billymac814

It's a 5mm post you can also get it with a 4mm. I don't know the pitch. Most of the soldering irons aren't threaded but held in with a screw. The problem is finding the correct iron as the higher wattage ones have thicker posts so I think I'll just drill out the hole and tap it and put a larger post in it. Worst case scenario is it doesn't work and I have another stamp to use in the press, it makes a nice impression. I have no idea how many impressions I've done with my delrin stamps but I'd say its in the thousands. Not always on dry leather though, when possible I do it in damp leather. With leather like English bridle though I stamp dry as it doesn't take water well. I think it would depend on the temper of the leather, I probably wouldn't want to do too many impressions on super hard leather dry. The English Bridle is a little on the softer side so it takes it well. All of my stamps still stamp well, I do have a really tiny one that has one small piece that's slightly messed up but not bad enough to even be noticeable. It will also depend on how much detail your stamp has, most of the ones I have that have heavy use simply say "McCabe" in an italic font to sort of resemble a signature but legible so there isn't any real fine lines which would require thin fragile lines in the plastic which could probably become damaged easier. In all reality they are cheap enough that if they only last a few thousand impressions I'm ok with that but so far they all seem fine so far. I really like this brass one though hopefully it works well hot too.

Here's what I received from Black market int on etsy. The price and shipping was very good. In fact it was less than I've paid for all of my delrin stamps. Its basically a brass stamp with a removable post on the back. Its designed to go into a soldering iron. It does not fit the soldering iron I have so so I think I'm going to modify it by putting a larger post on the back. Worst case scenario ill just use it as a regular stamp. It took about 2 weeks to get here from Hong Kong and the couple that make it were very good to work with.

Yes, the spool spins to let the thread off. I forgot that there's a piece of felt in between the machine and the piece of soling material to remove the friction so the whole thing spins with the spool. You should have enough stuff to do a half sole then. You'll just have to have a way to do your splice, you should be able to do that with a knife to make your skive on the boot or a belt sander should do it.

Jake, Let me know if you want a lube pot for your Cobra. Ill sell mine, its brand new and never been used. Ill sell it for 75% of whatever the new cost is and ill pay shipping. It'll bolt right to the top of your machine.

You must not have watched the show about the Hutterites on Natgeo. All the younger people seemed to have smart phones and computers. It seemed like they do what they want regardless of what they are supposed to do.

I could probably do more to gather up some more interest to my page. My wife keeps saying I need to suggest the page from my personal account but I never do. I should though, I know my friends don't need to see anything I do but I never really thought about their friends seeing it. I've found my likes to come more quickly now than before which is the opposite of beavers layers experience. It seems the more I have the faster new ones comes in. It seemed to be slow getting to 100 and seemed like in only a few weeks I got 70 some more. Facebook used to annoy me with the pokes and likes and its still rather dumb but its definitely caught on and I can see its place in the world. My page still doesn't seem to get as much traffic as my site does but I think those who spend time on my FB page are "better" customers. They are the ones who will generally be back as a repeat customer and they are the ones that usually post pictures of my stuff on gun forums and without them I doubt many people would find me, I don't post on any forums since, I would if I had more time but I already spend too much time here lately.

You are correct, most of it is the same or better, I've just had a few instances with some things not being as nice, mainly holster clips and Chicago screws. They must get them cheaper else where. They are a little cheaper but I'd prefer nicer over cheaper. I'd rather deal with Springfield whenever possible but they are so far away from me that it takes nearly a week to get which usually isn't a problem but sometimes it is. They include a nice handwritten note with each order too which is nice. I order what I can from them or weavers and some things from Tandy. Sometimes it just depends on what I need and who has it.

