll see after he calls me back. Edit: Bob called back, and it was great talking to the guy. Gave me shipping prices and can get lower prices if I pick up from shipping company. Jomar

Hi All, I recently joined LW because it always popped up whenever I do searches on any leather related stuff, and so I just had to join. I have been doing leather work off and on now for about 2 years and have been doing my stitching by hand. My past experience include some holsters, mostly for smaller pistols (ultra carry, compact type stuff) and bought me-self some blue guns for moulding. I've also done some Dog collars, camera straps (I'm a photographer by profession) and belts. So far these are the only leather work I've done and most of my "orders" are for camera straps since I'm a member of a few local photography club. I can get away with riveting on all my straps but sometimes having it stitched is a nice option to offer as well. So having said that, I searched and researched for a sewing machine, and from what I read in the forum I always see the Cobra Class 4 (or at least it always pops up whenever I do a search). I highly considered the Tippmann Boss, but from reading all the negative reviews I'm passing on it and going straight to an electric machine. I went to the website (www.leathermachineco.com) and emailed to ask a question, but didn't get a reply back and it's been a couple days or so already so I called today (a woman picked up, instantly forgot her name, sorry) and after telling her my spiel she said to leave my name and number and somebody else will call back. Well, I'm a very impatient person so I just went here. I see the Cobra Class 4P, with some added accessories and the 4 Standard...nice machines, but what about the Class 3? How is it different from the Class 4 except for the arm length? With my background on what I do, should I just go with the Class 3 instead of the Class 4 or should I just go with the Class 4? My wife told me to just get the Class 4P and be done with it, but I'd like to ask second, third and fourth opinions. I'm highly considering other machines as well since I didn't get an answer back from my email, I'm really a very impatient person and I'm looking up on the Cowboy and TechSew right now (Cowboy CB4500 and TechSew5100) Any and all input is much and greatly appreciated! Jomar