COWBOY CB 4500/441 Stitch length increment fix

[RockyAussie]

While doing a rush job of a 60 personal alarm pouches recently I ran into a problem with the stitch length getting longer on the run. I started by getting the stitch length set to have the needle finish just where I wanted and at first I thought I must be doing some thing wrong, I found that with all the reverse stitching the adjuster was moving wider and falling into one of only 2 slots that hold the adjuster from moving. I decided to remove the adjusting nut and put in a few more grooves to stop it moving. I have some pictures here to show what I did but take note of the small ball bearing and spring that comes out when the adjuster is removed. Have your hand ready to catch it all as you remove it.I was in a hurry to do this so it is a little rough and in hind sight I could have used a centre punch and drill bit and followed the ring around where the ball bearing rubs. It worked very well at any rate and gave me a lot more confidence knowing that the last stitch hole was no longer a mystery. Hope the pics tell it better than me. Regards Brian

[garypl]

Brian - I don't understand why the extra notches stop the knob from moving.  Seems the knob can still move, just not as much before it hits the adjacent notch.  What am I missing here?  That's quite a stack of pouches you have to work on!

  Gary

[RockyAussie]

16 minutes ago, garypl said:

Brian - I don't understand why the extra notches stop the knob from moving.  Seems the knob can still move, just not as much before it hits the adjacent notch.  What am I missing here?  That's quite a stack of pouches you have to work on!

  Gary

There's not a lot of movement between one notch and the next as it was originally but over 15 stitches it could be 1/2 a stitch or more out longer. With the extra increments and being able to lock it in stopped in wandering out of place from the setting I wanted to stay at. It would be possible to do an extra lot of slots between but I think for now this should be good enough for most jobs.  As to the number of pouches I'll have to get round to posting the small revolving edging tool I made up for doing all those holes. Basically it is the small felt out of the Dremel  set put into a hand piece that locks it in and allows it to spin as you push it. Worked well enough I ordered another 100 felts from China for SFA. This lot pretty well used up one felt. I'll post more details of later if you like. Brian

[garypl]

I think I see it now!  If you weren't locked into one of the two original notches the knob could move because ithe ball hadn't dropped into a notch.  Now that you have more notches you can pretty much ensure you will lock into a notch and be close to the stitch length you need - very clever!

Will you post a pic of the felt?  Curious to try one.  Gary

 

[RockyAussie]

4 hours ago, garypl said:

I think I see it now!  If you weren't locked into one of the two original notches the knob could move because ithe ball hadn't dropped into a notch.  Now that you have more notches you can pretty much ensure you will lock into a notch and be close to the stitch length you need - very clever!

Will you post a pic of the felt?  Curious to try one.  Gary

 

I think I'll have to post this as a how to topic but for now here goes- first up I could not do these holes on my edging machine as I do with most things and with the edging it needs to be held downward so as to not have the edging running back down away from the application all the time. I needed some way to hold the felt and have it spin while holding it down. This meant I needed to lock the shaft and let it spin some how. I came up with this tool for removing the burr on the edge of plastic that I had already here and by putting a groove in the shaft for holding the felt as supplied for the Dremel it worked. I have here a couple of pictures of how I use it and a couple of links to eBay where you can get the felts and deburring  tool as follows - Note the felts come with a couple of holding shafts that fit the deburrer so you dont need to have a dremel or set.  All for under $10.00 Regards Brian

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=291098472944

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=302394995242

[RockyAussie]

I should have added that to clean up the felts on this edging tool works by running the felt up and down on soap under running water until no more colour shows. Also by not overfilling the egg cup allows room to get a even amount on the felt.

[Matt S]

I like that felt applicator, Rocky. Gonna try that out. Better than Q-tips for the fiddly bits I reckon. Egg cup a good shout too. My bench looks like BP's been drilling there sometimes...

Edited September 8, 2017 by Matt S

[RockyAussie]

I reckon if there's a clean bench top and your a leather work you just aint been busy enough. Regards to the felt when you get one loaded I found it useful to smooth it out a bit and I've done that by letting it spin against the sander as shown in the picture against the disc. Don't do for too long in one hit as I think the insides of the holder are fully plastic and probably won't take too much heat in one hit. Let us know how you go. Brian

[alpha2]

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On 9/6/2017 at 4:54 PM, RockyAussie said:

There's not a lot of movement between one notch and the next as it was originally but over 15 stitches it could be 1/2 a stitch or more out longer. With the extra increments and being able to lock it in stopped in wandering out of place from the setting I wanted to stay at. It would be possible to do an extra lot of slots between but I think for now this should be good enough for most jobs.  As to the number of pouches I'll have to get round to posting the small revolving edging tool I made up for doing all those holes. Basically it is the small felt out of the Dremel  set put into a hand piece that locks it in and allows it to spin as you push it. Worked well enough I ordered another 100 felts from China for SFA. This lot pretty well used up one felt. I'll post more details of later if you like. Brian

 

My CB4500 has a lock nut in the threaded shaft, same size as the one that is at the base of the black knob. (In fact, that's where mine usually rests, against the one next to the black know, don't use it much.)

 It locks against the c-shaped part, and keeps it from changing position. Your machine doesn't appear to have that nut. It's not as quick to make changes, but it allows you to stop the knurled ring at any location, instead of just where there's a notch.

[1hp]

made a @RockyAussie adjusting nut. the detent ball is a bastard to get back in. used small tweezers & a toothpick to push it back in its home.

[RockyAussie]

@1hpThat is a nice neat looking job and looks a lot better than my effort. Worth the exercise either way though. I think from memory for every 3mm extra in height you move the knob one click to keep the same stitch length. 

[1hp]

thanks for coming up with this great mod! may put some reference marks on the visible side some day.

[CdK]

@RockyAussie I am one of the people that benefits from the sharing of your modification.

I used a square file and some elbow grease to create the additional grooves. The ball detent can be a booger to refit and sticky grease and a knife helped to reinstall it.

When I was refitting the plastic ball onto the threaded rod it split and not having the same size ball I came up with what I had in my collection. An adapter was fabricated using a bolt that screwed into the ball. The added mass has the advantage that the lever will drop down if not held in place so no forgetting to return the lever after back stitching. The length of the adapter is sufficient in length and I tapped it deep enough to pinch the "C" shape when tightened down so it doubles as a locknut.

 

 

[RockyAussie]

Good looking end result there @CdK every little bit helps. Magnet attached screw driver rack I assume?

[dikman]

It seems to me that your idea of drilling/countersinking holes along the travel path of the detent ball would be easier than cutting grooves? I can't think of any downside to doing it that way.

[CdK]

19 hours ago, RockyAussie said:

Good looking end result there @CdK every little bit helps. Magnet attached screw driver rack I assume?

Tried that but the cat kept knocking it off, 3M double sided tape now anchors it in place. I do use coin magnets to hold other bits close at hand as I cut down the pedestal to minimums to save space in my work space. The maximum foot print of my machines are determined by the heavy metal base and nothing more, must be the Dutch DNA in me, use as little floor space as necessary.