RockyAussie

WAY down south here in Oz. I'll let ya know when I get them fancy scales in and try and do a more professional lookin post of sorts. Damn now I'm a red face as well

Next I got the top tension which comes out just over 3 pounds (1pound and 2 pound hammers) .I hung them down over the smooth area being careful to not let the thread get caught in the crack. For those that would like to see metric grams as against ounces I am showing pictures of both. The 2 hammers together. I intend to get another set of digital scales to try out like in this ebay listing https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/WH-A05L-LCD-Portable-Digital-Electronic-Scale-10-45kg-10g-for-Fishing-Luggage-TJ/172412860830?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649 to hopefully provide some more references on other thicknesses and machines types. If this is likely to be of interest please let me know here and I will start this off in a separate dedicated post. You can follow me also if you would like to be advised of any updates to this. Brian

Hide's not that thin and I didn't think any thing said was but humour anyway. If I ever say anything that seems not right I would WAY prefer they say so cause I could learn something new myself. I went and got a new set of fish scales and that was a waste of $10.00 bucks, they would not show any thing under a pound of pull.Got me thinker workin and how I could hammer this problem out - See the pictures 1st pic - dont bother with these scales I set about getting the tensions on my machine finely balanced first. I started with some quite firm veg at 3+mm (8oz) and set up with 20m (138) thread top and bottom and a Schmetz NM:160 Size 23 794 LR needle. Note not knots to the top No knots under I then went straight over to a 1.4mm(3 1/2oz) garment leather. No knots on top No knots on bottom I then went straight over to the first piece and doubled it up. Still no adjustments made. Top looks good Bottom looks good Now I set about getting some way of measuring these tensions. The results in a bit of a nutshell is the bobbin was just over 1pound if hung as shown and the top 3 pound hung as shown. Note: these setting are more ideal if doing wallets or purses, handbags etc. For the bobbin tension I ran the thread up to the thread guide above and GENTLY allowed the weight down. The hammer will hold just. I will post more soon.

Looks good. Well done

This would depend on the clearance between the solenoid and where it presses and I guess what machine type. I have a Pfaff that has a solenoid that I could easily put in a knee lift between but that would mean the solenoid would then need to be disconnected as to not be activated. If you want both to operate independently that would require a bit of fancy connecting but is likely possible. Not sure if there would be any reason to have both able to operate. May I ask why you would want the knee lift instead?

WOW Jeeps mate don't do that to it ifn you want to use it I mean. That looks like its worth more as a non going item I reckon. Imagine having that in a antique shop or a sewing machine sales business or.....Are you opening a shop maybe?.

That is a shame but I think it is still beautiful. If anyone can bring it back into play I have every confidence. Sandblast and weld first I guess. Are you able to do that welding yourself?Cant wait to see the finish Regards Brian

If all you want to do is stitch thick double layer stuff then that tight as a banjo string setting may work for you. From what I have understood previously the problem has been more that the thread tension kept showing the knots intermittently. I suspect that if you back of this high tension you will get the same problem raise its head. There are a huge list of reasons as to why a machine will give you intermittent thread tensions problems and for future reference I will go through a few. 1st - always check that the thread is coming off at the spool without any catching. Sometimes thread can almost be welded together and all you can do there is keep pulling it off until and if it stops catching. 2nd make sure that the bobbin is wound on with a good even pressure and it should not catch at all intermittently when pulled through the spring in the bobbin case. 3. if the bobbin looks well loaded and it catches check the bobbin for smoothness. I often polish the ends and edges of mine on a rag wheel with Tripoli polish compound. I also use a drop of oil down in the bobbin case base to be sure of smooth friction. 4. occasionally I take the secondary (top tension) discs off and polish the faces to remove any formed ridges or imperfections. 5. on the primary tension(the lower tension assembly) I remove the discs and washers etc and the parts that rub against the felt pads I brush over a very fine wet and dry sandpaper then polish. I also put a little oil on the felts while I have them apart. (this area is often overlooked but if you check carefully you will see that the thread is turning that disc in the middle a little with every stitch or at least you should see it. If it gets hung up a times you have ...up and down tension problem. 6 Foot pressure. If your foot pressure is too light then when the knot comes up it can lift the job and then the knot can stay on the bottom. Some leather being hard and soft with insufficient foot pressure will give intermittent knots normally on the bottom side. 7 Bad timing. In this case I will also point out that the shuttle race screws need to be loose enough to just see the springs behind the screw heads as seen about 9 minutes in on this Video. Some people mistakenly do them up tight including some sellers of these machines. Lastly - In case you have not seen it I recommend to watch this Video . The only part I differ with here is that when I am loading a bobbin I prefer to hold the thread on the outside of the winder (I leave a tail about 6" long to hold) when it starts until it breaks off. This stops that loose bit of thread from tangling around and upsetting the even winding. I am sorry I could not find my small fish scales to get some base settings as yet. I think they would also be great for showing up visually how much variation is happening from the top tension when being pulled through as well a the bobbin tension. I am sure I would have had sometimes a pound in tension variation and being able to say its the bobbin or the top or both quickly would be a nice jump start. Brian

Looks like a brass rivet. When I have done them I normally put the long rivet stem up in the hole of the setter and hammer the washer down flat onto the job. Once it is set down I cut the length down with some sharp nail pullers about 1/8" left hanging out. I then file the top to get rid of the point and round it a little then I normally hammer/peen around the head with the hammer until it is reasonably rounded mushroomed of. Then the cupped out part in the tool gets tapped around until the head looks nicely rounded. Link shows the tool and in the top right corner some of the rivets-https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/178221387/copper-rivet-burr-setter-9-and-12?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_au_en_au_b-craft_supplies_and_tools-other-other&utm_custom1=9e43c565-f8f5-410d-aa40-2a02f101d32e&gclid=CjwKCAjwsJ3ZBRBJEiwAtuvtlDI3THiIo0tJBGcAgN9R9XeAMPW0aG9S-DiL716F67AiTGUtV_7hwxoCWY0QAvD_BwE

Once you are used to it calibrated fingers are calibrated but how to translate that to a newbe who has just spent a lot of mula on this wonderful machine..... It would be nice to be able to say something like take your thread up through here and back off your springs untill this 1 litre bottle of milk starts to drop sort of thing if you get what I mean.

