Cobra Class 26 machine

[bikermutt07]

4 hours ago, SolarLeatherMachines said:

THIS.  Exactly.   Especially those folks sewing holsters with 277 on top and 138 on the bottom.  What's the point?!  

I'm not opposed to the point y'all are making but I'm a little curious and ignorant...

How much of a role does the contact cement play into say a pancake "unzipping"?

[Wizcrafts]

5 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

I'm not opposed to the point y'all are making but I'm a little curious and ignorant...

How much of a role does the contact cement play into say a pancake "unzipping"?

Glue is for holding pieces aligned for sewing and for holding lining layers in place. SOP is to glue the flesh sides together. The flesh sides will come loose and begin to separate under sufficient pull.

When I first got into making holsters I sewed them together using left twist, 6 cord, Barbour's Irish linen thread run through liquid wax. The sewing machine was a Union Lockstitch needle and awl harness stitcher that weighed 250 pounds (head) and which sold for about $6,000. You guys have no idea how good we have it nowadays to have access to harness sewing machines that almost anybody can learn to operate in one day, that sew dry thread and can be bought for under $3,000 brand new.

[bikermutt07]

8 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

Glue is for holding pieces aligned for sewing and for holding lining layers in place. SOP is to glue the flesh sides together. The flesh sides will come loose and begin to separate under sufficient pull.

When I first got into making holsters I sewed them together using left twist, 6 cord, Barbour's Irish linen thread run through liquid wax. The sewing machine was a Union Lockstitch needle and awl harness stitcher that weighed 250 pounds (head) and which sold for about $6,000. You guys have no idea how good we have it nowadays to have access to harness sewing machines that almost anybody can learn to operate in one day, that sew dry thread and can be bought for under $3,000 brand new.

Thanks @Wizcrafts, and I am appreciative about the clone boom. I have seen you fellas mention that before. 

Did you change your handle?

[Wizcrafts]

4 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

@Wizcrafts

Did you change your handle?

No, it's same user name/alias since I joined the forum. Why do you ask that?

[Ceejay]

So when the website  lists the range for thread sizes as 69 to 210 for Thor 1341, and the threads sizes for Cowboy CB341 is listed as 33 to 138, is it just the way each company sets up their machines? Sorry, I know it must get irritating to explain the same thing numerous times and ways. 

[BatCity]

I just purchased the class 26 and find leather thinner than 6oz. very difficult to sew. The presser feet do not hold thinner leather and it wants to move around while sewing. The feed dog is adjusted to it’s highest position. I’m certsin there is another adjustment needed, but I can’t figure it out. Any help is appreciated. 

[Wizcrafts]

2 hours ago, Ceejay said:

So when the website  lists the range for thread sizes as 69 to 210 for Thor 1341, and the threads sizes for Cowboy CB341 is listed as 33 to 138, is it just the way each company sets up their machines? Sorry, I know it must get irritating to explain the same thing numerous times and ways. 

Yes, that pretty much summarizes the situation. For instance, I ordered a post machine that can sew with #69 through #207 thread. My machine arrived threaded and sewn off with #207 thread, top and bottom. Normally, that machine would max out with #138 thread. The dealer fine tuned the hook and timing to meet my requirements.

It is safer to market a walking foot machine with a #138 upper limit and let the dealers adjust them for more or less capacity.

[Ceejay]

Thank you Wizcrafts.  My head is spinning over all the info and comparing specs and all.  Going to try to see the Cowboy and the Thor in person in a couple weeks, but I’m not sure that will really clarify anything for me. But I will choose one then. 

[Wizcrafts]

1 hour ago, Ceejay said:

Thank you Wizcrafts.  My head is spinning over all the info and comparing specs and all.  Going to try to see the Cowboy and the Thor in person in a couple weeks, but I’m not sure that will really clarify anything for me. But I will choose one then. 

 

Try to learn about the ranges of thicknesses, densities and thread sizes that different types of sewing machines can "normally" handle. There are always exceptions that knowledgeable individuals can dial in. Industrial sewing machines are purpose built with specific types of sewing and material and thread handling capabilities designed in from the start.

Leathercrafters can usually (but not always) ignore most of the tailoring, embroidering and specialty machines and concentrate on walking foot machines of varying capabilities. These are usually classified according to the type of work they are built to handle without breaking down. Upholstery class machines can typically sew from about 1/16 up to 3/8 of an inch. Some can't quite sew that thickness. Most are able to properly tension up to #138 bonded (nylon/polyester) thread. This thread has a breaking strength of 22 pounds. In order to sew efficiently with thicker thread and/or thicker/denser leather requires a much stronger mechanism. That is why many of us buy big harness stitchers like the Cobra Class 4, Cowboy CB4500, Techsew 5100, Artisan and Adler super duty machines and even the venerable Juki TSC-441.

Know that as much as an upholstery grade machine has difficulty sewing thick material with heavy thread, a harness stitcher has an equal and opposite problem sewing thin material with thin thread. Big machines can be dumbed down, as I have blogged about on my profile, but this is time consuming and not as efficient as having a less heavy duty machine already setup to sew things below the sweet spot of the bigger machine.

[bikermutt07]

On 10/14/2018 at 11:18 AM, Wizcrafts said:

No, it's same user name/alias since I joined the forum. Why do you ask that?

I thought it used to be The Wiz, my bad.