BIGGUNDOCTOR

Proper layout, consistency in your tension/piercing,and patience.

I was taught to dampen the leather .I believe it helps the dye penetrate the leather easier than when it is dry.

The slots pinch the card, and the lower cards keep the top cards from falling lower since they are angled towards the back when inserted. That's my story , and I'm sticking to it.

Depends on how long they are, I just used some for boot laces.

Any other info, or a pic from a catalog to show what they look like? I have a ton of tools, and may have some of these.

Ya just need to adapt to the new age. Plenty of folks want cell phone, smart phone, ipad , ipod , and Kindle cases, wallets are still used, same with belts, and purses. CD's are dying, but Mp3 players are coming in, and can be covered./cased A debit card still needs to be kept safe somewhere. BTW I still use checks. Lots of stuff can still be made of leather, but you just need to do your research, so you don't end up making a case for 8-Tracks - if ya know what I mean.

A coworker showed me part of a video that was shot at a Chinese fur farm. I won't post the link, but it is easily found if you want to check it out. Warning though, the images are very graphic, and very disturbing. I am not against fur, leather, and animal products in general. What I am opposed to is how these animals are being handled at these farms in China. The dogs, and other animals that they video taped were being skinned ALIVE, then tossed aside into piles to eventually die. I cannot imagine anyone who thinks that this is acceptable. To see those animals struggling under the knife, and howling in pain is horrible to see. He mentioned seeing one video with a cow be skinned the same way. Supposedly it is a faster way to get the skinning done, and doesn't bloody the pelt, I call BS. All I am saying is dispatch the animal in a humane manner before skinning. I also wonder how many women realize that the beautiful white fur on their coat, may very well be dog. It was noted that China now provides over 50% of the furs used today, even ones used for assembly in other countries. So knowing exactly where your items originate from can be tricky. I didn't hear stats on the leather like we use. There are some things in life that I could go without seeing, that was one of them. I have thought about what I saw for the last 3 days, and it will be awhile before I can shake those images. Absolutely sickening.

To answer your query directly, YES, I am proud to be an American. There are some who are ashamed to be, but I am not one of them , nor are my friends. The small (7,200 pop.) semi rural community I live in also has a lot of pride in being Americans. We have a great Veterans Day parade, we vote in large numbers, the local paper has articles that show the good that America does, and you see flags all over town. Las Vegas Nevada has the second largest Veterans Day parade in the U.S. I believe that even with its faults, I do live in the greatest country there is. I am not happy with some of the current politics, but we still have the power to change that. To the detractors I have said, fine, if it is so bad here move to another country.

I hadn't realized that was happening in the UK. Sorry to hear that. Yes, I would say that most of us are very proud to be Americans, although that there are some that would like to see some of what you described. We have that whole political correctness thing going on where we don't dare offend anyone. We have some people that are apathetic to others plights, usually in the big cities where people don't want to get involved-thank you lawyers. Although it does happens all over at times. Being a tool maker / machinist it really hurts me to buy items that are made overseas, when I know that they could be made here. But how do you compete with a communist country that provides rent free manufacturing buildings, and a steady supply of almost free labor? I want to see MADE IN USA on what I buy. I want to support fellow American workers. It was the USA's industrial might that helped turn the tide, and eventually help win WWII. The Germans made around 1,300 Tiger tanks, we cranked out 50,000 Shermans. It didn't sit well with me that Obama was going around the world and apologizing for us being "arrogant Americans". If America is sooooo bad, why do we have so many foreigners wanting to immigrate here? I have a big problem with how they don't want to enforce immigration laws, and are considering amnesty for the tens of millions of illegals that are here. My great grandparents immigrated from Germany in the late 1800's, and became US citizens the right way. Even a lot of legal immigrants are opposed to the amnesty. I gotta run, late for work, catch this later.

May have to check the buffet out, the RIO in Las Vegas also has an all seafood buffet that I have been wanting to try.. I drive through Mesquite everyday commuting to work, and back. I drive 206 miles a day, and that would give me a reason to stop other than hitting Smiths for groceries. Nothing happening in Utah's Dixie, and very little culture(small art scene). Zion/Springdale is the only spot I have seen so far that has potential, but that will have to wait till it gets warmer. Cedar City seems to have more going on with the various festivals. Funny how Utah as a different alcohol content for the beer sold there. I wonder how the breweries handle that. I grew up next to a very large Anheuser Busch brewery in Fairfield CA. Many folks have mentioned the culture shock that they experienced moving to Southern Utah. I would have to say that an Englishman traveling to Utah would be hard pressed to find any pub like thirst quenching, although I have heard some talk recently about them revamping the liquor laws.

