JLSleather

Well, actually they don't accept returns on leather "altered", which includes having it split to 7/8 oz. Would have been nice to know that to begin with, don't ya think In the end, though, I didn't order 'bargain basement' leather -- I paid for the top of the line. They've sent me absolutely beautiful leather in the past, but not so much lately. So, I'm not going to debate it... if this is what they're sending out i think I'll pass. So, IF someone can use the stuff and want's to pay enough to make it worth my trouble to package and ship it, that works. If not, there's room in the landfill. I got one hide from SLC today to finish a couple of things, and it doesn't look TOO bad. It'll let me get a few things out the door. Beyond that, I think I'm going to have to go to buying leather that I can stand there and look at.

Yes, I know stuff for sale goes down in that other section. Just a heads up, since I haven't piled it all up yet. I have a pile of poop that some suppliers called leather, and 'got me' for quite a bit of money. I'll be selling it just to get it out of here, since i'm not going to use it, but seems a waste to pitch it. Just one example... I cut the "spongey' parts of some W/C black skirting off the hide. There are two pieces almost 6 feet long, and a total of about foot and a half wide. Now, at $10 / foot, this cost me about $90, but if I had SEEN it BEFORE hand, I wouldn't have given them $20. And that's just a start. We all know there will be some waste on a hide...some that doesn't get used for various reasons. But this is nuts. I kept putting it over in that end of the room, thinking I'll use it for SOMETHING... but what happens is I keep going through it and not using it, so it needs to go. I also have some full single shoulders, in black, brown, chestnut... .. So here's the "thing"..I would NOT use this leather for belts, even if it's long enough. Still, might be good for pet collars, stiffeners, or to be used as backing for exotics. I'm thinking like 25¢ on the dollar... I know I take a hit.. but it's worth it to get it out of my way. Should have done it in December so I could take the tax write off Basically, if I keep looking at it -- just gonna make me mad! Pictures in the works, will post in for sale area.

The stitched site channels with the lite thread really adds contrast. This looks GREAT

I'm not trying to talk you into OR out of anything... but the clear fact is... a second row of stitching does NOT "share the load", as they say. The stress is STILL on the 'working' row of stitching, and putting more holes in the leather is weakening, not strengthening. Like drilling a line of holes in a board...

Holster die is sold. Still got a slot punch - and there's more when I get around to going through

I always temper that "wait time" with some common sense -- no matter I'm buying or selling. If I need a one-color NOT tooled belt, and I want it in the best H.O. leather available (for example), with a nice buckle and some good looking stitching.... I'd likely give that about MAXIMUM 3 weeks. If a guy can't do it in that time frame -- no worries, nothing personal, but there are 10,000 other guys who can make that very simple project. Tooling or other customization may legitimately take longer, that's to be expected. But cutting it off the right length and stamping my name in it don't equal "custom" -- a belt that fits is assumed. But even genuinely custom, it's still just a belt -- so if you'd like me to wait MONTHS, then it better come signed "A. Stohlman" I generally have a pretty good handle on how long an order is going to take. Beyond that, the key is simple communication - let 'em know where you're at (early, on time, late).

Why is that - just cosmetic? Do you think you can break a single row?

I don't think you can "set' a ride height. I mean, 'how high" is like how long is a belt Each his own. I must try this corel draw though.. keep hearing about it. It must be fairly versatile.. pretty sure that's what the guy used to cut the vinyl emblems for our trucks "back when". I had them drawn with adobe, but I remember he re-drew it with his own 'thing' which would work with his cutter.

Yep, I do. The smaller thread on the bobbin means it will hold more, and need filling less. Keep in mind that the breaking strength will be the lower number. So if 138 is STRONG enough for what you want to do, then using 207 in teh "top" is a cosmetic choice.. you'll end up with the 138 strength and the 207 "look", and you'll fill the bobbin a bit less often. I like to do it this way on layered belts. The inside and the outside NOT visible at the same time, so no issue there... and the top thread I sometimes want heavier than required just for the look of it.

Actually, the only reason to be in SD is the walleye fishing.

And, here's teh slot punch. Some already familiar with the way this is done, but it stands on it's own in the press - no handle needed. Punches a slot just OVER 1 5/8" long (down the middle) by about 1/4" wide. Very sharp (I think this is the second slot it punched), punches cleanly. That's a piece of 7/8 H.O. in the pic. Oh... forgot a price. I'll have to dig in receipts.. think this one is about the same price? The way it stands alone is shown in the back of this picture... a metal tab attached to some type of compressible foam to make it stand without punching outside teh slot....

