JLSleather

Oh, forgot... if you find you must buy 'gadgets', I have some on the desk I would sell like half price. Never used.. well, there was that once where I put it on to see what the big deal was! But you would of course ask Bob 'n ' friends first if these fit your machine. Slotted place, stirrup plate... and remember.. I make holsters and belts and generally do not have need of these things, so you may not need them either. One more, just because now I'm thinking about my friend Robert... these designed FOR and AT THE REQUEST of Robert Locke...

Hey, Chris.. I'm 'limping' a bit on the stitchin' end.. only got this pile of cobra thing. Those 3200's make me a bit jealous, actually. Lookin' at the Toledo site, I think the feet on this one basically the same as the feet on yours. I use the left side one most of the time. Depending on what you're going to sew, you really don't need a bunch of 'add-ons'. From that site... " The CB3200 uses the same bobbins, feet and needles as the CB3500, 4500 and 5500 models. " This video might show how simple that is (you can do this in under 5 minutes if you're set up and not talking at a camera). It's so bright it's difficult to see the detail of the needle point area ... this was deliberate because i knew my friend Robert (mecopocketholsters.com) would get a good laugh out of yet another video that doesn't actually show you much of anything Beyond that, I wouldn't want to spend much time going on about this pile, causing people to think I endorse these things. If, on the other hand, I had wunna them there 3200's, then I'd speak up. BUT... you can at least see what is going on and the type of foot I'm using. Only thing I point out is that I like the LL point needles. None of that girlie-looking slanted stitch around here I like the stitchin' straight.. any slants and curves in the design I'll put in myself, thankyou If yer makin' holsters, feel free to download all ya want on my site --- use 'em as is or alter 'em as some of the boys here have been doing. If yer makin' belts.. well,.. keep yer eye on the line. If ya got specific questions, put 'em out there. I know leather, and I know holsters, but most important .. if I don't know something, I ain't ascared to say I don't know. Somebody will be able to help!

I recommend the needle because: they're both cheap and easy to find. Usually the needle is already sharp when you get it. You could use an actual awl blade, but with the crap sold these days you'd likely have to sharpen it BEFORE it's worth using. And of course someone would recommend a video for you to watch about sharpening an awl blade But, wouldn't shock me to find out there's a video about how to sharpen leather point machine needles! One more idea.. when you get the drill press, drill about 1/8" or 3/16" hole right through the table (or base, depending on your model). This will give you a spot where you can have the leather supported underneath, but not worry about hitting the table with the needle (make sure it lines up with the hole). Yours may come with a hole already in it, if not - put one there. Oh, one more idea ... cover the press table with some other material, to avoid contact between your "good" leather and the steel. You could 'git all fancy' and laser cut some clear acrylic sheet, or you could do what I do... throw on a scrap of about 4 oz suede just larger than the table.... If you punch a hole in it about the size of the hole in the drill base, then your "cover" won't stick on the needle. So there you have it.... get the drill press (watch craigslist and auctions.. these things are everywhere) drill a clearance hole through the table chuck machine needle (orient the right way.. as you like) verify needle comes down in clearance hole cover table with whatever (piece of paper would work, but put the hole in that too so it doesn't stick on the needle) poke away ... turning the PIECE, not the table or the spindle

Yeah, that's another thing there.... New toys to play with: $5,000 U.S. New floor space for toys: $$30,000 U.S.

Single mag carrier pattern now available for download --- S/W M&P Shield

Okay, I tried. Really I did. Just can't sit through all that. No matter, it's working for somebody

I don't care for drilled holes, personally. Or any holes, really, except I can't figure out how to stitch without SOME kind of holes Drill press definitely worth having in the shop for a number of reasons. BUT... if you want to use your drill press for making stitching holes, then I would recommend this simple TIP: INSTEAD of a twist drill (sometimes called a drill "bit"), chuck a #24 or #25 chisel point sewing machine needle in your drill press. Pressing holes (drill press OFF) with this will make a hole which closes back up when stitched - the same as an awl - leaving a stronger product and a cleaner look.

I think you'll find that a bookmark is much more useful

If I had seen 'em for $100, I'd have bought 3

A few more rolls included with the embosser. note that the bottom two are the SAME roll, just dyed differently. So this is rolls 3, 4, 5

YIKES>.. that wallet pattern WORKED? Who'da thought! @!#!@$!! Don't remember right off where I got that lighter thread, but I'll see kin I find a receipt. Meanwhile, I got about a ton of it, so I'll send ya a chunk. Matter of fact, I'll just git ya a few different types of thread I use, and you can see what you like 'n' what you don't. Stuff is cheap.. measured by teh mile (really!). On those little wallets, I like 138 machine thread, personally. I likely got the address, but I'll double check... trying to get this belt tooled, but it aint dryin' fast enough to get to toolin ...

