Tippman Boss

M

Marcel J.B. Morin

Gold Member
Joined
Sep 17, 1999
Messages
602
Got my new sewing machine on Friday. Bought the Tippman Boss on Rene Roy's advice. Got it set up today and watched the video they sent along with the machine. Within minutes I was sewing leather like a champ. Can't wait to actually make sheaths tomorrow. Thanks Rene, for the good advice.

Marcel
 
Thats great Marcel. Ive heard reaaly good things about the Tippman. I have always wanted one.
 
Got to be careful with Tippman!

The new machines are Alum instead of cast iron. Not nearly as nice as the old machines. Had a good friend order one. He told them he wanted the cast iron. They said they had a few left in stock. When he recieved it, it was the Alum model. He sent it back and said he wanted the cast iron model. They again said they had it in stock and would send it out. Once again they sent the Alum model he sent it back. He spoke to the shop lead man this time. He promised that they would send out the cast iron. Well, when he got that one it was a cast iron all right. But it was severly used. You could see where it had been user modified. A few parts were broken and it had a cheap (not matching) spray paint touch up job.

This was now going on five weeks of head aches. Steve called and demanded to speak to the boss man (Mr. Tippman). The person he got (Tippman?) was VERY rude. He was basically told that it was clear that they could not please him and to just send the machine back and not to order from them again!

I guess big companies come with big egos.

To top it off, each time Steve asked them not to send it "Yellow Freight" as they will not deliver to residential. Each time they said that they would send it UPS. And guess what, each and every time they sent it Yellow Freight. This caused Steve to have to drive into town and pick it up.

I will never give this company one penny of my money for any product be it the BOSS or any of thier paintball gear. What a bunch of a-hole screw ups.
 
Tippman isn't a large company it's a small one. The machines aren't very popular in the sewing industry. Personally speaking I don't think too much of them and wouldn't count on the company being around forever but on the other hand don't count on any NEW sewing machine having parts and service there for you in the future.
As far as the housing goes. What diference does it make? The housing has nothing to do with the workings of the machine.
Bearings and bushings seperate all housings from moving parts.
It makes no economic sense to build a machine with a steel housing.
Although there are plenty of other reasons I'd look for a different machine. That's not one of them.
The shoe and garment industry collapsed in the USA. That left a glut of used sewing machines on the market.
The new sewing plants have no use for manual sewing machines.
If you do your homework there are plenty of used machines very inexpensive.
 
Glad to here you like it Marcel!!!:D
My advice to Marcel was, that the Tippman Boss is a Stitching Machine and not a leather sewing machine, I use it for making sheaths and I love it, I have had mine for almost 5 years now and I haven't had one problem with it. I also couldn't find another machine(NEW) that could sew up to 3/4 inch of leather in the same price range...I am not saying that leather sewing machines can't be found cheaper, but I wanted something new with out having to deal with someones elses problems. I think the tippman boss does a great job, and for me it was a smart purchase, so when Marcel asked me what I thought I told him....for me it's a great machine and I recommend it to anyone.:D :D :D
 
Used it today to sew a sheath. Beats doing it by hand. I really like the way it works. I don't think the aluminum body is a detriment at all. Will let you all know how I like it as I use it more and more. Thanks again for the info, Rene.

Marcel
 
Hey,
It is time for Pawnbroker to come back and give us a one year update on what he thinks of his Tippmann after all this time.
How 'bout it? Still happy? How much have you used it?
Thanks, Ken
 
Hi Ken:
I have used the machine for about a year and am very pleased with it. I tried to sew a nylon belt with it and broke a small bolt. Called Tippman and they sent the bolt no charge. Also they had one of their technicians call me and explain exactly how to adjust the machine after I replaced the bolt. Can't ask for better customer service than that. I don't know how many sheaths I have done with the machine but it is several dozen. I probably don't make as many sheaths as a lot of the other makers do, but I think for my purposes it is quite well suited.
 
