UncleGeorge

thanks for the quick reply. I have an email into them, reckon I'll give'm a call.

SOLD ! Thanks for looking.

I have a Boss Tippman for sale that is in excellent condition. Bought last February as a second Tippmann and backup machine. Bought Cobra 4 later in the year. Please go to this page on my website for photos and details. Tippmann for Sale Thanks.

Thanks for posting info about the 794 needles. I was down to the one left in the machine and hadden been able to find any 794S 180 needles anywhere. Called up Toledo ISM and they had 'em. Ordered on the phone and got them lickety-split. 20 needles at $21.96 including the shipping. Most appreciated! Thanks Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, I can breathe easier. Have ordered several times from Thread Exchange in the last coupla years. Got what I needed, good price and quick shipping, no problems. Don't remembered what I paid for pound spools.

Got my Cobra 4 last week. Woohoo! Was worth the wait. They delivered that rascal and had it sitting in my garage in about 10 minutes. It came on a wooden pallet and was well packaged up and banded. No shipping damage. Took me maybe a coupla hours to unpack it, assemble it and turn it on. Younger person could probably do it quicker. Was fun, but putting the head up on that stand is a handful! It's a might heavy. Thankfully I had some previous knowledge of sewin' machines so the put-together and set-up was fairly easy. Threading it wasn't as difficult as I had anticipated. The instructions and the DVD were helpful. Put in a 180/24 Organ NW needle that came with it and played with the tensions a bit and got my 277 bonded black nylon to running good through the top and my bobbin set good with 207 and started practicing sewing and gettin' used to the pedals and levers and such. After a coupla hours or so of practice I felt confident to start on my holsters. It's quiet and easy to control and I like that bobbin rewinding while you sew. Great LED lamp. I like this machine although I don't care for the stitch that particular needle makes. I got some 794D180/24 (triangle) needles on the way to get that stitch to straighten out. The Boss Tippman has done a good job for a coupla years now but my shoulder has 'bout given out crankin' that machine for so long. I eventually developed a pinched nerve in my shoulder area somewhere and sewing with it has been trial. The Cobra 4 showed up in the nick of time. Now I just sit back and watch this thing sew. Don't know what to do with my right arm now. Ha ha. Turned off the lights in the room and the machine didden glow so guess it didn't get any of that radiation on it during it's stop in Japan. Thanks Steve, am happy camper!

Whoops, just reread my post and realized that I had ordered my machine first of March, not February. Thanks for posting the pics and the update bullrope braider. Those young'uns look mighty proud of their outfits.

Almost exact same experience. Double shoulders were usable but no better'n Tandys. I think they sent me one of the original sides JohnD returned. There wuddent a whole square foot of leather on the entire side that didden have marks, dents and stratches and it was supposeta been their best stuff . Looked more like a door mat. I figure they use the best leather for their leather products they sell and the rejected sides, shoulders and such are sold online. Reckon I'll try an outfit that doesn't make and sell leather products, just raw leather.

Yeah, I gave Weaver a try with some sides and double shoulders. Ordered the "better stuff". Never again. Have gotten better quality at local Tandys. Have to give Wickett &Craig a try.

Congratulations! I ordered the same first of February. Will be glad when it get's here. Steve says the earthquake and Tsunami and a possible inspection for radiation at U.S. port since the shipment went through Japan has slowed up delivery a might. Maybe I'll get a machine that won't need a sewing light, just sew by the atomic glow!

Was wondering if diluting Feibings Brown Oil Dye to about 75dye/25denatured alcohol would result in a lighter colored finish and would that much dilution compromise the durablilty of the finish. Would it rub off or something after it dries. Should it not be diluted that much or can it be diluted even more without messing up. Any experience with this. Thanks

Thanks for the information Dwight. George

I have experimenting with spraying AR with an airbrush onto black holsters. Diluting to AR75 Water25. Was wondering how soon can I second coat after spraying light first coat. Does it need to be completely dry or cured before applying second coat or can I go ahead when it's just touch dry? Should I dilute more say 50/50. Would that speed up second coating? Thanks My old Paasche "V" air brush was too fine for spraying holsters and my daughter won't admit to where she last left my other Paasche air brush that would have worked so I went to Harbor Freight to get a cheap replacement airbrush to do some experimenting with. I am impressed with the one I got. It's the Harbor Freight #95810 double-action air brush. I think it was on sale...got it for $14.95. It's a bargain. Works great. Got it hooked up to a compressor with a big tank and water trap. Just wanted to mention the HF brush in case someone needed a decent airbrush for little dollars to start out on.

Was wondering about getting these machines fixed, minor repairs, retiming and such. Seein's they're so large and heavy, sending them in for these issues would be most unhandy, time consuming and very costly. Can you set the timing on one of these rascals yourself or does it require professional help and special tools? Setting the timing on my Tippmann Boss is very easy to do myself, instructions on how to do so came with it, but it is a much simpler machine. Do the Cobras come with instructions for DIY repairs and adjustments? Thanks for any info. George

I have had my eye on the dream machine for a while, that and the Cobra 3. Did you get yours used? Haven't been able to find anyone locally or anyone near that sells them. Was wondering about needin' the EPS myself, not sure what it does exactly. I bet shipping a heavy machine from California costs a bunch. I have been using a Tippmann Boss for some time now and it gets the job done but would like something electric that moves S----L-----O-----W. You make nice lookin' holsters. When I get requests for mag holders, which I don't make, I send them your way. Uncle George

Thanks, I'll give all a that a try.

