Problems With My Tippmann Boss

[usmc0341]

So I got a good deal on a used Tippmann Boss about a month ago but for the life of me I can't get it working consistently. I got it all set up and have read the manual over and over again but I can't get it to sew consistent. I will get a few good stitches and then it will skip a stitch or it will stop moving forward . I figure that is the presser foot tension but no matter how I adjust it it still happens. The stitches are my second issue. I adjust the tension to what seems to work but then ten stitches later it will make a small stitch or just skip a stitch all together. I am feeling like a total idiot with this thing. I would love to give my hands a break from hand stitching but I don't want to ruin a holster either. I've read all I can find on here but still can't get this thing working. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,

Brian

[Chief31794]

So I got a good deal on a used Tippmann Boss about a month ago but for the life of me I can't get it working consistently. I got it all set up and have read the manual over and over again but I can't get it to sew consistent. I will get a few good stitches and then it will skip a stitch or it will stop moving forward . I figure that is the presser foot tension but no matter how I adjust it it still happens. The stitches are my second issue. I adjust the tension to what seems to work but then ten stitches later it will make a small stitch or just skip a stitch all together. I am feeling like a total idiot with this thing. I would love to give my hands a break from hand stitching but I don't want to ruin a holster either. I've read all I can find on here but still can't get this thing working. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,

Brian

Brian,

Hard to diagnose without being there, but a couple of things. 1) Skipping stitches in mostly caused by the incorrect size needle for the thread you are using. I normally use 277 thread and a 200 size needle. The manual explains how to check the needle on a piece of thread to make sure it glides through the eye easily. 2) The needle must be installed correctly, if it's canted a little it will skip, it takes some practice to hold the needle perfectly straight so the eye is aligned perfectly from left to right. There is also a cutout in the needle (Scarf) make sure it is mounted toward the set screw. Shortening stitches can happen if you're holding the piece too tightly and restricting movement, also if the thread is binding for reasons above. It takes a little time but it gets easy to set it up and sew well with it. If you are still having trouble, call Tippman, they will spend as much time as you need to help you with it.

Chief

[usmc0341]

Thanks Chief, I'm going to check what size thread it is. The thread I'm using is what came with it so that might be part of the problem. As far as holding the piece too tight restricting the movement, I don't think I was but I will pay more attention. Thanks for the info. I want this thing to work so bad but I am so frustrated right now!!!!

[Chief31794]

Thanks Chief, I'm going to check what size thread it is. The thread I'm using is what came with it so that might be part of the problem. As far as holding the piece too tight restricting the movement, I don't think I was but I will pay more attention. Thanks for the info. I want this thing to work so bad but I am so frustrated right now!!!!

Hang in there Devil Dog, it is a good machine, just takes some time and practice. Thanks for your service, I retired from the Army in 1990 as what you guys would call a Gunner (Army Chief Warrant Officer).

Chief

[mlapaglia]

Make sure you cycle the handle completely. Pull it all the way down and push it all the way up. Short strokes can cause skipped stitches and other problems.

[usmc0341]

Well Chief, I checked the thread test and it passed but in the process of messing with that I also noticed the thread was fed through the guide wrong by the person I bought it from. I fixed that but I ran a practice line and I got different sized stitches. I'm thinking its something to do with my presser foot tension. It just seems like no matter what I do I can't get this thing going! I will also make sure I'm doing full strokes. I think some of my earlier issues were from not pulling it down all the way. Thanks for the help, I feel dumb as a rock trying to figure this thing out. It seems like such a simple machine that everyone can work easily----everyone but me!

And Chief, thank you for your service sir. I was only in from 1995-1999 and luckily it was all peace time. These folks that are enlisting now are pretty much guarunteed to see war. Thank God for our Veterans!

[mlapaglia]

Call Tippman and talk to one of their techs. They are great with phone service and till take all the time needed to get you going.

[JRodz]

Hoorah and Hooahh, thank you both for your service.

I was having some similar issues with sporadic skipped stitches and occassional insconsistent stitch spacing. I turned the stop for the handle in a couple turns as detailed in the Tippman troubleshooting video and all is good now. Also, take your time and work at a steady pace, mine doesn't like to be hurried.

I got mine for a steal because the guys before me was never able to get it set up just right, if he only knew how simple the fix was. Good luck.

[Chief31794]

Hoorah and Hooahh, thank you both for your service.

I was having some similar issues with sporadic skipped stitches and occassional insconsistent stitch spacing. I turned the stop for the handle in a couple turns as detailed in the Tippman troubleshooting video and all is good now. Also, take your time and work at a steady pace, mine doesn't like to be hurried.

I got mine for a steal because the guys before me was never able to get it set up just right, if he only knew how simple the fix was. Good luck.

