Denster

Just got my first order of these clips and the thumb break spring tabs in from High Dessert. Great quality and they are cheap. Jeff from Boomstick mentioned them in another thread. Thanks Jeff. Did I mention they are cheap??

Check the sewing machines for sale list on the board. Guy has a Boss for sale like new for $900. Bellieve he had some accessories. The narrow throat really isn't a problem for holsters. Is handy to at least have a left foot.

Those are thoughtful considerations. I've found that on really large pancake holsters I do have to lift a corner in the throat when doing the weapon outline stitch. That's mostly laziness on my part as I like to make perimeter stitch and weapon outline in a continuous run. If I did them separate I wouldn't have a clearance problem. I have arthritis in both shoulders and both hands. I know I'm really old. Pulling the lever is so effortless that it isn't a problem. The pressor foot lift lever I have to grip high and that gives me a lot more leverage.

No mistake. We are all friends here. James The original posters was looking towards options for sewing heavy veg-tan leather holsters. From my experience the Boss is idealy suited for that, simple to use, and darn near indistructable. Are they over priced at $1,195 (current sale price new)? Probably, but they are the only game in town for this type of stitcher. If the Chinese decide to knock off this design they will probably sell for $650. You can find Boss machines at local aucutions with a little searching and sometimes get them on the cheap. My first one was $75 the second was $700. Tippmann will completely rebuild them with a new factory warranty for about $100. My bone of contention with your statement was not actually having first hand experience with them. I'm not upset or anything like that.

It might be wise to actually have some experience with a product and service before you decide to trash them. My two Boss machines have sewen over 2000 holsters. They were used when I bought them and they are still going strong. As to Tippmann's service they are aces. The only time I had to contact them was about my aerostitch. Their service tech spent over an hour on the phone explaining the machine to me and they didn't make a dime and invited me to call back if I had any problems. I have a hard time finding fault with that. There isn't anything on either machine that you can't fix yourself if you have any mechanical ability at all.

Really nice Rocky. I really like the one with the stingray inlay. Super!!!

Actually the Boss is the greatest thing since good candy for holsters. Having a left and right foot and a little thought on planning your stitch runs and you are good to go. The narrow throat is only a problem, although not an insurmountable one, when sewing together the front and backs for mexican loop cowboy holsters. For that I use a powered machine but still close them on the Boss. It's good to have one of each type but if I could have only one it would be the Boss.

I have the same outfit Mike does. I use it for spraying super sheen so it should work equaly well for resolene. The airbrush come with several bottles and its cheap and works well.

Tac I think this question was asked before about this press and the response was that it was not suitable for forming leather. For a less expensive and less space consuming option do a search for the thread on vacuum forming (not seal a meal) that I posted. The whole setup cost less than $250 and all you need is a 2'X2' flat work surface. Can be set up and taken down in a couple of minutes and stores in a small space. I have since found that the poly bag works better than the vynal even though it costs more initially and it allows detail boning right through the bag while under pressure. The thread also lists links to the suppliers.

Do you by any chance have hard water ie: a lot of iron, in your area. If you do this could be the problem. Any contact between ferrous material and wet leather will turn the leather black due to a reaction with the tannins in the leather. Same way that vinegaroon works to color leather. Just a thought.

Dyed leather always feels firmer. When making a folded holster it's always a good idea to case the are of the fold.

I have two Boss machines. Both are aluminum castings however one is an early one with all steel parts the other is a newer one with the alleged break at the pull of the handle parts. Both machines have given me no problems after sewing through several pounds of thread. Only two drawbacks. The throat on the Boss is a little narrow and doing belts can get tiresome with those long runs of stitches. I solved this problem by adding an aerostitch. Keep them clean and lubed and you will have no problems.

Couple of other things I forgot to mention. I don't completely dry the holsters in the oven although it does speed the drying process. 30 min at 120deg is enough to release collagens in the leatherto stiffen it. I can get four large holsters or six smaller holsters at a time in mine. Got it on sale at Wal-Mart for $39. On the acrylic finishes don't know on that.

Randy I leave them in for 30min at between 120 and 130 degreesF. Helps to have an oven thermometer you can see through the glass window as the dial will not be correct and over 140 will curl things.

I lightly case both sides and lay the top side on my marble slab and tap the back side with a cobbler's hammer. Closes the stitches up nicely and all the marks just go away.

I've got one for a pancake style OWB that would work equally well as an IWB just subing the belt slots for snap loops. Has a sweat guard and mouth guard. If interested PM me your address and I'll cut the pattern parts out of posterboard and mail them to you.