How do I sharpen one a these rascals? It's a Tandy #2 beveler.

Tippmann sent replacement parts free Next Day Air and the Boss is up and runnin' again. They sent a whole new bobbin shuttle assembly and a new thread take up arm with a different spring which I like a lot better. No charge to me. It is an easy machine to replace parts on. Hopefully this fix will keep it running a while. Eventually it'll be my back up machine once I acquire an electric one.

I need a replacement for my Tippmann Boss that is not holding up. What I liked about the Boss was that I could accurately place stitches one at a time and was the primary reason I got it. I was a might intimidated by the faster electric machines as I was skeerd it would be difficult to stitch accurately with the needle goin' so fast. My only experience with sewing leather other than by hand is with the Boss. I don't know beans about other machines and how they operate. I need a machine that hopefully I can make one stitch at a time with or at least very slowly. It needs to be able to sew through about 1/4 inch holster leather with 346 or 277 thread. I only sew two lines of stitching about 3 inches long per holster with black nylon thread. Easy to learn to operate. Can hold up without breaking parts over reasonable amount of time. Be nice if it wasn't so loud when runnin'. I really don't know what else it needs to be. Can yall give me some suggestions and maybe experience with a certain machine. Appreciate any input mucho. Need to do this soon, my Boss is on the blink. I'm down in Austin. Be nice if there was a place I could go check out a machine that was reasonably close by. Thanks. Photo of the holster I make. http://unclegeorgesw...om/default.aspx Was just lookin' at that Toro 3000. Anyone got any experience with that'n.

I bought a Boss two months ago. Has had two breakdowns already. Rack gear broke first month. Now the bobbin shuttle is slamming into the spacer shuttle and jamming the machine. It has only sewn abut 160 holsters. Total of 6 inches per holster. I noticed too that the shuttle driver shaft has gotten slop in it already where it goes through the case at the rear. I see problems in the future with that. The big handle comes loose regularly even with Locktite applied. Tippmann was quick to fix first time but failed to call back when they said they would second time....still waiting on fix. My conclusion is that if your doing hobby work, a few projects at a time then maybe this'n would work for you but if your making a bunch of anything I don't think it can stand up to it. The whole shuttle mechanism was sloppy from day one which eventually led to the jamming I am experiencing now. The thread take up lever is very hard to adjust properly and goes out of adjustment often. The whole mechanism is not smooth and bangs and catches even though I thoroughly oiled and greased everything from the start. I really wanted to like this machine because of it's simplicity but I now have lost my confidence in it. Maybe I just got a bad one or maybe not. Can't recommend or not recommend as you might have a better experience but this is what I have experienced so far. I have their Clicker 700 and 3 of their cutting dies. So far it has performed great. So, I am looking for a replacement sewing machine that can handle the job. I need a machine that can sew through about 1/4 inch of holster leather with 346 or 277 thread. I need one that I can slow down to maybe even a single stitch at a time if that's possible. My only experience with sewing leather other than by hand is with the Boss. Don't know a thing about other machines. Any suggestions please.

Thanks guys for the info. I talked with those folks and they didn't have any in stock. Said it would be a coupla weeks and that was iffy soundin'. Don't have the right equipment to make one nor the time to do any experimentin'. Fortunately sales have been good and I needed one right away so I got the Tippmann 700 Clicker with the stand, wheels and 3 dies. Was pricey but they were quick on the draw and super helpful. I have their Boss stitcher and it has performed well. Nice folks and very quick to respond to problems and requests. Am currently in the process of getting some dies from Joyce Engraving in Dallas to do some embossing or is it debossing........anyway, make impressions into the leather. New to this process, looks to be a time saver. Hopefully it will prove to be so. thanks again, Uncle George

Has anyone had any experience or have any info on the two presses that Texas Custom Dies make. From their website they have a manually operated 12 ton shop press clicker and an air run 12 ton shop press clicker that they make in house. Thinkin' on getting some dies from them but don't have a press yet.

Sounds like you found the same solution I did. Had the exact little problem using USMC Black. The problem shows up wherever I push hard on the leather to wet mold. Closes up the grain and makes it hard for the dye to absorb. Changin' to Pro Oil Black did the trick as it absorbs much better and leaves less dried residue. I vat dye my holsters and that helps too. The wet molding dries out the leather and leaves it thirsty for oil and when the oil dye is applied it sucks it up...takin' a drank. My words describin' what Fiebing told me.

Thanks for the supplier names, I may just have to give it a try. Checked out your gallery.....very nice!

Thanks for replying and your offer. I have searched around and have come up with nothing. Relunctant to order as have noted a lot a differences from one hide to another. Takes me a while to pick some out myself. Am a might skeptical of someone else taking the same time to pick me out some good ones to send to me. Wife says she wouldn't mind going to San Antonio Tandys though since the german restaurant in New Braunsfels is on the way.