Inline Cowboy presser feet on Cowboy CB4500

[Wizcrafts]

Recently, some topics have come up exploring the available options for inline presser feet on walking foot machines. Some involve altering existing inside and/or outside feet to form an inline pair. But, for owners of a Juki 441 clone, there are commercially available inline feet made by Cowboy Sewing Machines. Since I own a set of these inline feet, I've decided to post some photos I took of them installed on my Cowboy CB4500.

I should mention that these feet must be installed as a set and that you need to be aware that they are much shorter than a standard harness foot set. This is especially true for the back presser foot, which looks kind of like a pseudo-pod on an amoeba. But, I digress...

Remove the existing inner and outer harness feet, avoiding the tip of the needle. If you want to play it safe, remove the needle first. Next, loosen the stop screw on the inside inline foot and slide it all the way uo to the milled collar on the vibrating foot bar (that's what Singer named the inside foot bar a looooong time ago). When it tops out, line it up with the needle (reinsert the needle) and lock it down tight on the bar. Now insert the rear foot onto the presser bar and set it as low as it will go without falling off, or contacting the back of the inside foot. Then lock it down tight.

Because the feet are so short, in order to get the back foot to contact a single layer of 8-10 oz leather, you'll need to open the faceplate and lower the presser bar at least 1/4 to 5/16 of an inch. Don't worry about lowering it all the way to the feed dog. Just lower it enough so it firmly contacts the top of an 8-10 ounce test strip. There are two flat head screws on the steel block that the presser bar feeds through. There is a crankshaft in front of this block that will expose both screws if you rotate the handwheel to the correct position. Loosen the screws and pull down on the rear foot until is is about 1/8 inch above the feed dog, then turn it so it is as straight as possible and lock down the screws.

Once the rear foot is in contact with the test strip of leather, you may need to loosen the large Allen bolt on the crankshaft coming out of the rear face of the machine and manually position the inside foot so it makes contact with the top of the leather just as or just after the tip of the needle makes contact. At that point you should lock down that big Allen bolt. This should give you fairly good alternating feed.

Reinstall the faceplate and thread the machine. Run some test stitches to balance the tension, foot pressure and edge guide (if wanted) on the right side. I ran my test strip using 12 ounce bridle leather, #277 Cowboy thread and a #25 Schmetz S point needle. My edge guide was almost touching the right side of the inside foot. The photos will tell the rest. I made a video that I have to upload to YouTube later on. I will embed it in a follow-up reply once the video is available.

If anybody with a Cowboy, Cobra, Techsew, or a Juki 441 or clone wants a set, contact Bob Kovar, at Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines: 866-362-7397. He told me on July 5, 2017 that he has some ordered and they should be in his shop by the second week in July. I don't know their cost at this time.

 

[Wizcrafts]

In case it's not obvious, the inline feet are used to sew very close to the right edge and slide past any hardware or raised leather that might be on the left of the needle. The width of the inside foot is the limiting factor. It is just over 1/8 inch wide, so you can sew a narrow strap, collar, lead, watchband or studded belt, without having the hardware deflect the foot and stitch line. The presser foot is inline and follows the vibrating foot.

These feet are useful if you need to resew soles of shoes and boots. All you need is about 1/8 inch of leather protruding from the uppers to sew along the edge.

Finally, because the inside vibrating foot is so tall, you can't sew as much thickness as with the harness feet. The maximum thickness is determined by the bottom of the needle bar's needle clamp in relation to the top of the inside foot where the needle hole is. It must not hit the top of the inside foot!

[craftsman827]

Thank you for all your help Wiz.

What machine are you using the inline foot on ?

I have to choose a machine, my first.

So many to choose from. I'm racking my brain.

I make dog collars & leads, belts, wallets, what is a good machine to sew two layers of up to 10 oz. leather ?

Do I need a flat bed, or cylinder arm ?

[Greybeard]

Please keep us in the know, as you get more info.

[Wizcrafts]

2 hours ago, craftsman827 said:

Thank you for all your help Wiz.

What machine are you using the inline foot on ?

I have to choose a machine, my first.

So many to choose from. I'm racking my brain.

I make dog collars & leads, belts, wallets, what is a good machine to sew two layers of up to 10 oz. leather ?

Do I need a flat bed, or cylinder arm ?

As I wrote in the Subject title: I'm using a Cowboy CB4500. But, any Cowboy, Cobra, Techsew 441 clone will take these feet, including the popular Cowboy CB3200. The feet are special order from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. He just ordered a bunch during the first week of July, 2017. The should be in this week, if not already.

 

[JLSleather]

I have got to stop reading these posts.  Now there's another thing I want even though I don't really need it

 

[Wizcrafts]

2 minutes ago, JLSleather said:

I have got to stop reading these posts.  Now there's another thing I want even though I don't really need it

 

Don't kid yourself! That's what I thought when I bought these feet. Now, my last 3 repair and new build jobs have required these inline feet for the best results. The last job was resewing an added on decorative flap on the upper area of the top cover on a biker's saddle bag. Any other presser feet would have been less efficient. I only installed the inliners to post this article. Now, they are refusing to not be needed!

