A little change to make a BIG differance on Cowboy sewing machines

[kgg]

1 hour ago, Spyros said:

Hey quick question: back in Vardhmans metric system, what needle would you use for an M13 thread? 

The thread designation "M" is that for the thread designation for the "Far East" it does not mean metric even though they are the same sizes. The M13 thread is the same as V207, Tex 210, 13 (metric size). According to A&E " Thread Size Comparison Chart 2 12 16 " the minimum size needle for fabric would be a number 24 (180 metric). I would suggest moving to a number 25 (200 metric) depend on how thick and tough the leather is.

For V138 (Tex 135) the minimum size would be a number 22 (140 metric) for fabric.

On 1/29/2022 at 12:00 PM, Thescandall said:

Getting parts and accessories from Techsew Canada is taking weeks because of the truckers storming the capital.

Wrong province, the capital is in Ontario while Techsew is in Quebec and the truckers protest is only 10 days old.

kgg

 

[Spyros]

5 minutes ago, kgg said:

The thread designation "M" is that for the thread designation for the "Far East" it does not mean metric even though they are the same sizes. The M13 thread is the same as V207, Tex 210, 13 (metric size). According to A&E " Thread Size Comparison Chart 2 12 16 " the minimum size needle for fabric would be a number 24 (180 metric). I would suggest moving to a number 25 (200 metric) depend on how thick and tough the leather is.

For V138 (Tex 135) the minimum size would be a number 22 (140 metric) for fabric

 

Thank you sir

[Wizcrafts]

3 hours ago, Thescandall said:

I have a 23 in 704 as well. The specs sat the 5100 will sew down to #18 needle. Your right I need some smaller thread for those needles tho. I think 96 or something. 
 Suggestions would be great. 
 I only have about 11” of stitching with it under my belt.  
 I want to do some smaller stuff like wallets and ladies.  wallets. 

I suggest that you read my blog article about dumbing down a Cowboy, Cobra, or other Juki TSC-441 clone.

[RockyAussie]

7 hours ago, Spyros said:

Hey quick question: back in Vardhmans metric system, what needle would you use for an M13 thread?  I couldnt find M10 so I got some M13, and I used a 200 needle with it.  Which worked, but the holes seem a bit too big for that thread, should I go down to 160?

By the way I just had a battle between a RiRi zipper tooth and a 200 Smetz needle :D

RiRi won.  Good thing I was wearing glasses is all I can say, the needle shattered in 5 pieces.

Hey @Spyros the best would be a 24/180 needle but they will still have some trouble whether it be Riri or Ykk metal teeth. If possible pull the teeth out where you are going through. Knipex cutters or side cutters whichever you got on hand. This link shows a fairly good thread chart on the Toledo site - https://www.tolindsewmach.com/thread-chart.html

[Spyros]

2 hours ago, RockyAussie said:

Hey @Spyros the best would be a 24/180 needle but they will still have some trouble whether it be Riri or Ykk metal teeth. If possible pull the teeth out where you are going through. Knipex cutters or side cutters whichever you got on hand. This link shows a fairly good thread chart on the Toledo site - https://www.tolindsewmach.com/thread-chart.html

I know, I know, I just got lazy... I removed some teeth, but the zipper shifted slightly and when I realised I needed to remove more I convinced myself instead that the needle would naturally find its way between the teeth.   Nope.  Lesson learned.

Thanks for the chart

[Thescandall]

6 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

I suggest that you read my blog article about dumbing down a Cowboy, Cobra, or other Juki TSC-441 clone.

Thanks wiz. Good read and seems like a good used machine might be in order.  Most of my work is on thicker materials and I’ve got it stitching great as it’s set up. 
 But the wife is coming up with things to make that are thinner. 

[Spyros]

1 minute ago, Thescandall said:

Thanks wiz. Good read and seems like a good used machine might be in order.  Most of my work is on thicker materials and I’ve got it stitching great as it’s set up. 
 But the wife is coming up with things to make that are thinner. 

Yesterday I was stitching a zipper on 0.8mm kangaroo with a cowboy 4500.  It did it.

The day before that an apron out of thin upholstery leather that was soft as chewing gum.  No problems.

[Thescandall]

3 minutes ago, Spyros said:

Yesterday I was stitching a zipper on 0.8mm kangaroo with a cowboy 4500.  It did it.

The day before that an apron out of thin upholstery leather that was soft as chewing gum.  No problems.

I’m going to try wiz’s setup before I drop some funds on a smaller machine then. 
I wish I could get my hands on some kangaroo leather lol. 

