RoosterShooter

This is actually a minor question that just came up. I have my CB 3200 setup and ready to go. However, when I go to adjust the Pressure Foot Pedal on the table ... it doesn't want to lift. I'm a fairly strong guy, and I can't get the presser foot to raise up with the pedal. I have the chain set a couple of links up on the pedal side and on the last link on the machine side. Anyone have a fix?

I'm looking for an oblong punch that cuts a notch 1 7/16" Long by 1/2" Wide. Does anyone make specialty punches? Thanks

Before I begin, I am at the peak time of year when I can't find time to sleep, much less anything else. So, making a leather burnishing and sanding machine is out of the question. I am averaging 15 holster orders a day, and this has been going on for a little over a month now. I am in need of a burnishing and sanding machine. I looked at the Weaver Leather option, but like to have options to compare it to. Does anyone else make the burnishing and sanding machine other than Weaver? Thanks in advance.

There hasn't been any at all available for the last month or so, and a lot of companies are keeping inventory down due to Christmas and the end of the year. They're also keeping inventory down due to the fact that a lot of them have to pay an inventory tax and that's just a hassle. When you find some .... buy double what you think you'll need.

I'm looking for a material that I can trace the outline of an existing strap and cut the material to make a template for future straps. I'm tired of tracing the standard leather strap that I've been using forever as a template, and make a true template for it. I've already looked at BlackHillLaser or whatever on Ebay, and they don't have what I need. I realize they do custom work, but I need a quick fix, and they are over 7 business days out. Thanks

Thanks Wiz! I actually took a dremel polishing wheel and compound to the taller bobbins today and put a mirror shine on them. After shining them up they work fine and have the same resistance as the shorter bobbins.

I've been chasing my tail for days on trying to figure out a stitching and feeding issue with my Boss. Today, I took some much needed down time to try and troubleshoot my Boss that has been giving me stitching issues for as long as I've owned it. To make a long story short .... I only have 4 bobbins out of 8 that are the same length. I put my calipers to them and 4 are a consistent 1 29/128 inches across the top. The other 4 are 1 15/64 inches in length. Whenever I place the longer bobbins in the shuttle I always get a little resistance from them. The shorter are fine. Did Tippmann make 2 different length bobbins? If so, could they be causing a tensioning issue with my stitching? Thanks

I've likened my experiences with my Boss, on many occasions, as to a Red Headed girlfriend. Sometimes you hate them and want to throw them out the door, but at the end of the day you always come back to work things out! I've had 2 Boss machines, and one has been sent back for replacement on several occasions because it always messes up somehow. Now, I'm down to one Boss and several other stitchers, but I don't have the heart to unbolt 'her' and give her a new home somewhere else. I keep thinking, everytime I have to work out a quirk, that I'm just going to sell it. I go to bed and sleep on it, and end up keeping it. Sometimes I wonder if I'm a gluten for punishment.

Still have?

I'm with Bare Hand Customs with the exception of the 'Pay per Click'. I wasted a lot of needless funds in the beginning by throwing money at 'Window Shoppers' who had no intention of buying in the first place. I learned to pin down my customer base, corner the local market on a few certain items, and post .... post ... post ... on social media sites. It's not going to happen overnight unless you buy an advertising package with a local radio station ... preferably A.M. since they tend to be cheaper. I spent $800 out of the gate, and had my local media group advertise me in 2 - 20 second time slots during both the Glenn Beck Program and Rush Limbaugh on our local AM Affiliate. That trickled in a little business, but the real business was the nationwide ads that I placed!!! Start small! You don't want to wake up one morning and have 100 orders sitting in your Account Dashboard! That will be a surefire way to send you to the loony bin. You want to grow small, take baby steps, and be grateful for the free time you have right now. Believe me ... it will get to the point where there aren't enough hours in the day! I probably grew a little too fast for most people's liking, but I tend to work better in a 'Fast Paced' environment, so it worked for me. Whatever you do ... when you do get busy ... set limits on your time. In other words ... make your computer off limits until 6 PM. That way everytime you hear your order notification go off ... you won't spend the next 15 minutes printing orders, shipping labels, and customer packing lists. That eats in to your valuable work time. Also, don't be afraid to let the machine pick up THAT call!

I kind of talked around with him this evening to see what his plans were, and I think he's going to stay away from bridles right now . He made a couple a short while ago, but hasn't had any business for them since. So, basically, we are back to dock collars, leashes, and various other small projects. When you talk about having to smooth out the tooth and needle pucker marks on the back, are you referring to a situation similar to how a Boss sews leather? Also, I kind of asked if the 2500 would be a good machine, because I'm not familiar with much else in the Sub-$1000 price range. Granted shipping is excluded from the spending limit, but I am looking for a decent machine for his first machine. Thanks and any suggestions will be appreciated.

So, the wife and I were talking over dinner tonight, and I've decided to buy a Cowboy 3200 in the next week or so. I have a Juki in the 'shop' being serviced, a Boss, and will soon have a CB3200. That led us to our next issue! Over the past year my stepson has taken a shining to leatherworking, and we feel we need to get him a machine of his own for Christmas! For a beginning leatherworker who will be making dog collars from 8 - 10 oz leather, bridles, leashes, and various other accouterments for our local craft shows, fairs, and maybe a 'part time job' during his Middle Teen years .... what would be a good machine for him for $1000 or less? Would the Cowboy 2500 w/o reverse be a good option? He has been sewing by hand and using an old Singer 211 that I gave him for thinner material up to this point. My thoughts were ... if I am ordering a CB3200 anyway, and will be waiting a few weeks for it to be delivered ... why shouldn't I just order him the CB2500 with my order! Your thoughts?

