Watts

Good tip for bobbin tension, haven’t heard much on that previously other than leave it where the dealer put it and hold your mouth right. I sewed up a heavy belt this evening and it did good. Thanks for the run down.

I believe my bobbin tension was too tight, and therefore making it impossible for top tension to ever equalize. I also tightened my presser foot pressure back down and this seems to have helped as well. Thanks

I bought it second hand, but know where it was bought originally and may be on the phone with them if I continue to have issues. Thank you

And another question, This machine sews well with bonded polyester, but when I've tried bonded nylon in 346 and sized up to a 26 needle it frays and cuts the needle thread reliably. Are some of these machines known to run better with poly thread or is this going to be a machine tension issue or something of the sort?

RemingtonSteel, I have done that, so I will be tightening it back down to test it again. Thanks for the tip I hadn't thought of this. Wizcrafts & GaryPL- I am running a 25 needle with 277 thread, maybe I should try putting 207 in the bobbin? Also, it was pulling the knot up on a flat test piece but when I would go to sew the gusset it was not. Related to week presser foot pressure?

I have a Thor GA441 that I’ve had for about a month and have mainly been practicing with it and have sewn a few belts and heavy horse tack items. Lately I am having issues with not being able to get enough upper tension to pull the knot off the bottom side of the piece. I will tighten tension knobs in increments and it never gets tight enough to pull it up. I have loosened the bobbin tension some but am hesitant to back it off too much as it was sewing ok previously with heavier leather (now I am curious if the knot was still closer to the bottom and The thicker material was hiding it). I have gone through the threading process again and again and I’m just not sure where I’ve gone wrong. Any help, ideas, and suggestions is appreciated.

I was given a Highlead GC0618 by a good friend who was sewing dog collars. He just used the clutch motor and ran full throttle, I however, needed to slow it down for leather work and so after some deliberation and going against the advice of many I decided to add a good speed reducer and keep the motor for now. I have gotten used to it and it added a bunch of torque and I can slow it down to manageable speeds. On thinner leather (5-6oz) it will slow down a lot and stay at a slow steady pace. With the thick stuff (18-20oz) it needs to kind of take of take off and run to punch through it. I’m sure I’d get spoiled to a servo but this setup allows me to do nice work. And yes sometimes I still turn the wheel manually in delicate spots. If you are still working on this project I can provide photos of the install.