cjg

I have one and it works very well for thicker leather. I've made a lot of belts, knife cases, holsters, etc with it. I use mine mostly with #138 or larger thread and it works fine. If you are looking to use smaller thread, it probably isn't the right machine. I can also sew through thin Kydex for hybrid type holsters. As far as getting it tuned, I haven't had much trouble. You need to make sure you're using the right size needle for the thread and type of needle for the material you're using. If you use small thread with a big needle, you will miss stitches, the thread will ride back up with the needle and not make a loop on the way up so that it gets hooked by the shuttle. You also have to make sure the needle is in straight and positioned so that the shuttle will pick up the thread in the scarf. You also need to make sure you have the tension adjusted right on the shuttle, then adjust the top thread so your stitch loops in the middle of your material, you want a lot of tension on both to make nice tight stitches. It's not a fast machine by any means, but it works well if you treat it right and it's way faster than hand stitching. It's probably a better machine for someone who isn't comfortable with sewing machines in general. The Boss will put 1 stitch at a time exactly where you want it, like in a stitching groove. I've put thousands of stitches in with mine and haven't had to do anything other than the recommended lubrication and occasionally replace a needle.

I have a Grizzly G0463 that I have converted over to CNC. It works good for small projects like this. I'm still learning to use the drawing software. I can draw fine in 2 1/2d, but the 3d program is kicking my butt.

what are you using for a machine to mill it out?

Very nice. I like how the leaf comes out over the border

Nice job! Not everything has to be made of wood to look good. Glad to hear you repurposed something headed for the scrap yard. You should see my back yard, I've got piles of metal every where from things I've salvaged. Last summer I built a flat bed for my plow truck all from stainless steel the I got for free. Always headed out to the scrap pile to make something.

I like the ostrich inset. Very nice.

Very Nice!

Does anyone know if the COLD STEEL Green Rubber Training Pistols are any good that are on Ebay for $20?

If you can draw up what you want your local machine shop should be able to make it for you. I have a small CNC mill that I built that I make molds on.

Very Nice. How much time would you estimate you have in them?

I like my Tippman Boss. I've had it for over 10 years, it's paid for itself many times over. Once you get it figured out it works fine, I almost never drop stitches and I like being able to put every stitch exactly where I want it. But I've never tried a Cobra 4.

That's awesome!

I have a small 1"x30" belt sander with a 4" disk on my bench that I use for smoothing edges etc that I use to shorten rivets etc, works great. I have a pretty good selection of snap post, I think I have 4 different lengths, and seldom have to shorten one, but don't use really thin stuff very often.

Some setting tools work better than others also, I have 3 different ones and only one of them works well. If the post is to long for the material, you're going to have more trouble setting them, depending on the material of the post, brass ones seem to set much easier than stainless steel ones.

Very nice, first timer or not your attention to detail is very impressive. Keep up the good work. What's next?

Very nice!

Looks well made, maybe brown thread would have looked better. JMHO. That's why I make most of my stuff black, it's easier to match things up.

I have a Tippman Boss that works great for holsters and good for belts, (it's a little slow, but does a good job). It's nice to be able to put every stitch exactly where you want it and it will sew 3/4" with the right needles. I originally bought a 29-4 because my old uncle had one in his shoe shop when I was a kid and it seemed like he could do anything with it. I found that I couldn't do what I wanted with it so I saved up and bought the Tippman. I kept the 29-4 and use it occasionally on small projects, I bought it right and it was in good condition with the cast iron base. It takes awhile getting used to the pedal pumping but it does go pretty fast once you get the hang of it.