Cobra 18 question

[Wykoni]

I screwed up on my last post, should be a cobra 18.  If anyone has one can you show me the back side stitch.  Looking for something that has an attractive front and back stitch.

[kgg]

1 hour ago, Wykoni said:

If anyone has one can you show me the back side stitch.  Looking for something that has an attractive front and back stitch.

I don't understand your question. Are looking to purchase this class of machine or ???? As a note the Class 18 is a clone of the Juki DNU-1541S and if you want quality build and stitch wise by a Juki but they are going to be expensive.

If you looking to buy a machine what are you planning on sewing, thread size, thickness of material???

kgg

 

 

[Wykoni]

I am going to buy another machine the two in contention are the Juki 1541 and the Cobra class 18.  Your right similar machines.   The cobra has a reducer on it that allows a very slow stitch.  The Juki does not.  The Juki has a beautiful back side stitch, however, I do not know about the class 18.   So this is why I asked.  I want a machine that front and back stitch looks good.  Why, because I may make a notebook, the person opens the notebook and sees both sides.  I want both sides to look nice.  I have a cobra class 4 and with this machine there is a notable difference in the two stitches.  I hope I have made it clear.

[DieselTech]

Watch some of Makers leather supply videos. Aaron does some videos using the class 18 cobra. 

[kgg]

44 minutes ago, Wykoni said:

Your right similar machines.

Yes, the Cobra does come with a reducer which does allow for slower sewing and greater punching power due to the increased torque provided by the speed reduce. The cost for a 3:1 speed reducer, at least in Canada, is about $100 CAD. 

I have never owned any of the Cobra equipment but from my experience I had for a very short period of time a Consew RB206-5 that I hoped to replace my Juki DU-1181N with as it was supposed to be similar to the Juki DNU-1541S. It wasn't good enough to replace the Juki 1181N so I sold the Consew. 

Bottom Line, do an honest test using a sample of your stuff on both machines. You may have to send a sample to a vendor. I could not find a weight for the head of the Cobra 18 listed so you may want to call them keeping in mind the Juki DNU head alone weights 80.46 lbs (36.5 kg). 

kgg 

[friquant]

5 hours ago, Wykoni said:

Looking for something that has an attractive front and back stitch.

Has anyone noticed the attractiveness of the bottom stitches to be machine-dependent?

[dikman]

I doubt if any of the machines generally used for things like notebooks will be much different in how the reverse side stitching looks as they all operate the same. If you want the best looking stitches and the reverse-side is a concern then hand-stitching is the best option.

[Wykoni]

Thank you for your impute but really all I am asking is if someone has this machine send a picture my way.  I know the alternatives, but really isn’t what I am looking for.  Thank you anyway.

[Wykoni]

3 hours ago, friquant said:

Has anyone noticed the attractiveness of the bottom stitches to be machine-dependent?

Really depends on who you’re working with.  There are people out there who will pay premium money but only if they get premium quality.  If I can improve the product’s looks with a machine that I am willing to buy, why not.  My experience in this thing we do is that the little things matter.  Enough little things can make a big difference in appearance 

[bruce johnson]

5 hours ago, friquant said:

Has anyone noticed the attractiveness of the bottom stitches to be machine-dependent?

Yes, but only in the sense of the older hook and awl machines. They have an awl that prepunches the hole followed by an needle that carries the thread. They can pull a tighter stitch by nature and a cleaner looking bottom stitch. I know that is not your question but it is my answer. As far as the closed needle machines I don't think that one particular machine will shine above the others once you get to decent machines. The variables of thread size overall, one size smaller thread in bobbin vs same thread top and bottom, needle size, type of needle (straight vs slanted), stitch length, leather thickness and consistency, chrome tan will pull in tighter than veg tan, bottom feed dog, tension top and bottom, and probably more all affect the appearance of the bottom stitch more than the model and mechanics of the machine. We have three closed eye machines - Ferdco 1245, Ferdco 2000, Cobra 26, and have had others. I can make one look better than the others if the others aren't set up optimally. I can make them all look the same too with the changes above. 

What does improve the bottom stitch on all of the closed eye needle machines? Overstitching. Roll the bottom side stitch line with the appropriate size overstitcher. It sets the stitches, rounds the stitches between holes, and gets as close as you can get to the top side appearance. It is the 2 minute time difference that makes a big appearance difference. This example I did on the fly several years ago. I purposely put an old needle back in the machine to get some "blowout", probably 207 thread, 9 or 10 SPI, same size thread top and bottom. hard leather, heavy presser foot pressure. I think it looked pretty rugged right out of the machine. The right side looked the same as the left in the picture but was then rolled with an overstitcher. All it needs after that is the presser feet marks rubbed out to be pretty nice appearing stitching.