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.