BIGGUNDOCTOR

Strike 2! That link doesn't work either....I get some generic site for Http listings. That is correct Sewmun, and I failed to think about that aspect, as I just took it for granted. When driving pins it is imperative to have a solid backing , so that the full force is directed into the pin, and not sucked up by the mechanism moving, flexing, etc.. I should have mentione dthat as I have chastised a couple of fellow workers about driving pins out of unsupported parts. I lend them my bench block, and it pops right out, and with less force. The reason I get on them is that if they bend the push rod, it makes more work for me since am the tool maker for the company.

When posting questions like this it helps to know where you are located. If you were close I could do the work for you. Bushings can be purchased from various sources in standard sizes. Industrial suppliers like MSC, or McMaster, possibly Harbor Freight, good hardware retailers, and bearing supply houses should carry the bushings you need. Again, if we knew where you live we could direct you better. For this application steel, hard plastic,or brass will work fine. The main thing will be to get a snug fit to help eliminate skewing of the stamp. Y'know , after thinking about this some , a piece of rubber tubing may be the ticket. Slip it over the handle, shove it into the arbor press hole, no set screw need if snug. The give in the rubber would possibly allow the stamp to align perpendicular with the leather, whereas a solid bushing would keep the stamp angled if things are not in alignment. Yes, a hole, or slot, in the bushing to let the set screw pass through it to reach the stamp. Another method would be to have a Vee machined into the front of the ram, with a flat at the top to bump the tool against. Simply place the tool into the vee, and clamp with a hose clamp, C-clamp,or other method. The Vee would allow various sized shanks to be held without bushings. Again , if you were close to me I could do the machining for you.

The link you posted is not working. Hard for me to give any more advice without knowing exactly what you are dealing with. Being a machinist, and a plant mechanic at one time, I have dealt with taper pins before, but they usually pop out without too much fuss. As to the one not going all the way back in. You may want to pull it out, and replace the pin. If it got swelled during removal, or slightly bent it won't seat correctly. That could be why this one is not coming out, it's bent, or notched. If that is the case, drilling it out to relieve some tension is an option. Pins are inexpensive compared to the parts they hold together. Being a machinist, and having tools like milling machines, and drill presses at my disposal , drilling it out is a "simple" solution for me. If you don't have access to to these it could be a difficult solution. The idea is to drill it out progressively to thin the walls down so that it can collapse and come out. Taper pins are good in that if you do nick the bore, all is not lost. With a standard round pin you might have to open it up to the next bigger size. With a taper pin you just ream it a little deeper. to seat the pin deeper. It is basically a round wedge. The only other thing I could be is that being in NZ it is opposite than up here

Another niche would be reproduction military holsters. Not for the Maks, I was buying new surplus holsters for $1ea., but items like the 1912 Steyr Hahn . Some of the repo holsters I have seen are lacking in quality. As to the holsters above, to someone like me they look like any other holster. I couldn't tell a "simply rugged" sour-dough from another style. I do know what sourdough loaves look like though, as I grew up outside of San Francisco

Make sure that they are going the right direction. One side should be noticeably bigger than the other. Taper pins have a .250" per ft taper. Do you have a manual that shows the parts in an assembly, or exploded view? IE: are you sure that they are taper pins? If they are in fact taper pins , and you are mushrooming the end, stopping was the right move. A taper pin should pop out with a good rap or two. Does it have a set screw, or something else used to lock it in place, or has it been Loc-Tited? If Loc-Tite has been used , you will have to warm it up to release it. Be patient, and don't beak anything.

You have my condolences James. I lost my Mom back in 2003. The grief will subside soon enough, but the hole that is left will always be there.

Your best bet will be to make a pattern, or borrow one to do the fitting. As to how much extra to leave will depend on how you intend to make it. Stitched up the sides, stitched up the back, one piece, multiple peices,,,,,,,,,, Personally I would go with a tooled case that is more rigid, but that is just me, the guy who prefers paper books to any electronic version. You know the ones I am talking about. The ones that don't need batteries, go anywhere, easy to read in the kitchen while cooking the recipe or working under the hood of the car, might get a little wrinkled if they get wet, can be used to level tables or boost other items, can be dropped or even thrown without worry, can be used to start a fire in an emergency, easily recycled, usable for art projects, have a cool factor when you are holding a very old version, can have a smell that brings back memories, develop a personality with dog eared pages/ fingerprints /doodles,never go on the fritz, and easily read in the park on a bright sunny day.

Nice work. For snapless, you might want to try one that has a military style to it. A lot of European / Asian ammo pouches (German, Russian, Yugo,,,,) use a metal stud on the bottom, and a leather strap that has a tight fitting hole to the stud. These leather pouches were used from WWI-till about the 50's when other materials started to make inroads into the military equipment usage. A lot of the later cloth models use a wooden toggle that gets passed through a loop. That would look nice too, as nice woods could be used to accentuate the pouch. Maybe even a strong magnet to keep a clean look.

