Is it always this difficult?

[JayEhl]

3 hours ago, Northmount said:

Your attention is required.

Thanks @Northmount   I got a reply from Techsew .  

[Wizcrafts]

11 hours ago, JLSleather said:

I posted this on THIS site, and that conversation DISAPPEARED within minutes.  Just DELETED (or maybe just 'hidden').  Now, WHY would that happen?

I looked through the Moderation History for this topic and there is nothing about anybody's posts being deleted or hidden. Do you recall what the context was? Could it have been edited? I do see that you edited 2 of you own comments earlier in this thread.

It is remotely possible that your "missing" comment was moved down by other comments that were in the que and is in fact still there.

[Handstitched]

I think I might sit it out from here on , and carry on eating my popcorn ,  buttered.   

HS

[JLSleather]

12 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

I looked through the Moderation History for this topic and there is nothing about anybody's posts being deleted or hidden. Do you recall what the context was?

No matter. I typed it. Some people replied to it.  Some folks REALLY REALLY didn't like it.  That also is no matter.

Minutes later an entire section of that conversation was NO LONGER THERE.  I asked out loud if people advertising on this site were BUYING A REPUTATION (yeah,  used those words, so that would be the context).  I didn't say anything slanderous or malicious, or anything that wasn't demonstrably true, so wasn't too worried about who liked it or didn't like it.  Johanna popped in to say that nobody is "buying a reputation" (though to believe that would be naïve - of course they are).

I don't know where that conversation went, and I don't care - no worries. 

I say stuff sometimes.  If I KNOW it to be true, I say that. If i THINK IT MIGHT be true, I say THAT.  Or if it's something I heard and haven't verified myself, I say THAT.  Sometimes folks like it. Sometimes not. 

[DrmCa]

14 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

I looked through the Moderation History for this topic and there is nothing about anybody's posts being deleted or hidden.

This is not the first time that posts and entire topics disappear for no obvious reasons. I had at least 2x within past 12 months.

[Wizcrafts]

1 hour ago, JLSleather said:

Minutes later an entire section of that conversation was NO LONGER THERE.  I asked out loud if people advertising on this site were BUYING A REPUTATION (yeah,  used those words, so that would be the context).  ....  Johanna popped in to say that nobody is "buying a reputation"....

I don't know where that conversation went, and I don't care - no worries.

That's why I didn't see anything in the moderation history.

[TheDavidLeathermanShow]

On 2/22/2022 at 1:28 PM, Rubicon04 said:

I reached out this morning via email to Neel thanks to @TheDavidLeathermanShow post. See what type of response I receive from him. 

Hey rubicon , how was your interaction with Ryan Neel???

[Rubicon04]

15 hours ago, TheDavidLeathermanShow said:

Hey rubicon , how was your interaction with Ryan Neel???

He emailed me back last night with some pricing and quick information. Told me to give him a call and we could really discuss everything. I plan on giving him call soon. If the call goes well, i think i may try to visit his shop to get some hands on knowledge from him. 

[TheDavidLeathermanShow]

Good deal! When I was there last week he had about 30 of each machine in the cowboy line up. There’s more than plenty to get your hands on 

[JLSleather]

On 2/21/2022 at 10:21 AM, chuck123wapati said:

how in the heck can they send you a machine tuned and ready for every single thread needle combo and gadget that you can think of? How do they know what you are sewing?

nobody can "guess" what you MIGHT do SOMEDAY.  I'm pretty sure if you call Bob (Toledo) Kovar about a leather stitcher, among his FIRST questions will be WHAT do you want to sew and WHAT SIZE THREAD do you want to use.  Now, if you don't know, I don't know how it would be possible for somebody else to know.

To continue the analogy of buying a car...

If you need a vehicle, you go to the guy selling vehicles.  You say you don't know what you need.  So the guy is going to ask... some place to START FROM.  Do you want a vehicle that looks shiny 'cruising the strip", or do you need it to GO FAST and don't care about cosmetics, or do you need it to haul dirt and gravel for your landscaping business?  You generally DONT buy a Porsche to go grocery shopping and generally don't use a dump truck to pick up your date (though you theoretically COULD do all of those things).  Point being, it's up to YOU to tell them what you want.  I KNOW Bob K is quite good at helping you match a machine (and accessories..) to your STATED GOAL.  He's also very clear that ONE machine is unlikely to do EVERYTHING YOU EVER want to do.  The dump truck hauls heavy stuff very well, but not much good in the quarter mile.

So, they know what you're sewing because you TELL THEM.  If you tell them you're hauling big rocks, they'll likely quote you a price on the dump truck.  Tell them you want to go fast and sporty, maybe they quote the Porsche. 

But I CERTAINLY WOULD AGREE that if you order one, you can't complain that it wont do the other.  

