Bobby hdflame

Man, that's a good looking rig! I'm planning on doing one for my Dad for Christmas. He's a got a .22 Revolver that's currently in a Western holster that I gave him when I was in high school.........that was 34 years ago!! Guess what, it's too small for him and me. He wanted me to add on a new billet end but I'm surprising him with a whole new rig. How do you like your Ruger? I want to get the Vaquero in .357. That way I can shoot the cheaper 38 loads for plinking. Thinking about something like the "Hand of God" rig for it. Hope I can handle that by then!

Guys, thanks for the replies! I just got in 1 Hermann Oak Single Belt Bend 7/8oz and 1 Hermann Oak Single Belt Bend 6/7oz. My plans are to glue and stitch these two together for a gun/duty belt. That seems to be pretty close in line to what others are doing. I haven't decided on a design for tooling yet, maybe I'll do another basketweave?? The next question is should I tool and dye the outer piece first, then glue together and finish the edges? I've seen where some people will coat the leather with neatsfoot or olive oil and let soak in overnight before casing and tooling. Is that the recommended procedure? I know everybody has their own way of doing things and I'm sure I'll eventually settle on my own and not have to ask so many questions. Thanks for your patience and help! I was going to use some Fiebings Bag-Kote Neutral Finish for the final coat, top and lining. I also have some Fiebings Leather Balm w/atom wax, would that be a better finish than Bag-Kote? I haven't used the Bag-Kote yet so I have no experience with it. Plan on leaving the lining natural. I'm thinking I should cut the lining maybe a 1/4" wider before gluing in order to leave some extra on the sides to sand down. How far from the edges do you run your stitch line?

I want to make a heavy duty belt for carrying a holster as well as daily wear. I am sewing it down both edges of the belt. I plan on making it 1 1/2" wide. I will be using a buckle. When I get to the area where the belt will be going through the buckle, should I stop the back layer of leather so that it's not too thick to go through the buckle? I think I read somewhere that the back piece was skived on the buckle end so it would be a smooth ending and stopped short of the buckle. Thanks.

Thanks Dwight! That's sounds like a unique way of doing them. Do you leave the bullets in place until it dries, then glue the liner on before removing the bullets? I assume that doing it wet pre stretches the leather? I haven't made a Western holster yet but have been watching the video by John Bianchi. He shows sewing them with a rivet or concho on each end, ending the bullet loop on the back side so the end doesn't show. Is there a benefit or advantage to the way you do it over sewing? I just got my new Cobra, so I'm not hand stitching if that's the advantage. Thanks again.

I've had a chance to play with mine just a little and speed control is great. My problem is getting my EPS to work correctly. It may be something I'm doing wrong. I'll be calling Steve shortly to get him to help walk me through it. As soon as I get me and the Cobra in sync, I'll try and take some video of the excellent speed control I have with it.

Those are both cool sites. I spent some time looking at their products and watching their videos. I really like the "Coin Holder" and the "Key FOB" both are very easily concealable and I think they would make it through airport security for those that travel a lot. Thanks for sharing those sites.

I mentioned that the strapping/banding material might be used, but I know it will bend and not spring back. Are you currently using the pallet strapping? Do you use more than one layer of the strap? Thanks.

Well, never mind the question about price. A quick Google and I found them MUCH cheaper than I would make one to sell. http://www.wildbillw...com/leslja.html Don't know if anyone has Googled "Leather Slap Jack" but there's lots of pictures for ideas! https://www.google.c...iw=1280&bih=642 Nice little history here: http://www.weapons-universe.com/Personal_Defense/Leather_Billy_Clubs.shtml

I've been following this thread with interest. These little "massage aids" bring back memories when I had a friend that carried one on the PD. What are you using for the spring steel? I was thinking about some of that metal pallet strapping but don't know if it would be stiff enough. On the sites that are selling these as "massage aids", how much are they?

Thanks, I probably missed it.

I just wanted to post a quick update on my new Cobra. I received it yesterday and got it all put together. I tried out the speed control and it is fantastic! I haven't actually threaded up the machine and sewed with it yet, but the foot pedal is very easy to control the needle...not one stitch at a time, but down to a CRAWL! It's amazing. Thanks Leather Machine Company. I'll post more after I've had a chance to use it actually sewing leather.