JRodz,

I see you're bilingual and can speak Army and Marine! Thank you as well. I think the Boss is a good machine, I still hand stitch quite a bit but I do use the Boss from time to time.

Chief

[usmc0341]

Hoorah and Hooahh, thank you both for your service.

I was having some similar issues with sporadic skipped stitches and occassional insconsistent stitch spacing. I turned the stop for the handle in a couple turns as detailed in the Tippman troubleshooting video and all is good now. Also, take your time and work at a steady pace, mine doesn't like to be hurried.

I got mine for a steal because the guys before me was never able to get it set up just right, if he only knew how simple the fix was. Good luck.

Thanks JRodz, I will try that. I don't think I have the troubleshooting video but I'm sure I can find it on youtube.

[JRodz]

No worries, the video is available for download and/or you can watch it directly from the Tippmann website.

[northquabbin]

I bought a used Boss and the Primary tension wheel cups were reversed (facing each other). This made it impossible to get the right needle tension.

Check to make sure that when you stitch, the Primary Tension Wheel turns. Rule of thumb for thread tension is: The bobbin thread tension is half the tension of the needle thread tension (Bob at Tippman told me this).

Keep trying and one day it will all click just like on the island. Remember nothing good comes easy.

Semper Fi, 1969-1972

[usmc0341]

Thanks for the info Northquabbin, and Semper Fi!

[billymac814]

Also make sure you're not winding your bobbins too tight. This caused me a lot of problems, especially when using the thing chucked in a drill it pulled it too tight. I now use a hand drill and make sure I wind them very even.

I think mine works better when using 207 bottom with 277 top.

Make sure you are wrapping the top thread around a full loop around the primary tension wheel if you have an older manual it doesn't show it correctly, check the manual on their site for the current version.

I also replaced my shuttle with the new version that has the lock screw for the bobbin tension, this helped keep the tension set better.

Still occasionally the bottom thread will be to tight and not pull the lock through here and there and ill curse at it but otherwise that machine was a lifesaver for me when I got it.

[trekster]

Also make sure you're not winding your bobbins too tight. This caused me a lot of problems, especially when using the thing chucked in a drill it pulled it too tight. I now use a hand drill and make sure I wind them very even. ......

On the subject of bobbin winding for the Boss... I had about half a dozen stitches in a long line of otherwise perfect stitches, that had the knot showing on the bottom side of the leather. I called Ben at Tippmann and he was pretty sure I had a problem with my bobbin where the bobbin thread must have gotten snagged somehow. I'll admit, I'm new to the Boss, and my bobbin was not wound evenly, so that could certainly have been the problem. I want to avoid that problem again, but I have a question for all those that have more experience at this than I do.

Is it better to wind the bobbin in a zig-zag fashion like a spinning reel does, or simply wind it flat and as even as possible?

[billymac814]

I would think just wind it as flat as possible, I would think you'd get a lot less thread on the bobbin if you did a zigzag thing but I don't know for sure.

Here's how I wind my bobbins. My Tippman is set up beside my consew 206RB and I use the 207 thread that I have for it, this gets me a little more thread on the bottom and keeps me from I threading the Boss to use the thread on it, I also use the Consews thread stand and the tension disks for the bobbin winder to keep just enough tension on the line to prevent the bobbin from unwinding and using a hand powered drill wind it slow and as even as possible without stretching out the thread too much as I think that is what causes it to snag a bit. I think I've had better luck with the smaller bottom thread pulling the knot back in to the hole too but its hard to say for sure.

I would think just wind it as flat as possible, I would think you'd get a lot less thread on the bobbin if you did a zigzag thing but I don't know for sure.

Here's how I wind my bobbins. My Tippman is set up beside my consew 206RB and I use the 207 thread that I have for it, this gets me a little more thread on the bottom and keeps me from I threading the Boss to use the thread on it, I also use the Consews thread stand and the tension disks for the bobbin winder to keep just enough tension on the line to prevent the bobbin from unwinding and using a hand powered drill wind it slow and as even as possible without stretching out the thread too much as I think that is what causes it to snag a bit. I think I've had better luck with the smaller bottom thread pulling the knot back in to the hole too but its hard to say for sure.

[trekster]

I used an electric (variable speed) drill and got a bobbin wound nice and flat. So far it seems to be working okay, and has not given me any erratic tension changes. Though I also upped the bobbin tension slightly, so it would be less susceptible to minor tension changes within the bobbin.

I read somewhere that Tippmann states the bobbin tension should be about half that of the top thread tension. I don't have a tension gauge, but it seems like my present settings, that work rather well, have a bobbin tension that is a little less than half of the thread tension. But that's just a guess.

Has anyone actually measured their individual tensions, to verify their bobbin tension is about half that of the top thread tension?