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JLSleather

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  1. JLSleather
    Couple points here... 1.) Skip the cheap guages -- spend $8-10 on a caliper. Nothin fancy -- dont have to say starrett or sharpe. Use it to measure thickness, but can also guage holes, distances, etc. Simple, and available nearly anywhere. 2.) At least aaround here, the royal meadow at tandy is markedly better than the "HO" that springfield sells. I've ordered both repeatedly, and I actually prefer the royal meadow for tooling AND for color. And the back side is nice too (the leather AND the sales girl)
  2. JLSleather
    Not sure where you're having the issue. Flip the belt, so the buckle end is on the right. Figure where the holes go and the fold. Place the buckle at the fold line. Measure from the middle of the buckle, 1/2 of the waist size, and mark for the MIDDLE of the name. Center the name on your mark. No? Yes?
  3. JLSleather
    Improvement is always good, and who doesn't like to feel good about their work. Just keep in mind because someone says Hermann Oak does not make it good leather. HO site lists 4 'grades' of leather, and I have purchased HO so rough I immediately sent it back. And, while I'm not a tandy 'fan', I can say that i still use their royal meadow sides (in the 3/4) - carves and colors very well.
  4. JLSleather
    Sewing is sewing... not sure there is a "best" way. Just be sure to take that stupid cardboard stiffener out of the thing. Those do a nice job of keeping it flat in shipping. Then you get rid of it.
  5. JLSleather
    Any machine shop worth beans should be able to make you one in half an hour. Pay a little extra to have it made in 4140 steel and you'll have it for life.
  6. JLSleather
    Is that a 17? I take it you dont have one of those, whre you could just use it yerself...
  7. JLSleather
    As a rule, crossing the street takes longer than NOT crossing the street, by an amount directly inversely proportional to the speed of the traveler.
  8. JLSleather
    Okay, but tha's not what your original post said now, is it? " leads or personal contacts to other skilled craftsman, whether they are in USA, UK, Japan or else where." No offense taken though, come ask again when you have "covered the basics of leather working to the point where I have "peaked" ". Then, why would I take offense, I'm not Japanese...
  9. JLSleather
    It sounds as if you are quite concerned with names. Or, do you really want to learn leathercraft? Stohlman was likely the most renowned leather artist. I don't know if he was THE best, but he likely was the most marketed - which is not the same thing. No offense intended to the Stohlmans, I still have and use some materials attributed to them. Their work was - and is - inspiring. But the fact is, you'll learn leather by studying and working with -- well -- leather. Regardless of who told you, or showed you. Mr. Stohlman at one time openly admitted that his early work 'left much to be desired'. A good place to start? Check the gallery for some beautiful work done by a fella name of Edwards. VERY nice, without the traditional BS marketing crap. Oh, if I was mistaken, and you actually prefer the mindless droning of marketing noise... if paying for yet another course or video or 'class' somehow elevates your self-image, then I appologize for the practical information. Do carry on
  10. JLSleather
    Smooth, finished look inside. Allows use of small pieces of lighter leathers. Entire holster is firmer (two light layers are stronger than one thick one, all else equal). Hardware used can be covered with the lining layer to avoid marring the gun finish (snaps, rivets, etc). Dust & dirt can be wiped out (usually).. no "sueded' side to trap crap.
  11. JLSleather
    Shiny Seriously, fit looks good on that rig, color is consistent, and I personally have always liked the contrasting stitching. Stay at it -- looks good!
  12. JLSleather
    Kaint tell.. is that a Walther? I aint much of a laced holster guy, I admit. Paranoia maybe, but I like the strength of the stitch. In your case, I might recommend a slightly smaller stitch length. You've taken the biggest step in figuring these things... the FIRST one! If you're sacrificing the holster to learning experience, then I might suggest that you wet the thing, and "bone" the leather under the trigger guard WITHOUT taking that apart. Then with a small ruler or scale you can see how much tighter the stitch line "could be" (in fact, you could let it dry that way and stitch again if you cared to). Couple issues you already mention you are aware of. Still, progress is good -- git it RIGHT, then you can git it purdy Oh, I'm with Rohn on the rivets.
