Mongo

I make a lot of cowboy action leather and I know what to do with veg-tan leather stuff. My wife handed me her black Michael Kors purse and wants me to put a new finish coat on it to return some of the shine. I'm sure this purse is chrome tan leather. I have no idea how apply a new finish, or if it is even worth trying. I would appreciate any advise from those of you who work on these types of items. Mongo

If I have to hand stitch, I often use my Tippman manual stitching machine as a hole punch, using the sewing needle (the machined sucks as a sewing machine but it is a great $1200 hole punch). I finally broke down and bought a power sewing machine. When using a drill press, I think a stitching needle from leather sewing machine would work great. Tandy is carrying the Tippman again so they should have the needles available.

I line wallets with thin chrome-tan leather and gun belts with suede. With any unlined belts I try to burnish like Halitech described.

If you get your holes a little to big, after you finish stitching your project, wet the stich line and go over it with a boning tool. The holes will "heal" (tighten-up). This technique works better if you wet the stitching line before you dye.

It's sounds like you're on the right track. I had similar problems with mine. Besides the good advise given by others, switching my bobbin thread to 207 with 277 on the top also helped. I must confess, however, that I now use a much better power machine. I still use the Tippmann as a hole punch for the welts on very heavy cowboy action shooting holsters.

We had a local guy who did what TwinOaks recommended on the inside cowboy hat bands. I've had some luck coloring small letters and designs with a very fine Sharpie and then coating the colored area with Neatlac before dyeing. That being said, I have not done anything in gold or bronze.

+2 for burnishing with water and glycerin saddle soap before dyeing. I will also take a small scissors and trim the really long strands and sometime sandpaper helps. Most of the time, I save leather that is "fuzzy" on the back for a project that I'm going to attach a lining to. I try to avoid buying any veg-tan leather that is fuzzy on the back.

I've done the same thing with neatsfoot oil and setting it out in the sun. It's the method used by John Bianchi in his holster making DVDs.

I'm at my full time job right now so I can't send a picture. I took 5-7 1 1/2" wool felt washers that I bought on Amazon and put them on a threaded bolt with steel washer on both ends. I tightened a nut behind the washer at the back end of the bolt and I had a nice couple of inches to burnish with. I don't know why you couldn't make a smaller version that would work on a Dremel. I use a small felt wheel that comes with my Dremel attachments to burnish small areas. My power burnisher is a table top drill press set on its side. It runs at a nice slow speed and works perfectly. I use Fiebing's Glycerine Bar Soap on a similar set-up to wet burnish to cut any friction. I also do all holster welts on the same machine. I just pull the burnishing "bolt" out and replace it with a sanding drum.

Depending on the size of your project, you may want to consider buy double shoulders or a side from Wickett and Craig already dyed. A friend of mine who does a lot of CC holsters and knives sheaths says that this has saved him tons of time and his customers like the results.

I use my arbor press for certain stamps (like letters) and for setting snaps. Tandy has an oversize piece that fits right over the top of their stamps for use with a press (a very inexpensive part). It almost covers the back of the stamp. I simply set the leather on a small piece of granite on the arbor press and set the stamp with the piece on top and I get a perfect impression. It's a much better impression than I ever get using a maul. For snaps I use a Osborne snap jig and it works perfectly with the arbor press. I bought my arbor press on sale from Harbor Freight on sale and they also let me use a coupon.

A mix of 50/50 beeswax and paraffin with a power burnisher has worked well for me. I use wool felt washers that have been stacked together on a bolt for burnishing.

Most of my holsters are lined, but on the backside of a billet of a western gun belt, I coat it with bag-kote and burnish it a little. Some of the cowboy shooters I compete with have some of my leather from 10 years ago and they are having no problems.

My original "book" was Al Stohlman's How to Make Holsters. It's still available from Amazon for 12.99. Also search the Kirkpatrick Leather website and Mernickle Leather for examples. John Bianchi's DVD set was also a big help when I started. CAS City also has a leather section that has lots of examples of good cowboy leather.

Treed and Camano Ridge make excellent points. I did make a curved combination pistol/shotgun shell belt for my wife's cowboy action rig. I made the pattern to fit her shape exactly. She never liked how a straight belt rig fit her. I made the front curved part of the belt 3" wide and then attached 1 1/2" billets that could be changed with Chicago screws (the belt buckles in the back). It's similar to Kirkpatrick brand Tequila Ladies Rig, but has more of "C" shape than Kirkpatrick's "U" shaped belt.

