Cobra Class 4 - A Couple Questions From A Rookie User

[CodyG]

Hey everbody....

I received my Class 4 on Friday and finally had a chance to use it tonight on some scrap pieces. I did have to adjust the tension since it came set to sew very thick material, and got it adjusted for roughly 16oz of leather.

1. The servo motor...I tried to use the up/down arrows to adjust the speed, and nothing really happened. The display just blinked in a random pattern and didn't increase or decrease the speed. The speed of the stitch is fine now since I need to crawl, but I assumed that tipping my toe would speed up the stitches. Any thoughts?

2. When I made my last practice pass, I used the wheel to make the last foward stitch, and let the needle rise about 1/4" before putting it in reverse. I made the back stitches to lock them in, but when I went to remove the piece the hook had grabbed one of my stitches and pulled it down. I was able to free the piece by cutting the top thread and pulling one of the ends of the snagged stitch. I tried a couple more times with the same result. I assume it's a procedural error of when/where I'm calling it quits, but I can't put my finger on it. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Cody

[Andrew Chee]

Hey everbody....

I received my Class 4 on Friday and finally had a chance to use it tonight on some scrap pieces. I did have to adjust the tension since it came set to sew very thick material, and got it adjusted for roughly 16oz of leather.

1. The servo motor...I tried to use the up/down arrows to adjust the speed, and nothing really happened. The display just blinked in a random pattern and didn't increase or decrease the speed. The speed of the stitch is fine now since I need to crawl, but I assumed that tipping my toe would speed up the stitches. Any thoughts?

2. When I made my last practice pass, I used the wheel to make the last foward stitch, and let the needle rise about 1/4" before putting it in reverse. I made the back stitches to lock them in, but when I went to remove the piece the hook had grabbed one of my stitches and pulled it down. I was able to free the piece by cutting the top thread and pulling one of the ends of the snagged stitch. I tried a couple more times with the same result. I assume it's a procedural error of when/where I'm calling it quits, but I can't put my finger on it. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Cody

Hold the down arrow for about three seconds until you see "S1". Then hit the up arrow until you see "S3". Then hit the up or down arrow and you will see the numbers go up or down between 1-28. Thats the speed. Start at around 15 and see how you like it. Repeat procedure until you find the max speed that you are comfortable with.

Andrew

[Sixer]

Hey everbody....

I received my Class 4 on Friday and finally had a chance to use it tonight on some scrap pieces. I did have to adjust the tension since it came set to sew very thick material, and got it adjusted for roughly 16oz of leather.

1. The servo motor...I tried to use the up/down arrows to adjust the speed, and nothing really happened. The display just blinked in a random pattern and didn't increase or decrease the speed. The speed of the stitch is fine now since I need to crawl, but I assumed that tipping my toe would speed up the stitches. Any thoughts?

2. When I made my last practice pass, I used the wheel to make the last foward stitch, and let the needle rise about 1/4" before putting it in reverse. I made the back stitches to lock them in, but when I went to remove the piece the hook had grabbed one of my stitches and pulled it down. I was able to free the piece by cutting the top thread and pulling one of the ends of the snagged stitch. I tried a couple more times with the same result. I assume it's a procedural error of when/where I'm calling it quits, but I can't put my finger on it. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Cody

1. That servo motor is tricky to adjust at first... Do what Andrew said and also read the manual. You would think that it wouldn't be that complicated... but it is.

2. Make sure that the needle comes all the way up before you take your work out. This way the stitch is completed. You'll need to manually pull the thread to create enough slack before actually taking your leather out... but if the needle is all the way up it should work.

[CowboyBob]

1. That servo motor is tricky to adjust at first... Do what Andrew said and also read the manual. You would think that it wouldn't be that complicated... but it is.

2. Make sure that the needle comes all the way up before you take your work out. This way the stitch is completed. You'll need to manually pull the thread to create enough slack before actually taking your leather out... but if the needle is all the way up it should work.

These are great hints,you also want to make sure the takeup lever is all the way up when you stop & start.

Bob

[gringobill]

You can adjust the maximum stitching speed by pressing the up and down switch when the machine is in motion. That's a little tricky, best to do it with the needle unthreaded. I did not know the method that Andrew Chee described.

To remove your work when you have locked your last stitch, make sure the take up arm is at the top of it's stroke then left the presser foot as high as possible and you should be able to pull thread through the needle.

[Deb59]

Gringo Bill is right - When I got my Cobra I could not figure out how to adjust the speed of the servo. Called Steve - He told me the machine had to be running in order for the speed to change when you push on the arrow keys. It is in a very ackward location to reach down around the pulley and do this while running the machine, but once you get it adjusted to a speed you like you don't change it too often. Another hint I have learned, If the machine starts to skip a stitch, you probably need to change your needle size. If you are sewing on a thin leather, go down a size, If you are sewing on thick leather go up a size. Also check for any burrs on the needle tip. These tips were passed on from fellow users and have helped me a lot.

[Kevin S]

I also have a newer Cobra and the speed adjusts as Andrew Chee mentioned. When you sew, the readout displays the current setting, but this motor does not adjust with the toggle switch while running. The machine starts at a 1 speed then jumps to the preset when the pedal is fully depressed. The pedal will adjust the speed between 1 and the higher preset while running, but it is so sensitive to movement if find it difficult to control. The factory instruction pamphlet for the servo motor that came with the machine has some operation instructions for motor settings (translated from foreign text so a bit rough to read). I have found there is a lot to learn about the Cobra and the forum posts can be helpful. Kevin

[gringobill]

I've found the Cobra Class 4 to be a pretty forgiving machine. I have done quite a bit of fooling around with the thread tension settings and inspite of it all my machine keeps on doing a good job of stitching. I get Steve's DVD out periodically and watch certain parts of it as a refresher course which is helpful to me. I keep forgetting what he says about only adjusting the bobbin tension 1/4 of a turn either way, which is not very much, and inspite of me overdoing it my machine has kept functioning well. At one point after watching the DVD I went back and reset all the thread tension back to where I think it was originally and that was hlepful.

All this is to say, I don't find this to be what I would consider a tempermental, finicky machine.

The servo motor is great and I find it gives me a lot of control.