This is why internet orders are not always as good as a brick and mortar location where you can actually pick out what you want. I have short wide feet with a high instep, so I never order shoes. I have to try them on before buying. Sane with leather, I want to see it, and feel it first. When I ordered military surplus guns from a supplier it was always with some trepidation as what some warehouseman thinks is great condition, may be only fair to me. It's good to fondle the goods before purchasing, but I realize that everyone may not have that opportunity.

Hey RooLeadGirl is Utah Vodka like the Utah 3.2% beer ? You must be bootlegging that in from Mesquite, cause you folks in Utah are not supposed to be drinkin that firewater. I am currently werkin in LaVerkin Utah. Pretty scenery, but nothing to do, not even in StGeorge. We call the folks with the lifted trucks, and other redneck things Utards. As to sweetened condensed milk, it is available in the baking section of the supermarkets. I just used a bunch to make 6 pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. For me I grew up with soda, or soda pop. Some folks just use Coke as a general term for carbonated sugary beverages.

No need to stamp stuff like this nowadays. Find a shop in your area with either a laser cutter, or water Jet. I used to make die sets when I had my machine shop,, and they are labor intensive as well as costly. New technology has brought the cost down for short run items like this. To deburr the edges you can run them through a vibratory tumbler, or the shop cutting them out may have one to do it for you. The repo stuff is coming out of China, and India. Parkerizing ( originally called Parker Rust Proofing) is a boiling operation, and very easy to do yourself. You can get the chemicals from Brownell's as well as other suppliers. My friend just did an 03 Springfield that was given to him. It had been sporterized, at some point, so no loss in value. All you need is a camp stove, and a stainless bowl, and you are good to go. You may also contact , I believe they are called, Turner slings to see if they have what you are looking for. International Military Antiques (IMA) may also be able to get you what you want, as they are one of the companies having reproductions made.

The 1907 slings I have seen have brass hardware. You may be able to find some rotted slings that you can salvage the hardware from. What era are you looking for?

The one I saw at Tandy was around 4x5 inches and looked around .250" thick. If you were closer I would give you some .250" thick glass that I have, I literally have tons of it. I would suggest using plate glass, not tempered. Glass loses 80% of it strength when scratched, or chipped. Plate glass may chip, but it won't shatter like tempered will. A local glass shop may have some scraps that you could use. I myself have never used one, but I am thinking of making one to try out, since I have tons of glass.

You location would also be helpful since this is a worldwide forum. That doesn't look like the steamer trunks I am familiar with.

That can be fixed easy enough, but I would say either wrong material, or improper heat treating was used in the manufacture. You would think that CS would have it down by now, but hey seems everyone is cutting corners to keep profits up. Was it made in USA, or overseas? At work I have made emergency punches out of unhardened steels to cut rubber, gaskets, etc that hold up fine when punching into the end of a 4x4. To fix that punch, I would find a center punch, or other tool with a taper that will fit into the punch. Tap that in to iron out the dents, and get it round again. Then I would spin it in my lathe to true it up, and sharpen. Without a lathe,or knowing someone with one, a drill, or drill press could be substituted. As soft as that is a good file will reshape, then stone it smooth. Without a drill you can file it back into shape too. Flatten/straighten the edge then put the bevel on. As an experiment I would heat to bright red, quench in some oil, polish with some sandpaper, then draw to a straw-to-purple, and re-quench. Most of my punches are hard to tough enough where a file has a hard time cutting. Of course they are more prone to chipping, but with proper backing they stay sharp for a long time.

Have you priced lead lately? Those $20 bags of shot are over $50 now. China, and India are buying lead, along with other metals, to further industrialize. Scrap lead was pushing $2 a pound, we used to get wheel weights for free, or up to $.10 a pound. Trap ranges are "mining" their ranges for the shot. The Martinez trap club pulled close to 120,000# out of theirs one year. If you can get it free to cheap , get it. Proper handling will mitigate health concerns. As with most metals ,they pose an inhalition hazard IE; dust, and vapors. MSDSs are available online.

Something that you might consider doing is getting a life casting made of your hand. This way the craftsman can fit the glove to it, and you don't have to be there. You might be able to get the casting done at a good hobby shop/art supplier, college art dept/ medical dept, or do it yourself. There is a company, I believe it is called called Smooth On, that sells the stuff you need.

Sounds to me like the punch was not heat treated correctly, or poor material. I would expect a punch to chip an edge before rolling over. I use end grain wood, be it soft, or hardwood, but always end grain.

I was going to suggest trimming your thumbnails if you had a problem with them clicking I run Firefox with Ubuntu (LInux), and have no problems.