Cast Iron Vs Cast Aluminum

[Retired LE]

Greetings and salutations to all from a newby hailing from the Pacific Northwest.

I am a novice leather worker who is considering the purchase of the Tippmann Boss leather sewing machine to satisfy my cravings to produce leather holsters and knife sheaths. My efforts will be strictly of a hobby variety versus a production shop. Production sounds too much like work so I will shy away from that.

I understand they used to be made out of cast iron - but are now manufactured out of cast aluminum.

Seems to me the cast iron unit would be better (more stable due to the weight, and stronger). Are they the same dimensionally speaking or have there been upgrades/changes since going to cast aluminum?

Will parts interchange between the two? If not, which ones will and which won't?

Anyway, I located a lightly used cast iron unit for $900 in Oregon which is not too far away from me. From what I have read here and elsewhere, the price is just about right.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

[Dwight]

One of the folks who works for Tippmann is named Ben, . . . call em up, . . . get him on the phone, . . . he'll help you.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Retired LE]

One of the folks who works for Tippmann is named Ben, . . . call em up, . . . get him on the phone, . . . he'll help you.

May God bless,

Dwight

Thanks for the tip. I may have forgot to mention that I am impatient as hell and given this is a weekend and they are probably not answering their phones I thought I would tap into the knowledge base here before committing to the purchase of the unit in Oregon.

Mike

[shovelhead]

aluminum boss--having owned a acast iron one years ago I can tell you that as far as stability he weight is meaningless because to get them to cycle correctly they must be absolutely rigidly mounted because the force reqired to complete the stitch cycle is considerable and relies on a solid mount.

regards shovelhead

[oldtimer]

I have had two aluminum Boss sewing machines. Both broke down. Then I found a used Iron Boss and it has worked without problems. Would this info be of any help ?

/ Knut

[Retired LE]

I have had two aluminum Boss sewing machines. Both broke down. Then I found a used Iron Boss and it has worked without problems. Would this info be of any help ?

/ Knut

I appreciate the input.

If I might ask, what exactly happened to the aluminum units to cause them to break? Was it a specific part or.....

[mlapaglia]

I have one aluminum Boss and it works great. had a problem out of the box but Tippman fixed it and its great. They did make improvements to the aluminum model and as long as you do not hang off the handle and do standard maintenance you will have no more or less than the original version.

[oldtimer]

I appreciate the input.

If I might ask, what exactly happened to the aluminum units to cause them to break? Was it a specific part or.....

On the first one, two needle feet broke, the lever that pushes on the uptake lever rotated on its shaft , you name it .....

On the second one the gear rack broke, plus a needle foot. This machine sounded like it was full of gravel right out of the shipping box. Quality control??

The operating parts inside an alum. Boss are made of presscast zink, a non durable (but cheap) solution, as opposed to the cast iron Boss parts which are made of steel. You can figure out yourself the difference between cast zink and steel parts. On the iron Boss you can do a simple modification that makes it even better, by adding a spring to the uptake lever that keeps the top thread in tension during the whole sewing cycle.

My advice, go for a cast iron Boss if you plan to buy one, or even better, save up some money and buy a used motorized leather sewing machine, Juki 441 clone or Adler 205

my 2 cents/ Knut

[Retired LE]

On the first one, two needle feet broke, the lever that pushes on the uptake lever rotated on its shaft , you name it .....

On the second one the gear rack broke, plus a needle foot. This machine sounded like it was full of gravel right out of the shipping box. Quality control??

The operating parts inside an alum. Boss are made of presscast zink, a non durable (but cheap) solution, as opposed to the cast iron Boss parts which are made of steel. You can figure out yourself the difference between cast zink and steel parts. On the iron Boss you can do a simple modification that makes it even better, by adding a spring to the uptake lever that keeps the top thread in tension during the whole sewing cycle.

My advice, go for a cast iron Boss if you plan to buy one, or even better, save up some money and buy a used motorized leather sewing machine, Juki 441 clone or Adler 205

my 2 cents/ Knut

Thanks for taking the time to post a detailed report on your experience - which although it may not be typical, it does speak of products which are 'modernized' to the detriment of their quality and/or reliability. My gut was telling me to stick with the cast iron units so that's what I am going to go with.

Thanks to all who took the time to respond.

Mike

Edited June 11, 2012 by Retired LE

[Retired LE]

Update:

I received the machine from the owner in Oregon. It arrived in the original wooden packing crate along with some accessories. Now to spend some time checking it over and familiarizing myself with it's function/operation.

Luckily, I was able to download an owners manual from the Tippmann site which will help a lot - but more useful was the web site's instructional video which showed thread tension setup and some other handy tips.

The only thing I noticed initially was how the stitching handle is attached to the shaft. It's only held on there by one 3/8 threaded allen head bolt. Doesn't seem heavy duty enough to handle the torque when operating that handle... I went ahead and installed a longer bolt which threads into the gear shaft just a bit further. More to come as I delve into this further.