camano ridge

If you are using a concealed carry style belt (double thickness) you will findd that the oblong punch from either of those two sources will give you a fairly skinny slot. Some of the makers on here have had custom made punches done to give them the width they want. Some of the rest of us use a round punch at each end of the slot then connect the holes with a wood chisel. Then smooth out if needed with a dremel. The Tandy punch will cost close to $40.00 and will most likely need sharpening before it will cut well for you. Looks like Red is a faster typer then I am. He beat me to it. You mightalso do a search can't remeber what it is under or PM Dwight. He did a little step by step making his own slot punch out of conduit. Looked pretty easy and he says it works great.

As troop said round the corners, sharp corners will become blunted and dog eared. As to the stitch line the stitch line around the trigger guard looks just about perfect.

Welcome, Your best bet is to start out using the search box in the upper right corner. Search Dog collars and you will find many examples and people usually say what type of leather they used width etc. In most cases you will want to use Veg tanned leather espescialy if you will be tooling or stamping designs. DO a search for begining tools or storting tools. You will find varing lists of toos. Since you want to start out with dog collars, a basic collar is nothing more then a strap with hardware on it. So you will need something to cut leather a utility type razor knife or box cutter will work just fine, an edge beveler to bevel the edges of the collar, a piece of hardwood with a groove in it for burnishing the edges, a hole punch, snap setter, rivet setter something to pound with. As you get experienced you will find there are different types of Dog collars and what works for small dogs will not work for bigger dogs etc. Again researching google and using the search bar in these forum is the best way to get started. If you are into pinterest do a search on pinterest for dog caollar patterns. As to suppliers I think you are a bout 150 miles from Loisville, there is a Tandy in louisville also Thouroughblood Leather is in Louisville. Cliff Fendely of Fendely Knives in La Grange Ky (he is a holster maker as well) http://www.fendleykn...ives.com/ uses Thouroughbloodd leather and says it is good leather and he can go in and pick out what he wants. For on line suppliers check the banners at the top of these pages. Do a little research then come back with more specific question. Here is a basic tutorial on making a leather dog collar. There are also youtube video on How to make a leather dog collar. Look under the Other specialty heading on these forums and you will find collars. THere is a thread going right now I think it is Help cutomers driving me out of business where some methods are shown for properly measuring for dog collars. Attached is a simple template for a dog collar. Good luck and have fun. dog_collar_template.pdf dog_collar_template.pdf

Sovran81, my appologies you did mention it. So much for my speed reading skills.

I don't think you will get near the results trying to hot stuff yourself. The hot stuffing process is done as part of the tanning process a mix of heated oils fats and waxes are saturated into the leather and the leather is then dried leaving the pores filled with the oils and waxes. I think what ever process you go you won't get there with leather alone. If you wetted vegtan then left dry it will stiffen and be firm however you won't have the give for comfort that you won't. I wood think laminating the leather to a piece of nepreme or an old mouse pad would give a better surface.

If you are not going to be tooling it, get a piece of hot stuffed veg tan leather. It has been hot stuffed with oils and waxes. It is very firm and smooth. Most of what I have has a polished look to it. You can wax it some more with renisance wax orr similar durable wax product.

If you search ninagroon you will find several therads on it. However to save time go to this link it will give you a bunch of information on vinagroon and other old time dyes. The coffee and walnut dyes can be usede on rawhide. http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,11991.0.html The breif diescription above is a good starting point. The important thing is not to rush you vinagroon let it age every week or so stick a piece of scrap in watch for it to turn color. After you remove it from th roon put a little neatsfoot oil on it you should have a nice black. One thing not mentioned above is once you have rooned your project you need to put it quickly in to a bakingsoda bath then rinse with water to neutralize the vinagroon. (that is all discussed in the link above.

The only source I have eve found for C- clips is Comp-Tac and they are a bit pricey http://www.comp-tac....?products_id=79

Tandy has them listed as border stamps D 443, D444, D455, D447. Other makers such as Hackbarth, Barry King and so on call them Meander or Serpentine stamps. ( I am not Frank but just thought I would throw the info out any way). Hope that helps.

Here is a link to the stitching pony video ToddB68 was refering to.

The measurements are given It is a rectangle. You suold be able to draw a rectangle using the measurements given (the length is the folded length so x2). You can enlarge the picture of an open wallet to the actual height. You should then be able to get measurments and draw the inside pieces. I don't mean to take anything away from anyone that is willing to make something, but $140.00 for that?

It is available from Tandy Leather Craft Library as a digital download for $6.99. https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/p-1496-14-patterns-for-the-leather-craftsman-by-al-stohlman.aspx?

I don't think it is a matter of being torn it is just two ways of doing things neither one is wrong. However some have personal preference for one or the other. I do it either way depending on my mood and the look I am trying to get. You will find that on an unlined holster if you dye and then seal the inside it does help to keep the fuzzies under control.

Chief, good design on the sling template. Was not aware you were the designer of that one.

That looks pretty good I just might have to try that.

Glockanator, you are welcome. I am always happy to help someone if I can The holster looks great.

Troy, this might help also it is a down loadable patternand instructions for a 1907 rifle sling done by Roy 29 (eightbits) a member on these forums. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=51400&hl=%2Brifle+%2Bsling

Rooster, here is the link. I have the template and it works great the insert for the inlay cut outs works very well. Edit: Dead Link Removed

If you load it to a thumb drive and take it to your local copy shop they will print it out on A1

You beat me to it, I was just going to tell you Hardware elf, Tandys and Springfield leather. Tandy calls theirs 2 prong strap hooks.

You mean like these http://hardware.myknobs.com/?text=lion&gclid=CJCO6ZKHz7wCFQWTfgodPl4AVw (scroll down the whole page) google Lion heasd drawer pulls you will find many sources.

I am not seeing anything real unusual. The ones with the rings are drawer pulls you can get at home depot Lowes etc. The actual conchos you can find similar ones at conchos.com, buckleguy.com, buffalobrothers.com, Bertruns village. Most of what I see are spotsw you can find spots like those at standard rivet company, sx industries (Timco).Bertruns village etc.

For the type of work we do with leather, the harbor freight stuff seems to do just fine. I have a two harbor freight drill presses. one is set up with a burnisher the other is a floor model I use for drilling metal and wood for knife making.I also have a harbor freight bench top belt and disc sander combo. I have had all three in service for several years and never had a problem with them. I also have a Ryobi oscilating drum sander and it works great as well. The harbor freight stuff seems to work fine and it is fairly cheap. The Ryobi brand seems to be fine also and can frequently befound on sale for close to harbor freight prices.

Looks good shooter.

The problem is we are all saving so we can buy are own Cobra 4