The rigs I make are mainly for cowboy action shooting. Most shooters want a straight gun belt so they can slide the holsters out of the way when they sit down during a match. I have never been asked to curve a straight belt. Very few cowboy action shooters ask for buscadero rigs and the few I have made have been straight (by shooter request) unlike the curve style that Bianchi shows on his DVD set. Some my rigs with straight belts that I made over 10 years ago for local shooters have taken a curve from being worn and sweated on over the years during our hot and humid summers.

I do a lot of cowboy action gun belts and I have to agree with Dwight on this one; I've never had a problem with a belt shrinking. My cowboy action holsters are 9 oz. with a 7 oz. lining. I pretty much follow the John Bianchi method for wet fitting these holsters (from his DVDs). After running the holster under running cool tap water, I open up the holster with a bee's waxed hammer handle. I pay special attention to making the bottom of the pouch close to a cylinder in shape. Then I use a small leather cement bottle to open up where the revolver cylinder fits (Bianchi used a round leather maul in the DVD). Next I flair out the top lip of the holster for easy re-holstering. My last step is to place the revolvers in the holsters and let them sit there for a few hours. Bianchi only put the revolver in for a few minutes in his DVD, but I've never had a problem leaving them in longer. Sometimes with blued revolvers, I wrap them in one layer of plastic wrap. With revolvers in the holsters, I lay them flat on my tooling granite slab for a few hours. Most of the time I put a little support under the bottom of the revolver grips so when the holsters dry they will not be flat against the body (most of the cowboy shooters I make rigs for want their pistol butts to be away from their body a little so they are easier to grab when on the timer). Once they have sat for a few hours, I take the revolvers out and wipe them off and hit them with a little gun oil. I leave the holsters on the granite slab to dry. They are almost dry after sitting overnight, but most of the time it takes at least a day. After they dry, I check the fit with the revolvers again before dyeing the holsters. Please note that after dyeing and applying a leather finish, the holster may fit a little differently. If they are too tight I can open them up a little by carefully using my rubber cement bottle. Some other holster makers wrap the guns in several layers of plastic wrap and let them sit in the holsters for a day or two. If the fit is a little to loose I carefully squeeze the pouch of the holster with two hands (squeeze just a little and check the fit) until it feels right. Good luck with your project. From what I can see from the pictures, you have done a good job so far.

My Tandy Leather Factory has not carried it in over a year. I will check again, however.

I'm looking for a source for heavy split (about 5 oz.)chrome tanned leather. I had a side thatI got from a Tandy Leather Factory store years ago. It made the best lining for cowboy gun belts. It was much stiffer than regular suede andcame in a chocolate brown color. I took a small sample of it back to the Leather Factory andthe manager said that it was known as strap, lace, or apron split. He stated that it came from a small (now closed) tannery in Wisconsin. I would love to find another source of this leather. I don't want to buy more than one large side at a time, though.

As others have stated, you need a set of left single / right single feet. Luckily my Cobra 4 came with a set. I'm sure you can find a set for your Singer.

If I could do it over again, I would have bought my Juki 441 copy first. I started with a Tippman Boss. Some people have great luck with these machines, that wasn't my experience. I still have the machine, it's a great hole punch for heavy holster welts. I like to hand-stitch my holster welts because they are close to 1" thick. Several companies import Juki 441 copies. I'm sure that there are several brands that advertise on this forum that are excellent machines. I purchased a Cobra 4, because of the reputation of Steve as a great customer service guy. I am very happy with my machine, and the few times I've needed help, Steve has been wonderful. I'm sure others could chime in here on their experiences with other machines and customer service.

The long ruler is the way to go. I was able to use a long dry-wall T-square I had from working on the house. Once you get one side nice and straight, the rest is easy.

I also agree with Randypants. Also, some holster makers leave their work out in the sun for a day or two after applying either neatsfoot oil or extra virgin olive oil, before applying a leather finish. Leaving the leather in the sun will darken the leather a little more.

I'm a Chicago screw guy all the way, but your stuff looks great. Are you skiving the inside fold area? It might make it a little easier to punch through. I always pre-punch holes on stuff I hand stitch.

I use a similar method to what has been described in other posts. One other little trick that I use on spots on the edge that don't take the dye well is a black Sharpie. If I am doing something that I can't having any bleeding, like a two-tone, I use a Sharpie. After a coat of Bag Kote, you can't tell the difference in the black from the Fiebing's dye.