[Wizcrafts]

Note: It took me a good 20 minutes to switch over to the inline feet and get the presser and vibrating bar heights and thread tensions right. The more jobs I can do with them on, the happier I will be!

[Wizcrafts]

As promised, here is a video I shot on my phone, showing the Cowboy inline foot set in action, on my Cowboy CB4500 sewing machine.

I narrated the clip while my bearded business partner, Dan Ragan, did the sewing. Before we teamed up in 2012, he had never even touched a heavy leather stitcher. Now, after a couple lessons, he sews like a champ!

Note that I am not a pro shooter. This was done ad-libbing on my Samsung S5, not on a real video camera (my Canon is broken ;-(). Hopefully, next time I shoot a video, I'll have a real camera and my 12" reflector lighting.

 

[dikman]

Nothing wrong with that video, Wiz, looks fine. Bit of a motley bunch you've assembled!

[Wizcrafts]

15 minutes ago, dikman said:

Nothing wrong with that video, Wiz, looks fine. Bit of a motley bunch you've assembled!

Lol, Thanks for the compliment. I've never been accused of being normal, nor have my friends and business associates.

As for the video, I've done better in the past when I used a real camera. I miss my Leica M3, Canons, Rolliflexes and Graflex..

 

[Uwe]

A tripod and pre-focus will make a world of difference for videos.

On the topic of in-line feet for 441 class machines, the make-it-yourself option is available to those who have un-used blanket feet in their parts drawer. I made a set a few month ago for the make-your-own-feet type discussion:

 

I was planning to make some from scratch on my CNC mill, but so far I've only come as far modeling it up in my CAD software and buying some stainless steel stock. Maybe I'll give this little project another push. 

 

[Wizcrafts]

Uwe, I'd like to conspire with you on the design of the milled inline feet and a slightly raised throat plate to use with them..

[Uwe]

My version is designed to work with the flat harness maker throat plate. I'll have to work with somebody for testing since I just sold my Cowboy 4500. 

[Wizcrafts]

Just now, Uwe said:

My version is designed to work with the flat harness maker throat plate. I'll have to work with somebody for testing since I just sold my Cowboy 4500. 

I'm your huckleberry

[OLDNSLOW]

If some reason if The wiz meets his fate on the way to be your huckleberry, you can count me in fer helpen ya out.  and for those that are interested Cowboy Bob has 3 or 4 sets in stock at the time I spoke with him a few hours ago, and they are running around 150.00 give er take, would like to know what the Uwe price might run ifen bob runs out, I figure theres enough work out there fer every one.

[JLSleather]

My [obvious] question is;  Why are they made short (requiring adjustment of position from other feet)?

 

[OLDNSLOW]

I noticed that the one Wiz is showing is using the stock plate on the machine, the one that Uwe is thinking about making works with the flat plate that Uwe was selling and indicating would work with the ones he is thinking of making.  So there must be some differences in measurements from the stock to the flat, just my ramblings anyway.

[JLSleather]

On 7/6/2017 at 1:04 AM, Wizcrafts said:

these feet must be installed as a set and that you need to be aware that they are much shorter than a standard harness foot set.

I mean this ↑

Requiring adjustment of the bar.  Maybe they originally designed for some other setup?

 

[Wizcrafts]

1 hour ago, JLSleather said:

I mean this ↑

Requiring adjustment of the bar.  Maybe they originally designed for some other setup?

 

I don't think they were made for a different machine. They fit perfectly into the presser and vibrating foot bars. I think that maybe the company had a raised holster plate on the machine when they designed these feet. They would be just the right length for those plates. Or, someone measured incorrectly. I don't speak Chinese so I can't ask them.

I don't know if the new ones are the same length as mine, or have been corrected.

[OLDNSLOW]

yes, but Uwe I (think) are going to be built to different specs

[Wizcrafts]

5 minutes ago, OLDNSLOW said:

yes, but Uwe I (think) are going to be built to different specs

Of course. They should be made to swap with standard harness feet and no additional adjustments to the foot bars. I was referring to the original inline feet that are sold by the CowboySew company.

[JLSleather]

Oh, yeah --- prob'ly was intended for use with raised plate (holster / stirrup).  Thanks.

 

[Uwe]

I finally got around to making a real-life version of my CAD model inline presser foot.  Coincidentally I also became warden of a like-new Ferdco Super Bull 2000 with a career-ending massive crack in the casting (it fell off a moving cart years ago before ever being put to use.) The machine lets me test parts for proper fit and take pictures. Unfortunately I can't make videos of it sewing.

This version is done in 304 stainless steel. It looks simple but the CNC mill labors for nearly 30 minutes on a single part. Stainless steel is really hard to work with, literally. No mounting screw yet - I'm still deciding between hole and slot. I'll have some for sale in a week or so, after some fine-tuning and polishing. Pricing will be around $70 for just the stainless steel rear foot, or $90ish for the set including the generic front blanket foot. Plain polished steel will be $20 less.

 

[OLDNSLOW]

I think a stainless set for me when they are ready no rush no pressure thanks