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I don't want to buy a side because I only want to make this one belt, for myself. I am about at the end of my leather "career" and do not want to stockpile any leather. I have a Tandy handy and could layer two of their blanks but I do not have a sewing machine. I said HO because if I am ordering sight-unseen. I want good leather and HO takes some guess-work out of the equation. Thanks guys. Nick

not marking your leather or prone to rust - Stainless. The late Phil LeDuc used stainless as a tooling surface instead of granite. Thickness depends on what you are going to do with it and if it need to be flush in the gap between benches. My flat bench plates/anvils are 1" thick, but not stainless. good solid weight for light riveting and knocking out rivets.

I'd go for at least 6mm (1/4 inch) thick aluminium. No chance of corrosion / rust ruining leather. About 4 inches wide and about 15 to 18 inches long. Counter-sunk brass screws to hold down. Should be able to cope with most projects

Looking for any recommendations on steel bar plate to put on top of my work bench. I have separate anvil but want to integrate a strip of steel in a gap between two of my benches. Any specific info is very helpful like thickness, steel type and of course any feature to look for so I do not mar leather or have it be prone to excessive rust. Thanks for the help!

Why not just buy a side of Hermann oak saddle skirting & cut your own belt blanks.

When I started my leatherworking course at school, they offered a small kit containing a snap-off knife, silver pen, a sharp needle, an awl, a glue brush and a glue spatula. Except for the brush, these are all things I use very often (for gluing larger surfaces I use an old credit card for a spatula). To this set I added stuff on an as-needed basis: lighter, steel ruler, cutting mats (I started with an A3 size, but A2 is more convenient), two sizes of saddler's needles (of which I only use one) and a rotary hole punch. There is lots of other stuff you can buy, but you should first have some idea in which direction you're going. I've added some larger equipment pretty fast: a spindle press for setting rivets and an industrial cylinder-arm sewing machine (Adler 69), both second-hand. With all of these tools I now feel confident making small to medium items like wallets, belts, purses, handbags, and clothing. Once you're starting to get the hang of things, the most difficult aspect of leatherwork (imo) is designing things, creating patterns, and getting the idea in your head to a practical execution. When you have a pattern and know in which order all the parts fit together, the rest is just a matter of cutting, glueing and stitching. It helps if you have guidance from an experienced teacher: they can offer practical approaches and solutions that have a track record of use in the industry. Once you know in which direction you're going, you probably want to add other equipment to the base set: If you want to make shoes or boots, you'll likely need more specific sewing machines to stitch hard to reach parts. If you want to make stuff using very thick leather, you probably need a sturdier sewing machine. If you want to tool and/or color leather, you'll need a hammer, punches, a solid base, dyes, etc. The number of tools and machines you can buy for leatherwork is only limited by your budget, but in the end all leatherwork is very similar: you cut up a hide into pieces and then you combine those pieces again into something you can use. So the most basic tools you need are things for cutting leather (a knife) and things for combining leather pieces (needle and thread, glue). For visual appeal, add some stuff to make things beautiful (dyes, paints, tooling, ...).

@chuck123wapati well done and well deserved . They look so good and will polish up nicely. There are times when we just love to treat ourselves. I'm contemplating buying a new( stetson style)hat for myself for Christmas. The brand/ company i would normally buy from has now been bought out by a mining squillionare . They can go and jump. So I'm going to support another Aussie made company instead, not owned by a mining company, a bit pricey, but so what ! My current hat is around 10 years old, stained badly, smells. and worn out and has holes in it and was a prezzy from a former flame and not a good look at the markets. Time for a change 👍 Enjoy your new boots 👢 👍 HS

I made a " fat mouse " ornament by accident

Loose cotton buffing wheel and red rouge

Great info in that attachment. Thank you!

thanks again more knowledge

I finally bought some real boots. It's been years since I have owned a pair of boots or shoes that were actually built by people, and those were heavy work boots. The last couple of pairs I've had were pretty pricey but just murder on my feet. So anyway, I got on the old YouTube and computer, spent about a week of looking at all the options that I could afford and finally saw a pair that resembled the boots my grandfather wore way back in the 60s and earlier. They were a very light boot, more like an ankle-high shoe, but they were the standard footwear for old farts back then lol. The ones i chose are highly rated on the net and are reasonably priced at 235 bucks. Yeah I freaked out on the price of good leather resolable boots, some way over 500 bucks, the ones I used to buy for about a 100 bucks, so I am giving these a try, and so far they are friggin awesome!!!! Nice and light, and after a week, they fit like a glove. My feet haven't felt so good in over 20 years. My wife was telling me her granddad wore only wool socks with his old fart boots, so I tried that out as well, and wow, nice comfy warm dry feet all day long. I've got to say those old farts knew their stuff when it came to having happy feet. Thursday shoe company Heritage captain boots rock!!!!

