Best Sewing Machine For The Dollars

[RonDrake]

probably put this in the wrong topic heading, please bear with me and move to where it works best. thanks

my first post although i have been lurking for several years. hope this works. i am retired, old, and slow but like to keep my hands busy and do what i want where and when i want to.

been making leather items , holsters, possible bags and anything else i can make and think of to make a few extra coins for several years and have been doing quite well using an old singer 15-91 but it is time to upgrade to a bigger and better machine.

note *** that i do not want to make saddles or other high end gear as i will probably never live to complete the project.

i have been looking at the techsew, cobra and cowboy machines for around $2000.00 and may want to sew up to 40 ounces of veg. tanned leather at one time making whatever and whenever the inclination may arise , but i really do want to get the biggest and best bang for my dollars. i want a machine that will work right out of the box but i do not want to go to school to learn how to use it.

bursitis in my shoulder so the tippman boss is out of the question.

toledo bob is in hawaii or someplace right now as i tried him once already but i have not called steve at cobra as yet.

i live in a small town that has a little sewing machine shop for sewing clothes but he has very little knowledge about leather so i am more or less on my own.

any ideas or thoughts are more than welcome. help help help

thanks,

ron

Edited January 1, 2012 by RonDrake

[TwinOaks]

Even Bob Kovar needs a vacation once in a while, but I'm sure he'll be back soon, and either of them may at some point be at the trade shows. You don't have your location listed, so you'll need to decide which is closer to you, but it sounds like you're in the market for a Cobra class 3, Cowboy 3500, or an Artisan Toro 3000 (emphasis on the first two, due to their pretty frequent activity here....it means they're available most of the time)....unless you just need 16" under the arm.

The machines will sew up to 3/4 or even 7/8 inch, are motorized, and will usually ship 'pre-set' to what you tell them you'll be doing.

The machine heads are all very similar, with the package differences in the motors and accessories that come with it.

Bob Kovar's shop is in Ohio, Cobra Steve (Tayrien) is in California; You could pick whichever is closest to you and be very well off based on that alone. If I recall, Cobras come with a few more goodies, Cowboy's save a few bucks. Both Steve and Bob offer tremendous customer support.

Really, the best suggestion I can offer is to give them time to get back from the Christmas and New Year holidays and talk to both to see what they can do. I know that Bob does have some used equipment, and I believe I read on here that a member picked up a used Toro 3k from Steve. Either way you go, you won't likely go wrong.

[Art]

Cobra Class 3 is what you want, although I paid the extra and got the Class 4. Cowboy makes something similar.

Call Steve anytime, he is always in for phone calls, even when he is on the road.

Where are you located.

Art

probably put this in the wrong topic heading, please bear with me and move to where it works best. thanks

my first post although i have been lurking for several years. hope this works. i am retired, old, and slow but like to keep my hands busy and do what i want where and when i want to.

been making leather items , holsters, possible bags and anything else i can make and think of to make a few extra coins for several years and have been doing quite well using an old singer 15-91 but it is time to upgrade to a bigger and better machine.

note *** that i do not want to make saddles or other high end gear as i will probably never live to complete the project.

i have been looking at the techsew, cobra and cowboy machines for around $2000.00 and may want to sew up to 40 ounces of veg. tanned leather at one time making whatever and whenever the inclination may arise , but i really do want to get the biggest and best bang for my dollars. i want a machine that will work right out of the box but i do not want to go to school to learn how to use it.

bursitis in my shoulder so the tippman boss is out of the question.

toledo bob is in hawaii or someplace right now as i tried him once already but i have not called steve at cobra as yet.

i live in a small town that has a little sewing machine shop for sewing clothes but he has very little knowledge about leather so i am more or less on my own.

any ideas or thoughts are more than welcome. help help help

thanks,

ron

[RonDrake]

Cobra Class 3 is what you want, although I paid the extra and got the Class 4. Cowboy makes something similar.

Call Steve anytime, he is always in for phone calls, even when he is on the road.

Where are you located.

Art

i was thinking about the cobra class 4 but was not sure if the extra dollars are worth the expense over the class 3.but it is going to be one time purchase so i may as well get what i want as it has to be better than my singer 15-91

. i am 20 miles north of spokane, wa. about 4 miles east of a little town called deer park, wa.

the small sewing shop in deer park thinks a juki is what i need but it only has 3/8" clearance and i would probably need some expensive options added to slow it down

we had one gas station when i moved here 40 years ago and now we are up to 6.and thats a lot for 2000 people

sounds as if i should wait until the second week of january until everybody has recovered from the holidays.

thanks for the reply,

ron

[RonDrake]

Even Bob Kovar needs a vacation once in a while, but I'm sure he'll be back soon, and either of them may at some point be at the trade shows. You don't have your location listed, so you'll need to decide which is closer to you, but it sounds like you're in the market for a Cobra class 3, Cowboy 3500, or an Artisan Toro 3000 (emphasis on the first two, due to their pretty frequent activity here....it means they're available most of the time)....unless you just need 16" under the arm.

The machines will sew up to 3/4 or even 7/8 inch, are motorized, and will usually ship 'pre-set' to what you tell them you'll be doing.

The machine heads are all very similar, with the package differences in the motors and accessories that come with it.

Bob Kovar's shop is in Ohio, Cobra Steve (Tayrien) is in California; You could pick whichever is closest to you and be very well off based on that alone. If I recall, Cobras come with a few more goodies, Cowboy's save a few bucks. Both Steve and Bob offer tremendous customer support.

