Boss Is Here!

[Reaper]

The door bell rang today and there were 4 boxes on my door step. Three of them contained a used Tippmann Boss that I purchased from Gary in Oklahoma for a grand even #277 spool, chisel point needles, roller guide, flat table attachment, all the feet and stand. Garu paid shipping, oh and all the original things including the boxes, booklet (instructions), video, etc/

Thank you Gary!

Now I need to play for a bit with it. I did notice the 277 thread is something I will step up in size by at least one if not two, other than that all is fantastic!

This should be fun.

[Shorts]

Boos is here. I figured you made a run to the liquor store. I get excited about new beverages myself.

Enjoy the new boos

[Reaper]

hehehe,,,

I just noticed that.. oops

nope, I had a liver transplant so no drinking for me at all... *sigh*

US Blood supply was a gift that kept giving in 1984... blerk..

Thank you Monica and I think I really will, just finished setting it up and trying it out on some scrap. Have to set the tension so the stitch crosses up a little on the bottom, Other than that its great.

Here I was telling myself hand sewing this and hand sewing that as reasons not to get a machine... glad I caught on. lol

[Eaglestroker]

I just switched from 346 to 277 thread on my Boss - thought it looked a little tidier and the machine seemed to be a little more consistent as far as stitch spacing goes. Good luck with the machine it sure beats doing it by hand!

Just remember: ALWAYS sew with it on scraps before moving to your project - something always needs a little fine tuning.

[Shooter McGavin]

I bought a Boss a few months ago and the first week or so was very frustrating. particle helped walk me through a lot of it and helped keep me sane. My biggest problem was that the top tension adjusters had a tendency to "self adjust". I was able to put a lock nut on the 1st tensioner, the 2nd one doesnt move too much so I just keep an eye on it. I used to tip of a small drill bit to make a mark in each of the tension knobs, and also the stitch spacer knob, so I had a reference point to know how far I was turning them, and also to see if theyre moving.

Good luck and enjoy!

[Shorts]

hehehe,,,

I just noticed that.. oops

nope, I had a liver transplant so no drinking for me at all... *sigh*

US Blood supply was a gift that kept giving in 1984... blerk..

Thank you Monica and I think I really will, just finished setting it up and trying it out on some scrap. Have to set the tension so the stitch crosses up a little on the bottom, Other than that its great.

Here I was telling myself hand sewing this and hand sewing that as reasons not to get a machine... glad I caught on. lol

I think we've all made reasons and kept putting off purchasing a stitching machine. They do take a bit of an investment so it's not a decision to take lightly though. Glad you got your new toy...I mean, tool I remember the day my Cobra arrived. All the adrenalin of the excitement helped me and my husband carry that beast upstairs to my work room.

[Lobo]

Best suggestions I can make regarding the Tippmann Boss are these:

The operating handle (aluminum casting) attaches to the upper helical-shaped drive gear (zinc alloy casting) with a 1/4" X 20 cap screw. That cap screw absorbs all of the force during operation, including the "bumps" at top and bottom of the stroke. The screw can work itself loose frequently, so be sure to tighten it before every use, but don't torque it down too hard or you can damage the zinc alloy gear threads. When relying on the Boss (I've had two of them) I always kept a supply of Schedule 8 grade cap screws on hand, and changed that screw once per month to avoid metal fatigue resulting in breakage of the screw.

When that cap screw breaks off you will have to disassemble the upper side of the machine, remove the gear from the shaft, use a drill press and broken screw extractor to remove the broken screw, reassemble the machine and re-time it. Time consuming and frustrating. Changing out a 25-cent cap screw once per month can save you many hours of work. Screws come in many grades, with Schedule 8 being the industrial type; what you find at the hardware store may be less than ideal.

That helical-shaped drive gear can also break, so a spare or two on hand can be a good idea.

The two-piece rack-and-pinion drive piece can also wear, and can break, so a spare or two can by handy to have.

A quick referal to your schematics should locate the part numbers of these pieces. A call to the nice folks at Tippmann will get a supply of spare parts to have on hand for WHEN one breaks (not IF one breaks).

Best regards.

