JoelR

If you don't mind a little sewing thrown into your pounding, I'd recommend starting out with a 4/5oz belly. It should stretch well enough to do what you want but have enough thickness to take stamping well without breaking the bank. Depending on the size of the frames, you may have to sew two or four corners together. If you have a Tandy Leather near by, a small-ish belly should cost about $25. If not, and you are not adverse to sewing, drop me a PM and I can send you a couple strips of 4/5 that I have sitting around. Leather is quite remarkable stuff when it comes to stretching and compressing. I'm currently working on a hip pouch for a tommy-gun drum and was able to stretch 10oz front-to-back so there is only a single seam at the back where the back piece of leather (being a completely flat pannel) meets the front. I'm a noob at carving, so I cannot comment on whether 4/5 will be adequate for that purpose but I have seen appliques that have been carved on thinner weights. Leather work is an art. Mix and match as you see fit.

I've liked the Kimber UC's I've made holsters for in the past - Just too expensive for my budget. Nice compact design for your holster but I would be warry of using the dear for a lining. I don't beleive deer is veg tanned so you MAY be promoting rusting of the firearm and I'm afraid of how soft it will become as you draw the gun repetedly (working on my one-shot draw times lately so I have holster binding on the mind...). For soft lining I have used veg pigskin with OK success (some delaminating issues along the edges) and I have some veg goat that I plan on playing around with.

An old-style wringer is exactly what I'm looking to replicate but in steel. Don't know where to find one locally or I would go that route. I currenlty use a J-roller but just don't feel I'm getting the best bonds when laminating larger pieces plus I figured I could add a platform and guide (think paper feed in your printer) for aligning and pressing belt halves.

Sorry to hijack, but what is the difference between bonded and regular (non-bonded?)? I assume the 277 is for machine work and hand stitching would be better suited to 415?

I have and use horse from both Springfield and Siegels. In my opinion, the horse from Siegels is much better quality and much more consistent. The horse I have gotten from Springfield in the past was closer to 7 to 9 oz and the surface was worn - slighlty furry as if rubbed together during shipping with the hides above it - and the leather itself seemed dry. I've also gotten some with large sections of rawhide in the middle. Steve offered to make it right, so no ding on him or his company. The hides from Siegels I have are hard-rolled 5/6oz and plenty firm and thick for IWB holsters with a proper reinforcing band. I have not tried their 8/9oz but I would expect the same quality. The hides ordered from Springfield were nice and long and fit the bill of belt linings. The hides from Siegels were nice and wide and better fit the bill for holsters. Personally, I will continue to order horse from Siegels even though the price is much higher. When ordering from either company, make sure to call the order in and inform them of what your intended use is for the leather so they can hand select the most suitable piece for your needs.

Anyone use a a roller press for laminating leathers together. I'm thinking of building one for pressing belts together and for laminating shark skin onto the base vegtan for holsters. I figure if I think it out well enough, I might be able to add a blade on the output and double it as a splitter. I've got more time than money, so buying something like this is out of the question. Just wondering if others have tried/used something like this and had any good/bad experiences. Overkill? Thoughts, comments?

I needed the same and ended up using a concrete screw as my base metal. The ones you find in the hardware store, are painted blue and have two different sizes of threads cut into them. Nice hard metal to keep a good edge but enough spring that they won't snap unlese you really abuse them. Plus, they are a good diamater so not a whole lot of work was required to cut them down. I used a fiber-reinforced dremel cutoff wheel to 'shave' everything to size. Some have suggested old worn out drill bits but I would think they would be too brittle.

Looking for someone experienced in relining leather jackets. Jacket is a London Fog Towne series bomber-style jacket in brown full-grain leather. Original lining was quilted. Need to get it cleaned first so this is not a rush job, just looking to see if it's worth relining or simply replace. Central PA area prefered but will ship for the right price. Thanks.

