Tippmann Aerostitch Problem (Not Making Stitch)

[Denster]

Luke

The 346 uses a 230S needle.

[luke213]

Luke

The 346 uses a 230S needle.

Nothing concrete yet but today I got a very few very ugly stitches out of it. So I think I'm heading in the right direction. I lubed the bobbin track with some white lithium grease and did some other fiddling. I think one of the things holding me back right now is the lack of a proper presser foot. I held the material differently today when I got those couple out of it. So now it's the waiting game for the parts. I also need to remember to order some of that bigger thread and some of those 230s needles.

Now another dumb question on the thread and needle front. I keep seeing smalled diameter thread in the bobbin, why? I guess I don't understand if there is a reason for this or why it's done. If not can I just run the same size in both top and bottom? And if so can I run 346 in both? I guess I'm looking for a nice heavy stitch that is at least similar to what I see when I currently hand-stitch and this smaller thread just doesn't give me the confidence in this machine stitch that I think I would have with a thicker thread.

Sorry for all the simple questions I think I'm just lost because I know very very little about sewing machines in general so I'm reading everything I can find but I'm still quite a ways behind the curve here;)

Thanks again!

Luke

[Denster]

Luke

You can run 346 top and bottom. The only advantage to running one size smaller in the bobbin is you can use less upper tension and you have more bobbin thread to work with. The bottom stitch is a double thickness of thread that has to be pulled into the hole in the leather. With machine stitching the back will never look as nice as it does with saddle stitching, well with one exception being a needle and awl machine. Take a look at some of Particles posts in the holsters section. That is as good as it gets on the back. To get nice looking stitches you'll want the heavy thread and 4.5 to 5 stitches per inch. One thing I have found is that poly thread runs better through the Boss and Aerostitch than bonded nylon.

I just thought of one other thing. You do have your bobbin thread comming off in a counterclockwise direction don't you. That is the only way it will work right. Do you have a manual for the aerostitch? If not let me know I think I have a pdf of both the early and late models.

[luke213]

Luke

You can run 346 top and bottom. The only advantage to running one size smaller in the bobbin is you can use less upper tension and you have more bobbin thread to work with. The bottom stitch is a double thickness of thread that has to be pulled into the hole in the leather. With machine stitching the back will never look as nice as it does with saddle stitching, well with one exception being a needle and awl machine. Take a look at some of Particles posts in the holsters section. That is as good as it gets on the back. To get nice looking stitches you'll want the heavy thread and 4.5 to 5 stitches per inch. One thing I have found is that poly thread runs better through the Boss and Aerostitch than bonded nylon.

I just thought of one other thing. You do have your bobbin thread comming off in a counterclockwise direction don't you. That is the only way it will work right. Do you have a manual for the aerostitch? If not let me know I think I have a pdf of both the early and late models.

Thanks again, I do have the bobbin coming off the right direction. I do also have all the 4 manuals that Tippmann has listed but apparently my machine was one of the last ones produced and it doesn't actually have an accurate manual according to Tom. He sent me a hand drawn diagram as far as the pneumatics and how things had to be routed hose wise. It's very different than all the other versions, mine does not have the main gas block, it's got a different one attached to the bottom of the main piston. I also don't have the pneumatic thread tensioner on top, and I do have forward reverse function. No manual needle set, and no bobbin winder.

Actually here is a picture of it the day I got it, now it has all the bits that were missing installed but you can see it's a little different than the ones listed in the other manuals(oh and I was a little aggressive with the blur, my workbench was a real mess that day, well it is everyday but I didn't have anything as a backdrop:).

Thanks again!

Luke

[Denster]

Just one other thing Luke. The needle is passing through the center of the needle plate isn't it and is not touching the toes of your home made presser foot. Either can bump the needle a few thou out of alignment.

I see what you mean about the former owner robbing parts.

[luke213]

Just one other thing Luke. The needle is passing through the center of the needle plate isn't it and is not touching the toes of your home made presser foot. Either can bump the needle a few thou out of alignment.

I see what you mean about the former owner robbing parts.

It's clearing it, actually that's the problem it's clearing it by too much and allowing the material to jump rather than hold flat, so time for a real one, or another kydex one but I think I need to shelve the project and clear my head to get caught back up on this weeks holster backlog;)

Yep he sure did take allot off the machine, let's just say there are allot of new parts;) I certainly have spent more than I was hoping to on this project machine but in the same token I'm around $1000 right now, which isn't terrible for an Aerostitch from what I've seen in the used market, but if I have to spend much more I could have just bought used and saved the days of headaches we shall see.

That's the nature of DIY stuff though, sometimes you come out way ahead sometimes you're kicking yourself the whole time for not just picking it up without the fight;) I gotta admit though most times even though I don' t realize it while I'm fighting with the device, I do enjoy the challenge from time to time;)

Thanks again!