I mainly make modern holsters and belts so my customer base is usually age 25 and up and usually right leaning. At one point my main thing was motorcycle seats and the age group was similar but it seemed that my biggest fans were not actual buyers as the seats ended up being fairly expensive and I found it difficult even charging a lot to really make a lot doing them when I broke down my time. I started using Facebook after I made the transition from seats to holsters so I would say most of them the people are there for the holsters. Prior to Facebook And prior to having a website I had a Blog page and I actually preferred that and the layout but I can't keep up all three so I quit updating it and more people have Facebook so I think it works better. Ill still post anything I do whether its a high chair or a holster but most people that "like" my page are there to see gun related stuff, its not that often and shows people I do other stuff. I also have another page that is specifically geared towards repair work that I do since those customers can be virtually anyone and people who may not have an interest in guns and my gun people may not have an interest in seeing some of the things I post on that page. I find since the holsters are fairly specialized its better to just have two separate pages. My repair customers are generally local where as nearly 98% of my holster and custom items are online sales. Here's the next segment of this topic. How many "likes" does everyone have? I have 173 on my main one and only 61 on the repair page. I just started really using them a few months ago when I figured out how easy I could post stuff from my phone using the "Pages" app. I really should promote it more though, I've seen people include a card with each order with their FB info, I might consider doing something like that.

Its also basically a forum for your customers. They can make a comment and others can respond or comment as well. A lot of times that's enough to push someone over the edge and place an order. Its one thing to see a customers comments section on someone's site but actually seeing a customer make a comment is a lot more personal. When I did the "How its Made" thing I didn't want to blow up people's timeline with pictures so I used an app I have "before and After" that allows me to combine two pictures together, this allowed me to basically cut the number of posts in half and still be thorough. I use the same app for when I do restorations or repairs. I find FB very useful these days, so many people have it from young to old, definitely more young but they really aren't my customer base. I think its much more personal than just having a website, at least that's how I use it. A website is still equally important for ordering purposes and for those who don't use Facebook.

Where did you see that sales are suspended? On Robs site?

They don't actually have the same stuff at the same price. A lot of it is but others are different. Order Chicago screws or holster clips from both places and there's a definite difference. At one point I pretty much quit ordering from Tandy until I found out they aren't always the same thing. Also there are times when Tandy has sales that are cheaper. I get wholesale prices at both places but sometimes Tandys sales are even cheaper than that. I will say that I never called Springfield to find out if they would honor the price so they may but you'd have to call it in if so.

Just out of curiosity how come you don't use the thread stand that's on the machine? If you're using 4 oz spools they will fit with a little modification. I have a wooden dowel that's thick enough to fill up the inside of a 4 oz spool with a hole drilled in it to slide over the pin from the spool stand and under it I have an enlarged piece of soling material cut to about the size of the bottom of the spool. This is what I used before I got the powered stand and thread stand. And it slides right off if I need to use a 1oz spool. The one pound spools won't fit on it though. I'm sure your boot top works fine but that way may be quicker to do thread changes and there won't be as much thread out if you wind it back up. You should be able to resole your boots with a few hand tools, it would take a lot longer but that hardly matters if they are your own and not doing it for money. You might have to pick up a boot jack but they are readily available for cheap. It may be easier to go with a half or 3/4 sole so you don't have to mess with the heel base. If you ever need to buy just a pair of heels or soles let me know.

I would second Robs at the blue gun store. They are better quality than ones you get for .50 cents. I'd rather spend 1.00 or even 2.00 from Tandy and have a good quality clip than get one for .50 cents and it loses its "spring" in a year and fails on your customer. In the customers mind they are YOUR clip and when it fails they'll want you to replace it( which you should) or worse yet they won't even tell you but they will tell everyone else that the holster they bought has generic clips that don't last. I've used every clip out there for a while and for some of that time I didn't really notice a difference other than price as they looked nearly identical, then I had several failures all at once and I tracked it down to the cheap clip. If you replace it, now you're up to the cost of a good clip anyway, if you don't or they don't tell you, how much does an un satisfied customer cost you? Pass the cost on to your customer. They will gladly pay an extra 2 bucks for a quality clip.

Yes you are correct, the service you get from Tandy can vary greatly from store to store or manager to manager. If you want to deal with another store though you have to do everything by phone. My closest store recently got a new manager and the service has improved greatly. It used to be if I'd place an order with Tandy (60 miles away) and an order from Springfield ( halfway across the country away) on the same day a lot of times the Springfield order would arrive first. I also would have problems with them shipping it to the wrong address. Now with the new manager if I order it today it'll be here tomorrow. I don't buy any leather from them except on occasion when they have those crazy cheap sales on the low grade stuff ill pick some up for resale. There's only a few things that I order from Tandy, usually kits or tools for customers and I like their Chicago Screws better than ones I've got elsewhere.

