BenR

Thanks for the replies everyone! Yes I am in Reno NV. I did buy the machine from one of the few US reps, but didn't want to mention the name because I'm not wanting to slander anyone, especially since I don't have all the information I'd like to. I am a hair upset with the response I received from the vendor "not having time to respond to my questions", but not to the point where I'd want to risk someone else in the future browsing through this thread and getting the wrong idea about the company I did oil the machine prior to first use and then again shortly after running it through it's first strokes Ferg, I do appreciate your insight, but I did leave out a substantial amount of information as to reduce the length of an already windy post. Just so you know, I'm a mechanical engineer by trade and work with equipment much more complicated than a sewing machine for nearly 15 years. Admittedly I am very new to this type of sewing machine, but my momma taught me how to sew when I was a pre-teen so I understand generally how they work. Additionally, through experience, and the boldly highlighted warranty text, I know not to fiddle with things unless I absolutely know what I'm doing. For everyone's reference, my initial issue was during the first day of use. I was setting up the bobbin winding feature when I heard a pin-drop sound from within the base. I opened the access panels and found a small flathead screw laying on the table inside. I looked around all the linkages and could not find an area that was obvious that a screw had fallen from. I contacted the vendor and was told that must have been a spare screw that they dropped and didn't recover during the setup process. I was assured there was no issue with the machine. The next day I'm winding another bobbin and hear another drop. Removing the panels I find an identical screw at the bottom of the base. I contact the vendor again, who then launches an investigation at their shop and found it was two screws that hold the side plate (part number 7441-02-0110) to the feed cam. This plate holds the forked connecting rod true to the cam. Without the keeper plate secured, the forked connecting rod wanted to ride about half way off the cam, or approx 1/4" out of position to the right. I removed the drive belt and hand cranked the drive wheel to make sure the fork stayed in the same position...and it did. The instructions received from the vendor required that I remove the drive wheel to be able to screw in the bolts which pin the keeper plate to the cam and hold the fork in place. Once I had done this, the plate compressed the forked con-rod over 1/4" to the left. This induces a frictional drag on the drive system. When I reinstalled the drive wheel, I noticed it was significantly harder to turn now. This is prior to reinstalling the drive belt. This is why I'm asking the question. If there is abnormal side load from the forked con-rod to the drive axis causing unusual drag on the system, the components will most likely wear prematurely. If this is common based on the design of the machine and everyone has a hard time turning their drive wheel, then I wouldn't feel so uneasy about it as its possible to be a design flaw without a high statistical failure mode Wiz and Rocky, thanks for the input! For the guide roller, I'll use a washer as suggested. That's a great idea! I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing some design intent. For the presser foot I'll work on the adjuster screw and slotted hole. It is definitely sufficiently oiled at the moment Thanks again for your time everyone! I really appreciate your input. Please let me know if you have any other ideas based on the additional info listed above regarding the side load on the cam from forcing the connecting rod fork

All, I'd really appreciate some quick, constructive feedback on normal operation of the Cowboy 3200 (and other Cowboy machines I'd imagine would be applicable) It's a long story, but suffice to say I just received my machine, and instantly had issues with it which required repair. The vendor walked me through the repair and gave me the option to return the unit for a refund if I didn't feel comfortable doing it myself. I was able to complete the repairs, but having the machine partially apart, and knowing some strange ways I thought my machine was working gave me additional concerns. I raised these to the vendor and was told they didn't have time to reply to my 4 paragraph question and to just return whole unit for refund, no exchange offered. I think he was tired of the inquisition and wanted to be done with me I'm trying to determine if what I think are issues are completely normal, or if I purchased a dud and should get an exchange, or if I should expect issues and not expect customer support trying to retain its customers so should look for a different brand (which I doubt because I've read almost entirely positive reviews of the Cowboy system) 1) How difficult do you find it to rotate the drive wheel by hand? It's possible for me to drive mine by hand but it is difficult. I've seen videos online and it typically seems like people don't have much trouble with it. The repair that I had to do induced a side-load in the drive shaft which I'm wondering if it's normal or not. If it's not, this could cause excessive early wear on the internal components and I'd probably want to return it. I ran a small line of stitching on a 1/2" stack of leather and the machine seemed to have no issue with it, so I'm not sure if this is truly an problem or not 2) how difficult do you find it to engage or disengage the presser foot lever? Mine is quite difficult and sometimes even jams completely. I cycled about 100 times to try to wear-in the linkages and it helped a bit but still has some difficulties. Also I usually have to "slam down" the lever to get the foot to come down completely. If I gently release the lever, the foot will often hang up about half way through its stroke 3) is the right side foot pedal just to hold up the press foot, not completely lock it in its up position? Due to the difficulties mentioned in item #2, my pedal is almost useless. 4) I purchased the "beltmaker's" package and the guide used to gauge the stitch along an edge sits about 1/8"+ above the throat plate. This means that leather roughly 8oz or less would slip under the guide and make the accessory useless. I'm wondering if the design is bad, or if mine is bent, or if I'm missing something entirely Any feedback to help me decide whether to return the machine for a new one, buy a different brand, or be happy with what I have right now would be greatly appreciated! Thank you