Thanks Catskin. You've alleviated a few of my worries ... but ...only a few. I had my thread supplier overnight me some 4 oz. spools of both A&E and Eddington this afternoon, so I can tinker with it tomorrow night. Hopefully this is nothing more than a material issue, and not something wrong with my machine. At any rate ... I'm crossing my fingers and hoping it's 'Bad Gas in the tank'. If you know what I mean.

Yeah. I'm going to Axe this one after my other machine comes back. I'll probably send it back to Tippmann for an exchange and sell the one they send back to me. I've talked to a couple of knowledgable sewing machine people on the phone and they all mention that the Boss isn't the machine that it used to be. From what I gather they switched raw materials over the years, and their machines haven't been the same since. They have definitely made some bad business decisions since switching from the Cast Iron Boss of the old days. A higher profit drive has caused them to lose customers and given them a bad name. If they would have just stayed with what worked they might have been ok. At this point I'm seriously wondering if they are going to just do away with their sewing machine side of things and stick with their paintball gun line. However, even that is a dying market!

Could it be something as simple as a thread issue? I talked to a buddy tonight,and he uses only A&E 277 Nylon Thread. He said he had a similar issue with 'Service' Brand thread and his boss! Something about the inconsistency in the wind and thread stiffness. He said some of the thread would be limp as a noodle, and a foot down the spool it would be stiff as monofilament. Your thoughts?

Probably not Colt ... why? Are you in the market?

Negative... I'm adimant about making a complete stroke up and down while hitting the stops. I'm a hobby ammo reloader, so I know the importance of a comlete handle stroke.

OK. To make a long story short .... I kept my Tippmann Boss for a Back-Up in case my Primary went down so that I wouldn't be entirely in the dark. My Juki is in the shop being serviced and cleaned. NOW, I'm DOWN and have NO machine until my other comes back from the shop! On my 6th piece today my Boss started doing THIS again!!! This is the same reason I had a replacement machine sent to me in the first place. This machine has less than 3 hours on it, and it is pulling odd stitches through to the back side. On some stitches it will run right, but then it starts acting up again. There is no rhyme or reason to when it does this. It could be the 10th stictch or the 50th. See photo below .... what causes this? I'm sick and tired of messing with this machine. I have ZERO confidence in it, and grit my teeth anytime I have to rely on it!

Talking about 'Digging up the Dead'! This post was 6 YEARS OLD! I think that's a record. The last time 'Thecapgunkid' was active was sometime in 2012!

I have a semi-local source, 30 minutes away, for Chahin Leather. I normally use Hermann Oak, but they are as much as a month behind on orders, and I am needing some leather now. Plus, there is the fact that HO leather demands a premium while Chahin is a little more affrodable. I like the samples that the rep mailed me for Chahin. Do any of you have any experience with Chahin Leather? I will be making holsters, belts, and straps.

There is a sewing machine for sale locally, and the lady claims that she used to sew heavy canvas on it. I can't find anything on the net about it, but thought maybe some of you might know the name, brand, and it's capabilities. It's a Electro Hygiene and it also has a plate that says .... Precision Built ... E-399 Can anyone give me info on this? I am wanting to use it for heavy canvas and canvas webbing / straps

I'll be getting one soon. After my New Factory Replacement comes in from Tippmann I'll be selling it and getting a CB3200. Let us know how you like it after you work with it awhile. I'm fed up with Tippmann and their machines!

I talked to Tippmann this morning and the tech is saying I need to send this machine back to them! I told him that this WAS a machine that was a Factory Replacement from an original purchase, and he didn't have anything to say. "Not much I can do over the phone!" was his reply. What gives? This is the 3rd time I have had to send a Boss back for Warranty Repair or Replacement! There won't be a 4th!!! Can you blame me?

I'm going to chime in and post my experiences with the Boss. I own two Boss machines and they do their part when it comes to making holsters. The only gripe in the design that I have is that the area between the needle and the body is far from convenient when it comes to sewing larger pieces. I often have down time spent being unproductive, and figuring out the best way to sew a piece without interfering with the needle tension and range of motion. That being said .... Both of the machines I have are factory warranty replacements, and I am still having issues with one of them. In other words ... in two years .... two machines have been replaced by Tippmann, and now one of the replacements is acting up on me. I do not 'Force' anything, and make sure everything is lined up and in running condition before sewing each time. I will also note that on my most recent replacement I spent 2 hours on the phone with Tippmann, and even they couldn't figure out why the machine was stitching erratically. It would stitch 3 stitches just fine and on the 4th it would pull the stitch to the needle side! I also have two older Singers that I have had ZERO issues with over the course of owning them. I keep them oiled and clean, and they run like a Swiss watch! The Boss tends to be more finicky with it's 'Will Do' and 'Won't Do' aspects. Then again, on some days ... you wake up and sit down at your machine and find out that everything is 'Off' for some reason. All in all ... the Boss has it's place in the mobile repair or manufacture field. However, I would NOT recommend it to someone who never plans on taking it out of the shop. They're just too finicky, and for a new user it can mean the difference between quitting altogether or spending endless hours figuring out what's wrong with the machine.

The problem with that is ... they aren't open over the weekend, and I'm hoping to have it fixed by tomorrow. Truth be told ... this is actually a machine that they sent me as a replacement! So, this machine replaced another that started messing up with stitching after 6 months!