[DrmCa]

1 hour ago, JLSleather said:

I'm pretty sure if you call Bob (Toledo) Kovar about a leather stitcher, among his FIRST questions will be WHAT do you want to sew and WHAT SIZE THREAD do you want to use.

Every sewing machine dealer worth their pay will ask this question. Usually customers bring samples and the shop checks if the machine sews that and performs any fine tuning necessary, before the machine leaves the door. At least that is what I am used to. But stitching back through the same holes is timing, not tuning. If the machine is out of time with one thread and needle it will be out with any. Am I wrong? No, we are not expected to pay someone to make brand-new machine stitch back through the same holes. It would be the same analogy with metal lathes: they are expected to cut the same TPI in both directions, left of right. If lathes cut different threads and we were expected to tune them there would have been no lathe sales by that manufacturer, period. It either works OOB or it does not.

[JLSleather]

2 hours ago, DrmCa said:

Every sewing machine dealer worth their pay will ask this question. Usually customers bring samples and the shop checks if the machine sews that and performs any fine tuning necessary, before the machine leaves the door. At least that is what I am used to. But stitching back through the same holes is timing, not tuning. If the machine is out of time with one thread and needle it will be out with any. Am I wrong? No, we are not expected to pay someone to make brand-new machine stitch back through the same holes. It would be the same analogy with metal lathes: they are expected to cut the same TPI in both directions, left of right. If lathes cut different threads and we were expected to tune them there would have been no lathe sales by that manufacturer, period. It either works OOB or it does not.

Umm.. YEP!

Buy a car, you'll probably have to adjust the seat, the wheel, and the mirrors.  But not the transmission

 

[chuck123wapati]

4 hours ago, JLSleather said:

nobody can "guess" what you MIGHT do SOMEDAY.  I'm pretty sure if you call Bob (Toledo) Kovar about a leather stitcher, among his FIRST questions will be WHAT do you want to sew and WHAT SIZE THREAD do you want to use.  Now, if you don't know, I don't know how it would be possible for somebody else to know.

To continue the analogy of buying a car...

If you need a vehicle, you go to the guy selling vehicles.  You say you don't know what you need.  So the guy is going to ask... some place to START FROM.  Do you want a vehicle that looks shiny 'cruising the strip", or do you need it to GO FAST and don't care about cosmetics, or do you need it to haul dirt and gravel for your landscaping business?  You generally DONT buy a Porsche to go grocery shopping and generally don't use a dump truck to pick up your date (though you theoretically COULD do all of those things).  Point being, it's up to YOU to tell them what you want.  I KNOW Bob K is quite good at helping you match a machine (and accessories..) to your STATED GOAL.  He's also very clear that ONE machine is unlikely to do EVERYTHING YOU EVER want to do.  The dump truck hauls heavy stuff very well, but not much good in the quarter mile.

So, they know what you're sewing because you TELL THEM.  If you tell them you're hauling big rocks, they'll likely quote you a price on the dump truck.  Tell them you want to go fast and sporty, maybe they quote the Porsche. 

But I CERTAINLY WOULD AGREE that if you order one, you can't complain that it wont do the other.  

the dif between a car and a sewing machine. every house still has a couple or three cars so there is still a mechanic in every town maybe two or three. sewing machines have gone away as a houshold item so the service and repair shops have too.

some more of my post. "I had the great fortune in my working career to buy equipment for a number of trades including textiles it was always in our purchasing contracts to provide initial setup and training but on our part we had to know what we were going to be making start to finish, we had few problems but most all the machines no matter the trade had to be setup or fine tuned for what we wanted. I don't see how any company could provide this service to the private citizen without it costing a lot of money that the private citizen or the industry simply doesn't have."

and   With that said if you cant get reliable training and service and have to be self taught buying a brand new machine isn't cost effective imo.

Edited February 24, 2022 by chuck123wapati

[Wizcrafts]

I want to pass along a fix I learned years ago when the forward and reverse stitches don't match on a Juki 441 or clone. This is low-tech, but it works for me.

First, unthread the needle and verify that forward and reverse are not in sync at various locked in stitch length settings (using the finger screw adjustable stop block on the stitch lever). If they are out of sync, unscrew the top screw on the stitch length nacelle, slide a 1/32 inch thickness washer with a 3/16 inch hole under the top of the nacelle, inline with the top hole and reinstall the top screw. Some machines will be corrected with this thickness, while others may need a thinner or thicker washer. While this isn't the official way to match the stitch lengths, it is simple, quick, affordable and just works.

[TheDavidLeathermanShow]

Wiz I must say you never disappoint! Your ingenuity reminds me of my grandfather. Simple, quick, and effective!