I think what you'll find is some edges need burnished before assembly and some after as northmount suggested. There may be pieces you won't be able to burnish after assembly. I would personally dye all the pieces right after they are cut out and before burnishing the edges. For me I find I get a better edge easier on dyed leather, plus if you get any stray wax anywhere it could affect the dye penetration and you'll have light spots.

Sure, if you don't mind, that would be great. I'd take maybe 8 just to be on the safe side in case I mess one or 4 up. I can PayPal you the money for shipping and whatever a couple costs. Thank you!

I now use it and it works out well. Its an easy way of opening up lines of communications between me and customers. I make a lot of repetitive stuff so I don't post a bunch of stuff, normally if I do a custom job or something a little different from the norm. I also did a "How its Made" type segment and showed all the steps I take to make a holster and it was well received. I think it helped justify the cost for some people. It wasn't a "How To" so no one is going to learn how to do it really just see how its done. There's a lot of people who have Facebook these days so its almost a necessity. I now have my photo albums linked to my site so if I post a photo on Facebook it shows up on my sites gallery. That makes it easy because I do it all from my phone. Just don't overdo it and annoy people and all will be well.

Try Springfield leather. They will normally cut just about anything. Nevermind, I didn't read that you already tried Springfield.

They have a good selection, I didn't see different thicknesses really but I may not have looked hard enough. I may order a few of the ones that have to compare quality with the Weaver ones since I see they have them with finished edges and finished buckle ends too.

You need to be careful which ones you order from Springfield too as the quality can be bad if you get the low grade ones. But they are a pleasure to deal with. I hear ya on Tandys shipping. They are about 70 miles from my shop and I carry some basic tools and kits for customers who want to play around a bit. I don't sell much so I don't stock much but I can order it in, unfortunately they want to charge 9.00 for shipping no matter what it is so if a customer wants a 10 dollar tool it becomes 20 if they don't want to wait until I have more things to order. They could send small items first class for 2.00 and it would be reasonable. I would love to be closer to Springfield.

I have a press to set eyelets, its a little different than the ones that I see at knifekits .com but I don't see why it wouldn't work for just about any eyelet as I have a bunch of sizes of dies. I'd be ok with the hammer type too. I only need 4 long ones so I definitely am not going to invest in anything expensive to set these. Do you think the eyelets you're talking about would be good through two heavy layers of leather? Say 8-10 oz each. Thanks.

I'd just deal through Rob at RMB (bluegun store.com. His price is 39.99 and will ship free on orders more than 12 guns and you can be sure you'll get them and in a timely manner. He may even give a little better price for 25, you never know until you ask but I will say this, he simplified my life a lot as I don't have to track down the gun I need and then hope I either get it or get it in a reasonable amount of time.

I see what you mean by a boot top now. I use a lot of the 4oz and 1oz spools too because this machine only gets used for repairs as well. The one oz ones are good for the not so often used colors, the 16oz spools that I have are shared between this machine and my Consew. I have another Singer patcher just like yours that's in another corner, I keep it loaded with black thread that way if someone comes in needing something done quick (and its black) I'm able to do it right away if need be. I prefer using the Adler though for whatever reason. I don't have any type of thread stand on the Singer.

They are twice that now, I'd buy one for 250-300. 500 is a bit much though. This will do. Thanks again.

This is the thing I got, not sure what its called. Ill just mount my burnisher in the chuck and a felt wheel behind it. I shouldn't need to switch anything out then. I think I'm going to mount it on the edge of my bench raised out on 2X4 blocks. I got it from Lee Valley for about 30 bucks, I had the chuck, burnisher and sanding drum so I won't have much invested depending on how patient I am for the motor, I don't want to buy a new one so I might have to wait until I find one used. There was one at a flea market that I was going to buy a few months ago as a spare, I'm going to head up there again this weekend to see if its still there, it was the last time I was there but now that I want it I'm sure it'll be gone but there might be others.