Cobra vs Cowboy

[Colt W Knight]

On 11/19/2019 at 1:29 PM, Ken Nelson said:

have problems and you can pull down a manua

I transported a machine in table one time, strapped down well, and vibrations broke all the welds on the table cross members and reinforcement bars. Head was fine. I would never do it again. Now I am imagining all the screws backing off and falling off on the highway. Man I got lucky.

 

 

 

[RemingtonSteel]

37 minutes ago, Colt W Knight said:

I transported a machine in table one time, strapped down well, and vibrations broke all the welds on the table cross members and reinforcement bars. Head was fine. I would never do it again. Now I am imagining all the screws backing off and falling off on the highway. Man I got lucky.

Yet another compelling reason to alway transport with head taken off the table and stored securely.  I am glad it did not damage your head, but it sounds like the table took a beating.

[CowboyBob]

I could tell stories all day about machine "accidents" The best one a customer was bringing a real nice 30" long machine in for trade.We really need it for a customer & offered him a good price for it.So he comes in the store looking sad & says I don't know if you'll want the machine anymore.I asked why? He said well I almost missed a turn, was going fast,hit the brakes & turned & the table flipped to the side of the bed & the ma machine fell onto the road & broke in half.

 

I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't tie it down,esp when they are so top heavy,which is one good reason to take the head out of the table,that & it is a lot easier to load.

[RockyAussie]

Normally when I strap/rope something down you could turn the trailer or vehicle upside down and not lose the load. It DOES NOT work with sewing machines as I have learnt the hard way. Even with the head out they want to not stay upright and laying them on mattresses can still bend things around I found. I say get some blocks of wood and tape them to the back of the head until laying down they can not bend anything. If they are laying down they cant fall and break and bend things but still they'll slide around if you don't secure it more than you can imagine. Putting one of those rubber toothy door mats under helps some as well.

[Bert51]

Most of my machine come home behind the drivers seat and the reason being I pack and wedge them in place so I get no movement.

I have Juki 555-5 here that I am fixing for friend that fell off the rear seat, broke and damaged most of the tension assemblies and thread take up and now he has to get his seat repair where the machine caught it going down when he hit the brakes.

If he listened to me and put it behind the seat, he would be using it instead of waiting for parts.

[RemingtonSteel]

So I drove the 2 1/2 hours to look at the machine.  It was clean, as in free of grease and grime on the unit itself, but there was/is  a layer of dust that needs to be cleaned off, as the machine was stored without a dust cover.  The machine sewed some 10/12 oz leather with 277 thread quite easily, with clean even stitches front and back. There was a little squeeking, but I think that was comming from the speed reducer. I was actually surprised at how well I could control the machine even with the clutch motor. The unit had been setup near a large picture window, so the plastic edging on the table is cracked and coming apart, and the plastic bases of the thread spool holders were cracking and falling apart as well. 

The price was so good, I had to take a chance on the unit.  I think with a thorough cleaning and oiling this machine will serve me well for many years.  For the price I paid, I have plenty of money left to replace the plastic parts, buy some additional accessories and a servo motor as well.  So I took the head off and placed it on the floor behind the rear seat with plenty of padding. Then I removed the table top from the base and laid the top face down on a blanket. By doing this, the motor was resting on the table top, not hanging from it so there was no need to remove it or the reducer from the table top.

I made it home safe and sound with no issue, and I am now the proud owner of a Ferdco Pro 2000 . I will probably need to start a new thread on cleanup and setup! Thanks for everyone’s help and support in buying my first machine.

[JJN]

@RemingtonSteel, I am very glad to hear your trip was successful and my CL suggestion panned out. If possible I would like to see a photo of all the accessories that came with it. My Ferdco came with only a left toe foot set installed and a smooth needle plate. No feed dog, just a needle guide that Ferdco invented. I also have the large plate to the right of the needle with the rectangular opening in it. I assume it is for an adjustable edge guide but have never seen one. I would love to see a photo of that guide so I can reproduce it.

One more thing. I bought a full set of of feet, left, right, double toe, and blanket with both smooth and toothed feed dogs. I also bought 3 different needle/throat plates. I had to make some adjustments because the new style feet are taller than the Ferdco feet.

There have been some posts on this forum for sources for the plastic table edge trim.

[dikman]

Well done, RS. I'd like to see what bits you got with it too, just out of curiosity.

[Bert51]

Talking control with a clutch motor, I think they are getting bad reputation, because of being setup incorrectly. It sounds like your new machine is setup is adjusted good, please don't run out and buy a new servo motor as you may not need it and the money could be use to buy different feet or toys for you new machine.

Most setups I have seen, have the tension of a car fan belt and motor is many years old and never seen any lubrication at all on the moving parts of the clutch. I have my Adler 105 and Singer 132K6 on clutch motors with 50mm pulleys and have no problem with speed control, but I have been told I have loose belts on the machines. My foot peddle is very light to the touch.

Bert.

[bruce johnson]

I'm a little late to this party, but have the same Ferdco 2000. When I bought a previous machine, a wise man on this forum (Art Van Hecke) advised me to buy every foot and plate available. He said I'd probably end up using them all and they don't get cheaper after the machine sale. I did the same when I bought  my 2000. Realize this was back in the day when this very machine sold for north of $5000 for the head, stand, reducer. and clutch motor, no accessories but maybe a light. Specialty plates and feet were about $650 and later Ron added a sole stitching foot. Servo motors were about 5 years in the future. I got one later. It has sewed a ton and still tight. 

JJN asked about the roller guides. I've attached pictures. The block slides onto the plate on the machine, There are two arms - one has a double roller for straight work. One has a single roller for scalloped pieces or tight inside curves. They slide into the block and secure with a set screw on top. There is also a sliding collar with a set screw on the arm shaft  for repeated widths.