Cowboy Cb-4500 A Dud?

[Cascabel]

.......Ya know, it probably would be a good thing to pin a list of "Sewing Machine Tips for Newbies" at the top of this forum. There are a tremendous number of new folks showing up here with little or no experience with sewing machines of any type, and having lots of problems caused by simply not knowing some of the basic stuff that us "old hands" do without even thinking about it.

Things like which way the needle is installed in the machine. "The scarf goes which way ??" "What the heck is a "scarf" ?? A much better explanation would be to say that the thread enters the needle from the side with the long groove. Or how about always stopping the machine with the take up arm in the up position, so that when starting to sew a new line of stitching, the thread does not get snatched back out of the needle on the first downstroke. And the importance of always holding on to the tails of the thread when starting to sew. How to turn a corner by leaving the needle in the work and pivoting around it as if it was an hinge pin. All this stuff applies to all sewing machines, even domestics. These are all I can think of at the moment, but you see what I mean about things we do without having to think about it that the poor newbies may not know, and will cause them problems.

[Ferg]

I believe every one of your points has been addressed a number of times. Folks need to use the Archives but then I also know few will exert the effort to research some important things on their own. That is not any kind of smart aleck remark, it is the honest to goodness truth.

Few folks with the knowledge have time to write a dissertation about running a sewing machine, on the forum.

You Tube has many very informative videos for the asking.

ferg

[Cascabel]

I was thinking of a simple list where all the important info would be in one spot, and easy to find, rather than people having to hunt for it. Searching the Archives can be a bit of a chore when all you want is a small piece of information, especially for a newbie that really doesn't know quite how to ask the question in order to get the answer he needs.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Cascabel

[Ferg]

I agree with you, the archives have gotten "rather large".

I think it is a good idea, why don't you make the list. LOL

ferg

[pcox]

Read the manual about 5 times before you look at the machine. Then get in front of the machine and start thru the book again and again till you understand every part. Now and only now plug it in and sew on scrap not you projects you have lots of time and money in.

Every new machine I have got from Bob has had a 3/4 inch piece of leather with a few rows of stitching in it the thread was still threaded top and bottom. proof that it was sewing wen it left Bob. One machine sewed 3 or 4 seams then started shredding the thread. Turns out the man that was getting the machine had went over the machine checking all the screws. He tighten the shuttle race screw tight, should be backed out 1/2 a turn. This caused the problem it even knocked the machine out of time. 3 calls to Bob got us back going It has made over a 100 sets of heavy draft horse harness without 1 problem.

Edited January 21, 2014 by pcox

[silverbullet]

Just my two cents, even the best mechanics cannot repair an item miles away from his shop. I've had several dealings with bob and bob at Toledo sewing, they are willing to share there expertise on repairs on all kinds of sewing equipment. Anyone influenced by the video would be more likely not worth having as clients. I deal with people daily my specialty is small engines and mowers no mater what there machine does when it's done at my shop I cannot control what happens when it's at there house I get blamed for stale gas and no oil but when it left it didn't have a problem the people save the old gas put it back in and bang problems back , just an example we don't control what happens when it leaves the shop. But we still are willing to fix it I've did one three times before they would get rid of there old gas can , try to understand we do our best and we want happy customers not lost ones or mad ones. Gary

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

I'm not really sure where to go with this one, but really I really had a hard time getting past the cig and bathrobe YouTube video, and think some of the message may have been lost there. Not that I thinks that's bad thing.

[neelsaddlery]

Hello:

I have been reading the posts here on this topic tonight and from what I can tell a lot of issues have been resolved with the CB-4500 machine that Seth was having troubles with.

Bob, Bobby, and all of us at Cowboy do our absolute best to provide the highest level of customer service that we can provide, and I hope that Seth sees that we have all tried to resolve his issues to the best of our ability.

I also hope that Seth sees that if there are problems with the machine, that he can contact Bob, Bobby, or myself with questions that he may have and that we can resolve those issues.

Seth, I did check on Youtube and the video of the 4500 is still on there. It is my hope that you will remove the video from Youtube, as persons that are viewing other videos which we have on Youtube may find that video and may unjustly feel that the machine is not a good machine, or that we are not offering the level of customer support that our customers have come to expect from us.

Please know that if there are problems with your machine, that you will be able to find help with the problems by calling any of us at Cowboy.

And of course, if we fail to provide the level of customer service that you and others have come to expect from Cowboy, then you could of course repost the video.

I hope that you will understand our position and agree to remove a video which may potentially be damaging to our good name.

Thank you, again please feel free to contact us with any questions or problems that you may be experiencing with the machine.

