billymac814

I personally sew the holster together before doing the molding, that way its still flat or somewhat flat. There are times like repairing a holster or some other instances where you have to stitch right up next to something then I do as Wiz said.

Thank you, the Glock holster is made from around 8oz or so, possibly 8-10. It was formed with a regular shop press with gum rubber pads and finished by hand

There's seems to be a mixed bag of opinions here which is what I expected. I'm not complaining about the cost of what goes in to the steel and all the RD that goes into making a tool that works well. In fact that's exactly what I want to pay for because that's what's important to me. I was a little torn because of my earlier comment about the fact that I wouldn't cheapen on of my holsters or belts like someone else mentioned but I'm not making every holster out of an exotic skin, my base ones are quality cowhide, I wouldn't consider using a lesser grade leather or not finishing the edges to make one cheaper than that and I wouldn't want a tool maker to start using cheap steel or not putting in the research, I just don't need the fancy wood and other embellishments on my tools because that doesn't help me improve my work and it definitely doesn't increase my bottom line, well it does help when tax time comes around:-). I personally would choose the cheaper option on most of my tool purchases given the choice assuming they performed the same. If a leather wrangler knife is 275 with a plain handle or 310 with a fancy one i would take the plain one. That money saved could go to more tools that could make my end product better and would probably save me time or allow me to take on more jobs if I'm equipped to do so, all of those things would make me more money or just use the time saved by spending more time with my family which I don't have much time to do now. There are certain times when nice tools are cool to have especially if its something that you always use and they are always nice to look at but I don't need it for everything. I've spent over 50,000 in tools and machinery over the past few years, I always try to buy the best, I'm not cheap by any means however I'm running a business over anything else so I need to not only watch my expenses but make sure I have what I need to get the job done, the more I spend the less I make, that's simple math but I'm not saying I want to buy all Tandy tools because the math doesn't work there because any money saved goes into time spent reworking tools or trying to keep them sharp. Ill check out the company Bruce mentioned and see what they have. I am on Bruce's mailing list and check his site on a regular basis, he always has some amazing hard to find stuff. My main point of the post is what's currently available. It all seems to be of either low quality or super high quality with the super fancy wood or engraved brass pieces etc. Maybe what I'm looking for is out there, I don't know which is the reason for the post. Barry king tools seem to be the most reasonable for what you get, I haven't tried an edger from him yet and as of now ill probably be ordering one to try it unless I find something else in the mean time.

I agree, I end up polishing my own, I normally use the strop wheel on my tormek to get a good polished edge. I use the edge of it for the edgers. Most of the time I end up using my cheaper Tandy edgers as they seem to work better than some other brands I have. I'd like to find a good set but if I want 2 different styles with say 3 sizes of round bottom ones and one or two for sharp corners were talking 300.00 to 400.00 bucks just for a set of edgers. This is what started this rant which is why I keep bringing up edgers but it applies to just about everything as well.

I'm with ya, my Jeep is a 1996. I have no complaints with the way the pretty ones perform, everyone I've got works great, but I don't need them to be all fancy pants for an extra charge. I don't often see this in other trades for some reason, my guess is because the tool makers are usually also leatherworkers so they continue to make art through their tools. Now my thoughts are slightly hypocritical though because if someone wanted me to make a holster that was more utilitarian and they didn't care about how it looks I'd probably tell them to pound sand. I don't consider myself to be cheap, I just don't like to spend money on things that aren't important to me. Quality is important to me though and I'd rather be able to afford more quality tools rather than just a few that work the same but look pretty.

There were more tool makers that would either make or offer a more utilitarian tools that could be sold cheaper. Don't get me wrong I sure like looking at some of these very beautiful tools they produce but man they get expensive. I would gladly opt for an edger with a plain old handle that had an excellent cutting surface for less money than one made of some exotic wood with the same excellent cutting surface for a lot more money. I just want my stuff that performs well over top of anything else and not have to take out a business loan to get a few hand tools. Am I alone here or would there seriously be a market for a more utilitarian version of what they already offer. Or is there someone who makes what I'm after? Cs Osborne is pretty utilitarian by looks but the performance is so so on some of thier items.

Do they intend to send someone to read the manual to you and maybe an electrical engineer along with the wiring diagram to explain it to you? That's quite insane that any company would try to gouge someone like that. Sorry though I'm of no help but I hope you find one.

Very cool, I've done the the same technique a few times but I never thought of dyeing it a different color, I just left in natural. Thanks for sharing!

