JLSleather

You didn't show us the inside! But the part we can see is very nice.. downright purdy. Love the hardware, too.

You can walk down any city street and find two people who know more about that one than I do. Still, it LOOKS like a top thread size of 138, which alone would put it lighter duty than the 227. Someone else can give you more info on a "drop feed" machine (??). Personally, I'd still be thinking about the 3200, but I'll leave this now to others with more knowledge than mine (meaning, nearly anyone at all)

One 'o these days I'll get around to the holster design for the 229. Bogged down in the 1911's at the moment, but maybe later we kin swap designs.

A few simple points that may help... a guy looking for a business loan (that is a loan, right - not a "gimme") might -- hit the spell check. nothing spells 'unprofessional' like misspelled words. nobody wants a $500 leather item with their name misspelled; maybe don't mention the 20 years 'experience'. Investor folks (the ones with money) might wonder why after 20 years there's not enough profit to fund YOURSELF; consider instead an Etsy shop. I saw this morning someone selling HUNDREDS of "luggage tags". Little cheap crap .. total investment 37¢ and 2 minutes.. and they are selling 'em all directions at $40 apiece. Get a slut in a bikini top to "model" 'em for you. Oh, keep in mind that CHEAP sluts keep costs down Like I said -- just thinkin' out loud here ...

$2 says Bob Kovar can tell you exactly what the difference is (he sells both). The price is virtually the same either way. That said, I'd likely stick to the 3200. Reasoned ... Price about the same either way. The 227 has a top thread size of 207, which is likely heavy enough for you - at least most of the time. But on the low end of the scale, the 3200 will go down to a #18 needle and #69 thread, which is about as small as I get (I confess I used 10 yards of $46 - once - long time ago). If you have 'home' machines that 'struggle' with what you're sewing, the 18/69 is likely where you're headed. And the 3200 will bump up needles and thread size if you care to - where the 227 won't. Belts are often sewn - at least up north here - with #138 or #207 thread, which either machine should handle. Further south, some o' them boys use thread that looks like it was made for towing my truck .. perhaps it's for emergency cow roping? Bottom line -- you should talk to Bob ( http://www.tolindsewmach.com/ ) but my opinion, why spend money on a machine that will "just enough" do what you need, when the same money will get you what you need plus room for upgrades if you choose ...

Casting? Throwing? Okay, seriously .. is this some kind of "alternative lifestyle" thing I'm not privy to? Hmmm?

Yep, Kenny's is the .44 with the 7.5" barrel. He's a lot bigger 'n' me, but still ...

Pictures can help, but if your top thread is laying on the top, this would suggest that you REDUCE the top tension (not increase it). Needle size seems matched to the thread, so prolly not that. Being lazy, I like to start with the simplest thing first. Is your thread 'buggered' somewhere coming from the spool to the needle? That can throw tensions outta whack in a hurry. Then, no buggers on the needle, burrs, bends, etc.?

At a glance, it looks like the Techsew 3650 and the CB3200 are similar machines (same capacity, roughly). On the other hand, depending on where you are, might be better to contact this gal, selling an almost new CB4500 (for a quite reasonable price). Without getting long-winded about it, if I was in that neck of the woods I'd go pick that one up myself Seems like a no-brainer -- she has one more than she needs, and you need one you dont have ... http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=57483

No skivin'. No jivin'. No wrinklin'. Just solid unworked HO leather in 'n' out.

That could be more than one thing. My 'best guess', loose grained leather. The top grain is separating from the inner fibers (top stretching more than the bottom). I think your word "permanent" is correct -- nothing to be done at that point.

Not sure why "everyone" does it. Me, personally, I'm weighing the idea of 1400 and an entire day driving versus the cowboy 3200 is $100 more and gets delivered with a warranty. And, this is an extra machine for me, as in I don't absolutely need it. Price would likely be fine if I was across the road, but gotta figure in the travel (which I hate). Since you seem adamant, I'll assume that you are on your way there to purchase, and this machine is now spoken for. Cobra Steve should be open in a couple hours anyway ...

Yap, still do. Sometimes cut it in half - so I can't change my mind. If it isn't going like i think it should, it'll just irritate me the whole time i'm trying to alter it. Better to just pitch it and start fresh.

