Patrick1

Wiz said; Another difference that bothers me about the 441 type machines is that the manual pressor foot lift lever is on the inside of the head, where it can be blocked by the work light or edge guide. Simple part solves that problem. https://heprecision.com/shop/ols/products/extension

Used to live there in Bozeman, then I went to Portland for a spell where I met my wife and she wanted the beach so we ended up in Florida for the last 11 years. Montana is God's country and the riding you can do up there is incredible not to mention the mountains is the best place to train a horse. Just got to find a few acres in the Bitterroot valley and put up shop.

The above post I posted to Facebooks Cobra tips and tricks in regards to thier admins Waste of time post on aftermarket parts. As far as I know the Chinese and me are the only ones doing aftermarket parts for the 441 clones. Uwe closed his store. It in no way does that reflect reflect on Leatherworker.net admin or sight.

I posted this to the admin on Cobra tips and tricks The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge. This is my rebuttal to aftermarket parts. Having spent 48 years as a Toolmaker/Machinist/CNC Programmer designing, building, and manufacturing parts from aerospace to power generation I think I am a little qualified to rebut some of the negative comments the folks in admin have about aftermarket parts. In those years I learned it’s best to have another set of eyes to look at production processes, tooling, and fixturing required to make the product. in other words, is what we are doing the most efficient and safest way at accomplishing that task. I purchased a Cobra 4 about 3 years ago for the purpose of building 2 saddles for when my wife and I relocate to Montana. There are other things we wanted to do with the machine so that’s when I found shortcomings to the machine. I wasn’t going to purchase the deluxe package because I figured I could make the slotted plates that they sold with the package. Doing research, I came across a post RockyAussie did on the narrow feed dog and plate on leatherworker.net. RockyAussie was kind enough to give the dimensions he used so I made my own. (I have my own CNC milling shop). I also made the slotted plates they sell. RockyAussie’s idea was ground breaking to say the least and people are fortunate to be able to purchase it from Rocky or Cowboy. My wife wanted a flat plate because she is used sewing on a flat surface so I made a flat plate for RockyAussie’s feed dog that I made and found out that I preferred the flat plate to the round plate too. Other people wanted the flat plate too, so I made a bunch of them up. I wanted to get closer to the edge than I could with Rocky’s design so I made one that is 1/16 slimmer than Rocky’s. In the end I wanted to push the limits of my so-called TANK that admin calls it and came up with 2 smaller feed dog and flat plates. So this brings us back to the slotted plates that Cobra and Cowboy sell as a stopgap. My designs keep the original intent of the machine because they have a feed dog. Customers that I have talked to have had problems using the slotted plates and especially the holster plate. Doing a cost, benefit analysis, the Cobra 4 with the proper so-called aftermarket parts I don’t require a second machine for the leather products I am sewing. I am 100% certain that the wonderful people that have purchased the said product’s feel the same way. I can only guess why admin wants to slam my products, (maybe they won’t sell you that second machine) but they are doing a great disservice to the folks that have purchased the Cobra 3 and 4. I’m not here to push my products but defend them against willful ignorance.

A closed mind is like a clenched fist, it can't receive anything.

Just talked to a saddle maker in Texas and with the latest and final version, the length of stich isn't as long when sewing an arched segment. Guess not, the pivot point is a lot less. Something I didn't think about when I designed them. Another plus to an awesome product. Guess I'll have to send Tom the latest pressure foot.

Had a lot of folks interested in my version of an inline foot but it's not so I went back and increased the clearance of .010 of an inch per side on the presser foot and made it for a tighter radius. I'm 99% sure it should fit the 441 clones. Posted a video of it in action at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk2g3PJN4A8 . The presser foot and center foot are 17-4 stainless heat treated to RC 36. Works with up to #25 needle and a 277 thread. Can purchase at https://heprecision.com/

Had a person from Wales contact me about making a narrow feed dog and plate for the Juki LS-340 clones. Just throwing a question out there if people would be interested that. From what I can tell the current feed dog gap is about .300 of an inch. I could drop it to .160. Any feedback would be appreciated.

You can buy the CB3500 and outfit it with smaller feed dog and plate. Left to right #1. Feed dog that comes with the machine. #2. Cowboy narrow feed dog. #3. Xtreme #25 feed dog. #4. Xtreme #23 feed dog. #5. Xtreme #20 feed dog.

