Beaverslayer

Welcome to the forum drof, hope to see the finished holster when your done. Ken

Great looking straps as always Larry, thanks for sharing. Ken

Very nicely done there Taz, great job. Ken

Very nice Drac, is that Lamb skin that you used on the sides? Ken

Very Very nice seat as always David, love the color of this one. Ken

Well let's place the pocket now. Apply a bead of glue to the sanded area of where the pocket will be placed, all the way around on the inside of the line. Also apply a bead of glue to the edge of the pocket itself. Once the glue is tacky, starting at the top corner, press the pocket into place Then do the same to the other top corner. Now, on the side closest to the front, align the edge of the pocket with your line and press into place. Do the same on the opposite side as well. Now at the bottom of the pocket, align the centre of the pocket up with the mark you made at 4" up from the point and press down to attach. Using your finger or even a pencil, lift up the two bottom sides so they are away from the front panel. Carefully scrinch the pocket a bit and place it along the line at the bottom. This may distort a few of the prepunched holes, but not to worry, this gives the pocket it's desired shape. Now do the same on the other side of the bottom. Take your roller, and roll this seam very good, as you want a real good bond here for when you are lacing, it sometimes tends to come apart and give you a bit of a challange to lace. This is what the pocket should look like once it is glued in place. You will want to leave it for a few hours, for the glue to bond well. This gives you some time to relax, or work on something else while you wait.

Okay, moving right along here, let's show how to locate where the pocket needs to live. Make a mark 1 3/4" in from the front edge at two locations. Then measure up from the point 4" and place a small mark. Using your pocket template, align the edge and bottom up with these three marks. using your gel pen mark the edge of the pocket down the side and across the bottom to the middlie of the pocket. Then measure 5" across from the side line to the other side of the pocket. Place your template on the other side and mark a line down the side and across the bottom to meet the other line. Now from the bottom corner of the pocket make marks 5" up to show where the top of the pocket goes. Once you've marked it out, you now have to use some sandpaper to rough up the surface to make a good glueing bond. I use 220 grit sandpaper for this. Sand it about 3/16" wide all the way around the marked out area. Make sure to blow the area clean. You also want to sand the top of the inner side of the foled over piece of garment hide, abot 3/16" in from the edge as well.

Beautiful Leathercat, that strap looks very good, great job of braiding that heavier leather. Ken

Let's make a pocket now. This is fairly simply to make, yuou'll need some "Pigskin Suede" to line the pocket with. Using the pocket template, cut out a piece of your garment hide, then cut a similar piece of suede except this is 1" shorter as seen in the picture. You can cut 2 of each as there is 2 pockets. Then place a bead og glue all around the edge of the suede liner, and also the edge of the pocket front. On the front the glue bead only goes across the top of the pocket 1" down from the top. Once you have placed the liner onto the front, press them together untill they align up and roll with your roller. If there is any overhang of liner, just trim it off with your scissors. Now place a strip of painters tape 1 1/2" down from the top of the pocket. Apply glue to this whole top area, once tacky, fold the top over the edge of the liner and press them together. This is to keep the top of the liner from beeing exposed. Now with your roller, roll the seam good to seal the bond. I've made a template that I use to mark the hole for pockets, but all is the same as the rest. Across the top you want the holes spaced 3/8" apart but only 3/8" above each other, not the 1/2" we did on the other seams. This is because the lace running down the side is also 3/8" apart so the first laces will match the top laces. Only punch one row of holes down the side and across the bottom of the pocket.

To attach the yolk of the shoulder piece to the front panel of the vest, is basically the same as what you've just done on the back panel. Like the back, apply glue to the edges and fit together. Then mask off the area that is to have the strips glued down to and apply the glue. Also apply glue to the strips. Be sure to roll the strips with your roller to be sure the bond is good. Now you can mark and punch your holes. This is again the same as the back, 3/16" in from the edge, then 3/8" apart. Punch a hole in the middle of the seam bot h at the beginning. The hole in the middle by the "Point" is not needed on the yolk. Now lace the seams one at a time from the outer edge in. When you reach the middle and the end of the lace, sand and glue the tail down just like you did on the back panel. Roll the lace from the back, and your ready to do the other side.

I use a water soluable contact cement. It is blue in color, and is only water soluable while it is still wet, once it has made contact with both pieces that have the glue on it and bonded together, it is no longer soluable. I have used this glue on all of my work from hats to belts and vests and everything in between. It is just as strong as Barges, but there is no smell or odor, and it is non flammable as well. I purchase it at the local hardware store. Ken

Now, doing the same as you did on the previous side, start lacing the other side. Remember that you want it to start the same as you did on the first side, so that it is all the same direction. Once you've reached the middle, your lace should tail should be on the front of the vest. Run your needle through the lace on the opposite side, run it under this lace about 4 or 5 places, then pull nice and tight and cut it off. If the tail sticks out, you can just tuck it under with a lacing fid. Here's what the completed back should look like. And here's what the completed front should look like. Well, it's off to play some Texas Holdem for a bit, so I should be posting again sometime tomorrow. Maybe we will add some nice decorative 3 or 5 strand weave here someplace. We'll see what comes to mind while playing poker.

Once you've completed the first seam, you want to roll the lace from the backside of the vest. This will help to lay the lace down nice and even and give you lace a real nice look. This is what your lace should look like on the front of the vest. And this is what your lace should look like on the back of the vest.

