Cowboy 4500 stop sewing

[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.

[Dwight]

Loosen up your belt . . . grab the wheel . . . turn it with your hands.  

I've had the same thing . . . worked right out with no problem.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Lakil7]

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

[Handstitched]

@Lakil7

Is the needle bent or damaged? Even the slightest bit of damage on the needle can put things out, from experience.  Try a new needle.    Also, just check inside the shuttle case, making sure theres no debris, bits of thread  etc. inside , and check to make sure the needle isn't  striking the thread plate, you'd hear it if it was. 

Hope this helps. 

HS

 

[Lakil7]

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.

[Wizcrafts]

Are you holding back the starting 3 stitches?

[kgg]

1 hour ago, Lakil7 said:

I have a new needle in.

Couple of questions:

i) What size of needle are you using?

ii) What size of thread are you using?

iii) How thick is the leather?

iv) Is the hook worn blunt? If the hook has been worn back from use it will need to be adjusted as in retiming the machine to advance the hook.

kgg

[Dwight]

When you put that new needle in . . . your eyes may be not good enough to tell if it is in the exact right position.

I put a regular sewing needle in the eye of my 4500 needle and use it to determine if that eye is centered 90 degrees to the travel of the material.

Even the slightest couple of degrees off can mess up your whole day.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Lakil7]

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.

[kgg]

2 hours ago, Lakil7 said:

I bought the machine new in October last year.

Does the skipped stitches happen on a turn or on straight runs? Have you checked the Hook timing?

For future reference here are two video's of checking and setting the timing on a Class 441 machine:

i) By UWE using a Cowboy:

 

ii) By Al Bane using a Cobra:

 

kgg

[CowboyBob]

2 hours ago, Lakil7 said:

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.

Are you threading the thread through 2-holes in the spool pin on top of the machine?If not as your sewing the thread can work it's way out of the next tension unit & if you don't have enough tension it will jam,also are you sure your wrapping the thread around the 2nd tension 1& 1/2x? Also don't forget to give the hook some oil everytime you change your bobbin,it just needs 1-drop in the groove that it rides in.

[Wizcrafts]

Take a look at how the tread comes off the spool. If it is twisty, like a coil spring, you'll need to thread it in the reverse direction through two holes in the top thread guide post. I usually start at the top hole, wrap it counterclockwise and feed it out the bottom hole. this counteracts any twist and gives back pressure to keep the thread inside the top tension disks.

[Lakil7]

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.

[Lakil7]

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. 

[kgg]

58 minutes ago, Lakil7 said:

I am not sure if it is a problem with the pulley system

To determine if you have a bad / seized bearing in the reducer pulley remove the belts and see if the reducer pulley spins freely.

A few photo's showing your thread path from the spool to the needle would also help. In thick / tough / sticky material you may have to go up a needle size so here is enough space created by the needle to allow a proper loop to be formed so the hook can catch it. Have you had the front cover of recently? If the front cover isn't aligned properly the tension discs may not be releasing.

kgg

[Lakil7]

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.!!!!!!!!

[Wizcrafts]

24 minutes ago, Lakil7 said:

This time the machine just won't free up. It's still jammed up.

You already tried removing the upper belt and said the reducer turns freely, but not the machine head. So, either there is thread jammed in the hook/shuttle assembly, or the machine has seized due to a lack of oil in a critical moving part. This happened to a friend's Cobra Class 4 (same type of machine as yours) in 2021 when he had me helping him with a sewing project. Here's how it went down...

After threading the machine I ran a test strip to balance the tensions. The machine made a groaning sound I never heard it make before. I loosened the belts to see if the problem was above or below the table and it was above it. I listened carefully and determined that the groaning was coming from inside the faceplate end, where the crank shafts live. I unscrewed the cover plate and watched as I turned the hand wheel. I saw the cranks that cause the outside foot to lift were binding and causing the groaning sound. I asked my friend when was the last time he opened the cover and oiled the moving parts and he said never! He didn't know he was supposed to do that! I oiled every moving part until it bled oil!

So, if you haven't already oiled inside the faceplate, remove the cover and oil every oil hole and moving shaft inside the left end of the machine. Also, oil the holes in the cranks along the outside read of the machine and the oil holes on top.. There is also a service cover on the front right of the main body that conceals a moving part that has an oil hole. Slide the cover to expose the part and oil it. Get some shop rags or paper towels and place them under the head to catch the dripping oil.

[Lakil7]

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!!!!!!!

[CowboyBob]

@Lakil7realized 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?

This motor has a built-in brake that comes on automatically when take your foot off of the pedal,so when you want to handwheel the machine push the pedal it down maybe 1/8" to release it.

[Wizcrafts]

3 hours ago, Lakil7 said:

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.

The shuttle *race* is secured by two spring loaded screws on the end of the arm. I recommend tightening the down, then backing off each screw between 1/2 and 1 turn, depending on the thickness of the thread. For average heavy thread sizes 207 and 277, 1/2 turn usually suffices. For #346 and #415, 1 turn provides more clearance as the hook oscillates with the top thread around it. For thin thread sizes 138 and under, 1/4 turn will do. You don't want too much slop in the shuttle, nor do you want it pinching the thread as it goes around the bobbin case.

[Burkhardt]

As @Wizcrafts said take off the bottom cover by the base where it bolts to the stand where you would adjust the timing. There are I believe 3 spots to oil that you have to rotate the wheel to be able to get each oil spot accessible and leave paper towels or rags in for access oil as there are parts to oil above them also.

[Lakil7]

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!!!!!!!!

[Lakil7]

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.