To expand the capability of my Cobra 4 I designed 2 needle specific feed dogs and plates. The Xtreme #23 will only accept a #23 needle and below and the #20 will only accept a #20 and below. The benefit is enormous, I don't need a smaller machine, my Cobra 4 now does 2/3 oz chrome tan leather and it buries the knot. Blows my mind on how great it did with the soft deerskin leather with the #20 plate and #19 needle. I posted a couple vids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QhQGEylubE and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNUa7lG08NA . If interested in upgrading your Cobra or Cowboy machines they will be available 16 Jan 2023 at https://heprecision.com/

No, the black oxide coated plates are made of low carbon steel and rust easily if not treated. I still have some black oxide plates in stock and will remove them from my website when they are all sold. The feed dogs are have a black oxide finish and are made of 4142 pre heat treated chrome moly steel.

The Xtreme narrow eliminates 1/6 in slot width and the slot in the feed dog is also smaller but can take a 200/25 needle and 277 thread. Doesn't sound like much but it is when sewing thin leather. I use the Xtreme narrow for everything up to a 277 thread and have no issues with it sewing the thick stuff. The feed dogs have the same radius as the round plates. A lot people prefer the flat plates as I do. The round plate gives you more clearance than a flat plate and conforms to the idea of a cylinder machine. I have had a few customers that wanted the round plate with the Xtreme narrow plate so I made them. I started making flat plates for the standard narrow feed dog because no on makes them and people were asking for them. I'm phasing out the black oxide finish because people prefer the stainless and actually more expensive for me to produce when I figure the time it takes to add the finish. If you look at the internals of your machine the majority of the parts are black oxide finish, it prevents corrosion. The slot size with the Xtreme narrow is .160 of an inch and .221 on my narrow plates.

Should be my last post to this topic. Did a revision the the holster plate and beefed it up some over the bridge and extended the surface area where the leather lays. I must say these are pretty stout plates. I'm only doing stainless plates and dropped the price to $135.99 per set. Anyone who purchased the old revision will be getting a free upgrade. Thanks for your business at https://heprecision.com/

The slot is .221 wide and can be purchase at https://heprecision.com/ price is stainless $70.00 for stainless and $55.00 black oxide finish plus shipping

I upgraded my friends CB-3500 with a needle positioner like my Cobra 4. When I added it to my Cobra 4 I purchased the whole kit, motor, box and needle positioner. I had a hunch I would have compatibility problems with the electronics box that my machine came with and sure enough I kept getting errors so all I did was replace the box and it worked great. I also added the Extreme narrow feed dog and stainless flat plate with a Cobra style presser foot. He wanted to see the needle better than you can with the Cowboy supplied foot.

I've added the stainless plate if anyone is interested at $145.99 for the set. More cost for the material plus machine time and cutting tools. https://heprecision.com/

Finished set. Ships with 1 plate and one feed dog. Can get it at heprecision.com

I revised my price for the holster plate with feed dog down to $125.99 per set plus shipping. I'll only have 13 sets to ship on Monday if you want one. The picture on my website shows metal finish but the ones I ship will be black oxide finish. I posted a video on YouTube https://youtu.be/msSnYaxQVp8 and this set smokes the competition. I ran it fast as my machine will stich with no hang ups. It does the full stich length of the machine and sews just as you would with a normal plate and feed dog.

Yes, $165.00 a set plus shipping. You can have any color you want as long as it's black, as in hot black oxide finish I use for bluing my firearms. To keep cost's down I will not be offering the plate in Stainless. The feed dog is made from 4143 prehardened alloy steel and the plate is made from A36 structural steel. I should have my website heprecision.com updated by Thursday to purchase the set but they won't ship until Monday the 19th as I had to order material for the feed dog.

Yes and thank you. I have a fully equipped cnc mill shop with all the bells and whistles and have watched your videos on YouTube, you do a great job explaining stuff.

There is a little problem with the Chinese machines or it's just my machine. The needle bar is not inline with the feed bar so I had to go with a larger hole in the pressure foot. I tried a set out on my friends CB3400 with the bigger hole and it worked flawlessly. I also had to adjust the presser bar laterally. Long story short a lot of folks aren't comfortable messing with the mechanics of the machine so I'd probably open a can of worms for myself if I sold them. I'd like too but that's my only concern. I'll contact you If I decide to.

Yes the piece in the foreground is 2 layers. I sewed the bottom after the 2 layers were sewn together.

Fresh out of the R&D dept. Holster plate with feed dog shown with #25 needle with 277 thread.

I did some R&D on making the conventional inline pressure foot and wasn't happy about not starting on the edge or potential moon craters on the leather. With this set-up I can get to .135 thou to the edge with a 277 thread and 200/25 needle and it works just as I was sewing with a regular set, and no adjustments needed.

I'm doing a small run of Narrow feed dog flat plates for Cowboy CB4500 and Cobra class 3 and 4. Material is 304 stainless. $120.00 ea.