Thanks for the update, Pawnbroker. I always wanted one of those machines. Guess it's time I buy one.
 
I have had my Tippman for about two years. When I first got it I had trouble getting it adjusted. I got them on the phone and they spent about 30 minutes with me while I adjusted and sewed. I could not ask for anyone to be nicer or more helpful. If it were not for my Tippman I would go back to just making folders.
 
Ok, stop it guys, you're making me want to go drop $1500 I don't have on one! :D hmmm...where is that credit card I hid from myself... :)

-Darren
 
While I have not used the Tippmann stitching machine, I used to sell paintball products and have dealt with the company extensively. I have absolutely no complaints with their service or the quality of their products. I steered many new users who I suspected would be extremely hard on their paintball guns to the Tippmann simply becuase of their fine warranty and repair work. They almost always had repair work out of their door and on the way to back to me the day after they received it. The Tippmann company seemed like a well run quality organization to me.
 
I almost broke down and bought a Tippman Boss a few years ago. But that $1,500 price tag slowed me down and made me take a look at what else is out there. I found a real nice Singer leather sewing machine on ebay for $500 and got it! What a beauty that thing was. It was the treadle type and came with lots of goodies. UPS trashed it during shipment :mad: so the search continued. I wound up getting an old commercial 'demo model' leather sewing machine for $275. It's an Atlas, which is a knock-off of the singer line. I used it a few times and discovered that it was intended to sew flat leather surfaces, which most sheaths are not. Well, it makes a real nice dust catcher now. I intend to use it for sewing heavy canvas projects like the tipi I've never gotten around to.... and period clothing and stuff like that. Someday....... But that's ok. I can still say my sheaths are hand stitched! :D
 
Without knowing the details, like drop shipping vs out of stock shipping, it looks like Pop's sells Boss's for anyone who feels they want a different front end for their purchase. They also only charge 1288.
 
Originally posted by MaxTheKnife
I intend to use it for sewing heavy canvas projects like the tipi I've never gotten around to.... and period clothing and stuff like that. Someday....... But that's ok.
Click to expand...

Max, I didn't know you did the rendeveux thing, do you ever make it up to any in the northern midwest? I finally took the plunge and got some good tentage to bring the family along with my bellows and forge. I do an Eighteenth century aristocratic camp and really give the buckskinners something to go on about;) .

As for my Tippman, I have had one for around 3 years now. I find it a little too tempermental for my liking at times. It is better than sewing by hand when doing larger flat bowie sheaths, if you are not fond of leatherworking. I have found it to have disappointing limitations on complex three dimensionally shaped sheaths with lots of curves, and often find it easier just to sew them by hand again.

Perhaps I still have not figured out how to use the thing, but I find myself tearing the same stitches out and repeting them over and over to get the thing to do what I want, if the flow is interrupted in the least bit. Both of those threads must be pulled as tight as a guitar string on the first two stiches or you will have a mess, and this is hard to do when you only have two hands.

It has made my life easier but I may have spent my money on a more user friendly unit if I had my current knowledge.
 
Originally posted by Kevin R. Cashen
It has made my life easier but I may have spent my money on a more user friendly unit if I had my current knowledge.
Click to expand...

Kevin, would you or anyone else please speculate what would be a better machine stitcher? How about an old industrial sewing machine? Seems to me those would have more moving parts than the Tippman, and may be more temperamental. What is your opinion on this?
 
Kevin, so far I've never been to a rendezvous. My plan has been to have one right here on my place in Northwest Arkansas. A while back, I bought a pile of patterns for all the most popular period clothing and lucked into a huge roll of OD green Humvee soft top material for the tipi. I also bought a bunch of heavy cotton duck for sewing up the clothes. In the summer months, I figure it'll be a good winter project for inside the nice warm house. In the winter months, I figure it'll be a good summer project for inside the nice cool house. That process started almost two years ago.... He he. If you know me very well this should come as no surprise to you. I'm a prognosticator of the highest order. But someday, when it all comes together.....
 
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