Steven Kelley

Shooter, Here is a pic of the latest WC side I received. It is "Standard" grade, or grade 1. I asked about the quality of the back side, and told the lady taking my order that I was using the leather for holsters. She recommended having it Plated, which I did. There was no extra charge. She said it would make the leather a bit firmer and the flesh side smoother. I am very happy with it. The leather on the bottom is the WC (and yes, that is the flesh side), and the small piece laying on top is from Tandy, for comparison.

The quality of the leather makes a difference. Most of the Tandy leather I've seen, including their Live Oak, has a very rough and grainy flesh side. I just got a side from Wickett & Craig, that has the smoothest flesh side I've ever seen. It doesn't require anything to make it "smooth", so to speak. As far as dying, I normally dip dye after assembly, when possible. It's fast and gets and even coat inside and out. If you are doing two tones or want a different color stitching, obviously you need to dye first. In that case, I dip the individual parts. After drying the parts for a day or so, I get them wet (water), wrap them in paper towels, and press them in my shop press with gum rubber pads. This gets the residual dye out of the leather, and keeps it from coming out when you are molding the gun. Very important if doing a multi colored holster. Ask me how I know............. I do that until no residual dye comes off onto the paper towels. Usually no more than twice. Honestly, if you are buying a full side, I would highly recommend ordering one from Wickett & Craig. It was about the same price as a side from Tandy, and there is no comparison in quality.

I have a Cowboy 4500. No marks at all on the bottom. There are some really light indentations on the top from the pressor feet, but when the holster gets wet for molding, those disappear.

Just received a phone call from Bob. He is having me check the feed dog mounting screw and pressor foot pressure. I told him the issue could just as likely be operator error as anything else. When I first started using the machine, I stitched very slow, to make sure I didn't screw anything up. Now that I'm getting more comfortable with it, my speed has increased. I could just be getting "sloppy" and causing the problem myself. One thing he pointed out is that when I'm starting a stitch, the weight of the leather is in front of the machine, being held or supported. When you finish a stitch, the weight of the leather is behind the machine, and could be unsupported if you don't reach around with one hand to lift it. This could be causing the problem. Again, operator error. Anyway, thanks to Bob for the quick call. If any of you are on the fence about purchasing one of these machines, DO IT. I love it. It's paid for itself twice in the 2 months I've had it. The machine and Bob's customer service are worth every penny.

Purchased a Cowboy 4500 from Bob a couple of months ago and am loving the machine. I've noticed lately that when I put it in reverse to backstitch, it will not always go in the same holes. Most of the time it will do a double length stitch and skip a hole, or hit right in the middle of a stitch, between the holes. This started a few days ago, and before that it would reverse stitch perfectly. I'm guessing the machine is getting broken in and I need to make a slight adjustment to something. I just don't know what. I know I could just call Bob and he would have the answer, but I wanted to post this so the information would be available if anyone else had a similar issue.

In a previous job, we started using those to cut very tough polycarbonate sheeting about 20mils thick. They replaced using stanley knives, which resulted in about 15 knife cut incidents a year. They worked very well for most things, but they won't cut leather thick enough to make holsters. They might cut 2-3 oz, but I doubt if they would cut anything thicker.

I tried utility knives, round knives, all types of scissors, and was in the same boat as you with hurting hands, until I found some serrated utility knife blades at Lowes. That's all I use now. They come in a container of 50 blades for about $15. I've been using them for about 4 months and I'm on the 4th blade. They stay sharp a long time, and I can cut through 8/9 oz leather with one pass pretty easily.

The only difference I've seen between Barges and Weldwood is that the Barges seemed to thicken and get "stringy" a lot faster. The climate might have something to do with that. My leather shop is my garage, which is over 100° during the day. Barges would start to thicken and get really messy about the third or fourth time I opened the can. Adding thinner just seemed to make it worse, as far as it being stringy. Weldwood seems to keep the same relative viscosity for a lot longer, and it never really gets "stringy" like Barges. It could all be temperature related, but unfortunately, that's all I have to work from. One other thing I noticed. I have glued two pieces together with Barges, let them sit 20 - 30 minutes, then peeled them apart. I can't do that with Weldwood. It might be a stronger bond, or it might just be that it cures more quickly, I really don't know. Just an observation. I think they will all do the job intended.

