WilliamWood

Try this: Get an old door hinge, like what is usually on a front residence door, and enlarge one of the holes so the "female" Chicage screw will go through it. Insert the post so the head is inside the hinge. Clamp it so the other half of the hinge is shut against the head, holding it immoble (.49 cent tiny "C-clamp works very well.) Fasten bottom hinge leaf in a bench vise, gripping the edges, so it can be opened while clamped. Small, clamp-on type vise works very well. Take a very short 8 X 32 (or 6 X 32) hex socket socket screw (ACE Hardware, Midwest fastener boxes - treasure trove for leather workers!) that is shorter than what you want the female screw to end up being. (Also, I make a little washer that is the same thickness as the finished length I want, if I'm shortening more than 10 or so, and drop it over the exposed shaft. File till the file touches the washer. Keep them for future use.) Run the setscrew to the bottom of the tapped screw hole with appropriate-sized Allen wrench, an take 3 - 4 swipes across it with a good sharp 8" smooth file. Take a drill bit (1/4" works well) and use it to countersink the hole again. Back out the setscrew, and the threads are restored. Same hinge can be used to hold the male part for shortening. Get a 8 X 32 / 6 X 32 nut and run on the male shaft before shortening. Before removing the nut, "rock" the file around the shaft end to round it. When the nut is unscrewed, the threads are restored. I use an old worn-out .22 bronze bore brush to finish the shortened male end. All this takes 'way less time to do than to tell. Big deal is all the parts are usually in most workshops, and are free! You can do 50-75 in an hour or less, all exactly alike.. WWood- Wood's Gun Repair

Ed: I make high-level oak-and-leather cases for double shotguns, rifles, and engraved handguns. I also repair old fitted gun cases. Many of these have nickel-plated hardware. I have been making some of the hardware myself as I am an old burnt-out tool-and-die maker and some of the old 1920-50s' high-class luggage fittings an locks are simply not available. My nickel plater went OOB due to harassment from the EPA, and I am going to experiment with "Brush Plating". I just ordered a kit from a supplier specializing in this process( CASWELL (caswellplating.com) and I'll post some results of my experiments. It is used a lot in the aerospace industry. I've heard it is ideal for a small shop as it is not a vat-type plating process and the chemicals can be sent through UPS. I used to have a similar set-up for re-plating gold Browning triggers when I was bluing guns, sold by Brownell's the gunsmith's supply house, but they don't have it any more. i still have my buffer-polisher, and can degrease to spec. According to their literature, direct nickel to brass is possible. WWood

Hi Art, Did you ever solve the problem of drilling the stainless steel? WilliamWood

And? What do you think? Critiques welcome. I can always learn from others. WW

Yes! Send them to me. I regrind them, add handles, and make precision scribers and awls from them!! Mail me at goboom@bellsouth.net . Bill

EXCELLENT WORK!! Your modeling has a very clean and crisp look that shows up well in the photos. Ref. "Packing Iron" book; it says the very same thing about the belt/holster matching. Most of the original rigs that have come down together seem to have been "a piece of this; a piece of that" even when they were by the same maker and were probably bought the same time! My compliments! Check out my posts.

Howard, That holster has a LOT of talent in it. Being able to transfer that scene to leather shows you are an artist. Good Work!!

..............and my foot. I just noticed. Well,at least I was wearing some socks....... WFW

More recent projects. WFWood

Some of the last post included some really bad photos (Didn't know they were still in the file!) Here are some better ones (I hope!) More later. WFWood

Some of my latest. The .31Cal. Clot Patterson is a replica customised for a friend, and the Slim Jim is tooled in a pattern peculiar to the 1849-1859 era similar to a known Main & Winchester (SF, Ca.) holster they custom made for a cut down Patterson. I shortened the barrel and added the brass cone front sight (as per the original) and had an engraved add the engraving. The rest are Possibles bags and some hnives I made, with a couple of possibles bags I made (and make!) WFWood

WOW!! I'm impressed!!! Wonderful shop. But a question - According to all the Anti-Gun crusading fanatics in our wonderful Congress here in the USA, Europeans generally are forbidden to own pistols. They mouth that so-called "fact" as the primary reason all of Europe has a low crime rate. How does the SASS chapters there function? And, I didn't know there was much interest in our Old West over there. Again, sincere compliments on your shop. It's an inspirational place indeed.