[SethJ]

Hello:

I have been reading the posts here on this topic tonight and from what I can tell a lot of issues have been resolved with the CB-4500 machine that Seth was having troubles with.

Bob, Bobby, and all of us at Cowboy do our absolute best to provide the highest level of customer service that we can provide, and I hope that Seth sees that we have all tried to resolve his issues to the best of our ability.

I also hope that Seth sees that if there are problems with the machine, that he can contact Bob, Bobby, or myself with questions that he may have and that we can resolve those issues.

Seth, I did check on Youtube and the video of the 4500 is still on there. It is my hope that you will remove the video from Youtube, as persons that are viewing other videos which we have on Youtube may find that video and may unjustly feel that the machine is not a good machine, or that we are not offering the level of customer support that our customers have come to expect from us.

Please know that if there are problems with your machine, that you will be able to find help with the problems by calling any of us at Cowboy.

And of course, if we fail to provide the level of customer service that you and others have come to expect from Cowboy, then you could of course repost the video.

I hope that you will understand our position and agree to remove a video which may potentially be damaging to our good name.

Thank you, again please feel free to contact us with any questions or problems that you may be experiencing with the machine.

Not a problem,....Hey just FYI,...I was in my robe because it was like 3am and I'm way behind in the shop,...but thanks for noticing.

Yea I can pull the video down,..but heck I had videos up there for years,..and not a single view? lol doubt if its damaging,....

so no suggestions on the sewing shearling huh?

[neelsaddlery]

Seth:

Thank you for agreeing to take down the post. I really do appreciate that. It will really help us a lot.

I am glad that your machine has been working well, and again please feel free to call us with any and all questions you may have.

Seth, I did not make the comment about the robe. Somebody else said that on this thread.

Robe or no robe, you had a problem, and I hope that you can see that we all stepped up to the plate and corrected it.

For the saddle shearling, I would look to do the following:

1. Sew the saddle shearling with the leather against the feed dog. The shearling itself should be against the presser foot.

2. If you have the padded material foot, I would use it. This is the really wide foot.

3. A lot of people, when sewing shearling, will trim around the sew path with a set of shears. This eliminates most of the fleece in the way of the sew path and allows for easier sewing. If the fleece is long enough, the 1/4 inch you remove around the edge will not matter, as the fleece will "comb over" the removed area.

4. I would use a size 277 thread, and tighten your top thread tension a bit.

Hope this is of some help to you.

[SethJ]

Seth:

Thank you for agreeing to take down the post. I really do appreciate that. It will really help us a lot.

I am glad that your machine has been working well, and again please feel free to call us with any and all questions you may have.

Seth, I did not make the comment about the robe. Somebody else said that on this thread.

Robe or no robe, you had a problem, and I hope that you can see that we all stepped up to the plate and corrected it.

For the saddle shearling, I would look to do the following:

1. Sew the saddle shearling with the leather against the feed dog. The shearling itself should be against the presser foot.

2. If you have the padded material foot, I would use it. This is the really wide foot.

3. A lot of people, when sewing shearling, will trim around the sew path with a set of shears. This eliminates most of the fleece in the way of the sew path and allows for easier sewing. If the fleece is long enough, the 1/4 inch you remove around the edge will not matter, as the fleece will "comb over" the removed area.

4. I would use a size 277 thread, and tighten your top thread tension a bit.

Hope this is of some help to you.

Thanks! I thought I had to go to a round needle>?

Oh heres an update,...and No Its daytime hours so no bathrobe,...originally those videos were just between me and Bob Jr in the wee hrs of the morning,..and I never thought about anybody else seeing them really until I decided to out on here and get some feedback. Its not uncommon for me to work well into the night,..and yes sometimes even in my PJ's LOL

Edited January 22, 2014 by SethJ

[neelsaddlery]

Seth:

Thank you so much for your kind words and the video that describes your satisfaction with the CB-4500 machine.

For the saddle shearling and fleece, I would still use a leather point needle if your substrate is leather. You will need the extra punching power to sew through the heavy weight leather.

Hope this helps, and I am so glad that you were able to get the machine up and running and also that you were satisfied with Cowboy's level of customer service.

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

Liked the video, endorsed it, and great shirt! As you can see, I'm an amateur, too; An amateur YouTube critic!

Glad to see the video, I knew they would get it up and running, no matter what from the beginning.

[SethJ]

Just finished the edge stitching on some rear jockeys.....smooth as butter....

[shooter55]

Very nice Seth. A lot easier than hand-stitching, huh? Faster too.

