Using Wax Lube Pot on a 441

[Colt W Knight]

I have been using my Cowboy 4500 to make GPS Tracking Collars for livestock ( Goats - sheep - cattle) and sew a variety of heavy latigo, vegtan, biothane and closed cell foam. The needle and thread were getting quite hot sewing these heavy materials, and I was running into problems when I was doing larger production runs of collars with frayed thread, skipped stitches and not wanting to back stitch. Plus, I had to sew pretty slow or I would tear up my thread and needles. The more I thought about it, the more I figured I needed to use that lube pot that came with the machine. So I called up Cowboy Bob and he sent me some special needles to sew biothane and some silicone lube. Wow, this things runs so much smoother now. Its easier to pull the thread loose after I finish sewing to remove the work piece, it no longer frays thread, and I can sew 3-4x faster saving me a ton of time. No more back precarious backstitching. The machine always performed fine on straight veg tan leather, but when I started adding in latigo, glue seams, padding material and biothane, it got temperamental. Not anymore. Now I am trying to think of a way to rig up my Consew 206 for a thread lube pot.

[garypl]

31 minutes ago, Colt W Knight said:

I have been using my Cowboy 4500 to make GPS Tracking Collars for livestock ( Goats - sheep - cattle) and sew a variety of heavy latigo, vegtan, biothane and closed cell foam. The needle and thread were getting quite hot sewing these heavy materials, and I was running into problems when I was doing larger production runs of collars with frayed thread, skipped stitches and not wanting to back stitch. Plus, I had to sew pretty slow or I would tear up my thread and needles. The more I thought about it, the more I figured I needed to use that lube pot that came with the machine. So I called up Cowboy Bob and he sent me some special needles to sew biothane and some silicone lube. Wow, this things runs so much smoother now. Its easier to pull the thread loose after I finish sewing to remove the work piece, it no longer frays thread, and I can sew 3-4x faster saving me a ton of time. No more back precarious backstitching. The machine always performed fine on straight veg tan leather, but when I started adding in latigo, glue seams, padding material and biothane, it got temperamental. Not anymore. Now I am trying to think of a way to rig up my Consew 206 for a thread lube pot.

Colt - are you using regular bonded nylon thread?  I have a lube pot, but have not used it.  How did you route the thread through the pot without increasing the tension excessively?  Do you see any benefit to using the lube pot unless you are sewing materials other than veg tan?

Gary

[Colt W Knight]

Yes, I'm using #277 bonded nylon thread. 

I'll take a pic of the threading

I had to run the machine a bit to get the lube in the tension discs, and adjusted the tension a little, but now it seems to run with less tension and I can pull the work item out easier and thread the machine easier with the lube on the thread. 

I don't think you'd need it sewing slow on thinner veg tan products.  I do think it helps with thicker projects. 

[garypl]

3 hours ago, Colt W Knight said:

Yes, I'm using #277 bonded nylon thread. 

I'll take a pic of the threading

I had to run the machine a bit to get the lube in the tension discs, and adjusted the tension a little, but now it seems to run with less tension and I can pull the work item out easier and thread the machine easier with the lube on the thread. 

I don't think you'd need it sewing slow on thinner veg tan products.  I do think it helps with thicker projects. 

Thanks Colt - look forward to seeing your pics of thread path!

Gary

[Colt W Knight]

[OLDNSLOW]

That is the same oil pot I use on my cobra 4 I think it works great!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

[Colt W Knight]

[JLSleather]

Hmm.. that piece of cobra I ordered didn't include that ...

[brmax]

...  $95.00  Option 

 

This part can obviously be a benefit, maybe Cobra can offer the part if contacted.

 

Have a good day

Floyd

[OLDNSLOW]

ya well mine didn't either but I got one.

[JLSleather]

14 minutes ago, OLDNSLOW said:

ya well mine didn't either but I got one.

Oh, there ya go.  When Ron said he had one, I thought maybe there was ANOTHER part I didn't get (but should have). Pay no attention ...

[OLDNSLOW]

yup had to hunt one down and install it,  you might call the guy in Texas he might have one or Bob might have a boat load of them I hear they are suppose to come with the white machine but don't.

