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I am now the proud owner of this machine. I drove all day, starting at 6am to go near Washington DC, from Raliegh area, to get it. Spent about 10 minutes talking with Susan and her husband, and got back around 4pm. "Road Warrior..Woohoo!" If anyone has advice, where to find manuals, and parts, etc, please PM me. It's in pretty good shape..Thanx Susan. I've only seen a few outside their natural habitat (cobbler shops), and they were in worse shape than this. After I do a little work on it, and some deep research, I'll probably start a Topic about it later.

I don't have one, but have tried them. As far as opinions, on this board anyways, commenters have said at the price it seems to be a good beginning machine. There are some who uses it for their business everyday. As for all those questions, I would just call Tippman and ask. I'm sure they won't mind telling you the differences. Do a search of the Forum for Boss or tippman, and you'll find lots of info. A decemt heavy stitcher starts at around 2200 (ie. Artisan 3000), that's twice as much as the Boss last time I checked. There'll probably be more better info from others who add to this topic Good luck.

Real nice Don. I love that dentil molding border

Welcome to the board Bassi. Glad you made there. We all look forward to seeing samples of your work. This is a very sharing group of people, and we all learn from each other. I'm in Chatham County, maybe we might hook up someday.

I have letters on my sizing belt. No matter what stretch, once they try it on and get their comfortable letter, they take it off, and I do the usual measure from the tine end to the hole with their letter. Nobody ever hears "SIZE 54!", I just fit the new belt accordingly.

Well, here's my half pennys worth. Zack's is my local supplier. I make the 1 hr round trip weekly to biweekly. I paw over the stuff like I did many moons ago when Boston had a leather district. He has quite the inventory in leathers, and an amzing hardware selection. Most of the tools and misc. are of the Tandy quality, but he has them in stock, and most of the things like thread, are not top of the line. He has personally told me he would like to upgrade many things, but his business, like others, hasn't grown enough in these times. I am using one of those "oily" threads right now in my Artisan 3000 with no problems (only cause I ran out of my good stuff). He carries a small line of this basic thread. 3 colors 3 sizes. I only buy it in emergencies. Tim is the owner, with his wife working the books. He has one lady for order taking and misc. (probably the most frazzling job there). He has two or three kids to help out in making things, and helping customers. Only one has been there more than a year. That's it. Although the store is a fair size, this ain't the Macy's of Leather. As far as I can tell, they are all doing the best they can. I know when I come in, I get all the service I need and more. I've made this offer before, I'll repeat. If there is anything any of you want me to check out there, before you purchase, let me know, I will, and I will give you my opinion. Personally, I like the guy, and the convenience of his store. And I hope he stays in business for my own convenience. I have had my problems also, as in not having something in inventory when I need it. Then, one day there's a ton of stuff. Suppliers are not doing their job, I suspect. You may not like the thread, but there should be no problem in getting your money back. Personally, I think Tim is the only person who knows the leather and stuff, and talk only with him when I want to be sure of something. He has been very accomodating to me, and I only spend a few hundred there once in awhile. No one likes to have their business interrupted with supply problems. Especially, if you feel like you are not getting proper care and attention from them. For me, I get good service from other suppliers, but they are generally the ones that cost me much more money per product. But like Jordan said, it's a pervasive problem in America today. I would advise you to not burn your bridges to ANY of the very FEW remaining sources we have in our industry today. Make the telephone calls to your vendors, take note of the good things, and use them when you can. Good luck.

Nice job on your first! Thats some deep molding there. Looks like you've been doing some reading here, we look forward to the progress you make on your holsters.

Welcome Dragonfly!. You've come to right place. Everyone, new and old learns something here everyday. We love to share pictures, hope you get some examples of your work up soon.

Thanx Randy, and Art. Plain and simple seems to be my style...lol I'll be shipping today.

Esantoro has experimented a lot with various edge dye methods. Read some of his topics. I use a couple of edge inks that work for me on raw chrome edges. I don't believe any of them last all that long, but others may have a different experience.

You should graduate Magna Cum Laude with that work! Nice job, and welcome to the Forum. I love seeing what Design people come up with. It furthers the Craft, and that's a good thing. How did you shape that soft leather into a molded mask? Is it batting, or a form?

Thanks Luke. Coming from you, I consider that good.

CHICKEN!!!!! LOL, it's my fav. When I was a kid, the neighbor raced HOMING Pigeons. Squab was a regular barbecue. Hmm, Hmm good. Roasted Greek Lamb, second fav. I've had Snake, and for strange .. Donkey in Morrocco. That's not very strange considering some Asian tastes. On a fresh Deer kill, I prefer the tenderloin in Plum sauce.

A customer referred to me, asked for a sheath for this bowie, given to him from a friend visiting up from Down Under. The knife reads: Rowland Swinden Sheffield Start to finish about 3 hrs. Chestnut Bridle Leather. Machine stitched, except for the loop, , Copper Rivets, Zack Whites edge ink (I have to touch the edges up, I reworked things after it was done, and kind of roughed it up in some areas...Note to self...leave things alone when your done), rough molding job. It's maybe a $45 sheath not a $200 one, but it looks nice to me. The knife locks in good, with the feel of a click. The loop is not riveted to the sheath, it moves. If you pull it up it tightens around the hilt...good for traveling in rough woods, or so my premise goes. Anywho, thanks for looking.

They are great!. I don't wonder why you have so many customers who want these.

Yankee Polish is the Best for burnishing soles, and heels. Do not burnish general leather products with it. It will rub off onto everything.

I like your's a lot. It's sharp. Jeff made mine too...just as fast, and I'm just as satisfied. Believe or not, it doesn't take long before the customers will actually comment on the stamp on their leather. They think it looks professional. I made a free bracelet for a customers kid. The kid wanted me to make sure my stamp was on it...

There have been a few good discussions of laser work here, but in the crash we lost some good ones. Using the search tool, I found these topics that mentioned the lasers: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?a...ghlite=%2Blaser Two topics stuck out to me. The second one has a comment by studio-N that was pretty good: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...94&hl=laser http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...37&hl=laser

There was this discussion...see if it helps: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...amp;hl=cordovan

A very Happy Hilly!!! Everyday is a BONUS. Live that way....

Welcome Jeli! Sounds like you got the bug again. That's good for all of us. Back in the old days, it was tough going without all this new internet info. We try and help each other now, so, read all you can here, and hopefully you'll share some pix from your father's work, and the new stuff you make.

Welcome ibonn! Well, You've come to the right place to help you in launching your new career. Sounds like you are getting the proper training, and definitely have the enthusiasm. There's always something to learn right here on the Forum, and it seems you will have a lot to share, so we are very glad you found us.

Welcome Greg! For a practical start, Tandy is good. This Forum will teach you much more. The Forum, and it's members have a list of suppliers here: http://www.leatherworker.net/suppliers.htm

They look good Sawyer. I was wondering if the vinegaroon would work with a resist. I had thought it wasn't possible, but you seem to have done it. What resist did you use?

You are correct L'Bum. Brass is superior to zinc die cast, or bronze for that matter. Stay away from brass plated anything. The coating is so thin, it's useless (For some reason, nickle plated brass seems to last okay.). I would use bronze before zinc. Others will jump in, I'm sure.