[SethJ]

Very nice Seth. A lot easier than hand-stitching, huh? Faster too.

lol Oh man,...you better know it. I think that was a lot of my troubles too,..I had a big back-log of stuff people ordered trying to get it out the shop,..and when I got the machine,..I was in such a hurry to get it going I stumbled a bit. I completely cleaned out my shop in the last week,..everything's caught up. Its really amazing how my turn around time has gone to nothing!

I was sooooo dreadfully tired of handstitching belts and skirts and such lmao,....but I can guarantee you this,...I'm an expert hand stitcher! LOL

I wish I had one dollar for every stitch I've laid by hand,.....I'd be at the very least a hundred-thousandaire

[Techsew Ron]

Liked the video, endorsed it, and great shirt! As you can see, I'm an amateur, too; An amateur YouTube critic!

Glad to see the video, I knew they would get it up and running, no matter what from the beginning.

Gregg I'll be calling you for fashion advice before we do our next video

might get some Techsew robes made..

[SethJ]

sewed this skirt without a single hiccup I'm so happy!

[Wizcrafts]

Welcome to the Brotherhood of the Bobbin, Seth!

[shooter55]

sewed this skirt without a single hiccup I'm so happy!

Very nice work Seth. Are you stamping or carving? Either way, looks pretty good. Do you do a lot of saddlery in LA? (not to be confused with Lower Alabama or Los Angeles) Have some friends in Shreveport and the only horses they are familiar with are 390 if them under the hood.

Nice work.

Tim

[SethJ]

Very nice work Seth. Are you stamping or carving? Either way, looks pretty good. Do you do a lot of saddlery in LA? (not to be confused with Lower Alabama or Los Angeles) Have some friends in Shreveport and the only horses they are familiar with are 390 if them under the hood.

Nice work.

Tim

No I hand carve all of it,..dunno where I'd get a stamp this big? lol...

with the machine now I'm doing a lot more saddles hopefully,...up til recently it's been hand sewn so I've only done a couple...aside from that my mentor passed away, so I figure a lot out from books, videos, reading everything I can get my hands on....never thought carving was my strong point, but folks seem to buy them anyways so I guess it's ok...

I was raised around horses, I have some now,...I still play "cowboy" on a daily basis,...I do more holsters and gunbelts than anything,..mag pouches,..etc...but I do a fair amount of tack and saddlery.

Edited January 26, 2014 by SethJ

[Dr JOEL]

What a great forum! You guys that are resonding are absolutely great. The wiz even willing to go personally to help Seth! Outstanding.

[RusticLeatherShop]

Hi,

 

I bought an CB4500 as well brand new (I am from Southamerica) a while ago and never ever have had the slightest hiccup with it.

One time it did fray without any reason the thread and I had to take out the bobbin to see whats going on but that never happened again.

The thread Ends have to be Held a bit but even if you dont hold them, the machine will work just OK. Adjusting the machine bobbin and thread is the secret. When oil gets into the bobbin thread then knots will Show up on top of the sewing since friction is lowered in the bobbin part.

Till date I use #277 thread with #25 needle but soon Change to #138 thread with #23 needle.

I sew mostly rather thin leather (2 to 4 layers of 4 to 5 oz leather) and thus have lessened the thread and bobbin Tension to the bare Minimum. That gives better results but still #277 thread is a bit overdo for thin leather.

As well the machine has to be threaded exactly as required by the manufacturer even if you think you are wiser than them.

For thin leather adjusting the machine can be at first done by Feeling if bobbin thread and upper thread have similar tensions. Bare Minimum Tension is best IMHO for thin leather. As well the presser foot can be reduced a bit the pressure so the foot presses less on the material.

KNOTS have to be between in the middle of the 2 layers of leather.

KNOTS ON TOP = reduce upper thread Tension OR increase bobbin Tension.

KNOTS ON UNDERSIDE = increase upper thread Tension OR reduce bobbin Tension.

I oil the machine before each use as such as I tend to overlubricate.

Here is my most recent Smartphone case I made for 17$ for my worker (It's not the most beautifull work but functional made with #277 thread. Dark Brown pig Skin with magnetic closure buttons). Observe that backstitching supposed to be "in the same hole" which is a Little optimistic IMO for the CB4500. Skipped stitches are non existant as I observed just 1 skipped stitch on one of my works. But yea precise Corner sewing is a bit a challenge since stitches are sometimes a tad to short on the edge or want to pass over the edge unless stitches are reduced to smaller (very small so it doesnt look nice). These needles (Organ #25) tend to incline a tad the stitch thread as it is not in an perfect straight line (thats due to the needle Point as I saw on YouTube).