Stitching through Kydex and leather with a Shapeoko CNC

[wayner]

Cowboy Bob can you explain what tweeking you had to do to the Cowboy 3200 to get it to sew threw the .093 Kydex. I am very interested in hering about this 

[JLSleather]

On 7/5/2018 at 5:46 PM, Mark842 said:

I sew through leather and Kydex all the time with a Cobra 4.

Weird -- I would have thought it would crack.

[koreric75]

18 hours ago, wayner said:

Cowboy Bob can you explain what tweeking you had to do to the Cowboy 3200 to get it to sew threw the .093 Kydex. I am very interested in hering about this 

I didn't see a post from @CowboyBob about this, but @joshhartung had a.gif on Instagram showing it... I'm curious as well, and like @JLSleatheri would've thought the kydex would crack or split or the needles would be snapping points... Was this a leather needle or a sharp etc?... Inquiring minds want to know lol.

[Mark842]

3 hours ago, koreric75 said:

I didn't see a post from @CowboyBob about this, but @joshhartung had a.gif on Instagram showing it... I'm curious as well, and like @JLSleatheri would've thought the kydex would crack or split or the needles would be snapping points... Was this a leather needle or a sharp etc?... Inquiring minds want to know lol.

 

4 hours ago, JLSleather said:

Weird -- I would have thought it would crack.

Not the best pic's but here is a piece of scrap leather sewn to kydex. No cracking or splitting. Only issues you have to watch for is having to feed by hand as the feed dogs get no traction on the kydex. If your sewing a long run you have to sew slow or the heat building up on the needle will start to melt the kydex and raise the needle holes into little nubs or bumbs if that makes sense. I sew a ton of leather to kydex. I've never cracked kydex, or broke a needle or frayed thread or anything. Goes right threw like butter.

[CowboyBob]

They go though the leather & Kydex real easy.It just takes a little minor tension adjustment for the Cowboy CB3200 to sew Kydex.Here's a pic of  10mm or 13/32" of plywood ,slightly under 7/16" thick that one sewed.

[JLSleather]

12 hours ago, Mark842 said:

I sew a ton of leather to kydex. I've never cracked kydex, or broke a needle or frayed thread or anything. Goes right threw like butter.

Making what product?  I've never tried it, because I've not had CAUSE to try it.

 

[Mark842]

I use it on motorcycle bags so they hold their shape. Backing plates for windshield bags on Harley FLH model bikes and other stuff. probably abot 10-12 different products. Works great cause you can heat it up with a heat gun after stitching it in and shape it however you need.

[joshhartung]

Man, THIS is the forum post I needed when I was getting started. I'll note that I sew with a round point needle instead of a leather point, which I found would leave sharp "chips" attached to the Kydex side. I can confirm that the feed dogs don't get enough traction on Kydex, which is an important consideration - think about which side you will sew on BEFORE starting the project.

[JLSleather]

Now we just needa git Bob tell us what he's buildin' with that plywood 

[Wizcrafts]

When I got my CB4500 it included a set of feet with teeth on the bottom and a matching feed dog with teeth ("blanket set"). If your machine didn't come with these feet and feeder, contact Bob Kovar about purchasing them. They are listed in the pop-up accessories list for the Cowboy CB3200, 3500, 4500 and 5500. The serrated feed dog alone is listed at $50, plus postage. It would help eliminate slippage on Kydex.