Hmmmmm, looks like the van wasn't included in the rapture today. Went to the warmer destination....... Glad to hear everyone is OK.

If any of you voted, THANKS! I got second place, and a $100 gift certificate to Paymon's restaurant. The news guy said on air that he thought mine should have won, as well as the receptionist when I called the station. Doesn't matter, I am happy with how I did, and my prize.

Do a forum search for noise, quiet, etc. This has been covered a couple of times this past year. Wood transmits sound very well, that is why it is used in so many musical instruments. See if you can set up a small shed to use as a workshop. Find another location, like a friend's garage, to do your work. Go talk to your neighbor, and see if you two can work something out. Maybe make something that she can use, and give it to her to break the ice. If she is that picky, you may not be able to get enough mass density under your slab to make her happy. Look on Craigslist for used tools, as well as garage sales, fleamarkets, and other venues to get a better price.

Hey Folks, My slogan for Las Vegas is Vegas, the year round playground. Voting ends at 5pm PST today the 20th, and I could use some more votes. You don't need to live here. www.kxnt.com look for the new slogan banner/tab thanks, walt

A good grove is one that the trees are spaced properly for best fruit production, harvesting, and pruning.

What you may not see from the "reputation", or advertising , is a company saddled with debt, slow sales, or just plain mismanagement. Not your fault, just good BS on their part. I know we all need cash flow, and don't want to turn down work, but when the first seat wasn't paid for is when you should have said "Sorry guys, no payment, no more seats.". How would they feel is someone didn't pay for a bike? Of course this is easy for us to say now since hindsight is always 20/20. As a small businessman myself years ago I also made mistakes that cost me. As Dave Ramsey says, we just paid some stupid tax. It is hard to tell someone that you won't do the job when you can, but you can't make a profit for someone else, and stay in business. Hope this all works out for you. Keep good records, and be careful of making any possibly slanderous remarks, just stick to the facts, and nothing but the facts.

Smooth-on has casting resins that are solid when cured. From what I read in the forum you listed they used a soft silicone resin, which I wouldn't use either. Smooth-on also just acquired a prosthetics company, and is offering their resins now as well as their own. With Smooth-on type molding capabilities you could cast a foot out of any material capable of being poured- even cement. A cement shaped foot would not make a good shoe last, but it would make a lasting foot I have a short wide foot with a high instep, so I know that good fitting shoes are a must, as my feet don't fit most normal footwear. I usually have to go one size up to get the width I need, and I can forget most pull on boots due to my instep.

Smooth-on.com has casting supplies that I think one could use to make an exact replica of a foot. Why calculate, when you can have an exact replica?

I am in the same boat, but I would think that a thin lining leather could be contact cemented onto the back. Try a forum search for "lining" and see what comes up.

You may want to explore the iforgeiron.com site. There are some guys there that dabble in armor making. A really good group of folks who like to help others. You may want to do a combination of leather with metal scales, or some other hard plate protection. Heart, lungs, kidneys should get the most protection. He must be making some good money to tend a rough bar like that.

Once you were done you could glue a patch of lining over the backside. With some low temp solder you could solder the wire to keep it all together, and smooth it out. There are also some good epoxies out now. But with wire, once it is bent, it won't unwind like thread will, so I would lean towards the lining glued over the whole mess to provide a smooth surface.

It would take a series of different sized stamps to create a gator hide on cow. I believe that factories use large roller dies $$$$$$ to do the effect. There are some nicely done faux gator hides produced nowadays. I saw some at my local Tandy that were really nice.

Instead of thread, you could also use brass wire to sew them on with.

Maybe it is because I am a machinist, and do some blacksmithing too, but a mallet is very comfortable for me to use. What I meant by a good mallet is one that is constructed of something other than the lightweight wood ones that come in the Tandy kits. I have a decent sized Garland rawhide mallet that was my Mom's form the 50's (haven't weighed it, just know it works for me). I have a very old 7# (112 oz) maul that came with a load of stuff I purchased last summer off of CL, and have yet to bash something that hard.

So, all that you are looking to do is decorate a rope can, or do you want to make the whole can out of leather? Al Stolhman did a series of 3 books on making cases with leather.

First things first. Get a good mallet, and a chunk of granite, or marble to work on. Then locate a SOLID workbench to set it on. Work on the floor if you have to, but you will need a sturdy, and solid surface to tool on. You don't need the stamps, and your project bouncing all over the place. Watch Craigslist too for leatherworking stuff. Most of my gear has come to me secondhand.

Welcome to LW from Southern NV.