Thanks. I will give that a try. He said he wanted the button cleaned up. Maybe Brasso?

heck yeah your on your way lol. It just takes some time to get noticed, then you won't be able to get any relaxation..

I have never seen a raccoon break into a bottle shop ( liquor store) in Virginia, get absolutely sh*t faced and pass out on the toilet floor, and wake up with a massive hangover . I wonder if he had a kebab ? He might need rehab. HS

Not really a patch, but a leather concho like you see used on saddles. Attach the button to the concho attach the concho to the holster.

I like the patch idea . . . but I'd rather just make the holster out of two pieces of 6/7 leather and be done with it. It'll make a really good sturdy holster . . . it'll outlive your friend unless he is come kind of hard on holsters . . . I've made some ungodly number like that . . . only ever had one that would not pass my quality control . . . I did some experimentation on it for rigidity . . . and you could probably get arrested for hitting someone in the head with this one . . . it would knock him out . . . leave a concussion . . . and he might bleed to death from it. May God bless, Dwight

It ain't HO . . . but I've never had much more than a small quibble about the sides I've purchased thru Tandy. Granted . . . I don't order them on line . . . I go in . . . start pulling and inspecting sides with my dial caliper and my two good eyes. It has taken a good half hour in the past . . . but that side of leather I walk out with tucked under my arm . . . it does the job and then some. May God bless, Dwight

Looking for quality 12 to 14 oz belt blanks e.g. Herman Oak or similar from U.S. supplier. Minimum length of 55", Nick

Hi I'm trying to find some good horsehair to practice I've raided my horses and friends horses tails but I've used it all. I'm i. Nz though so shipping might be expensive but I'm happy to pay it . I made a bracelet for my friend's daughter who's borrowed pony got sold ..while we were at ranch horse 🐎 😭 . I want to try reins . Or a bridle. Or both...

I would attach the medallion to a round or square "patch" and sew the patch to the outside of the holster. Prongs will be between the patch and the holster body. You could make the patch and thread from contrasting colors or whatever e.g. a blue patch and gold thread.

A friend asked me to make him a right hand cross draw holster for his 4 5/8 inch Ruger Vaquero. I showed him this left hand cross draw holster I made for myself and he liked it. He wants it a less extreme cant (this one is probably 30 degrees), right hand, 2 inches shorter, in brown. I was going to use English Bridle dye. The fun part is the Civil War medallion. A long dead relative of his bought a mule right after the Civil War with this bridle. It had these US medallions om the blinders of the bridle. He got one, his brother the other side. The relative worked the mule for 30 years after the war. He wants this medallion on the front of the holster, and it will be his daily carry. The medallion has 3 prongs to easily cut in and bend over. However, I need to protect the gun. I have used pigskin for linings and it may be too thin to hold up to the wear with these prongs underneath. The gun is stainless so wear is less noticeable than a blued revolver. Also the pigskin seems to lock the gun like velcro and makes it really hard to draw. Could use some thin leather and double wall the holster but I am limited on thickness my sewing machine will sew. Ideas please on handling the medallion deal.

see attachment for different leather needles with different cutting points and how their seam appearance is schmetz_db_schneidspitzen_6s_20190510_en(1).pdf

I'm not really a braider. I have done some small stuff for myself on occasion, 100 feet of 8 plait rope sounds like quite an undertaking. For a garland you could splice in strands as you go and keep it looking good. I don't know about doing small sections and piecing them together as a whole would work out well I think it would be noticable. You could use decorative knots to cover where the pieces come together. Or you braided in metal (brass, stainless steel) rings every 4 feet or so it would look like it was on purpose and add to the decorative look. Just a thought. I have used small sisal rope as a garland for years so I think the braided rope is a cool idea. There are quite a few leather braiders online making reatas or Romal reins where you might get some ideas. Happy Braiding!