More musings on my CB4500

[dikman]

It's finally cooled off enough to spend time in my sewing machine shed (it was getting up to 47*C at one stage, not good for me!). As some will be aware I had issues with the incorrect assembly of the lifting rod which caused it to jam when using the foot lifter. Today, while checking it over I realised I only had 10mm under the foot with a manual lift and 15mm with the foot lifter, not the 13/20 I should have. After going over all the linkages and finding no adjustments I released the presser spring and using a 13mm drill bit for a gauge under the feet I released the clamp screws on the presser bar and with the manual lift engaged readjusted the linkage position on the bar. It took a couple of tries to get it aligned correctly but now I have the correct lifting clearances.

I realise now that my problem is that being a Cowboy, and supposedly being a better quality build, I had assumed that the basic adjustments would have been set before leaving the factory, but in the case of this machine because it was incorrectly assembled no-one bothered to check it and it was adjusted according to the faulty assembly. A little disappointing, I wonder if their quality control is slipping. And yes, I know a dealer would have caught this IF it was assembled as a package on a table but that's not how I bought it so I'm not blaming the dealer. Fortunately, thanks to this great site and my subsequent experience with other machines this was an easy fix once I accepted that the quality control was suspect.

An interesting difference, compared to a Juki, is the foot lifting system. The way this is designed it is impossible to get more than 20mm lift using the foot lifter, even though the feet have enough travel to clear 25mm - I assume all clones are probably the same. The parts around the lifting crank are different to the Juki and have a built-in stop which prevents any lifting past 20mm. I'm just a bit perplexed why anyone would bother to re-design this, given that it's supposed to be a clone?

Never mind, it's all good fun.

[RockyAussie]

I think that if the feet lifted any higher the needle bar would bottom out on them at anything more than 20 or 22mm from memory. That could be a real disaster with a servo motor driving I think.

[dikman]

That makes sense, it just strikes me as odd that Juki, what you might call an A-grade designer/manufacturer, wouldn't allow for this but a clone manufacturer does? A bit odd. I'll have a look at it again from that perspective.

[Constabulary]

I only have an outside view and don´t know what kind of arrangement you have with the dealer but I somehow would be kinda pissed when I read about all the issues and lesser foot lift an d stuff - even at the lower / fair price you paid. Do you updated the dealer with the issues you have?  Again - just my outside view...

Edited January 1, 2020 by Constabulary

[Bert51]

I realise that they maybe new to this and have only recently taken on the dealership, but is this not what you paid for?

I thought you would get a machine that had been setup tested and should be working perfectly, repacked and shipped to you and not you having to do the trouble shooting and adjusting as you have.

All you should have to do is remove the thread that was left to show you correct threading, load your bobbin and start sewing.

This only my opinion.

Bert.

[kgg]

Glad to hear the temperature is decreasing slightly. I do agree with Bert51. What is the "dealer" saying / doing about the problems you are having to solve, are they going to do something / anything? It is lucky that you are apt at solving and fixing the problems related to quality control something the "dealer" should have done. If you were an average or newbie not around the corner from a repair shop, you would be really peeved and maybe have a pretty boat anchor. Your experience does show that a dealer who goes over and sets up their product is crucial to customer satisfaction / retention / recommendation.

kgg

[dikman]

kgg, Summer has only just started so unfortunately it's going to get hotter. Given that half of Australia appears to be on fire at the moment it's not a good start.

I have spoken to the dealer, although not about the out-of-adjustment issue because I only just became aware of that. They are aware of this forum as RockyAussie (Brian) suggested it to them as a valuable source of information and they have seen my posts. They face a steep learning curve and I guess this has demonstrated that not completely checking a machine first, before shipping, could be a problem because not every buyer will be capable of resolving such issues.

Bert, you're probably right (even my cheap Chinese shoe patcher came threaded with a test sewn piece ) and I dare say that's what they'll do in future. At the end of the day this has been a minor inconvenience and I still have a very nice (working) machine. Taking over a business like this in Australia would have been a pretty daunting decision and I admire them for doing it (I think we'll all agree that industrial sewing machines is a pretty specialised area to work in!).

[RockyAussie]

5 minutes ago, dikman said:

Given that half of Australia appears to be on fire at the moment it's not a good start.

That is all I was doing on Tuesday, running back and forth madly filling up 2 water fire extinguishes putting out a neighbours bush fire. At the end of the day when the owners relative showed up I was rewarded by being given another 3 water type extinguishers to keep. He was a fire fighter for 30+ years. Although around 20 acres went up we managed to stop it well short of their house.By the time the fire brigade got there one of my workers and I had most of it beat. I really have to say that the extra manoeuvring that these portable extinguishes give running through the bush should not be underestimated. Even after the fire fighters showed up I was able to get around and extinguish fires that their hoses were sitting in after they had dragged them out to their full lengths. If you live in a bush area I recommend having a few on hand and ready to go. Learn the refill procedure to minimise time lost at that stage as well. I will be buying a few more of them I think as the 100+ acres I have has 1/3 of it covered by an area that I can not clean up without notifying the government my intention to do so including having to supply GPS maps and pictures etc. BIG penalties if you do.    

[kgg]

My heart goes out to those being affected by the fires. Unimaginable devastation. Be careful and be safe. Known when to say when.

kgg

[480volt]

57 minutes ago, RockyAussie said:

That is all I was doing on Tuesday, running back and forth madly filling up 2 water fire extinguishes putting out a neighbours bush fire. At the end of the day when the owners relative showed up I was rewarded by being given another 3 water type extinguishers to keep. He was a fire fighter for 30+ years. Although around 20 acres went up we managed to stop it well short of their house.By the time the fire brigade got there one of my workers and I had most of it beat. I really have to say that the extra manoeuvring that these portable extinguishes give running through the bush should not be underestimated. Even after the fire fighters showed up I was able to get around and extinguish fires that their hoses were sitting in after they had dragged them out to their full lengths. If you live in a bush area I recommend having a few on hand and ready to go. Learn the refill procedure to minimise time lost at that stage as well. I will be buying a few more of them I think as the 100+ acres I have has 1/3 of it covered by an area that I can not clean up without notifying the government my intention to do so including having to supply GPS maps and pictures etc. BIG penalties if you do.    

I’m sure it’s the same in Australia, but in Northern California, you’ll see clapped out old water trucks parked on ag property, never to be used on the road again, but capable of delivering pressurized water after the power fails. Might at least be able to keep your roof wet or refill your extinguishers.