OK. First of all, you will have to slow the drill down as slow as it will go. (For a 1/8", I'd advise no more than 200 RPM.) Use a good quality High Speed Steel drill bit that is very sharp. Use a fair amount of feed pressure (how hard you push it into the work). Practice on a scrap of the Stainless. Stainless steel comes in many grades. If it is thin sheet, it probably is Grade 302 or 304. That is type used to make stainless steel food prep tables and equipment. 302-304 Stainless is stainless (actually it is stain resistant - ALL steel will corrode or rust under the right conditions) because it has a very high percentage of both nickel and chromium. Those two metals also make it very susceptable to a condition known as "work hardening" if the drill is allowed to rotate on the surface at enough speed without removing metal. As it spins on the surface, it gets that spot hot from the friction. The metal under the drill bit actually gets harder than the bit. DO NOT try a carbide tipped or a "Diamond" bit as the stainless in these grades is so "gummy" it will actually break down the carbide and "snatch" diamond dust out of the drill bit. It will ruin one of these hideously expensive bits instantly! Usually, if several holes are needed, I'd advise a punch of the type used in sheet metal fabrication. (A good Air Conditioning and Sheet Metal shop can help out here, and it's a bargan at almost any price. Otherwise, just remember: SLOW RPMs, Heavy Feed , Sharp HS Steel drill bit. (How do I know? 30 years as a Tool and Die Machinist and Gunsmith.) Also: Clamp the piece down firmly when drilling. The drill bit WILL grab the piece when it cuts through. Use a drill press if possible and clamp down tight on the table. If a hand drill is used, get a variable speed, run slow, and put the piece in a padded metalworking vise. I try to avoid 302 or 304 if possible........... too old for that kind of stress and frustration....

Jordan, You are on the right track. I make Blackpowder "Possibles" bags, and have a similar situation. The secret is in proper planning: (1.) Yes, sewing inside out then turning it is the way. Consider adding a "welt" to the seam; it will hide the stitches. However, this is not necessary if you get the stitches tight, but most of the "Big Name" contemporary lady's purses have them. If you plan the stitching well, you can have all the stitches concealed when the bag is turned back right-side out. TIP: Make a cloth or vinyl trial piece first. HINT: On this type job, I use a very sharp Glover's needle (3-pointed) in a pin vise as an awl, then 2 Sharps cloth type hand-sewing needles (#3 to a #5) and light nylon upholster's thread. Anything else is too bulky. (2.) If it is to be a fashon item (as in a bag to go with a contemporary Lady's wardrobe,) choose your leather carefully and well. Get it as light in weight as possible, (1Oz - 1.5Oz. at the most; anything heavier is almost impossible to work and looks bulky in a contemporary high fashon item.) (3.) Choose a leather that is already finished. Visit a department store ("shudder") and look at what is popular in the "Name" purses and accessories on display there in the way of finishes. (Hard to do but make yourself - remember, it's for the JOB!) Talk to the customer and see EXACTLY what they have in mind. (4.) Before buying the leather, check with the bigger wholesalers. Most are on line, and many have a good selection of "Fashon" leathers much of which are trimmings and tanner's overruns from the big manufacturers. Most of the craft stores don't carry this type material. (5.) TOP EDGE: I have had good success with the top of bags by skiving the top 1/8" or so with a razor sharp blade, then coating the inside (Flesh side) to a line about 1/4" down with Barge cement, letting it dry, then folding it down and rolling it down with all the force you can apply. (Practice on a piece of scrap - you only get one try on this as the cement will bond instantly and PERMANENTLY. (6.) Consider a lightweight cloth lining - it's not hard to do while the bag is turned inside out and it covers a multitude of sins..... Good luck