[Spyros]

16 minutes ago, Thescandall said:

I’m going to try wiz’s setup before I drop some funds on a smaller machine then. 
I wish I could get my hands on some kangaroo leather lol. 

I didn't do wiz's setup, just the narrow plate.

I order all my leather from overseas, except for kangaroo.  So I'm used to my leather going half the globe before it gets to me.  If that doesn't scare you, I get my kangaroo from this mob:

https://www.austanners.com.au/

[Thescandall]

The tracking on my narrow plate says out for delivery today.  Been waiting for a while.  

[MtlBiker]

On 1/29/2022 at 7:00 AM, Thescandall said:

I would like to add. Shipping here in the USA is at an alll time slow. Getting parts and accessories from Techsew Canada is taking weeks because of the truckers storming the capital.  Lots of unhappy truckers over the mandates.  

I don't think the truckers protest is the issue with Techsew... First of all, they're in Quebec (Montreal) and the protest is in Ottawa, plus it just started a week ago.

I placed an order with Techsew for a new skiver which they said was in stock.  For pickup right here in Montreal, so no shipping involved.  I was told it would take 10 days to two weeks for them to get the order ready, because they were, uh, "busy".  Then just over a week later they said it would be another week at least before the order would be ready for pickup.  Again because they are "busy".  I wanted to deal with them because they support this forum, and also because I had bought a new 2750 Pro from them a year ago and I've been happy.  But they were making me feel that they were doing me a favor by taking my order.

Meanwhile, two weeks ago I talked to the local Consew dealer who had a brand new skiver in stock.  He offered to deliver it to me that same day.  He made me feel his company valued my business and that they wanted to be helpful.  But I still placed my order with Techsew.  On Friday I cancelled my Techsew order and today I have my new Consew DSC-S4 skiver.  Plus they refused to let me just pick it up... they insisted they would do a run-through of the machine with me first, showing me exactly how it worked and how to adjust it.  They obviously value their customers.

The machines might actually be the same, only with different branding and maybe a different table.  The Consew also included a "chute" attached to the table for collecting debris that I'm pretty sure the Techsew doesn't have.  And it came with (I believe) more accessories than the Techsew does.  At least according to the Techsew site.

Anyway, I don't believe the trucker's protest has anything to do with this.  (Also a few weeks ago, way before the trucker's protest, I needed a small sewing machine motor for a project I was building.  Again a stock item at Techsew.  I had an errand to run that day which would bring me literally within one block of their offices.  I called them, confirmed it was stock, but was told it would be about 10 days before the order would be ready for me to pick up.  Simply not acceptable in this day and age.  So I called in a favor by calling one of their guys, and he came through and had the order ready for pick up the same day.  All I'm saying is that for a simple stock item, there is really no excuse for it taking longer than a few hours to be made ready for pickup.  No testing or adjusting required, just let me pick it up.  And it shouldn't require a special favor.)

 

Edited February 7, 2022 by MtlBiker

[RockyAussie]

4 hours ago, MtlBiker said:

Plus they refused to let me just pick it up... they insisted they would do a run-through of the machine with me first, showing me exactly how it worked and how to adjust it.  They obviously value their customers.

That alone is the service that we need to support. I do believe that we should all do our best to supply where possible this type of service. I like and appreciate it and always try to give a customer more than they expect. Referrals just follow and saves a lot on bullshit advertising.

[RockyAussie]

Great news for the Techsew 5100 owners. Thanks to member @Thescandall I can now confirm 100% that this set will fit straight up to these machines. For reference here is his post - 

 

[Thescandall]

II guess I should have posted it here. But this thread is gone twisted.  But yes, it fits perfect. The tolerances are the same as the stock ones are. This is a much better system for thick or thin.  Kinda like putting a better saddle on your horse.  Thanks again Rocky. 

[JollyDodgerCanvas]

On 12/23/2021 at 3:48 PM, Spyros said:

How often do you guys oil you machines (beyond the daily drop of oil in the red holes)?

The Cowboy4500 is fully manually oiled, no wicks no pumps. Oil a lot more frequently than other machines. I had a chat with my dealer about oiling the hook race frequently, hourly if you are running the machine constantly. He told me about a customer who didn't oil the hook enough and the steel turned color due to the heat build up.

[Spyros]

Thanks Mr JollyDodgerCanvas

One thing that annoys me with those machines is that I have to hold the ends of the threads with my hand to start a stitch.  Problem is that when I start a stitch is when I want my hands free more than any other time.  So I decided to just hold the threads with a magnet.  I had some aspirin-sized magnets in the shed.  I bored a piece of wood with a drill and popped them in there, and then epoxy glued a piece of coarse sandpaper on top to keep the magnets in.