[suzelle]

jamextras,

Shopping for a new machine or the parts to fix up an old machine can be exhausting! Hang in there! I am also shopping for a new machine at the moment and I'm trying to make the best choice with what's available and who seems to be the most interested in helping me. I think I'm going to use a Dealer who treated me really well when I ordered a simple $50 part. It wasn't much $, but he was really great and got the thing out on time, packed with care. I'm going to give him my money when I do buy that new machine. After getting frustrated today with experiences trying to find things, I remembered him and how great he was. Called him, told him what I needed. He immediately found me based on my phone number and talked to me like I was an old friend, that was more than (6) months ago! I'm thinking if his quote is slightly above any of the others I got quoted (and it is), its well worth it!  Good luck to you in your quest, may the sewing machine Gods smile on you.

[Wizcrafts]

My hope is that as a result of the things discussed in this topic about matching forward and reverse stitch lengths, that the attacks against some of our dealers will stop. No sewing machine is perfect all the time unless it has expensive electronic controls that make it sell for $10k (think Adler 969 ECO). I am happy to be able to buy a heavy leather stitcher for about $3k that does the same sewing, but needs a little adjustment with a shim, or a tweak of a moving part.

One of our dealers is a two man shop, another may have three people and another is a division of a larger company that has more employees who don't necessarily specialize in heavy leather stitchers. Resellers of brand name machines, like Cobra, may not have the training or hands-on experience that the official company technician/set-up man has. With the effects of Covid restrictions during 2020 and 2021, some techs and adjusters have been laid off. Some may have moved on to other occupations. There are machines on ocean freighters waiting to be allowed to dock and be unloaded. And, on top of all this, we are now back in a revived Cold War, possibly the blink of an eye, or miscalculation away from World War III. And ya'll are bitchin about reverse not perfectly aligning with forward! Most of my sewing machines don't even have reverse levers.

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, Wizcrafts said:

My hope is that as a result of the things discussed in this topic about matching forward and reverse stitch lengths, that the attacks against some of our dealers will stop. No sewing machine is perfect all the time unless it has expensive electronic controls that make it sell for $10k (think Adler 969 ECO). I am happy to be able to buy a heavy leather stitcher for about $3k that does the same sewing, but needs a little adjustment with a shim, or a tweak of a moving part.

One of our dealers is a two man shop, another may have three people and another is a division of a larger company that has more employees who don't necessarily specialize in heavy leather stitchers. Resellers of brand name machines, like Cobra, may not have the training or hands-on experience that the official company technician/set-up man has. With the effects of Covid restrictions during 2020 and 2021, some techs and adjusters have been laid off. Some may have moved on to other occupations. There are machines on ocean freighters waiting to be allowed to dock and be unloaded. And, on top of all this, we are now back in a revived Cold War, possibly the blink of an eye, or miscalculation away from World War III. And ya'll are bitchin about reverse not perfectly aligning with forward! Most of my sewing machines don't even have reverse levers.

I'm gonna drink a beer in your name tonite!!

[JLSleather]

1 hour ago, Wizcrafts said:

And ya'll are bitchin about reverse not perfectly aligning with forward!

that was a ROOT issue for ME (not speaking for anybody else), that was a catalyst for an issue,... but my actual complaint was getting a product that DIDNT do what I was told it WOULD, and then getting a crass, unprofessional, downright childish response to my legitimate complaint.  And that was BEFORE any 'covid' or Ukraine, and I didn't buy from a middle-man retailer.

Can't keep your help, or lost people due to lockdowns, or your "good" people retired, or your wife is nagging so you went fishin'.  Whatever.. flat tire could happen to ANYBODY.  But if YOU'RE (the seller) having these issues, STOP advertising your wonderful product and even better service.  The truth actually carries you further than a polished line of BS.  I can imagine how that would go if I sold something (at 10% of the cost of one of these machines) and it didn't fit the customer, or looked nice "mostly, except maybe just the inside was't so great", or ....whatever - and my response was to say YOU did something wrong, or it would work, tell you call me again next week, then just don't answer the phone.

So I have no desire to bash folks, but when somebody asks, I'm quite honest about my experiences.  If your selling point is your service, and your service is not good, then you really can't complain when I tell the truth about it.  In fact, maybe YOU (the seller) should have been honest yourself - from the start - and just said "we had the "good" ones retire, and covid, and Ukraine, and I think I heard my mom calling, or whatever excuse you're using... and just said "our service may be a bit slower until we get that worked out". 

 

[RockyAussie]

2 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

I'm gonna drink a beer in your name tonite!!

Yep ...good for me too....

[Handstitched]

6 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

And ya'll are bitchin about reverse not perfectly aligning with forward!

Well said. Might have a beer for that too with my lunch   

My ye 'olde Seiko does just that.... and quite frankly, I don't care . The machine works just fine , but the moment I  start fiddling with it, I'm bound to stuff it up, I'm happy to leave it the way it is.  I have yet to find a customer say to me " your stitches don't line up " . 

HS