Luke

[shovelhead]

It's clearing it, actually that's the problem it's clearing it by too much and allowing the material to jump rather than hold flat, so time for a real one, or another kydex one but I think I need to shelve the project and clear my head to get caught back up on this weeks holster backlog;)

Yep he sure did take allot off the machine, let's just say there are allot of new parts;) I certainly have spent more than I was hoping to on this project machine but in the same token I'm around $1000 right now, which isn't terrible for an Aerostitch from what I've seen in the used market, but if I have to spend much more I could have just bought used and saved the days of headaches we shall see.

That's the nature of DIY stuff though, sometimes you come out way ahead sometimes you're kicking yourself the whole time for not just picking it up without the fight;) I gotta admit though most times even though I don' t realize it while I'm fighting with the device, I do enjoy the challenge from time to time;)

Thanks again!

Luke

Hi have an aero just some random thoughts.I think all my needles have a round shank with no flat spot I'm almost positive.Also what is your air supply pressure?Not sure what the min is but I dont think itll work with much under 65 or 70 lbs.Also there is a shim in the shuttle assembly -its round-and fits behind the shuttle itself and obviously affects the position of the hook it may be missing or be improper thickness.Sent mine in for service once after i first got it for inconsisitent rev. stitching and one of the things they changed was the dimension of this shim.IF someone fooled with the adjustments that trip the air valves this will throw the timing off and i cant tell you how to correct this-but others have sentmachine to tippmann and for small money they will set up might be worth it or maybe someone there will send you setup instructions on this ccant be that hard?One accessory to get from them and its cheap is a seperate regulator to adjust the foot pressureshould have come with this as standard.I suspect either shuttle alignment or the screws that determine when the needle starts its upstroke in relation to the shuttle.Should be possible to confirm by visual observation. Thats all I have Hit me up for anything I may be able to help with.

Regards Shovelhead

[luke213]

I appreciate the help:) One of the things Tom had suggested was placing a piece of cut out cardboard(just cereal box type) behind the shim in the shuttle to basically shim out it just a smidge and that seems to have helped some(did that today) and might be part of the reason I'm getting back to some function. I might just stop by Tippmann when we head home next month from Texas to Michigan since I have to go fairly close to that area anyhow, might try to set something up if I can't get this working before then. At least with that I might save having to ship this unit out:)

Oh and on air I'm running a fairly small compressor I think the 5 gallon or so model, seems to cycle fairly often but my pressures never really get below about 80-100ish, I've got it set to top out at around 110psi at the moment which according to Tom again shouldn't hurt anything. He seemed to think that 100 is actually about where they should run rather than the recommended 80 so I guess I will take his word for it;) I'm hoping that this new presser foot with solve the material moving and hopefully make some difference as well but we'll see.

Luke

[Denster]

Luke

Problem diagnosed. Didn't realize that the kydex foot was letting the material jump. That kills forming much of a loop and the hook will miss it a lot, also gives you a nasty looking stitch when it does catch it. Wait till your factory presser foot comes in and I'll bet your problems are gone. Speaking of presser feet it's handy to have the left zipper foot also. Cuts down on the marks when going around the weapon perifery on envelope style holsters. That presser foot adjustment valve that shovelhead mentioned is handy also and only about $30. You won't have many presser foot marks when sewing firmer leather like Hermann Oak but on the less firm leather like W&C and some of the imports it saves some time to lighten the pressure and cut down on the time spent casing and removing the marks.

If you're only into the machine for $1000 and almost home free you did good.

[luke213]

Luke

Problem diagnosed. Didn't realize that the kydex foot was letting the material jump. That kills forming much of a loop and the hook will miss it a lot, also gives you a nasty looking stitch when it does catch it. Wait till your factory presser foot comes in and I'll bet your problems are gone. Speaking of presser feet it's handy to have the left zipper foot also. Cuts down on the marks when going around the weapon perifery on envelope style holsters. That presser foot adjustment valve that shovelhead mentioned is handy also and only about $30. You won't have many presser foot marks when sewing firmer leather like Hermann Oak but on the less firm leather like W&C and some of the imports it saves some time to lighten the pressure and cut down on the time spent casing and removing the marks.

If you're only into the machine for $1000 and almost home free you did good.

Sweet that's what I'm hoping;) On the leather I use 100% Hermann Oak on everything so not too much for worries on the presser foot I don't think but I figure we'll see once I get it going. Once I started I used some imports and some leather from Tandy(no idea what it was) and I once I tried Hermann Oak I stopped even messing with the other stuff. I will say I'm curious on Wickett and Craig since I've heard it's not as hard as Hermann Oak and I can think of a few projects outside holsters that it might be interesting for but in holsters I really am very happy with my Hermann Oak.

Thanks again I'm hoping I'm getting close to the answer here;)

Luke