ClayB, Thank you for the reply. Unfortunatly, I am using a belt blank with no excess to play with. The leather definatly does not have the same properties of my hides. My first test was to dye a scrap piece first and paint over it. As you stated, the paint did not adhere as well as to undyed leather. The fact that I am using an oil dye may have played a roll. Also, the color was not as vivid as I would have liked. I'm guessing I could probably do the same as you suggest with dying around the painted areas but am afraid that the dye will be uneven. Heck, worst-case scenario, the belt becomes black and I start over with a new strap.

Trying my first item with paint on it - Belt with embossed red dice (I can't carve more than I can't emboss and just slightly more than I can't paint). Read the directions to say that you should paint your leather first and then dye and the paint will act as a resist and not discolor. Well, my sample piece did not agree with these directions because the directions clearly mention ACRYLIC dyes and antiques and I am using oil. So, here I am with a naked belt with embossed red dice and it needs to become brown while leaving the dice intact. I'm using Fiebings Pro oil dye and Eco-Flo Cova Color paint. Am I stuck using the Eco-Flo dyes at this point? Thoughts/suggestions?

Reposted in correct forum. Moderator - Feel free to remove this post.

At the moment I only need 2. But I'd buy 100 just to have them around.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Anyone willing to let me piggy-back on their next (hopefully soon) order from Scovill?

I've only made a few belts. The gunbelts have been lined with 7/8 oz horse hide with 7/8 oz veg top. Adds a little extra stability in my opinion. The one dress belt I made was 10 oz with a 3oz pigskin lining- flesh side out. I burnished the lining to prevent the sticking issue.

If my molding was half as nice and defined I could die a happy man. Great work. Do I see a video tutorial in your future...

Hard to get a good look at the stitching and edging from the photos. I've found that the local shooters I sell to really pay attention to those details but then these are guys who are used to buying from another local maker with MANY more years of experience than myself and some really inovative designs -Rusty. Keep your stitching straight and even and pay extra attention to your edge finishing. Local to you as well- Mechanicsburg PA.

Thank you. I'm happy with the end result and the client was thrilled. The leather originally came from Springfield. They had a run of bad horse hide. This was about 6 months ago so I do not know if it is still a problem. Since then I have changed my horse hide supplier to Seigel's. Kevin had offered to make it right, but I told him I would find a use for it.

Do they require any minimums? Forgot to ask when I ordered my catelogue.

To complete this thread, here is the completed sheath. I ended up making an internal sleeve for the blade using some horse hide that had a thick band of rawhide still in it that is stitched to the contours of the blade. The outside layer of leather is also horse hide (of a much better quality) but only serves as eye-candy and the attachment mechanism to the belt.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Been looking for a supplier for a while and didn't even know there was a company like this in my neck-of-the-woods.

Anyone know where I can order small quantities of DOT Fasteners Item# 93-BS-10414-1C? I rarely use posts but have a few projects in the works that will require them. These are the 3/8" Government Black posts. Thanks!

+1 I sand them round and then smooth them out with duck cloth.

Thanks Luke. I was thinking about the same price range. I have not seen the original yet so I do not know if it was sewn or glued but my assumption is sewn. The reference to Dual Lock was to see if anyone had used it in this situation. I use it on my motorcycle helmets for mounting my blue tooth headset and it is used for holding turnpike electronic passes to windshields. I have since learned that it is available without the adhesive but is fairly expensive at about $10 a yard.

I've been asked to replace worn-out velcro on a belt. The belt has been described as a three-layer leather belt with a velcro closure 6" in length and 2" in width. My assumption is that the Velcro is attached on each belt end. So, the question is this: has anyone used 3M Dual Lock in a sewing situation? It appears to me this would make a more stable closure system that would last longer than traditional hook-and-loop but I know that sewing through the adhesive would be a pain. Not sure if there is an easy way to remove the adhesive as well. Also, what do you all think is a fair price to charge for this type of repair? All stitching would be done by hand. Thanks for any and all insight you can give.