I was curious if it would give enough scale for the bigger machines or not so I might get one and try it out. It often comes up on this forum about getting the tension right and It would be handy to be able to advise a starting point rather more than the pull should be firm. When the tension springs get worn or something is stuck under them it would be good to know if 180 grams pressure would be a good starting point or whatever. Maybe some fish scales might be better?

For those in the US https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Thread-Tension-Gauge/382447551778?hash=item590ba68522:g:3YkAAOxyRhBS5oMu For us in Aussie land https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Echidna-Thread-Tension-Gauge/281399903744?hash=item4184bdc600:g:OecAAOSwXudbGLB1 And here's a video demo of similar

Now that sounds like a good idea. I'll check out the ebay and get back if I find something.

Wax on...wax off...wax on....

Cingradulations The first 2 pictures look alright but your stitchin on the last pic make me feel better You gonna need a guide line or guide I reckon but I bet you already knew that.

This link is worth a read and might help if not now some time soon.

Easiest way would have been to attach a binder strip over the lining and outer all together when inside out then bring right side in back through the zip opening. If putting the lining in as a pocket it is normal to leave a join in the middle at bottom and bring it through the open zip top and fold the edges in then stitch together whilst holding the seam together. Drop it back in and your done. From where you are at now either turn it inside out then stitch the bottom corners together then turn it back the right way and do the seam trick as I said above or you may be able to turn it inside out and put a binder across the bottom corners thereby securing it down and in place.

The hand wheel should not be difficult to turn and I would be concerned that the side load may mean that the shaft or cam is not secured in the right place. I would not turn the machine over any further due to it creating more damage. The fact that the screws came out is not a good omen. I would be surprised that they would not offer a another machine in replacement. I would be keen to get that machine back quickly if I were them. The Cowboys do not have a lot of line up marks as do the Juki and some others and reseting the timing and such can take a lot of time if you don't have clear instructions. I would return it and try to be understanding that this would not normally happen. For the price they are an excellent machine normally.

It looks like you have your thread return spring held at the uppermost height in the picture. Does the thread start to go slack at the needle just as it is entering the leather? That is what it should be doing and It may make some difference. When you say you adjusted the tensioners a little what do you mean? The tension disc adjustments or the foot pressure or the bobbin spring or?

Neat idea. The stitching looks good time to work on the edging

Welcome. As battlemonkey said please post your pictures. If they are bad enough it makes us think we are getting better if nothin else That's what I say. I hope your experiences on LW are always positive and rewarding.

If you are sure it is coming through the thread path on top without any tight and loose happing as you pull it through have a look and make sure that your foot pedal is not letting the spike that separates the tension discs at the back touch. If there is no gap from the discs it may be enough in operation to make the tension loosen and tighten a little. Make sure your foot pedal where it hinges is moving freely because if it gets caught up it could be holding the tension discs apart as well.

Firstly I will say that telling us what country and preferably what town area you are located could help. Some members like myself are willing to drop in and have a look. I did that just this last week with a Saddler acquaintance that had just got himself a second hand "Stallion" which in many respects the same as my Cowboy machine. One big difference was that it is on a clutch driven motor and he was now used to using a servo motor. One of the things I found that suprised me for an 80 year old saddler was that he had little idea of how to adjust the foot pressure. It was wound down that tight that he could not get the machine to go along slowly and he had trouble getting the foot to lift so that he could turn corners. I backed of the clutch on the motor and wound off the foot pressure and he is happily back making up a heap of holsters he could not stitch before. Secondly- a couple of pictures that show the top for the foot pressure and the back where the tension discs are could help as well. I found similar problems getting caught up with the foot lift on mine when I got it and found that the spike that disengages the tension discs was way out of alignment and I had to do quite a few adjustment and shaving to get it behaving nicely. If nothing in this area seems to be the cause it may have a bent shaft on need some other adjustments. Yes it is a bad design. I put a brass washer above the roller to get it down lower and it works good now. Not the best pic but note how it now nearly touches the needle plate. If this is your first machine and your not very mechanical I would recommend getting someone who is familiar with them to have a look at it with you.

I should have added that after I finish putting on the last coat of edge coat I do polish it on a finishing machine which puts a coat of a beeswax mix on. This gives a barrier/seal on the paint to help it not stick to itself if left in contact in hot weather for long periods. For instance if a lot of belts are piled up against each other before being polished they can tend to glue together sometimes. Another thing - before polishing if I see any little bumps or grainy looking bits I use a grey fine scotchbrite to gently cut it back and the polish will blend it all in. Hooco wax neutral is one that I use frequently.

I guess there is one or 2 things here to consider.Did they get the idea from looking on LW ? I hope they did as that may mean they are reading this now and along with their deceptive advertising regarding the " Cow leather/Italian veg tant cow hides " the construction change with the spring clips means they have elected to use will unclip at a very annoying rate. Aesthetically I think it looks better but in service it will lose appeal very quickly. I would promote the original as REAL + ORIGINAL along with all of the better points. Shame on Tantat Piece company for not offering some credit to @andrewsejlv