Okay, then... here's teh holster clicker die. That's a 6" scale in the picture. This is made with a belt loop -- while there's no die for the loop, I'll include the pattern with the die. Oh, maybe should mention that this will likely work for the Colt Mustang also.

Oh, and somebody remind me I have a brand new slot punch from them too... A bit longer than I wanted. Could be I didn't describe what I wanted quite rightly... figures- the one time I don't send a drawing Slot punch with 'flipper' intended for use in a press (no handle). I did try it out, cuts real nice - just wrong length. Pictures of that one shortly also.

New (used twice) from TX custom dies. Makes right handed holster for the Sig P938 (and some say also the 238). Selling it at cost, and will include the stitch pattern. $75 incl shipping in US. Photo later today.

Yep, I wouldn't recommend a sharp point between the grooves, either. I jsut figured somebody would round it with a file - but that 'divider' thing certainly works. Don't think i would personally bother with threading the hole. Prolly just use a piece of drill rod, ream teh aluminum like .001 under, press it in, and cross-pin it (brass pin would be fine). One thing I do think I made a mistake with.. now that I look at it. I'd likely make the 1/4" diameter section a bit longer, so you have a straight section about 3/8" long NOT counting the radius. And I made the wider slots 3/16" deep (drew a line straight under the 3/16" radius). You have it drawn shallower here, which might be a good idea ... make it 1/8" deep, and try it out, and a guy could always take it deeper if you cared to.

I might be a bit biased (welcome for the pattern) but I don't think that looks bad at all. Like snubby, my first one certainly was NOT that clean. In fact, there are people who have been selling them for a while who don't look as good as yours!

Depends on how you make em, really. Those "50/50" pancakes are the worst culprit, I think. You know.. the front and back are basically mirror image of each other. Feels okay, mostly, but tighter on the belt than in the hand. And the closer the slots are to the weapon the more pronounced the problem. I see those "pancake" holsters that are bent back around so the slots line up and sometimes wonder if the guy making them has ever USED one. Notorious for binding, especially on the front site. But hopefully, the gun isn't relying on a pushed-in trigger area or port to retain the firearm. "Retention" isn't about forming a 'catch' somewhere. Or, maybe it is - what do I know And sometimes it's just a matter of trying to hold it still while pulling the gun. When it's worn, the belt should do that (IF the belt size is the slot size), but in the hand, not so much.

Yeah, wouldn't take that long. I was thinking if I had a lathe here, I could have made the thing in about the same time as drawing out that drawing! Only lathes i see for sale these days are either quite new (and starting about $30k) or beat so bad for so long that... well...

I like it flat.. grain down. Cover a table with cardboard, then stack hides face down on it. I'd love to have a separate "slot" for each weight / type of leather, but just don't have teh room for all that.

This might work. Honestly, I'd ream a hole and insert a steel shank ... aluminum in a chuck never a great plan Done like this, chunk of al is about 1 1/4" x 4 1/2" if you have an inserted shank. Second timeza charm

That's one right purdy drawin' ya got there I would think that you'd want a full radius up to about 1/4", and larger than that, the 1/8" radius should be fine. Sketchin' shortly ...

Yep, fits it like a marble in a coffee cup Then durn k-frames, though.. lot o difference in heft of barrel thickness (outside diameter) and ejector (shrouded, not shrouded). But hey - the handle and grips are close

K & L are back to back, and the J-frame on the left thrown in for comparison. Now, a guy could add that to say "holster for a K-frame" is quite simplistic, since you can get firearms with quite a bit of difference one to the next, and yet they are all "K". Part of the confusion comes from people who list holsters as "fits" something or other. I always say a bucket will hold your pistol, but that doesn't mean it "fits" it. 5-gallon bucket will fit the J, K, L, M N O P frames, often at the same time But you can see the cylinders are clearly not the same, for starters .. Even if the rest of the gun was all equal (they aren't) then just measuring around the cylinders (like you were wrapping leather) would give a difference of "about" 5/16 - 3/8" (ish)...

'K' will flop all over the place in a 'L' holster.

HEY that's not a snubby! Looks good, tho