If what you are looking for is a material to make the mold I would suggest dental stone. It mixes and pours like plaster but does not shrink and crack. It can be carved and sanded to add the detail you want. It is used in the dental industry to make forms for dentures. I used it in law enforcement,at crime scenes, to make castings of tire imprints etc. because it gave a durable and faithful imprint of all of the details. I don't have a source at the moment for it but you can probably google it. Wasn't expensive when I was buying it in 20lb bags. Dries to a smooth surface but if using it as a mold I would seal it with spray laquer anyway. Hope this helps.

I mark the center line on the flesh side of the support band then take a french skiver and take off few thousandths over about 1 inch then glue stitch wet and fold. Gets rid of most if not all of the bunching.

I am at a loss to understand all of the alleged problems with breaking parts in the Boss. I have two. An early aluminum frame with steel gears and parts and a newer aluminum frame machine with the supposed break in a minute parts. Together they have sewen through several one pound spools of thread over several years and the only thing that has broken was one needle and that was my own fault Currently Tippmann has them on sale for $1195. I have a Aerostitch also that I prefer for belts and other long runs of stitches but for holsters and sheaths it's the Boss every time. Not to take anything away from Artisan and Cobra those machines are a bargain right now and if I didn't have the aerostitch I would buy a Cobra. I have nothing but good to say about Tippmann's service Dept. When I bought the aerostitch used it had a couple of small problems and they walked me through correcting them even though I didn't buy it from them nor did I have to order any parts. Also both machines are simple enough that if something did break you can fix it yourself or at least most people can.

From my experience when you mold wet leather the absorbtion rate changes in the most worked areas. Probably due to closing the pores of the leather in those areas. I generally dye my patterns before I assemble or form.

Ryan www.proleptic.net has a manual and parts list for your machine if you don't allready have one. By the way are you Ryan from Kenton? Dennis

The Aerostitch is a pretty simplistic machine and most repairs can be done by the user. If you would care to state what the malfunction is there are several Aerostitch knowledgeable folks here who can diagnose the problem and give you a direction to go. Tippmann still has all the parts and their techs will walk you through installation. Really they will! If it is a major problem shipping it back to Tippmann for a rebuild is the best bet. Shipping both ways would be about $120 total UPS and they will completely rebuild and warranty for $150. Hope this helps.

Should have knowen that Jeff would come up with a simple inexpensive (relatively) solution to an expensive situation. My statement on hand cutting patterns relates to my own personal prediliction to change things. I might decide after making a couple hundred holsters from a pattern that it might look better if this curve or that were a little different. Just gives me an option to satisfy my whims. Yes it does take a couple of minutes to level the edges but I've pretty much got it down to a science. We all do things a little different to get to the same end and as long as it doesn't add materially to the bottom line and the results are good. Who cares? Anyway what Jeff related business wise is spot on.

What Jeff and Dave related is excellent advice. Trying to be everything to everybody will soon result in your being nothing to anybody. Come up with a good design that fills a niche or that you can make as well as other but sell for less. One design can translate to several guns, the Glocks allready being mentioned, say a good design for 1911 styles can also be used for Browning HP, CZ75 etc. with just a different stitchline. I only take exception with Jeff on one point and that is cllicker dies. If you don't own a clicker press you loose control of hide selection and where on the hide the parts are clicked. You also can not make small design changes later on without buying new dies. Invest in a couple of good round knives, I like Weaver mastercraft, and learn to use them. Doesn't take long. I can trace out and cut out all the parts for a holster in three to eight minutes depending on complexity. Prioritize your work schedule ie: I finish holsters from the previous week and cut patterns for the current week on Monday. On Tue, Wend and Thurs I work on assembling by batches of like types. On Friday I wet form them all. They dry over the weekend and ready for finish on monday. You need to know how to price your work. Know the overhead cost of an hour of shop time, the material costs, etc and add in your hourly rate plus a 10% fudge factor to arrive at a price. Have a place to sell. From my experience in decending order of success. eBay, internet forums, gunshows, gun stores (not on consignment). I would stay away from custom work in the beginning that will come soon enough and after you have some experience in the costs associated with a new design likely to be a one of. Get a state sales tax liscence. This establishes you as a business and allows you to buy at wholesale. It really isn't much of a hassel and the savings are great. Above all remember that working smart with a plan trumps working hard without a plan every time.. I know this went way beyond what blue guns to buy first but these are all things that have to be considered. Making holsters is satisfying it's just more satisfying making money doing it.

Just my opinion but the first three I would select would be the ones listed below. 1) 1911 full size. Can be used for all clear down to the subcompact. 2) Browning high power 3) J frame S&W Snub