Its an Adler as Bob said, probably modified( this is what I got from Bob and Steve's post). I would think you'd be fine doing tack repairs with it as long as you don't need to sew beyond its capabilities. (1/2") Maybe one of the other guys will chime in and help you with cost, and more details on what would have been modified, I'd say alot will depend on condition and how well it sews. The best thing to do would be take the thickest and thinnest thing you'll need to stitch and go see it and try it out. You could also google The Model number that Bon gave a few posts ago and see what others have sold for. I know that doesn't give you much to go on, but hopefully someone else can chime in.

On a somewhat different but related topic It annoys me that when Tandy offers these sales that anyone can get them for the best price which is cheaper than the wholesale price. I'm a wholesale customer and sell a few of their basic tools and kits and if an item goes on sale I can't even match the price because unless I got it on sale its less than I paid for it. Half the time I wait until something goes on sale to buy it. That just doesn't seem right to me or those who pay for gold and elite memberships.

I would hope for the price it is that they would at least give decent leather. You would think it would be better than a 7 dollar cell phone case. If they would offer kits like that unpunched with decent leather I think it would be a viable option for certain projects. Sure you'd pay a little more than making the patterns yourself and cutting them but the time saved would be make up for it in the end if your selling it, especially if you're only making 1 of them, if you're making 10 I'd probably opt to cut them though.

I think that thread covered a single layer belt which generally dont get stitched unless its just for decoration. Pretty much any weight will work, it just depends on how thick you want it. My concealed carry belts are roughly 1/4" thick so I normally use two layers of 8 oz or somewhere close to that. Some make them with one layer thicker than the other. You could also do 2 layers of 5 oz for a lighter weight belt.

You'll get it. Do a couple belts, that'll give you some practice.

Here's a test piece that I did when I was deciding which way to go. I ended up going with the one on the right, they end up being spaced a little farther that way but I felt it seemed more secure and it allowed the back side to lay flatter so there wasn't a bulge after I put the liner on. You could also simply stitch it however that is the least secure way and I repaired several of those in my shop where the stitching starts to pull out. Lace up the loops while its damp so you can pull it pretty tight. I inserted a shell each time I made a loop and kept going.

Also flouresent lighting seems to work about as good as the sun. I can tell just when I let leather lay on my cutting table that it darkens up.

What he said.

Ill get volume 3 with my next order. That way ill have the set, I have most of his other books too, I buy them and then sell them in my shop, or at least they sit in my shop for sale. The only one I seem to ever sell is the handsewing one. Cj, good luck with the kit, be sure to post pictures when its done.

I agree that the Stohlman items are out of date in those books, the techniques are still good like you mentioned. But you never know when you need to make a case for a Poloroid Instamatic. I bought the first two, I should pick up the third, I didn't think it seemed pertinent to me but you never know. Its ashame that there really isn't anyone making these types of books anymore. Well none that I know of anyway, maybe there is??

A round awl won't cut through the leather easy, it'll just push the material out, that goes for hand stitching and machine stitching. You'll get the hang of the angle with practice, a stitching pony will make your life much easier. They are easy enough to make or they can be bought pretty cheap if you don't have the means to DIY. Also I'll occasionally stich my awl in a cake of beeswax, it makes going in and out a little easier. When you get the pony done you'll be able to see where the awl is coming through on the backside, if it isn't where you want it pull it back through and push it in again, if your pushing it into a poly board or something you can't see where its punching through.

What kind of cash are we talking for the machine plus shipping?

Isn't that a sole stitcher and not a patcher? If you were in the US I'd be interested.

Thanks, once in a while I'm even happy with my results! I'm a tough critic though.

I agree 100%. I used to constantly have problems with dye bleeding into my thread, now I use Pro oil dye and never have a problem no matter the color. Here are a few, and often times my dye is barely dry. I've tried leaving regular spirit dye dry for up to a week and it still bled during molding. I don't have the time to vinegaroon it all and I don't care for the smell, I k ow it goes away but still.

4" wide seems too wide to me too, I'd probably shoot for a tad wider than the length of the shells he'll be using. I don't know the average width but I'd say that would vary depending on the type of shell I'm not a bandolier maker so don't take my word for it. Here is the only thing I ever made with bullet loops. I do primarily modern gunleather so this was different than what I normally do.

I've sanded down stingray, you could do that so the edges are smooth and slide under easily. As far as glue goes I would normally say a contact cement however you'll probably need to be able to slide the stingray under the metal part so contact cement might be out . You'll need something that you can apply wet like wood glue (not saying to use wood glue, just something like it). Just don't use anything that expands when it dries like gorilla glue. Oh and sanding sting ray STINKS. It smells like burning dog toe nails. Where at least a dust mask