Of course I could've just used a bigger magnet off ebay or something, but that's what I had on hand.  Either way it works great:  

I wonder why I haven't seen other people doing this, is there a reason that I shouldn't either?

[DrmCa]

A large paperclip that hangs behind the machine works the same.

[MtlBiker]

1 hour ago, Spyros said:

Thanks Mr JollyDodgerCanvas

One thing that annoys me with those machines is that I have to hold the ends of the threads with my hand to start a stitch.  Problem is that when I start a stitch is when I want my hands free more than any other time.  So I decided to just hold the threads with a magnet.  I had some aspirin-sized magnets in the shed.  I bored a piece of wood with a drill and popped them in there, and then epoxy glued a piece of coarse sandpaper on top to keep the magnets in.

 

Of course I could've just used a bigger magnet off ebay or something, but that's what I had on hand.  Either way it works great:  

 

I wonder why I haven't seen other people doing this, is there a reason that I shouldn't either?

Believe it or not, I as a relative newbie, have been doing this with my Techsew 2750 since I got it.  With a cylinder arm machine I too needed both hands to hold my fabric assembly in the proper position, especially when starting my stitch and that's harder to do than with a flatbed machine.  I have a 3/4" diameter rare earth magnet that I just place on top of my two threads when starting.  Works like a charm.  I wasn't as ambitious as you however, as I just have the raw magnet without any wood "handle" on it.  I will admit though that yours looks a lot easier to both place in position and to remove than my puny little smaller-than-a-dime magnet does.

I also have a small 3/8" x 2 1/4 magnet on each of my machines to hold my tweezers and thread snips.

 

[kgg]

1 hour ago, Spyros said:

I wonder why I haven't seen other people doing this, is there a reason that I shouldn't either?

Good idea. I have used a similar method on both my flatbeds and cylinder machines where I have used a rare earth magnetic on the flatbeds and a simple tight slit or seam in my table top attachment. The only drawback is that it can be a fine line between the thread holder holding the threads at the right tension. If the threads aren't held tight enough then the initial stitches will not be proper. If the threads are held too tight and if you are not careful enough to make sure they slip out of the holder it will drag the material towards and / or downward to where the holding point is. Most times it works perfectly and frees up your hand to help guide the material so you can get those first couple of stitches in.

kgg

[Spyros]

45 minutes ago, kgg said:

If the threads are held too tight and if you are not careful enough to make sure they slip out of the holder it will drag the material towards and / or downward to where the holding point is.

Yeah true, they don't slip out (I think I might've put too many magnets in there), but after the first few stitches I have the habit of stopping a sec and snipping them off anyway.  Because if I go around the piece and I finish a stitch where I started, and I have a couple of giant threads hanging loose right there, I'm scared they might get sucked into the bobbin and all hell breaks loose.

I'm definitely adding another magnet to hang my snips like MtlBiker

Thanks gents

Edited February 13, 2022 by Spyros

[RockyAussie]

Good idea there @Spyros I always have handy some scraps by my machines and I also like to have some handy to check my tensions before I start the job. What I do is run a few stitches in the scrap and that gives me something easy to hold most of the time to start off the main job. The scrap stays there generally until I am finishing off. At about 40 seconds in on this video you can see my tension checker scrap piece - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdloxyjeB1w&t=436s

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by RockyAussie

[Spyros]

13 minutes ago, RockyAussie said:

Good idea there @Spyros I always have handy some scraps by my machines and I also like to have some handy to check my tensions before I start the job. What I do is run a few stitches in the scrap and that gives me something easy to hold most of the time to start off the main job. The scrap stays there generally until I am finishing off.

Yeah I've noticed that on your videos!  However, I need my right hand on the wheel to control exactly where the needle first enters the leather

[RockyAussie]

14 minutes ago, Spyros said:

Yeah I've noticed that on your videos!  However, I need my right hand on the wheel to control exactly where the needle first enters the leather

Yes I do as well. Check at 5 min 40 seconds in on that video and you will see with the scrap in I don't hold it when I put the needle in.

[Thescandall]

rockyaussie, i spammed the techsew forum im a member of with your narrow needle plate and dog. hope your email blows up. 

im going to put it to work this weekend at the ranch. starting a new gunbelt and im gunna sew it with your stuff.  

[Spyros]

On 2/14/2022 at 9:59 AM, RockyAussie said:

Yes I do as well. Check at 5 min 40 seconds in on that video and you will see with the scrap in I don't hold it when I put the needle in.

you sure you don't have a third arm somewhere? LOL