I'll tell her you fellas commented on it. We tried to maybe ask her why the clip - like not actually talk her out of it. She was pretty determined .. as in wasn't sure if she wanted the thumb break, but DEF wanted the clip. I don't think she 'carries' anyway -- likely it goes from the shooting range to the console of her car and back.

Yeah, there's more going on in this one than meets the eye. Rock Island Armory 1911 (9mm) with tooling, belt clip, thumb break safety strap, full lining. Design mine, artistry by a chubby girl I know. Hand stitched (we're not currently aware of how to sew between all of that with a machine

Pics are pretty small, hoss I'm up the road a bit. That yer bottom dollar?

That's a LOT of discussion about stickin' a piece of thread through a hole! I got Stohlman's book forever ago, and I got quite a kick out of it. PAGES and PAGES of 'technique', then toward the end he says "you could just run one needle and then run it through the other holes and you'd end up with the same stitch". Yeah, not exact quote, but if you KNOW that's not exact, then you already know EXACTLY what he said (which, basically, was that). Youtube .. really? SO many videos these days .. I'm not "anti" video, but I realy think people could improve their technique by turning off the computer and actually DOING some leather work! Stab a hole, keeping the awl inside the channel (if any). Push the thread, pulling a bit on the other side of the thread (to prevent piercing the threads). Do it again. Do it again. Do it again............... No degree required.

Yep, that's ant-streak. Fella kin tell by the mud puddles left behind ..

Vegetable tanned (carving) leather is skived, or leveled, so the part of the animal doesn't have much to do with the thickness (almost nothing at all). Are you carving it? I don't carve belly leather (spongey). The shoulders (which includes arms and a neck) can be a bit soft too, but you can get decent carving in a shoulder, and some folks PREFER them for your type of project, due to the somewhat parallel fat wrinkles often found in shoulders (they like that look). The butt is the firmest part of the hide. Closest to the back is best - the cream of the crop. It comes with a proportional price, too, if that's a concern. All that said .. determine .. 1.) How much will you need for your project? and 2.) Is it carved / stamped? and 3.) Am I looking for sleek and professional, or rustic and 'hippie'?

Yeah, I had my turn back when, with the 2B and 4H pencils, gum eraser, all that. Talk to the kids in drafting class now days, and their mouth falls open as they say "You used actual PENCILS?!" Tool and die work for about 100 years, so I learned a good bit of cad When my 'allowed' copy of AutoCad became obsolete (doesn't work with newer operating systems) I was done - NOT paying that kind of money to upgrade. Still, I 'get' the value of cad. Graphics programs can be made to work, just like the 4H pencil. Drag a line, "smoosh" a curve ... But it's guess work. In a cad program, I want that line parallel and offset by 3/16, a few clicks and I'm good. Never messed with turbo cad though. AutoCad mostly (because that's what Frigidaire / Electrolux used). I've seen some others, and some still in the old industry are now using Pro-E and Solidworks. A tutor would only be useful, I would think, if they are local to you. But if you have the program, I wonder if you couldn't hire a couple of your patterns digitized - complete with layers. From there, you may be able to alter those drawings to suit the next idea?

Well, yeah, I guess it is. How will you close it .. big snap? Hook n loop? Tuck clasp? If you're just using a line 20 or 24 snap, fella might first determine where you want the snap to go in the front. Should be easy enough from the way you described making the other one. And if you have the "male" part located, should be simple enough to leave the flap long, fold it over, and leave the impression of the snap for the female end. Am I missing something here? Once the snap is located, you can trim the rest of the 'flap' as long or short as you like in whatever shape you prefer.

The DS is about .05" bigger than the SP101 (ish).

I usually leave the mag release exposed. I know some folks won't use a holster that doesn't cover it so - I know HOW and will cover it is requested. I actually saw one (just one) that when holstering the weapon you'd 'chuck' the mag! As for hard-line detail, I like what's reasonable. I saw a pic the other day (though didn't see the actual item) that was formed down so tight that the pin on the other side that rides the slide lock was pressed up (like a pic of the weapon). You'd have to SHOW me, cuz unless I see it I wouldn't believe that's not a pain in the butt to get the gun out. Oh, and which of us hasn't followed someone's link and found "holsters" so loose they'd fly out without some kind of snap/strap get-up ...