Search the Community

Not sure how "I" messed up this machine. Yes it was operator error. If you sew a straight line at same speed it sews wonderful, speed up or slow down and the stitch length begins to shorten, may or may not come back to normal. If you stop at a corner and let needle go to bottom and start up 1/4 inch then lift presser foot and turn project the next stitch will be very long followed by 2 or 3 normal then it will start to shorten again. Current needle is 25/200 with bonded nylon 277 thread. Have tried dozens of thread needle combos, learned a lot, didn't fix problem. I have watched numerous videos of threading 441 type machines. There are several different opinions about this topic. I have tried them all. Some seem to give more thread tension than is necessary. None fix my problem. Also have spent hours with thread tension. It is not the problem. I also found some old style, steel Juki type bobbins. Not the problem. I have tried a bunch of pressure settings for the presser foot. Some with heavy marks in project, not the problem. Currently have the smooth plate and needle guide that Ferdco uses. That is not the problem. Gets worse with very thick (max thickness) or in a couple layers of soft chap leather 4/5 oz each I have checked belt tension, not slipping. Machine is well oiled and bobbin shuttle etc. are clean and lubed. I have spent hours with the UWE Grosse videos on timing. As stated, if you start of in a straight line it sews like a dream. Very nice top and bottom thread. This project is 10/12 oz veg tan and 5 oz chap; 277 bonded nylon, 25/200 needle

I have been tweaking and practicing on my new Ferdco Pro 2000 for the last several days without so much as a missed stitch. Last night I thought I would try 4 layers of 11/12 oz veg tanned (5/8" thick stack), to see how the machine would handle that. Good Idea, bad execution, as I used some older leather that was given to me and although not cracking by any means, it might have been a little too dry, and tough for this test. At about 2 inches into the test piece, there was a loud thunk and the needle snapped in half. So I removed the material, checked to make sure the shuttle area and race was clear of debris and installed a new needle. Upon bringing the needle down by hand, I noticed that shuttle did not appear to be in the correct position. Uh oh, timing issue. I just happened to have watched Uwe's video on shuttle hook timing earlier in the day and even printed out his gauge templates on card stock to bring home from work. However upon further examination of the machine (after watching Uwe's video again), I believe that it is not a shuttle hook timing issue, but rather a shuttle driver timing issue. Diagnosis/Observation: When the needle bar is brought down to its lowest position, 25.9 mm above the needle plate, I believe that the shuttle driver should be in the farthest counter clockwise position with the tip of the shuttle hook sticking out about 1 mm. Then as the needle bar starts to rise, the shuttle should start to turn clockwise so the shuttle hook can catch the loop being formed in the top thread, as the needle rises. On my machine, with the needle bar down in its furthest position (26.5 mm), the shuttle appears to be a full 180 degrees off. When the needle starts to rise, the shuttle starts to turn counter clockwise, instead of clockwise. That is why I am thinking that this is a shuttle driver timing issue. I did an internet search for this problem last night, but found no solution. I am hoping that @CowboyBob, @Cobra Steve, @Wizcrafts, @SolarLeatherMachines, @Gregg From Keystone Sewing, @Uwe, or any of you other 441 experts can point me to a solution for this issue.

Hey guys, My main compression spring in my Ferdco Pro bull 2000 is starting to breakdown. I'm having a really hard time finding any parts for this machine since they have gone out of business. I have called Hoffman Brothers multiple times and left messages, with NO call back..Getting a bit frustrated to be honest. This is my shops main machine, having it down for any length of time is not an option. Any leads on parts for this machine, or even a supplier that will call me back would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys