MoMatt

Hello, well I haven’t done very much with sewing since this time frame. I bought a farm and have been focused on building barns and stuff. In fact my leather working stuff is still in storage. If you are hobby sewing holsters belts etc. I think you will like a outlaw. You can put a Stich in the groove where you want it it will sew very fast compared to pricking or using an awl. I am going to keep mine. Now one thing I will add is it’s not that much smaller than a 3200. In fact the head is probably the same size. No motor of course but those are under the table. Good luck!

Fredbeagle, sorry to hear you have had that trouble. I understand the frustration I was pretty sure I wasn’t doing anything wrong until we got it dialed in Since then it’s been a lot of fun. If you did get a birds nest from forgetting to hold the first Stich or short stroking you probably had to take the hook out. The two screws that hold the cover (the ones with springs) are not supposed to be tight. Back them off a full turn from tight. If you pulled hard with it snarled you may have knocked the timing. Good luck I hope you figure it out.

I have a 29 patcher with the wheel on the front that I really like, so much so in fact, that I was going to buy a 3200 set up with a wheel. I was advised that the wheel would be very hard to turn with a 26 needle and 346 thread. The advantage of the up down motion is the needle slides through a half inch of vegtan effortlessly. It is kind of tiring on a belt, I take a few 30 second breaks when doing a belt. Pretty soon the cycle becomes something you don’t have to think about.

I had been interested in these for quite a while and felt like there was not much out there on them. Several videos on youtube, but all by sellers, not by users and they only showed sewing little stacks of scrap. I decided to try one and thought I'd share my experience. It seems to be well made. Its very similar to the Boss. In fact, there is no manual and when I inquired about that, Bob from Toledo said its basically a boss so use the manual for it. It seems like the hook and the bobbins are similar to what is in the 441 clones, there is a bobbin cover, and I understand the internals are all heat treated steel instead of zinc or pot metal. The thread guides are different and it has a bigger throat, like 9 inches. I initially had some trouble, but after some coaching from Bob it turned out to be all operator error. I've made a wallet and about a dozen double layer gun belts. Its been working like a champ, no skipped stitches, tensions seem to stay put, stitch length is easy to adjust. I've been using 346 thread, several colors of cowboy brand and the stuff tandy sells in black. All seems to work fine. I am glad I purchased it and I like it. Attached is a link to a video of me making a belt and sewing it with the machine. I am just a hobby person making stuff for myself and my friends. I am a hobby blacksmith and I like to make knives axes and timberframing tools. This thing will make short work of what was kind of a tedious process for me in terms of making sheaths. Anyways, there isn't much out there in terms of reviews that I could find so I thought I would share my experience and I'd be happy to answer any questions if you are considering giving one a whirl.

Not sure what presser feet it has but you are right. The needle guide is where it happens. If I go slow I can see when the thread instead of sliding through the eye of the needle bar bites in the thread. I loosened the bobbin tension and redid the top tension lighter to center the knots and it’s just as bad as before. Perhaps the needle guide needs honed as you say. I am using 26 needle and 346 bonded nylon thread. Just ruined another belt.

Wiz, Thanks I am going to try that. Thinking about it a little, I asked Bob to send it set up for 346 thread, but didn't tell him what I was sewing. He had it stiching good with about a 1/2 inch of leather. The bobbin tension is very tight, probably as tight as the top. I bet sewing just 15 ounces or so I need to back off. This is really fun considering what my patcher with its size 92 thread can do.

Thanks, I backed off the top tension a little and it seems to have slowed that down considerably. Stiched the rest of the belt nice and smoothly.

Hi, looking to understand why the top thread starts to fray. I am using bonded cowboy brand 346 nylon sewing through two 8/9 ounce Herman oak veg tan glued together with barge cement for a belt. Tensions seem good but every so often the thread begins to fray and will break in half. Machine is the new cowboy outlaw. Will seem to sew fine for a while then all the sudden fray. Needle is size 26. This is the fourth belt the first three sewed ok with what came on the bobbin (white 346). I used Tandy black 346 on the top. This belt I am using white 346 top and bottom and keep having to add back stitches when it grays to start over and It seems really bad when I back Stic, hard to get going right again, but is now doing it without the back Stich to lock the loose end. I’m wanting not just to fix it but understand why. Pictures show good Stich, the back side, and frayed thread. Thanks

Harry Rogers has a video on youtube sewing a bag with a machine. Diresta also has one sewing a tool bag. If you haven't seen them I think you might enjoy watching them.

I am very interested in your review and concur there is a need. One person has commented on this forum that he has used the outlaw and been pleased with the results, much more so than his Tippman. I ordered one Saturday and am anxiously awaiting a box on my porch too.

I saw the cub and was interested in it, but decided to go with an outlaw and ordered it from Bob Kobar this morning. I think it will be easier to precisely place the Stich with the outlaw. The cub is a couple hundred more than the outlaw and at that price you really have to scratch your head about just getting a 441 machine. It doesn’t look terribly robust for 1600 bucks although the weight is around 50 lbs I think.

Hi i was wondering if someone can tell me about my 29. I bought it from a place that made medical prosthetics. Its so much better made than the chinese clone i sold. Sews great. It has a serial number that starts with uy and has a squAre edged hand wheel vs the rounded older style. Its been repainted gold. I cant find uy prefix on the serial number databases and now i am wondering if its a singer and where and when made

The machine feeds only by the walking presser foot. It won't lift high enough to clear and feed much over 1/4 inch. For your project of fixing a jacket, a patcher would work very well. If you try to use heavier thread than size 92, it turns into a huge tangle. The shuttle hook doesn't have room for the larger thread. 69 thread is pretty strong. It just doesn't look heavy for sheathes holsters, etc.

The timing on this machine is easy to adjust. There is a hole in the casting at the base of the arm. The screw is a cam. You adjust the cam till the flat part of the shuttle is even with the needle at the peak of its rotation. If you want when I get home Sunday I could post a couple pictures.

Thanks, it was unfinished in these pictures. I've since coated with hot canola oil. It turned a lovely red brown color and is dry to the touch not oily at all. I have a beehive and will thin some wax with oil and rub it in next.

I was looking at my children's cheap nylon book bags for school and how they were made. I realized the construction was pretty simple and so I bought a couple 4/5 ounce vegetan shoulders from Tandy. I sewed the entire thing on my hand crank singer 29 using strong nylon 69 upolstry thread. The most challenging thing was to turn the darn thing inside out after it was sewn. I am pleased it will be a functional backpack for one of the kids and likely last a long time.

I have a singer 29 that sews best with 69 size thread. I am thinking about making a backpack or book bags for my kids that will take a lot of abuse. Since its so easy to sew back in the same holes with my machine, if I double sew wouldn't I have the advantage equal to stronger lager thread and even much of the look? A test seam looks pretty good to me. If I turned the bag inside out after sewing I think it shouldn't matter at all. I'm also wondering if I don't need as heavy a thread as I think I do. Arthur Porter of youtube fame uses size 69 thread for his projects.

I have a Nick o sew patcher on a pedestal with a nice servo motor. It sews well and I like it but I want to buy a 441 clone. I'd like to keep the patcher as it sure is handy for some things, but I need the money for the 441 so I put an ad on craigslist to sell it. This morning I search for my add and see a minty nice late production Singer 29u for sale. I end up buying it for $175. My wife is probably going to raise an eyebrow but at least i'll get to keep a 29. Gotta say, the Singer is a better machine than the Chinese Nick o sew, everything is so tight and closely machined.

Thanks, is it an electric break or a manual break on your machine?

I saw a couple cobbler videos on youtube and though that really didn't look very hard. So I bought a set of lasts off ebay. First order of business was to trace my foot and then add the circumference measurements at several points. I used my 2X72 grinder to shape the lasts to my feet dimensions. Next I added leather to a couple spots where my feet were bigger than the lasts and contoured it to the last. I put masking tape on the lasts, drew a show on it, then cut the masking tape for my pattern. I used 5 or 6 ounce leather shoulders from tandy for the uppers, and sewed them on my patcher. I bought a sole bend and nailed an insole to the bottom of the last, stretched and nailed the uppers around, then built up the sole. This sole is glued and pegged on, next pair I think I will use a goodyear style welt. They fit like they were made for my foot, lol, but are like standing on concrete bare foot. Maybe once the sole conforms to my foot they will be more comfortable. I stuck a dr schols insole in them and they are not too bad. Its fun to make shoes, really easy and people are impressed, guess no one tries it anymore.

Hi, I have a Nick o sew patcher equipped with a servo motor. If I take the belt off the hand wheel is very easy to spin and it sews easily. It sews fine with the motor too, but its still hard to stop with the needle up or down and I should be able to grab the hand wheel and turn it easily I think. It is really hard to turn by hand with the belt connected to the motor, is it the motor causing resistance? I noticed Arthur Porter rotates his wheel by hand to sew slowly on his youtube videos. Seems like it should be easier. Thoughts appreciated.

I was wondering if anyone has heard about the Hitex version of the Tippman. I was watching videos of the cowboy 3200 on youtube and Hitex posted in a comment that they were coming out with an improved version of the Tippman Boss. They have a short video of a TIppman on youtube, not their version. I emailed Bob at Toledo through his website to see if he will carry them and if he had any information but didn't hear back. I understand the patent has expired and that other companies may begin to produce it.

Glenn, to be fair to nicosew, I bought this off ebay. That said it was purchased in 2011 by a company that sews patches onto boots. Apparently it didn't work for them and they only attempted to use it once. I believe that because it came with the original paperwork and inventory and one needle was missing from the box and it was in the machine. The rod that runs the shuttle should be a one-piece solid rod, not the micky mouse construction as it was built. Maybe they had problems with their supplier, nicosew no longer has their own branded patcher, they sell someone else's. This machine also has a needle wobble imparted when you rotate the presser foot that I haven't solved yet. All in all I wish I didn't buy the machine. The steel stand is a beast and the servo motor is great and it seems to be well machined, for example I can't feel any play in the needle bar and I can usually feel 5/10,000ths or so if its there in a machined part. I think once I get it "blacksmithed" into shape and running good it will be ok. I have access to more tools than an average person however. This experience is one I learn over and over in life, you get what you pay for, buy good and it only hurts once. Since I'm in the Midwest, if I had it to do over again I'd just order a cowboy.

My machine kept going out of time every time I got a tangle on the bobbin. Since I was playing with thread from 62 to 138 and trying to get the tensions right I had several. Turns out the Way it was made, a piece of 3/8 hex rod runs the shuttle rotation. The hex rod was in two pieces, drilled and tapped with a pot metal 1/8 inch stud right in the middle. It was bending and finally snapped. The screw wasn't even lined up with the hole in the casting. What a dumb modification to weaken the 29 original design. Rather than turn down a new piece of hex rod and recut the threads I cut the ends off and will weld in a section. I'm making sure the screw hole in the casting will line up with the hole in the casting. Should be back to sewing again tomorrow. So if your 29 clone is a flopping out of time take a look underneath, at least it's an easy fix if you have a metal lathe or a mig welder.

Thanks Darren, I'm a bit discouraged. I wanted one of these machines and thought I'd be safer buying a new copy than a worn out singer. It foes have a great servo motor and stand at least.