Bustedmp77

I made the 275 mile trip from to Neels Saddlery in late March to buy a CB4500 with all the extras. I upgraded from a Tippman Boss. I work a full time job at 48 hours a week and attend my sons baseball and football games on top of that. The bulk of my work is holsters of almost every style and belts. I started out hand stitching, but quickly found I didn't have the time to really "make money" dong it. The boss greatly helped that part, but it had it's short comings. Stitching a belt on it was okay, but cumbersome. Since I purchased the 4500, I've made enough gun belts and heavy duty belts made with 8/9 oz and 2/3 oz leather to pay for the machine. The point at which I decided to buy the 4500 when I was working in a holster and belt from one of Clint Eastwoods movies for a friend and the shallow throat depth caused 2 stitches to be out of place because I just couldn't manipulate the piece well enough with one hand. My western holster are all lined with 2 to 3 oz leather on the inside after wet forming the thicker outer leather to shape then gluing in the lining to help them hold their shape. I had 2 solid evenings invested in that holster only to have to start over. As far as I am concerned, they are worth the money. I never liked doing belts on the boss, and wouldn't think about hand stitching one. I'm currently working on an order of 25 radio pouches with shoulder straps for one of my local fire companies. I don't think I would've taken the job without the 4500.

I've only done about half a dozen tooled pieces, so I am by no means great at it, but every piece I do is an improvement. I think the compass looks pretty good. You could do that 10 times, and they will all look unique. That is the great thing about hand made items, they all have slight differences that give them character. I am going to be doing my first inverted carving on a holster for a guy soon. I am already excited about it and haven't even started it yet. I did a small test piece to show him what I was talking about without ruining the surprise of the finished holster for him. The more you do, the better you will be.

Well, in a few weeks I'll be making the drive to pick up a new CB4500. Ryan said he would have it ready for me by the 13th, but I can't go out until the 24th. The wait is agonizing!

Not intending to make a seat just yet. I'm after a nice Mustang seat. Function over form for me there! I did consider reshaping my factory seat though before.

I'm loving the idea of it already. I'm giving up a new seat for my motorcycle to go with the 4500 over the 3200. But when I sell the boss, there's my new seat.

I wasn't real concerned with the flat top attachment. My dad has a very well equipped wood shop, and I'm very handy with metal fabrication.

I spoke with Ryan Neel a few days ago, and I have decided to go with the 4500. While my Boss will handle the odd thick stuff just like the 4500, the 4500 allows me to use both of my hands to manipulate my work. I am aware what I could sell my boss for when I get the cowboy. Now I just need to figure out when I can make the trip to Ohio to pick one up. I'm glad I saved most of my scraps larger than 2 inches square. I'm not sure how I'll manage using both hands on my work!

No I don't. I really don't even use it very much anyway. I could get a picture or video some day maybe.

Thanks Wiz. As of now, the thinnest I get into is 5 ounce. I have an old Singer machine my mom gave me that she used for sewing heavy canvas material. I know it will punch through 12oz leather, just not with any control. I am sure if It is slowed down, it would handle whatever thin material the 4500 won't. I do like that holster BTW. I'd be proud the wear that one!

The time is coming soon that I am either adding an electric machine to use in addition to my Tippmann Boss, or getting a larger machine to replace it. What I'm looking at is the CB3200 and using that for belts, knife sheaths, some of my holsters and using the Boss for my thicker holsters. Or possibly getting the CB4500 and selling the Boss. I have sewn 5 layers of 9/10oz with my Boss in the past. The only downside was I had to mark my stitch locations and lift the presser foot and move my work to get the stitch length I wanted. Will the 4500 handle that thickness without manually moving the work for 5 to 6 stitches per inch? Will the CB4500 sew thinner material like the 3200? I have used my boss to sew a few lead shot filled suede pouches to use for weights and it did just fine after I adjusted the tension lower. The 4500 package is $1000 more than the 3200 without any extras. I'm guessing I could figure another $300 to $400 for presser feet and edge guide if I choose the 3200? What would the Boss be worth being just over a year old if I decide to sell it? If I go with the 4500, I see no need to keep it, and I am pretty certain whatever I could get out of it would offset the price difference between the two machines I am interested in. Thank in advance.

I bought some steel rule and made a few dies for myself. I use my HF 12 ton press with them. For 2 cases of beer, the welding instructor at the local tech school cut me out 3 12"x12"x 1" thick steel plates. I use two on the base with a 12x12 piece of 3/4 mdf as a cutting surface. Leather, die, 3/4 mdf, and then the other steel plate on top. Works great, and the mdf is $35 for a 4'x8' sheet which gives me 32 12x12 pieces. I did add a pressure gauge to the jack. When I here the pop and pressure drops, my leather is cut.