I've thinned Weldwood using the generic Cement Thinner from Tandy. There isn't any identification as to what the thinner is on the packaging, but I suspect it's MEK.

I put my name on the waiting list for a Cobra 4 just before the July 4th holiday weekend, after talking with Steve about the machine. I was very excited to get one. He said it would be a few weeks, as he was waiting for a shipment. He did give me an estimated date when it was scheduled to arrive, but I knew that date wasn't solid. Over the holiday weekend my A/C unit went out, and in Phoenix, that's not something you can do without. I had to cancel my order with Steve to repair the A/C. Anyway, a couple of days later I received a couple of large (for me) holster orders with payment in advance. Knowing I was not going to hand stitch the orders, and that Steve was weeks away from getting machines, I had to look somewhere else. I called Bob at Toledo Sewing Machines. He had Cowboy 4500's in stock. I ordered one and it was delivered the next week. Took about 2 hours to unload, setup, and start sewing. It has been absolutely perfect. You will enjoy the machine once it arrives. No offense against Steve or any of the other dealers of 441 clones, but in my situation I had to go with the machine that was available to ship almost immediately, or I would have lost business. The circumstances of my purchase changed drastically in just a few days, from it being ok to wait several weeks for a Cobra, to canceling the order for an A/C repair, to absolutely needing a machine asap.

I actually sent the Boss back. I found that the limited throat clearance was too much of a hassle with some of my holsters. Trying to guide the piece, bend the leather so it would fit through the throat, and pull the lever was a little too much. The stitch quality was great, and if some of my pieces weren't so long, I would still have it. The plan was to upgrade to a Cobra 4, but Steve didn't have them in stock at the time. Then, my AC bit the dust. In Phoenix, that's something you NEED, so I had to spend my machine money getting that repaired. About a week later, I got several large holster orders that I just was not going to hand stitch. So I called Bob at Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines and ordered a Cowboy 4500, which he had in stock. Had it in about a week and have been a happy stitcher ever since.

Anyone know where to find a mold for a 5" railed Sig 1911, like the GSR or Tac Ops? I've checked Blueguns and Duncan's, but neither have it listed. Duncan's has Sig 1911 listed, but doesn't specify railed. I'll check with them Monday. I've seen pics of a green mold for one, but can't seem to find where to get one. Do any of you know where to find one? From what I've read, the standard 1911 molds will not work for the Sigs. Thanks!

I have a request for a holster with a Purple Heart inlay. He only wants the medal portion of the Purple Heart incorporated into the holster somehow. I'm not sure how to do this, or if it is even possible. Have any of you done anything like this before, and if so, would you mind sharing some tips?

I use Denatured Alcohol to remove the final blue coat. I'm sure any solvent will work, I just happen to have quite of bit of alcohol to dilute dye. I just spray it on the gun, then wipe it off with a paper towel. It comes right off. Usually spend less than 3 minutes cleaning each new blue gun and they are ready to use.

WOW! Nice work. That is SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think it looks good. Your stitching is nice and even. The shape looks nice. You might be able to move the stitching, especially around the trigger guard, closer to the gun, and possibly do some detail boning. Overall, I think it looks really good. As far as colors, I find that about 80% of my orders are black. I'm not sure if other maker's experience is the same with color, but I would suggest black as a starting color. And as far as dye goes, I have had horrible experience with water based dyes. Buy the best oil based dyes you can afford. They are easier to work with and the color will be much better. Now that I'm getting a decent volume of holster orders, I have a gallon bucket of black dye. Just dip the piece in for a few seconds, pull it out, wipe the excess off, done. Doesn't get much easier or faster.

