Ferdco pro 2000 or Cowboy 4500

[Lakil7]

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.

[Burkhardt]

They are both clones of the Juki 441.

[kgg]

1 hour ago, Lakil7 said:

I have been looking to purchase a heavy duty leather machine and was considering the Cowboy 4500.

I would have too consider:

i) The machine Ferdco Pro 2000, is not a Juki TSC 441 but a Taiwan clone. Keep in mind a quote from Keystone Sewing website on the history of these machines from back in 2018.

"The Pro 2000 was designed by Ferdinand JeanBlanc in 1991 using a Juki 441 frame from Juki USA. In 1995 we went to a Tiawan manufacturer and had the 441 changed to our new specifications which we use now. Once the casting is delivered to us, we convert the 441 into the Super Bull Pro 2000 that you see advertised today.
You may be familiar with some of the other proceeding versions of the Bull or heavy stitchers Ferdinand has designed and built in the past.
These would be:
The Chandler 305 Bull - From 1964 to 1968
The Alder 105 Bull - From 1968 to 1979
The Adler 205 Bull - From 1980 to 1985
The Ferdinand 900 Bull - From 1985 to 1993
The Juki Pro 2000 - From 1993 to 1995
And the Ferdco Pro 2000 'Super Bull' - From 1995 to Present”

ii) the price difference between the two machines

iii) availability and cost of parts and accessories

In the end I would probably go with a new or newer Cowboy 4500.

kgg

[Lakil7]

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.

[RockyAussie]

I believe at the time the Ferdco pro was highly regarded and did some improvements with the feed dog to help with miss stitching but to the best of my knowledge the feed dog was not an actively working feed dog that assisted with clamping the product between the feed dog and centre foot. The needle plate used has only a slot like the standard narrow needle plate set on the Cowboy machines. Although that needle plate can be used fairly successfully on some jobs it still has the disadvantage that all of the feed is only obtained by the action of the needle feed and walking feet which can result in less than ideal stitch lengths on some jobs. The narrow needle plate feed dog set I designed for the Cowboy machines overcomes this problem very well but I do not know if it will work on the Ferdco pro as yet. It works with the Cowboy and Cobras and Techsews alright. We have sold a lot of these narrow needle plate sets around the world now but as I said I can not say if it works on the Ferdco. Perhaps some other user may know? This link will show the set we make and other peoples opinions -

 

[shoepatcher]

Hoffman Brothers bought the rights and everything else to the to the Pro 2000 from Ferdco.  They still manufacture the machine.  If it was me, I would set up an appointment at Hoffman Brothers and go look at the machine.  Take samples of what you are going to sew to Hoffman Brothers.

Bob Kovar does a great job with the Cowboy 4500.  You look at both machines and see which is better for you.   We are not talking about a $20.00 item here!!

 

glenn

Edited October 7, 2022 by shoepatcher
grammar

[bruce johnson]

I've got a Ferdco 2000 I bought from Ferdco before they sold to Hoffman Bros. It will be for sale at my estate sale. It was bought at the time when you couldn't touch anything that would do saddle skirts for under $5000, and with attachments mine came to over $6000. It has paid for itself several times over. The only thing I've ever done was upgrade to an analog servo motor when they came on the scene. RockyAussie is correct about the feed dog. The original Ferdco lower dog has a diamond shaped hole that will allow some minor needle deflection and bring the needle back to center as it feeds forward. It is not a true feed dog on the bottom. Personally I never had a problem with the machine sewing up and down from two to three layers of skirting on my overengineered roper back cinches.   That said, the Hoffman Brothers may or may not have all the same modifications that Ferdco originally made.