Barlaam1

I am selling my Tippmann Boss Sewing machine. It is an aluminum model. It comes with four spools of thread, Material guide attachment, six bobbins, assorted needles, and Tippmann tool box. I purchased this machine used a couple years ago and I just don't use it enough to keep it around. This is a great machine and it has always sewn well. It is a Tippmann so you will have to learn how to adjust the tension on it for the leather you are sewing. This forum has been a great resource for me with this machine and I really enjoyed sewing with it. I would be willing to ship this item (only in the USA) but would like to make the transaction in person if at all possible. I am located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Buyer would pay any shipping fees. If we can arrange to meet in person I will throw in the bench I made for it. If you want to discuss the machine you can call or text me at 605-390-2646 Or email me at barlaam AT live DOT com Price is $1000 Thanks Ben

I have a tippmann boss that I want to sell. It works great I just don't use it enough to justify keeping it. I am looking to get $950 out of it. It is aluminum model with the material guide. I have 3-4 half used spools of thread and a bunch of needles. It comes with tool box, 4 bobbins. I see you are in Fort Collins. I grew up in Windsor and will be coming to Loveland on August 12-14th to see family. I can email or text you pics. Ben 605-390-2646 barlaam@live.com

Thanks for the info so far. What are the differences between bridle and harness leather? I'm really thinking the next hide I buy will be one of these. I buy most of my leather from SLC but was thinking about trying wickets &Craig.

The baking soda bath is probably 1/2 cup of soda to a gallon of water

Hello everyone, I hope you are having a good day. I am looking for some advice on some recent strap failures I've been having. I make firefighter suspenders out of 9-10oz veg tan. All of the recent failures I've had have been vinegrooned. Some of the suspenders are 1-2 years old. I am trying to make these so they will be more durable to what my guys are putting them through. Unfortunately they are putting them in hot, sweaty environments. I cut my straps from 9-10oz Herman oak. I only cut my straps from the back. They are cut from head to tail on the hide so I believe I'm cutting the correct way on the grain for a belt type piece. My vinegroon process is to submerge the pieces in the vinegroon for 2-3 min. Then move them to a baking soda water bath for about 15-30 sec. Then I rinse the pieces in warm water and let dry. I apply 1 light coat of pure Neatsfoot oil to them with a paint brush. I seal them with 50/50 mix of mop and glow and water, applied with a rag. Hopefully the pictures go through but here are my questions for the incredible wealth of knowledge on this site. Please Help. 1. Am I using the wrong type of leather? I have swatches from W&C should I use harness, eng bridle, latigo? I need something that will take a stamp and acrylic paint for what I do. 2. Is there something wrong with my Black dying process? I only offer my suspenders in brown (treated with Neatsfoot Oil) and Black (Vinegrooned) I really suck at using other dyes. 3. Do I need to increase the weight of my leather and use saddle skirting? 12-14oz? 4. should I finish my leather with something different that will last longer/ ad more water resistance? I know I am asking a lot out of the leather I am using. I have had 4 major failures out of approx 40 sets of suspenders. All failures are on the back part of the straps usually. I have had one belt failure (my own personal duty belt) failed at the hole for the belt buckle. All of the failures have been with Vinegrooned leather. Black suspenders are pretty popular and I need to be able to dye them or buy pre-dyed leather that won't bleed. Thank you in advance Ben

Thanks for the reply Wizcrafts. You know how many radio straps I would have to sell to cover the price of that machine? yikes. I guess I will stick with my copper rivets. I think the guys like them riveted anyways.

I forgot to mention I know very little when it comes to sewing machines.

Hi, I currently make radio straps, radio holsters, and suspenders for guys on my Fire Department. I have been thinking about getting a sewing machine to help me with the process. The machine would also allow me to make other projects. (Sporrans for my pipe and drum band, helmet shields). Anyways I stopped by my local sewing machine shop just to see what they had to offer and he had a Singer 29k51 that at the time I thought might do the job I needed. I came home and did some searching on LW and I'm thinking it is not the machine for me. All of my projects use 8-10oz veg tan leather. I need to be able to sew at least 2 layers of 8-10oz. The main reason I liked the 29k51 was the swivel head. but I know it is just a patch machine and I don't think it could sew what I need it to. And the little gears in it scare me. So I'm a NO go on the 29k51. Is there any other machines with a swivel head like the 29k51 that could sew 20+oz of leather? I will include a picture of one of my radio holsters. I currently use copper rivets but it is time consuming and can be hard to do sometimes. I would like to sew a Square pattern pattern on my holster front and back to form it. Let me know what you think. I was thinking about a Tippmann boss but I don't know if I could get it to do what I need it to. Thanks Ben I have never uploaded a photo so I hope this goes ok Front Back

I get probably 90% of my supplies from Springfieldleather.com. They have been a very good company to work with. Keep in mind what I make with the single belt bends are mostly straps and suspenders. A different cut of leather may work well for you. Search this site for ff shields and you will find many great people that can probably help you better than I. Hope this helps

