Lakil7

Hello to all, I have five rolls of a material that I use for making all my reusable templates. I am not sure what this stuff is called, maybe some kind of coating, perhaps vinyl, on a paper backing. there are yards and yards of this stuff on the roll. I print out my patterns whether small or large, then stick the printed patterns on the back of the material and cutting along the lines. I can punch all my stitch holes through the pattern and material, and reuse the template over and over. The material can be cut easily with a knife or scissors and the rolls are of different grades. I have one other roll, not pictured here, which I think is the best grade, a little more stiff and thicker. The dark brown pictured is the thinnest, the others are about the same consistency. the light brown as you can see has a pattern to it and is not as smooth on the front or back but can still work. I am offering them by the yard, probably up to 3 yards at a time. The rolls are about 55" wide, so 1 yard will be 36" X 55" enough to cut all your big patterns out of. Unfortunately, they are not transparent, but work well for me. Below is a pic of the rolls and an idea of two of my templates front and back. If anyone is interested please let me know.

Hello, I have rolls of a material that I believe to be scrap leather ground up and mixed with other chemicals and then placed on a heavy paper backing. there are yards and yards on a roll and I use it all the time for my templates. I print my patterns out on my printer whether small or large( large, you have to print, cut and paste together. I then stick the printed patterns on the material and cut along the lines. I can punch all my stitch holes through the pattern and material, and reuse the template over and over. I can offer it by the yard. The rolls are about 55" wide, so 1 yard will be 36" X 55" more that enough to cut all your big patterns out of. Unfortunately, they are not transparent, but work well for me. Let me know if anyone is interested. Below is a pic of the rolls.

Hello to all, I want to state that at the moment my machine is working well. Hope it stays that way, and that the issue of jamming does not return. Thanks to all of you for your input, insight and help. One other issue I have is that my bobbin winder does not work smoothly. It stalls while I am winding the bobbin. I would have to constantly lift and depress that square paddle part that clamps down on the bobbin, to get the it to start moving again. Does anyone have any thoughts or remedies.

Great advice. I'm taking it all in and implementing the recommendations. I haven't started on my new project yet. I going to give the machine a good oiling in the all the places mentioned. I am running the machine without actually sewing anything, just to get the oiled parts well lubricated. I will give an update when I start my project on how the machine is performing. Thank you all so much for your input. Much Appreciated!!!!!!!!

Hello Wiz, I removed the outer retention ring and hook assembly to see if there were any thread jams, but did not see anything unusual. However, I tried turning the bobbing and hook assembly by hand to see how it was spinning in the channel groove, and it seemed like the the point of the hook would sometimes jam against the wall of the channel where there were small openings. (hope my explanation paints a good picture) I inspected the point of the hook and felt a few little burs, so I smoothened it out and reassembled everything and the jam was gone. Apparently, something is going on in there. The machine is stitching now. I oiled all the points marked in red as well as the groove channel in the hook assembly. So far so good. Question. I realized that the hand wheel has always been very stiff (almost impossible to turn by hand) when the power switch is turned off, but will only hand turn when the power is on. It that the way it supposed to be? Feeling much better now; and hope the problem does not show up again. I'll post an update in a day or two after doing some sewing to see if the problem is gone. BIG THANKS to everyone who took the time to give tips and advice. Much Much appreciated!!!!!!!

I took the belts off and everything seems ok. The reducer pulley is spinning freely. I'll try to take some pics tomorrow during the day and post here. I am pretty sure that I am threading the machine correctly. I have been using the size 23 needle since I got the machine and everything was working ok. I'll try a bigger needle and see if that helps. This time the machine just won't free up. It's still jammed up. Very frustrating.!!!!!!!!

Good night to All. This is a follow up to my previous threads concerning my cowboy 4500 locking up. I returned from out of town and started on a new project and I am still having problems with my machine jamming up. What I observe is that when the machine is jammed up is that, when I press on the foot pedal, the bottom horizontal pulley wheel and belt spins, but the vertical belt and the big hand wheel does not spin. I am not sure if it is a problem with the pulley system or if it comes from some other mechanism in the machine. one question I have is, does the bobbin assembly supposed to be shaky. I realize that it wiggles a lot. At the moment of typing this thread, my machine is jammed up. Nothing moves except the pulley and belt underneath the table.

Thank you guys. I took all of your advice into account and implemented them accordingly. Did a couple test runs and the machine worked well. I'll have to see when I start a big project that requires a lot of sewing if the issue shows up again. I will be traveling in a couple of days and will not get to start on a new project until I return. I will post an update when I start my next project in about 1.5 weeks. Thank you all so much. Your insight and expertise is much appreciated.

Thank you guys for your responses. To Kgg, Im using size 23 needle, 138 thread top and bottom, and the leathers is about 8mm thick. Nothing should be worn. I bought the machine new in October last year. To WizCraft, Yes I am holding back the start three stitches or more. To Dwight, the needle hole is in correct alignment. I also find that the machine will skip a stitch every now and then.

I have a new needle in. I Will check for debris and also to see if the needle is striking anything. don't think it is , but I'll check for sure. thank you so much for your response. Much appreciate.

Thank you so much Dwight, I tried your remedy and it worked. However, the machine keeps jamming quite often. Don't know why it is doing this. If anyone know why the machine keeps jamming, and has a permanent fix, that would be much appreciate. I was close to finishing up a big project, and need to have it done by Monday the latest. Thank you all for your input. Lakil7

Hello, can some one help me with my Cowboy 4500 sewing machine. I was sewing on the machine when it suddenly jammed up, apparently. I was able to cut the top and bobbin thread but the needle is still buried in the machine and would not move up or down. The wheels and belts are spinning when I press on the foot pedal but the needle is not moving. The machine is not engaging. Nothing happens. What could be wrong. I can't remove my workpiece because the needle won't move and I don't want to break it. Please help.

Thank you guys for chiming in. Hope to get some more feedback. I want to phrase my question another way. Based on all the knowledge we have on these heavy duty machines, and the fact that they all seem to have the same frame/body and all other things considered, I would like to hear comments on what would be the factors that would make any one of you knowledgable guys buy one over the other.

Hello to Everyone, I have been looking to purchase a heavy duty leather machine and was considering the Cowboy 4500. I recently came across the Ferdco Pro 2000 that is being sold in Chicago at Hoffman Brothers. I live in Chicago and is only about 45 minutes from Hoffman Brothers. Can anyone weigh in on which is a better machine. Are the attachments of a Cowboy 4500 and Pro 2000 interchangeable. I can save on shipping for the Ferdco since I am close to Hoffman Brothers. I look forward to the expert advise and analysis here on this forum. It will be greatly appreciated. What are your thoughts.

Thank you so much Wizcrafts for taking the time to respond, and your insight. The little small screw that keeps the slack adjuster tightly in place was very loose so i guess it was causing the adjuster to be inconsistent. I tightened the screw, set the adjuster to dunn, sewed a few projects and have not experienced the problem. Very happy about that. Thank you for your wisdom.