[Hockeymender]

My 4500 came with one. Never use it, took it off and put it on a shelf. 

[OLDNSLOW]

who did you get the machine from?  and maybe you could sell it to JLS so he doesn't feel left out in the cold.

[Hockeymender]

21 minutes ago, OLDNSLOW said:

who did you get the machine from?  and maybe you could sell it to JLS so he doesn't feel left out in the cold.

Got mine from Bob in Toledo. 

[Tejas]

Sailrite sells a thread lubricator for about $20.

https://www.sailrite.com/Magnetic-Thread-Lubricator

[OLDNSLOW]

I tried the magnetic on first and it would move around a lot so I went to the cast iron one, and am much happier with it on the machine.

[garypl]

19 hours ago, Colt W Knight said:

Colt, I will have to try my lube pot again and this time I will skip the thread guide post on the top of the machine, as shown in your picture.  When I originally installed the lube pot I ran the thread around the post and then into the lube pot, and I though it increased the tension too much.  

Gary

[OLDNSLOW]

garypl I would do that if I were you and one other hint and I am sure SOME ONE will come along and say that what I am going to tell you wont work but I have been doing it with no problems, so here ya go, I have been putting in the pot silicone oil but here is the deal and I will double check this to make sure the silicone oil is not anything special that they say it is the only thing that will work, I went to Lowes and in the hardware dept they sell little bottles of the oil for like  3 or 4 bucks and if your a vet you get the 10 % off I have been buying that and putting it in the pot to lube the thread with instead of paying the high price that others want to drag you over the coals for.  I will take a photo and post a little later the bottle of oil that I have been using.

Edited March 31, 2018 by OLDNSLOW
photo

[garypl]

2 hours ago, OLDNSLOW said:

garypl I would do that if I were you and one other hint and I am sure SOME ONE will come along and say that what I am going to tell you wont work but I have been doing it with no problems, so here ya go, I have been putting in the pot silicone oil but here is the deal and I will double check this to make sure the silicone oil is not anything special that they say it is the only thing that will work, I went to Lowes and in the hardware dept they sell little bottles of the oil for like  3 or 4 bucks and if your a vet you get the 10 % off I have been buying that and putting it in the pot to lube the thread with instead of paying the high price that others want to drag you over the coals for.  I will take a photo and post a little later the bottle of oil that I have been using.

Thanks for the tip!  I have a quart of silicone lube from when I bought my machine and I think it might last for a very long time!  Do you see any value in using the  lube pot when you are only sewing lighter weight leather at slow speeds?

Happy Easter!

Gary

[DonInReno]

Is there an advantage to using a wax pot for silicone over simply spraying the thread still on the cone with silicone spray?   I've been spraying down each cone as I get them and forgetting about it, but this has me wondering which is a best practice? Hmm.

[OLDNSLOW]

At slow speeds with thin leather there might not be any advantage, but I leave it place for everything that I sew it is just easier for me if using the same thread for multiple projects.  You might want to work differently than I do and discover what works best. And again if someone is spraying to roll you have to decide what works best but how does the thread feel when you go to use it on the machine?  If the thread does not feel like it is lubricated then it most likely it would need to be oiled again but YMMV.  

[Colt W Knight]

I was running great, and sewing my GPS collars without any troubles, at last. I decided to turn the speed up on the servo, so I could get through quicker. Now my silicon lube is sloshing out of the pot. Anyone have any remedies for this problem, besides slowing the speed down? I bought the machine to increase production efficiency, not slow it down.

 

[Tejas]

Your lub-pot is opaque, and thread-path cannot be seen. I've only used the Sailrite lub-pot and have not had that problem. The Sailrite thread-path is on the bottom of the pot, and only a small amount of lub in the pot is necessary. The reservoir is transparent, and the lub-level can be seen for replenishment. There is also a screw-on cap, so oil is unlikely to slosh out.

[Old Coach Saddlery]

My Bull came with a lube pot. I had a problem with the thread heating up and fraying. So I purchased some silicone lube from Weaver thinking it would help. I would agree with Colt, it was messy when I ran the machine. Seemed like there was a lot of excess lube in the tread.