When you've reached the middle of the vest, you will have to punch one more hole to be able to finish the seam. The placement is shown in this picture, circled in red. I will always wait till I've reached this point before I punch this hole, it sometimes has to be placed where it does not look like it should be. What I wll do is lay the lace down and see where it looks "Best" and then mark and punch the hole. Next, using a piece of sandpaper lightly sand away any stain or dye and also the shiny finish of the garment leather between the seam holes. You need to do this to help the glue bond, as it doesn't like to stick well to shiny surfaces. Now, cut the lace so that it can be glued down to the area that you've just sanded clean, apply glue to both the lace and the vest, and stick the lace down. Take your roller and roll this tail to make a good bond. This tail will be covered byt the lace that comes from the other side of the vest, and will also be held down by it as well.

Now we can start to lace. I'm going to use 1/4" lace that I have cut from the same garment hide. You do not really want to use a diferent lace as this tends to look a bit funny. If you need help to make your own lace, I have done a lace making tutorial that can be found on the Main Front page of the Leatherworker.net website. You will have to cut a piece of your lace 7 times the length of the seam, on this seam you don't want any splicing as it is a structural seam. To begin with, you run your lace through the middle hole at the outer edge of the vest. Leave about a 1" tail on the backside, this is to be glued down in such a way that it will be held in place by one of the following laces. Then, using a lace roller, roll the tail to make a good bond. Now, run your lace through the second hole on either the top or bottom of the seam. Whichever you decide is okay there is no reason to use one over the other, just be sure when you start the other side you do the same as this side to keep evrything the same. Pull the lace all the way through and snug, not real tight, just snug. Then on the backside, run your lace throught the first hole and pull it snug again. This will not cross over but be in a straight line. Then on the front, cross over to the second hole on the front, and run your lace through again. Again just make it snug, not real tight, as you don't want it to pull the leather and make it wrinkle. Then again from the backside, run your lace through the first hole like you just did previously, pulling it snug. Also you want to be sure that the lace is not twisted in any way, if it is, just give it a little tweek with your finger to straighten it out. Now, cross over the seam again and run the lace through the third hole, then on the backside, back up through the second hole, on the front across the seam into the third hole, and so on untill you've reach the middle of the vest. This is what the backside should look like, and also this is how your tail should be secured when you reach it.

Okay, here we go with punching the holes. Use a punch that is 1 size smaller than the lace you will be using. Start by placing punching a hole in the middle of the seam, this will be your starting point. Then following your marks, punch all the rest of the holes. You want them to be 1/4" on either side of the seam, this will give you a laced seam that is 1/2" wide. Then when you get to the middle of the back, you will have to be a bit careful as to your hole punching, you do not want them to be too close, but then you do want them to be about the same distance apart. You will also have to punch a few holes that are not marked, like the one at the very bottom of the "V".

Finally selling price for the one on E-Bay was $227.50 US, that's just crazy. I'm off to the garage sales today...LOL Ken

Thanks Roo, the exchange makes it even more enticing. Ken

Tina, you have come up with a wonderful idea, just a question though. Who do we decide to send our item to? Count me in, and please let me know who the recipient of an original Beaverslayer item will be. Ken

Here in Canada there isn't the same regulations such as they have in California. I would always check first though before shipping anything overseas. The 4.7mm natural, and the 6mm natural, what are the prices of it? And is an Australian dollar the same as a Canadian dollar? I ask because it is getting hard to find roo hides here in Canada. Ken

Great to have you here Collin, hope it warms up a bit way up there. Ken

The last step for now is to mark where you will punch the holes for lacing. Start from the outer edge of the shoulder piece and make a mark 3/16" in from the edge. From there place a mark every 3/8" apart until you get to the centre of the vest. Do the same thing on the opposite side. If you notice that one side is a bit different, this again is not a big problem, as you can adjust the spacing a bit as you punch the holes. I wish it was an exact science, but as yet it is not, very close though. Now you are ready to punch your holes and do some lacing. Bear with me, and I will have the steps for doing this later tomorrow.

Now we need to glue those strips of pigskin on to add strength to the seam. I stick painters tape to the leather to make it easier to only apply the glue where I want it to be. Once you've layed out the tape, use a wider paint brush and apply the glue, again don't go overboard with the glue, as you really don't ned that much, just enough to leave a thin filem Then apply some glue to the strips of pigskin, cut them to length first. Pull the tape off of the leather, then starting in the middle of the back, press the strip down following the curve of the seam. Once you've got both pieces pressed onto the seam, use your roller to bond the pieces together.

The next step is to glue the two pieces together, this will be the same proccess with each time we have to join two pieces of leather edge to edge.I use a water soluable contact cement. It's the same as normal Barges and such, except it is water soluable. It is very strong and will hold leather together very well. The main reason I use this rather than Barges, is that it will just rub right off of the finished side of the leather with your thumb and not leave any residue. Also there is no foul oder.First you want to apply a small ammount of glue to the edge of your shoulder piece. Try not to use to much, as it isn't needed. I use a small paint brush to apply it with....NO Q-TIPS!!! Next, do the same to the back panel of the vest. On this piece only apply the glue to within 1/2" of the outer edge, as the last 1/2" of leather is to be folded over and is not glued to the shoulder piece. Next, being VERY careful not to stretch the leather, and on a flat surface, join the two pieces together. Start in the middle where the tip of the shoulder piece meets the centre of the back piece. Using your finger nail or the edge of your thumb, press the two edges together. Use yoyr roller to roll back and forth across the two pieces to help bond them. Then you want to take your roller and roll the seam together FACE DOWN. This not only helps to make the bond, but doing it face down will make the finished side of the vest even, as the tooling hide is a bit thicker than the garment leather.

Leathercat, if you keep going the way you are, one day soon you too will be able to make one or anything like it.Ken