OH, yeah... Each his own, but I think that tooling within borders looks pretty good on a holster if the borders aren't the same width. I tend to run 'em 3/8" in on edges and bottom, and 1/4" across the top. Don't remember why... just know I like this proportion

I am, however, not "ANTI-video".. I just like it to SAY something beyond... hey-I-can-make-a-video-take-all-day-and-say-nothing-new This one, about a year old, was done to make a few simple points, PLUS amuse my friend Robert ( mecopocketholsters.com ). In under 10 minutes, you can learn that : You can sew 2 layers of 8/9 leather You could use 277 / 207 thread with #24 needle combo You may opt to stitch after gluing and trimming the parts You can stitch natural leather and natural thread, and dye together later You may also carve and/or color before stitching Jeff doesn’t like more holes in the leather than necessary Not critical where you start, when stitching full circle You can stitch a small pancake holster in about 9 minutes with an operator who talks too much (prolly half that without the gabbin') And this much is learned in a few minutes from an unplanned video in a corner somewhere....

Does this help? Go down to the part about buckle type and size stufff http://www.jlsleather.com/diy/belt-info/

BUILT IN sharpening? Suueee weeeeet.. As a former tool-and-die man, I've sharpened far more edges than I care to think about! I've used a dozen (at least) different models of surface grinders, sharpening down to .0005" routinely, so I'm a bit amused when I get folks "instructing" me on sharpening a straight blade. But when I hear "self-sharpening", this is cause to listen Then again, since I'm not in the market for $25k equipment (did I mention married with children?), maybe I just splittin' hairs

You're welcome (a pic is worth 1000 thanks, or something like that)! Seriously, holsters is simple stuff. Maybe a level-9 retention be a bit involved, but who even knows what that is? I should maybe put that up on my site, near the pattern section, like a big ole web banner (remember those, before they were called "widgets" and "headers"?): Something like: IF I CAN DO THIS, THEN YOU CAN DO THIS

I certainly can see the value of a good splitter. And if you have one that is hard to set depth, then I could see where a second one be worth having, to avoid changing depths every time. Maybe even an extra blade for each, so you can use it while sharpening one. If I need whole hides split, I'd just order the weight I need. The purpose of a splitter would be for lap skives, for belt and strap "keeper" loops from the same hide as the strap, or for reducing the volume of hides needed on hand and such. But they're tough to find. The old ones are either spoken for or beat to death and no longer serviceable, and the new ones weren't built "like they used to". End result, you can pay for "poop + warranty" (ever notice there's almost always a "guarantee" with that cheap junk?), or you can pay a mint for that one good one you might find.. to the point you could have made several OTHER arrangements. Since there are "services" for clicking, sewing, cutting, web design, blahblahblah, I wondered why no splitting. AT THE MOMENT, I have a few pieces.. maybe adds up to 2 sides ... which sits there. I would have used it up by now if it was 3.5 oz instead of 7.5 oz. So, not pitching it out, but not worth the cost of more tooling, either. And certainly not worth the aggravation of ordering yet another tool and finding out I have to partially assemble it, and then I have to sharpen it BEFORE I can use it (and I think we ALL know that one). Now, if a guy was doing 1000 belts / month like Brian's talking about, that ALONE would justify multiple splitters.

Yep, sheep tends ta be stretchy .... Without getting too far from the original question --- goat on the other hand is generally quite firm and strong for it's thickness. Makes great wallet (and other small project) pockets. Sheep tends to be quite stretchy and not much use unless it's glued to something else.

70 shoulders at 38mm.. so tha's like 1,000 belts per month? Tha's a lot o crocs! Good to see this offered, though, and .1mm certainly close enough.

Cool. And you bring up another point about these mag thingies. It looks like you were able to run a stitch up the center and have enough room to separate the mags (some models won't work that way). Was this trial 'n' error, or did you have an old one done that way? Thing is, some folks like a tension screw so they can set the tension themself. But I find one screw between the mags (as you'll see) not so wonderful.. since backing off the tension affects BOTH sides. Some might think that won't matter -- until they try it! When you pull a mag, you change the tension on the OTHER mag..... Ah.. maybe that's another issue Keep 'em comin' ..