Really, the best suggestion I can offer is to give them time to get back from the Christmas and New Year holidays and talk to both to see what they can do. I know that Bob does have some used equipment, and I believe I read on here that a member picked up a used Toro 3k from Steve. Either way you go, you won't likely go wrong.

hi,

sounds like cobra is the way to go as i live just outside of deer park, wa. about 20 miles north of spokane, wa. and the freight from california has to be cheaper than ohio.

i did talk to bob's son and he said bob would be back around the 4th and they might have a used cowboy 2800 coming in soon.

i don't need to have the 16" but it sure would be nice to have.

i will take another look at the cobra's as i like extra goodies whether i use them or not.

my son will get enough of my money in a few years so i will let him worry about what to do with the machine at that time.

thanks for your insight and i will call steve in a week or so after he has had a chance to slow down from the holidays.

thanks for your reply,

ron

[dirtclod]

Get the 16 inch arm machine which ever brand you buy. You will be glad ya did down the road if you want to or need to sell it.

[LeatherLegion]

+1 on the 16in arm...i was ready to buy the CB3500 and i went for the 4500 in the last minute..i am happy i did !!! I drove all the way to Toledo as it was cheaper for me, then to have it shipped over.

[Art]

You live in Romania?

Art

+1 on the 16in arm...i was ready to buy the CB3500 and i went for the 4500 in the last minute..i am happy i did !!! I drove all the way to Toledo as it was cheaper for me, then to have it shipped over.

[malabar]

Here's another vote for the Cobra Class 4. Great machine, easy to set up, excellent support from steve. If your shoulder is a problem you might want to have some help on hand to unpack it.

tk

[tnawrot2]

You live in Romania?

Art

What is more interesting is that he drove there.

[RonDrake]

ok, thanks guys for all of the replys

even with the bad shoulder, a new tippmann boss should arrive on monday and hopefully i will be able to use it while i am in the boondocks , mountains or wherever i happen to be when electricity is not available.

also talked to steve at cobra today ( a very busy and informative guy and found out i have to learn how to talk faster and quciker as he can talk circles around me) and a new cobra class 4 will arrive in a week or so.

hoping that i can count on your support with whatever issues i may have with getting the two different machines up and working correctly as i am sure the learning curve will be a little more difficult and harder than the issues i had with the singer 15-91 (that was my first machine.and i had sewn a button on my shirt previously and drew blood with a needle and thread the first time i used tthem.)

1949 model versus 2012. my head already ,hurts and i don't even have the machines in my hands yet.

thanks,

ron

[Duke]

Wondering how things are going with your new machines. Just bought my class 4 and expecting it here day after tomorrow. Owned a boss, an sold it quickly, since they're so finicky on adjustments and tuning.

[RonDrake]

hi duke,

i did purchase the cobra class 4 and it does work but.............

if you want to send a private message to me i would be willing to discuss my experience with it but will not do it on this website for the world to see.

ron

[Michu]

hi duke,

i did purchase the cobra class 4 and it does work but.............

if you want to send a private message to me i would be willing to discuss my experience with it but will not do it on this website for the world to see.

ron

I bought two Cobra machines from Cobra Steve, one a Cobra 4 and the other his best post bed machine. I've never had a single down moment with the Cobra 4. Of all my machines it is the one that has NEVER jammed, and is easiest to keep on track. The one time I managed to screw up the post bed (my own idiotic fault for not holding the thread ends), Steve stayed on the phone with me for about 2 hours to walk me through unjamming it and cleaning it. He is extremely skilled technically and also very kind to his customers.

I'll be surprised to hear that anybody could have a problem with him or his machines. As well, he also employs very kind and highly skilled customer service people.

Good Sewing to you all!

Michu

[Anne Bonnys Locker]

Sewing machines are tricky things with hundreds of parts.

My experience has been that most problems are caused by inexperience and not due to an inherent problem with the machine. On very rare occasions something can go wrong with the machine but by the feedback on here I have no doubt that Steve (Bob or Ronnie) will do everything possible to put it right. These three guys do a lot of business here and would not risk their reputations by ignoring a problem. IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM THEN CALL STEVE NOW. I HAVE NOW DOUBT HE WILL DO EVERYTHING IN HIS POWER TO HELP YOU OUT.

[Sylvia]

I HIGHLY recommend Cobra Steve... even if you are like me and the budget won't allow a new machine just yet. He got me a used Artisan 3000 and he refurbished it before sending it to me for a price that I was able to manage.

I have tried to work with the other "gents" and was sorely disappointed with their service. Neglected emails, outright refusal to help and abrupt phone manner (aka a bums rush) left me grateful I chose Steve and his team of people.

[RogerF]

Cobra and Cowboy seem to be very popular on this forum probably because they advertise here. I’m sure there fine machines, but have never seen or used one. But I do read comments that are not always positive.

As the owner of a busy leather production shop, down time on any machine is unacceptable.

We run 3 Artisan in our shop and in 5 years have had 0 issues. The 2 Toro-4000’s run 10 hrs. a day 5 days a week and take nothing more than a few drops of oil a few times a week.

If you’re looking for a sewing machine, check out Artisan. IMO you can’t go wrong for the $$

Roger

Orion Equipment &Mfg.

Edited March 12, 2013 by RogerF