  13. JLSleather
    THESE PEOPLE list 794 needles down to size 19.
  14. JLSleather
    I get both at thread exchange
  15. JLSleather
    That machine "supposedly" handle down to #69 thread, which would be like a 16 or 18 needle, yes? Realistically, if you have an Artisan that uses 16-24 needles, I'd just use that for such projects. Oh, and if you talk to Steve you might confirm with him, I think that 135x17 is a round point needle, and the diamond ("leather") counterpart is a 135x16 (same needle with a chisel point).
  16. JLSleather
    The little light, put up under the top of the casting so it shines on the work. Those little magnets fit the CORD, so you can route it up out of the way. The cord on that little thing is quite long, kinda handy for seeing back in those little corners to oil the machine. Oh, and the screws are to mount the switch to the underside of the table (or, you could use a twist tie and just bundle it to the power cord.
  17. JLSleather
    More important, where you at in Iowa? We're up here in Fort Dodge. And we agree that you can't take down an attacker at 200 yards with the .380 -- An Attacker........at 200 yards? More like a stranger Now THA'S FUNNY Suuuuuuuuuuu weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet... Tha's 3-fer, 2-agin Robert, call em up an let the girls know!
  18. JLSleather
    I think HO is a minimum order of 10 sides if all the same thickness -- otherwise 20 sides.
  19. JLSleather
    Okay, so tha's two votes agin the calendar, one fer it ... CRAP.. I hope they don't git offended and stop sellin ta me
  20. JLSleather
    Well, I don't know that length of time in business has much to do with quality, or even service. Not speaking of any particular company, a long track record could mean great service, or could mean we make enough gouging customers that we can afford the bad publicity! One example .. there was a roofing (shingling) company running around. GREAT service -- price, speed, courtesy, all great. That same company.. in business about 50 years, is now useless. The original roof guy has long since retired and moved away - and this bunch of boys they have now, I wouldn't want on my property, much less working on my house. Don't matter where I order stuff - if it aint what i paid for they git it back. This of course drives up costs for everybody.. they gotta charge YOU more for paying someone to ship and restock MY order. Don't kid yourself.. the "company" is not taking that.. they passing that along the line. More important, where you at in Iowa? We're up here in Fort Dodge. And we agree that you can't take down an attacker at 200 yards with the .380 -- I personally think it has something to do with the humidity in Iowa, but that may not be quite accurate either. C A L E N D A R .....
  21. JLSleather
    I've ordered stuff from them and been pleased with my purchase. I've also ordered and been mad enough to chew nails. They have always been pretty good about 'fixing' the orders I wasn't happy with - but how much time do you want to spend on the phone getting what you should have already received!@3@#! I explained this is roughly those terms, and they HAVE done better recently. Now, about that calendar...
  22. JLSleather
    And now, for something completely different... Seems like I mighta talked to a dozen different girls down there at SLC. What say, we take a poll -- see kin we git them to print a calendar.. Girls of SLC... What.. jus' sayin ...
  23. JLSleather
    The slots is the way to go. The cards themselves will add enough thickness to the wallet without multiple layers of leather added to that. Strength is not a big issue -- very little tension on a wallet. Where possible, I like to buy them pre-fab. But, I have been known to build a custom "innards" when needed. The reason being that the time can be significant. I did one recently for a "long wallet" (basically a checkbook with card pockets). Two long pockets, 6 card pockets, and a see-thru id window on the right, and a long pocket, a "flap" pocket, and a card slot on the left. I can tell you -- that's a lot more stitchin than you think.
  24. JLSleather
    I can't show you the "early" work. In fact, some of the very early attempts, i disposed of quickly so there would not be witnesses Those of us who know how to carve leather - the honest ones - will tell you that we destroyed some perfectly good leather before figuring it out! Try to relax and enjoy it. Leather is more expensive than, say, notebook paper. But it's not gold... $50 will get you a LOT of practice.
  25. JLSleather
    Looks like them things sensitive foks used make to carry and display a wine bottle. Later adapted to suit a thermos.
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