By way of reminder, this thread started at poking fun at what was clearly ridiculous. I'm never surprised at how some people respond when you wiggle their comfort zone just a bit... suggest they 'go beyond' what they now do.... I've seen a couple of George H tandy videos (when recommended by someone). Maybe that's George's pace. Or maybe a team of lawyers told him that's his pace. Whatever. I can't do that. But if I met George, I got no issue offerin' the guy a beer or a coffee -- maybe a fishin' rod if he likes that type of thing. I don't watch much tv anyway. Didn't even have one for a couple years .... I never watched it, so I gave it to a couple young kids who were getting married and basically had nothing. Now, I LIKE to have nothing, but some people get a complex about it (governed by someone else's opinions). Gimme a smart dog, a fishin' pole, and a truck what runs good -- and I'm happy But then I got married, and SHE thinks everybody needs "stuff". SO, I have tvs... I think about 5 or 6 of em (don't know why... not my call). BUT there IS one show I rather like, for people who like videos 'n' such... Renovation Realities is on the DIY channel. HILARIOUS. Basically, some sponsors pay for all the materials and homeowners remodel some part of their home. I've seen people get beams dropped on or near them.. skid loaders tipped ... one bright fella nearly electrocuted himself MORE than once. Now, it's funny, because you don't actually believe that the cameramen are actually going to stand there and watch these people kill themselves. Again, I don't watch much tv, so don't ask me what day or time it's on... I just see it when it's there.

So that pencil I've had for like 30 years is "tricks and equipment"? Again, there may be A video worth seeing. Actually, I did find a second one with profitable information. Stuff I already knew, but I could see where someone who didn't know that could benefit. it was chronological, steps in the order you would do them without a bunch of irrelevant talk ("hey, everybody look -I'm over here ) and such. showed the tools used - without being an advertisement. when it was done, the watcher could ACTUALLY DO THAT himself (herself) This is no commentary on that video, since I haven't seen it. But if there's a video telling me I can use that pencil that has been around since great grand dad, I hope it didn't take an hour to tell me that. I'm quite aware that there are MANY places that will sell you another tool when you could have used your pencil, so if there's a guy pointing out.. 'hey- you can use yer pencil' then this is good. I found one other day, while making dinner. Guy gonna show how to make a holster pattern. Naturally, if there's a better way, then show me. Guy broke it into two parts for whatever reason, and part two plays automatically after part 1. Part 1 about 10 minutes long... basically he chicken-scratches some marker on a piece of paper. Part 2 starts.... he points out that in part 1 that was wrong so I want to show you that .... Now, good for him if he can admit he was wrong. MY point is,.. why not just delete the 'wrong' video? And the next one... plays right behind those, I guess u-tube lumped 'subject matter"(?). There's no discussion- no words at all. Some music plays in the background while a pair of pudgy hands make marks on a sheet of paper, which I guess is supposed to be a paper pattern for a holster. Nah... I like to see people actually DOING leather work - not watching tv about it. Guess I'll stick to the pdf files and still pics Can't say I don't keep a finger on the line, just in case something changes about them videos ...

Man... lemme jus' start by saying that's a new rule... nobody says 'screwed up' and 'JLS' in the same page Took me a couple minutes to figger what that meant .. So, just that one line by the red mark? Aaron is correct about being concerned about stuff like this. You may have noticed that folks with a "that's good enough" attitude don't generally get much of my time / comments. It's a true statement.... those who aren't interested in improving... won't. Now, as for this particular batch... them WRINKLES in the back got me stressin pretty hard... kaint afford the therapy neither! Wrinkles don't go in holsters... not even in the back.. The exception can be seen in some of the rigs by fgabesz (or something like that)... where his blending of cowhide fat marks and wood stain is an art in itself. Don't tell him I said that.... gotta keep him humble and workin' hard As for what to do about that mark... like you siad.. it's a dent. And I have historically used this 'mistakes' as you did... good spot to test a new color or finish, etc. And if the new 'plan' doesn't work, well- it already wasn't par. But I wouldn't pitch this one. I've certainly pitched some that shouldn't have been scrapped. Are you sure you can't 'smooze' it? Smooze... as in maybe we measure the distance from teh front stitch line to the "oopsie" mark. Set a divider to that distance, and "crease" all the way around the stitch lines at that distance, going over the ''oops' also so it's all the same depth....

Not necessarily anything to do with your work though. I have a Glock 42 holster and mag combo that I think looks pretty good -- but apparently I can't sell it without pointing the gun! I've had it for about as long as I've had any of 'em. Just to be wise-crackin', I discounted the snot out of it.. and was glad when it didn't sell at that price Nothing earth-shattering... back when we did "shows", I once sold a fully tooled leather belt for $8 just cuz the guy in the next booth told me I can't do that (since it's mine, i figured that meant i could do what I want).

Well, that explains why we haven't seen pics of the finished holster! Go on tear in -- holsters is simple (which is why you have a thousand thousand people doing them). Plus, a mistake doesn't cost you the rent money (just lunch money)