Thread Guide Position 441 Clones

[Tim Schroeder]

I finally got my thread guide in the Cobra position. Now this machine straight off the boat sews just like my Cobra did. It sews like a dream. 

I don't know if the thread guide location matters but my machine sews smoother and quieter in the Cobra position. 

I was hoping one the many sewing machine experts would weigh in on the subject. 

All pictures taken with needle all the way up. 

1st picture is Cowboy position.

2nd picture is where I moved it to. 

3rd picture is the Cobra location. 

With thread guide in the Cowboy position, (stock position on my machine) I was getting slack on the left side of the needle as was coming down about to make contact. I would see a big loop every 10 to15 stitches or so just sewing a straight line. When I had to make a smaller stitch when I came to a corner, when I would reposition to hit the corner, the thread would sometimes come around in front of the needle. NEVER happens in the Cobra position. It stays tight. 

I also found that if you thread the machine like @CowboyBob, I didn't have to loosen the tension disc until they almost fell off. If you go back thru the thread guides like Cobra threads their machine it puts more tension without even turning the knob. 

If you own a Cowboy machine and want to see how the Cobra sews, move the thread guide. If you own a Cobra machine and want to see how the Cowboy sews move the thread guide. Easy to move it from Cobra position to Cowboy position but moving it from Cowboy to Cobra requires making the mounting hole a little bigger. I just clamped it in a vise and ran a drill bit thru it. 

[Doc Reaper]

I must be blind, they all look the same

[Tim Schroeder]

They aren't though. The distance between the last silver thread guide on the face plate and the needle bar guide is a third less in picture 3. When the take up lever goes all the way up, the length of thread created between the top of the take up lever and the end of the needle is a lot shorter. I had a Cobra 4 at one time. It sewed like a dream. I have sewed at least 2 full bobbins working on this machine. I kept watching @Patrick1's video's and you could see his Cobra was sewing perfect. This machine just didn't feel like the Cobra.

It moves the thread guide a full 1/2" closer to needle bar thread guide. When I was just sewing down a straight line, I would notice a loop or really just slack to the left of the needle every 5,10 to 15 stitches. It was still sewing good. After I moved the thread guide to the inside of the face plate using the same hole and bolt, I never saw the slack again. So, I started trying to see the difference in the Cowboy and Cobra machine and I found it was the position of the thread guide on the face plate.

In the picture, below the blue line the guide is mounted in the stock position, outside the faceplate, the 5 rows above the line were after I moved the guide to the inside of the faceplate. Then the last 2 after I moved the guide to the Cobra location. Feels and sounds and looks much better.

Looks to me like the shuttle race should be able to rotate at least 90 degrees, mine will rotate 360 degrees with no play at all. I had to sand on it for 2 hours. It has to be able to FLOAT on the spring-loaded shoulder bolts holding it in. I guess it determines the pressure on the shuttle. You should be able to pull the race out 1/8" with your FINGERNAILS with the bolts all the way in just snug. Not really sure why some people want to back the bolts off a half a turn. This one you had to pry out with a screwdriver like @Uwe had to do in his video using a Cowboy machine. Then you had to knock it back in with palm of your hand. How is it supposed to FLOAT on the bolts if it won't rotate in the hole. In Al Banes video he shows you and tells you clearly the race should rotate back and forth. Maybe one of the sewing machine experts will weigh on the subject. @CowboyBob

It takes 5 minutes to move the guide to inside of the face plate. You have to enlarge the hole barely to get it in the Cobra position.