[wildrose]

LOL! I edited the title to stop any other confusion ;-)

hehehe,,,

I just noticed that.. oops

nope, I had a liver transplant so no drinking for me at all... *sigh*

US Blood supply was a gift that kept giving in 1984... blerk..

Thank you Monica and I think I really will, just finished setting it up and trying it out on some scrap. Have to set the tension so the stitch crosses up a little on the bottom, Other than that its great.

Here I was telling myself hand sewing this and hand sewing that as reasons not to get a machine... glad I caught on. lol

[Reaper]

LOL! I edited the title to stop any other confusion ;-)

thank you! wildrose!

I get frigidity sometimes and my finger tend to do what they want. My wife has learned John speak when phone texting she says no one will ever now what the heck any of my messages say if they happen to look,

[Reaper]

Best suggestions I can make regarding the Tippmann Boss are these:

The operating handle (aluminum casting) attaches to the upper helical-shaped drive gear (zinc alloy casting) with a 1/4" X 20 cap screw. That cap screw absorbs all of the force during operation, including the "bumps" at top and bottom of the stroke. The screw can work itself loose frequently, so be sure to tighten it before every use, but don't torque it down too hard or you can damage the zinc alloy gear threads. When relying on the Boss (I've had two of them) I always kept a supply of Schedule 8 grade cap screws on hand, and changed that screw once per month to avoid metal fatigue resulting in breakage of the screw.

When that cap screw breaks off you will have to disassemble the upper side of the machine, remove the gear from the shaft, use a drill press and broken screw extractor to remove the broken screw, reassemble the machine and re-time it. Time consuming and frustrating. Changing out a 25-cent cap screw once per month can save you many hours of work. Screws come in many grades, with Schedule 8 being the industrial type; what you find at the hardware store may be less than ideal.

That helical-shaped drive gear can also break, so a spare or two on hand can be a good idea.

The two-piece rack-and-pinion drive piece can also wear, and can break, so a spare or two can by handy to have.

A quick referal to your schematics should locate the part numbers of these pieces. A call to the nice folks at Tippmann will get a supply of spare parts to have on hand for WHEN one breaks (not IF one breaks).

Best regards.

Thank you for the info Lobo, I have been thinking about checking with a couple of different friends with Job Shops which do contract machining. One has an industrial lazer which can cut the bar with teeth out in a couple of passes out of steel. Another has a Bridgeport I have been given the ok the use anytime I like. But I'll have to wait a bit for that.

Edited April 15, 2011 by Reaper

[Reaper]

I think we've all made reasons and kept putting off purchasing a stitching machine. They do take a bit of an investment so it's not a decision to take lightly though. Glad you got your new toy...I mean, tool I remember the day my Cobra arrived. All the adrenalin of the excitement helped me and my husband carry that beast upstairs to my work room.

True, I did trade a CZ RAMI 40 to get a complete Singer 29k58 Patcher, but I need to get some holsters out to get the money to put it in the shop for a complete cleaning, possible parts changes and tuning. I'm also thinking of putting a reduction setup and digital motor on it. Or I will just get the work done on it and sell it with all the lasts that I got with it.

Dunno, but with Open Carry being passed and waiting for Gov Scott to sign (wonder if his claim he would sign it was another lie) there is going to be a need for leather retention holsters here in Florida.

[mlapaglia]

Congrats on the Boss. Is it a cast iron one or cast aluminum model. A magnet to the case will tell you quickly, Another way is the needle plate. The cast iron model has 2 screws to hold the needle plate in place. The cast aluminum model has one screw.

I have had mine for about 3 weeks. A tip I can pass on is, Don't forget to adjust your stitch length when you change thickness of your leather. I find I go from a 6 spi to a 8 spi when I go from 8/9 oz leather total thickness to 16/17 oz total thickness. About a 1/4 turn on the stitch length dial brings it back for me. Another thing is mark all your adjustments somehow. I used sharpies. This way you know how much you moved them and how to get them back to base line.

Once you have the bobbin thread tension right, about 1 lb pull, dont adjust it as long as you have the same thread in the bobbins. do all your adjustments on the primary and secondary thread tension adjustments. 99% of the time I only adjust the primary tension adjustment. You will almost always have to adjust thread tension when you change to the next project unless its the same thickness. Even then Id double check it on a scrap.

Good luck and enjoy.

Michael