I had one for about a month and sent it back. I used it for holsters and found that the minimal throat clearance was going to be tough for me to work around on some of my holsters. Throat clearance is listed at 6" I believe, but I measured it at only 5.25". Some of my holsters are 7.5" - 8" from corner to corner. I found it really hard to control the work piece with my left hand, pull the handle with my right hand, and bend the leather through the throat at the same time. Sometimes you can plan out your stitching to minimize the amount of material going through the throat area, and sometimes you can't. That was the deal breaker for me. I'm going to upgrade to a 441 clone machine soon. If throat clearance isn't a problem for you, it's a pretty good stitcher. I was very impressed with the quality of the stitching. It is a little temper-mental with thread tension, and tended to "wander" a bit. Stitches would be perfect then there would be 4 or 5 where the bottom thread would pull all the way to the top. It's portability and light weight are a real benefit as well. Tippmann had them on sale last month, and maybe they still are. They have a 30 day return policy if you aren't satisfied. Try it and if it doesn't work for you, send it back. If you are going to be doing any quantity of holsters and especially belts, and can afford it, spend the extra money and get a Cobra Class 3 or Cowboy CB-3500. If the Boss had 9" of throat clearance it would still be in my shop.

You never know with them since they don't show inventory levels on their site. About a month ago I ordered one from them and next day received a backorder email, so I canceled. This morning I ordered another one from them and it was shipped by noon. Hard to beat their price at $36 with free shipping.

I had been using a dremel and a sanding drum mounted in a drill press for rough sanding. Then hand sanding with 400 grit paper to smooth. Last week I purchased a Jet oscillating spindle sander, and it was one of the best investments I've ever made. It leaves a perfectly square and smooth edge so fast it just amazes me. Super easy to control the leather into the sanding spindle and keep it all square. It was a little expensive, but saves a lot of time and the sanding job is much more consistent. Came with spindles ranging from 1/4" to 2". I looked at several different ones, and the Jet was the only one that had a 1/4" spindle, which is perfect for sanding belt slots.

I've ordered several Blue Guns from Botach, since they are close to me and I can get them in a couple of days. The only thing is they have the blue final coat on them, which comes off easily when wet. You'll need to strip that before using them. It's really easy to do. I just spray the gun with alcohol and wipe it off with a paper towel. Usually takes 2-3 minutes to clean it all off. If you order directly from Rings, you can request that they leave the coating off. However, they are more expensive. I haven't tried aluminum dummies, so can't comment on them.

I thought I read somewhere here that there was a Cowboy dealer in Australia. If so, you might want to contact them. Not that I'm trying to push Cowboy over the other brands, but if there is a dealer in Australia that could be a solution for you.

When I was hand sewing, I would outline the stitch line with my thread, then add about 3 inches. Then double it, twice. So I would end up with 4x the length of the stitch line, plus 12 inches. This worked fine for saddle stitching holsters. I never had a piece longer than my arms spread side to side, and always had about a foot of thread left when finished stitching. This method is very easy to do without a measuring tape or anything that fancy. Just pull it off the spool and trace the stitch line with the thread, add 3 inches, bend the thread over and pull off more until it is double, then do it again.

Excellent! Thanks Jim. That does make the choice a little easier. And the Cowboy seems to be about $300 less than the Cobra. Maybe the Cobra comes with more accessories, I don't know. Thanks for all the replies. I broke the news to my wife last night, and she seemed to understand the issue with the Boss, and why I "needed" to upgrade.

Ok. I guess it's unanimous. 16.5" it is. Now I just need to decide between the cobra and cowboy. Can't go wrong with either I would imagine. The cowboy is a bit cheaper.

I recently purchased a Tippmann Boss and am having an issue with the throat clearance. Tippmann states the Boss has 6" of throat clearance, but by my measurement there is only 5.25". When I'm sewing some holsters, I'm having issues with there not being enough clearance. I've attempted to change my stitching direction, but no matter what I do, with some holster designs, there just isn't enough clearance. If I had 2 hands to guide the piece, it wouldn't be such an issue. But with one working the stitch arm, and the other guiding the piece, I don't have a third hand bend the leather to get it to pass through the throat. So I'm still within my 30 day period and can return the Boss, which I'm leaning heavily toward doing, and getting either a Cowboy CB-3500 or Cobra Class 3. I know they are virtually identical machines. Do any of you that have machines with similar clearance to these have any issues with throat clearance? I don't think I'll run into any with a 9.5" throat, but for another $300 I can just get the 16" machine and never have to worry. I'm not sure what to do. All I'm going to stitch will be holsters and belts. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!