I just got my Cobra yesterday, so I can't give you a lot of advice on it specifically, but from the picture your top tension is too tight. It's pulling your bottom thread all the way to the top. Using a smaller needle/thread combo like the 138/22 needle will help on your thinner leather. Until you get some more needles and smaller thread, try just backing off your upper tension a half turn at a time on each knob while running a short test stitch. See if that doesn't help get your bottom thread back down inside your leather. Until now, I've been using a Highlead heavy duty walking foot machine. I rarely have to adjust my bobbin tension. I can just about always get my tension correct by just adjusting my top tension. Unless you know what you're doing, you can really get things screwed up by over adjusting your bobbin. If you go from the 277 thread down to a 138, you'll most likely HAVE to adjust your bobbin tension. Good luck. I'm off to play with mine!

John seems to be plugging Tandy, but I've never seen his video offered on their site. Wonder why? Thanks for the tip on pre-stretching the leather.

The white glue is definitely not Elmer's. I think Chief is right about the Tanner's Bond. I looked and even did a search for glue on Tandy's site and couldn't find the Tanner's Bond until I actually searched for it specifically! Problem was, I didn't know what it was called. John Bianchi just called it white glue from Tandy. He also applied it to both sides like using contact cement but I don't remember him clamping it. On Tandy's site, they said clamp it just like you do. I'm going to be ordering some more leather from Springfield, so I think I'll just try the Fiebings brand of white. I imagine it's very similar.

Thanks for the reply. I looked at the video again and he didn't say anything but "Premium Calf Hide", no weight or other description. It does look like veg tanned and it is very thin and supple. I looked on Sheridan's site and couldn't find any calf leather listed at all. Actually they didn't even have any 4 oz. leather that I could find. Guess I would have to call them?? I also looked at Springfield's again and their description is: Soft Veg Tan Side 12-17SqFt Very high-end leather. These are very nice, clean large calf sides that have been veg tanned and then milled for that soft, pebble grained appearance and very drapey feel. Tools well, dyes well, and is one of the most versatile leathers that I've seen in a while. Perfect for all sorts of bags, soft accessories, clutches, wallets, etc. You'll love working with this!! 3-4 oz. So it is about 4 oz. leather that Springfield has. $3.99 sq. ft. Not too bad. I've got some leather being delivered from Springfield today. I'll see what it looks like. Been wanting to try some Herman Oak. I've only used Tandy's veg tanned so far.

I like the design on the blue belt. Is there a tutorial for that pattern? What stamps did you use? Nice coloring on the floral pattern! Brush or airbrush?

I've been watching a video by John Bianchi on western holster making. He said to use premium calf hide for the bullet loops. Said it was stronger and easy to work with. I looked at Springfield Leather site and they have a premium calf hide listed, no weight or thickness. John didn't specify a thickness either. Does all calf hide come the same oz.? Do you use anything else for bullet loops on a western holster and why? Thanks.

I'm getting ready to make my first leather holster and I've been watching a bunch of videos. One was with John Bianchi making a western holster. He is using a white glue from Tandy. I was looking at Fiebings white glue and thinking about ordering some. Haven't had any problems using contact cement so far. Just been using the same high temp Weldwood that I use in my upholstery. Is there a reason to use something like white glue? I know it's low odor and non-flamable....maybe that's enough reason to use it. I know a lot of people use Barge cement but that's just a brand name of contact cement...right? Does white glue hold as good as contact? Thanks for your comments.

If you've ever sewed with a clutch motor then the servo motor is such an improvement that you wouldn't know it could be better. I can stitch one stitch at a time with the servo on my upholstery machine but I realize that I'm only using a VERY SMALL portion of the travel distance on the pedal. I can't wait to get the Cobra with the improvement. Tracking says it'll be here Tuesday! I guess we can thank those that probably never sewed on a clutch motor for complaining! I probably would have used the servo on the Cobra and been happy with it...now I will be HAPPIER! Another BIG thanks to The Leather Machine Company for listening to their customers and acting quickly. I just may order a digital servo from them for my upholstery machine, I'll know for sure after Tuesday.

My new Cobra Class 4 has shipped with the NEW servo mod. I should have it on this coming Tuesday. I'll make some video of it when it gets here so everyone can see how it works. I can't wait!

Just did a Google for a 84. Found one of those at Zack White's. $599 sure seems like a lot for such a simple machine. I guess one with a motor is HIGH DOLLAR! http://zackwhite.com...&cat=632&page=1

I've never seen one of those work. Would it thin the leather from baseball gloves? Do you pull the leather through by hand or is there a crank that I can't see? Will it also skive just an edge thinner so it could be rolled over?

WOW! I really like that. Course, I'm ex Navy, so I'd be a little partial to it anyway. The lacing looks really nice. Sets it off just right. I know your customer will like it.

Those are cool! I'll be interested to see how you make out with this project. Looks interesting.

Are you talking about the ARC & CURVE TEMPLATE SET? I didn't see a "SPIRAL"???