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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

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!

I moved your post to leather sewing machines. The type of needle makes various stitch lines. Take a look through the attached fileGroz-Beckert Needle Chart.pdf

Hello All, I just bought simplex sole stitcher,I am having some trouble with it when I stitcher a leather after 3 stitcher it start fraying thread i have checked the threading it looks fine,I am also using 1mm wax thread please help me if someone have trouble shooting manual for this machine or idea to solve this problem. Thanks

Looks ok to me, it depends on the type of needle you're using. Some give a slanted stitch, some give a straight stitch.

I am selling each one for $1,200. They both have speed reducers, come with a removable tables, have drop down guides, and are mounted to sewing machine stand with rollers. If you are interested please send me a text. Local pick up only. Ernie Contreras, Bull Sheath Leather, Mansfield TX, 817-673-0602.

I purchased three brand new Adler 669 sewing machines in November 24. The machines are great but will need to be dialed into what ever leather you are using. I already have three other sewing machines so I purchased these as back-ups. I am selling each one for $2,500. All three have speed reducers, come with a removable tables, have drop down guides, and are mounted to sewing machine desk with rollers. If you are interested please send me a text. Local pick up only. Ernie Contreras, Bull Sheath Leather, Mansfield TX, 817-673-0602.

Your top resources for learning leather craft are, this forum, YouTube and your local leather supplies store (such as Tandy). To give valid advice it is important to know what you want to make, other than a Batman mask. Will you be making other masks or wearable accessories like wrist cuffs or other costume stuff, like armor, etc? When I decided that I wanted to make holsters but was starting from zero, I assumed that I would need a swivel knife and a stitching pony. Fifteen or so years have passed without me owning either one. I don't do any tooling and a pony only makes sense if one is primarily stitching straight lines, as in a wallet and such. I bought a large 12x1`2 marble slab but later found a 6x6 was all I needed and much cheaper, lighter and more convenient. I bought a 12x12 Poundo board to go on top of the slab and later cut it down to four 6x6 pieces. Kits have many pros and cons. Often, the tools are lower quality. You've heard the buy once, cry once motto, right? You end up not using half of them and having to buy tools that were not included. A kit will get you started but I would recommend avoiding it. However, getting a kit may be the solution for some people. The old advice or buying what you need when you need it, is golden. There are several givens. Hopefully there is a leather shop near you where you can see and feel the leather. Leather choice is very important. You will need a way to cut the leather and most people have a generic utility knife that will work but if you are buying one, I recommend one that has multiple snap off blades, like an Olfa. If it starts getting dull, snap off a blade to get a new one. I use a new blade on every project now. It's nice to have a couple of sizes of knives, one for larger cuts and a smaller one for more maneuverability and cutting details. Some people use heavy duty scissors for some things. You need cutting tools. You will need a cutting surface. I use a Tandy Poundo Board. It's like a thick heavy "self-healing" black rubber. If you are making small, delicate work, there are the thin, green, cutting mats for sewing needs, sold at Walmart, Amazon and sewing shops. You will want a steel ruler for cutting, maybe a clear plastic ruler for other things, I have a special "centering" ruler that can be very useful. Also for measuring, spacing and marking, you need a pair of wing dividers e.g. Tandy Craftool $15... very useful. Now hear this... Harbor Freight has these same dividers in a set of 6 measuring tools for $10. OMG, what a deal. https://www.harborfreight.com/6-piece-technical-measuring-set-94447.html Need to know what you are creating to make any more suggestions for glue, thread, needles, hammer, etc. One of the kits that I saw on Amazon had maybe six type of needles. I have only used one type of needle since learning what I actually needed. This is an example of the waste in kits. Sometimes they include a rotary punch made of flimsy stamped steel. That was what I bought the first time. It was a joke. Lasted maybe three holes and the jaw went off-center. Paid around $15, totally useless. Must pay $50 to get decent ones. Expensive, but worth it. Still learning, I finally realized that my $50 rotary punch has a limited throat. I could punch to the center of a 1.5" belt but what if I want a hole in the middle of a 4" square? I could have bought, and did, both a Tandy mini and maxi punch set for a total of $30. Point is, you will buy some tools that you wind up losing money on. It is inevitable, but try to keep that to a minimum! I'm sure that I left out some important stuff but, I will leave that to the others of the forum! Nick

I can't offer much because my 341 came fully built with a speed reducer which of course improves the torque. Also when I asked for confirmation of anything like does it go in the same hole in reverse for instance, it was my actual machine that they videoed

Boxing gloves are a whole different beast compared to normal leather projects. The patterning, the curved seams, the padding placement, and the break in feel all take a lot of trial and error. Even experienced makers get intimidated by them. You might have better luck finding someone who has worked on motorcycle gloves or heavy sports gear. Those folks already understand layered padding and tight curves, so the jump isn’t as huge. With clear patterns and a training period like you mentioned, it’s doable, just not something most casual leatherworkers will touch.

This looks like a solid project for someone who’s already comfortable with structured builds. Having the salpa mockup and full tech pack ready will make the prototype stage a lot smoother since the big decisions are already mapped out. If you haven’t yet, you might get good responses from small independent studios too. Plenty of makers who usually take on bag commissions enjoy doing one off prototypes, especially when the specs are clear and the communication is organized.