Not sure if this will help you but I will share some of my experiences. I don't make shields but I make firefighter suspenders and radio straps. I started using the eco flo, cova color and i was not happy with the results. I even did the super shene on some of my first work. But it wasn't what I wanted. I switched to Angelus paint. I mix it 75% paint 25% water. My work usually has 4 light coats of paint to get the results I am happy with. 2 coats of white 2 coats of color. I have been finishing my items with the mop and glow, and water 50-50 mix. Mop and glow is supposed to be the same thing as Resolene, and a lot of people on here seem to use it. I apply that with an air brush. From what I have learned when applying the mop and glow mix you want light coats. if you can see white you are applying too much at that time. (it will make sense if you try it). I apply 2 coats of the mop and glow mix to seal my items. I have only been working with leather for about a year so there are are probably easier and maybe better ways to do this. But this is what has worked well for me. It is very time consuming to apply that much paint but you want to produce a quality product. One of the biggest things I learned is use quality leather. For practicing you might use leather that is on sale or more affordable. Now that I have more orders for my stuff than I can handle I only buy Hermann Oak. The quality of their leather is great. Many people use Wickett and Craig. I have yet to use W&C. (Why fix something that isn't broke) Learn about the different cuts of leather. The first sets of suspenders I produced were made from "bellies" now I only use "Single belt bends". The little extra in $ will keep what you produce consistent and keep customers coming back. That is probably more than you wanted but I hope it helps. Do as much research as you can. This forum is an amazing resource.

Thank you WinterBear. That will help alot.Tom I will send you a reply on your PM here shortly. Thanks for all the help

I currently make suspenders and radio straps for fire fighters using Hermann Oak 8-10oz leather. The last couple of orders I have been ordering a single bend (For the straps and suspenders) and a Hermann Oak Belly (for the radio holster). Is there a better option for how I should order my leather? Should I buy a whole hide? If I do that will I still get the part of the cow the single bend comes from? I order in small quantities. what would you order? I also vinegroon all my pieces to make them black. probably 90% of my orders are for black. should I order it pre-dyed? Thank you Ben.

I am in the same boat as you. I just completed my first radio strap a week ago. I also made a couple sets of suspenders. For dying it black I vinegrooned all the pieces then painted using Eco flow paints. My background on my letters was white and I found that if you paint the whole letter and background first the paint on the letter really popped. After paint was dry I oiled with neatsfoot oil. And then did the mop and glow/water to seal it. I never thought there were so many steps but to get the edges to look good you really have spend some time. I have learnedly more good info from this site then the guy at my tandy shop. Anytime I have a question I come here first. It is a great resource to make sure your end product is the best it can be.

Thank you dj1935. I will give that a try right away. Again thank you.

I hope everyone is having a good day! I am vinegrooning straps to make Firefighter suspenders. I am giving them a baking soda rinse and then rinsing them in warm tap water after that. I allowed them to dry for 24 hours and have just applied my first coat of neatsfoot oil and there are little white specks everywhere. I am using Fiebing's 100% pure neatsfoot oil. I bought it at Tractor Supply. I believe it was $12 for a 32oz jug of the stuff. I found it in their tack section of the store. My first thought was I didn't get the baking soda rinsed off well enough. But there were no white specks after drying for 24 hours. When I applied the Neatsfoot oil I poured some in a clear plastic cup and I could see the white specks on the side of the cup and I think some where settling in the bottom of the cup. Is this normal with Neatsfoot Oil? The white specks do wipe off pretty easy but when they get into stamp impressions and stitch gouges they are a pain in the butt. Did I just learn a lesson on cheap neatsfoot oil? I figured with it being Fiebings I was safe. Thanks and have a great day.

Thank you everyone so much for your replies. I have read so many posts on this forum and I must say it is refreshing to see how everyone here is helpful. So many other forums(not leather related) can get so negative and that is not the case here. Thank you again and it looks like my first step will be book orders.

Happy New Year everyone. My name is Ben and I've been really interested in the art of leather work. Here is a little background on me. I am 32 and a full-time firefighter in South Dakota. I was looking purchasing some leather suspenders for my bunker pants. Started looking and talking to some of the guys who already had leather suspenders and thought that doesn't look too hard to make. So I started googling and found out that there is alot more to it than cutting some straps and putting buckles on it. But I got excited. I take a lot of pride in what I do and have seen alot of examples of some amazing work. So the leather bug bit me. I now have many projects in my mind I can't wait to make. (suspenders, radio harness, belt, gun holsters) So what kind of advice can you give me? Is a set of suspenders a good first project? I was looking at getting the Deluxe Professional Starter Set from Springfield leather http://springfieldle...essional,Delux/ Would this be a good route to go considering the items I'm looking at making? Thanks in advance. Ben