It is not veg. I do not store my guns in any of my holsters and keep them cleaned and well oiled. I am aware of the risks of using anything but veg tanned leather, but veg absorbs moisture from the air which isn't good for the gun finish either. The only reason I did these in red suede, was because I wanted a fancy look to them. I Normally use a 3/4oz veg tan for lining my holsters because it is nice and smooth on the inside when finished. I did think about using my normal lining and dying it red, but my sample piece just didn't do it for me. It just didn't have the pop I was after in the color. I am not even crazy about the using suede for lining in general anyway do to it being a surface that is able to catch and hold dirt and grit. Most of the dirt in a holster is going to be powder residue, and If I decide I am actually going to use this rig to shoot, I'll make 2 holsters lined with thin veg with only an oiled finish. As far as riding, most places I'd ride with the rig on would be no problem.

Well, I'm sure I will, but have to wait until winter releases us bikers from its prison!

I've made several belt and holster rigs, but this is the first fancy one I made, and I made it for myself. I used the pattern for the "Flames of Hell" rig from 3:10 to Yuma and modified a few things to my liking. I just wanted something to show off my work, and figured it would raise a few eyebrows when I strap the rig on and head out on my motorcycle for a nice ride. Holsters are 8/9oz leather lined with red suede and red 277 thread for the stitching. Holster is set up for crossdraw. The Mares leg is the gun that started me in this hobby. Belt is 2 layers of 8/9oz leather with 30 bullet loops for 45 Colt. I left flesh side out on the back side of the belt. I used vinegar black method to color the leather black. Neatsfoot oil and Feibings Aussie to finish everything.

Yes sir. I don't regret purchasing it, however having used it for over a year now, I regret not getting an electric machine instead.

I do like my boss, but wish I had added a few hundred and gotten an electric machine with a larger throat. I've been working a rough out clint eastwood rig for someone the last few days. Today I had to hand stitch part of the holster because I just couldn't manipulate the leather good enough with only one hand.

That tooling is a bit too busy for my liking, but I wanted to see if I could do it. Everyone's tastes vary, I never thought I would like the flowery designs on a holster until I decided to give it a shot. Haven't done a full holster carving yet, but I can see it coming. I do have a question for some more seasoned carving/tooling veterans. If decide to do a complete belt, can I carve and tool it in stages. Depending on the weather or whatever, my hands cramp up after anywhere from 30 to maybe 90 minutes.

It almost always takes me longer to plan out how to run the stitches because of the small throat on the boss than actually stitching. I'd say 2, maybe 3 minutes. I recently put a gunfighter stitch on a buscadero belt I messed up to get a feel for running the pattern before doing a customers belt. It took longer to lay the pattern out than to stitch it. For what the boss is, I love it, but I am always aware of the shortcomings and limitations. The short throat makes things interesting for me at times, and only having 1 hand to guide my work is pretty interesting. I can border stitch a full belt in minutes with it.

8/9oz which is what I use on all my holsters. However I normally line them with 4/5oz. I chose not to line this one because the flesh side was darn near perfect, and it was just to see if I was happy with the design. I just made a new pattern last night that is wider and will give me a more open fit. I use a tippmann boss for my stitching.

The open backs are there so threads can be cut in to the needed depth. Short posts that are closed would only have 2 or 3 threads cut before tap would bottom out.

Two of my latest carvings I think are worthy of showing off. The gun in the holster was the gun that got me into leather work. I wanted a holster for it, but didn't want to pay the price for good quality leather. While the original holster was functional, it was not something I was willing to show very many people. The one pictured is probably the 50th of the various leather projects I've produced. I just lightly oiled it and treated it with Fiebings Aussie conditioner. I serves what I wanted it for very well. The Skull I just did today using one of the craftaid patterns from Tandy. It is also my first time using antique finish. I need a bit more practice with fine details and warmer temps (currently 6 degrees F here) so I can get my not very well insulated shop up to a reasonable working temperature.

I have a friend of mine that wants a fast draw rig. The holster and belt are no problem the way I normally make them, but he wants the holster to have rawhide used between the two layers of leather to keep it nice and loose for his gun. I'm not beyond giving it a shot and figured I'd try it on scraps first, but would like an idea how to start it out. Do I shape and dry the rawhide, then assemble the holster? I thought about using kydex as an insert instead.

If you're considering a hand operated machine like the cowboy outlaw or the tippmann boss, Spend a few extra on a powered machine. I bought a tippmann boss a little over a year ago, and while it is by far much better than hand stitching, I am now finding myself wishing I'd have gone with a powered machine. I do like my boss, but after double stitching a gun belt, my arm is tired. I am going to purchase a cowboy 4500 in the future, just not sure if it will be 2 weeks or 2 years. I thought about a 3200, but some of the holsters I make need the throat depth it offers. Stitching them on my boss with maybe a 6 inch throat requires thought and planning on how to run the holster through the machine. I love the machine for what it is and haven't had any problems with it in the year I've had it though.