lws380

Wood would work as well if you prefer. Sitting on Leather I doubt that would cause rust. I’m north of San Antonio but we have our fair share of humidity. But my shop has heat and a/c so humidity is not a problem in there. I’ve had some of these dies for 5/6 years and rust has never been a problem.

We recently got 12 more dies. We get our dies from Texas Custom Dies and they make great dies, highly recommend. We have a bunch of dies and wanted to organize them a little better for storage. Trying to find/create space in our shop for a laser we recently ordered. We purchased a bakers cooling rack and 20 full sheet pans from the nearest restaurant supply in San Antonio. It holds 20 full sheet baking pans. When we first loaded the pans they did not slide very easily when loaded with dies. So we put 1 1/4 inch leather strips on the tray racks. Now the trays slide very easily. Just used Barge's cement to glue the leather strips to the rack. We had a bunch of splits from a Hermann Oak order and used that for the 1 1/4 strips. We also used it in the pans to protect the dies. Just about anything in the pans to protect the dies will work like thin foam. we had tons of splits so just used it. this thing holds all of our dies and we have several shelves left over for more when we need to order more of them. Thought I might show a picture and describe what we did, in case someone else has the same problem.

They no longer offer products in but sizes either according to my store that I visited. I wanted Chicago screws in 100 packs, but now the biggest in 10 packs. Great way to drive away business. I'm guessing some marketing moron is involved.

Was it new when you bought it? That machine looks older than a year old to me. I've had mine many more years and it does not look that bad. Good luck on your sale!

Very nice! I like the use of copper rivets too. I use them on the bags I make as well. Customers seem to like them! Thanks for posting!

I have ordered several hides. I get some single hides of Hermann Oak sometimes. They only offer B grade Hermann Oak. But the B grades I've received have been good. I got several other leather hides for leather bags there as well. Good service. Tell them your requirements when you order and that will cut down on possible returns. For instance, If I'm making large bags from hides, I ask them to not send me anything with holes in it or it will be returned. So they comply and send me good stuff.

Is there not an option to not read it?

I use Hermann Oak leather for my holsters and buy directly through them. When I first started I did not need to but 10 hides at a time to meet their minimum. But several years ago I needed more and more leather and can meet their minimum. Weaver and other wholesalers buy from Hermann Oak and add 20-25% mark up. I buy about $8-$10,000 in Hermann Oak hides per year. I get much better leather buying direct. Many wholesalers only offer B grades and i can get more A grades ordering direct.. I have never been un-happy with ordering direct from Hermann Oak. I can certainly meet the minimum purchase with Weaver with leather, but don't see the need to pay a 20%+ markup for lesser leather. Weaver does not offer exotic skins and I purchase thousands of dollars of exotics as well. So I limited with them for hardware, tools and other leather supplies that don't make the cut. Oh well, I can generally find what I need elsewhere without the minimums. Plus Weavers shipping cost is way out of line IMO.

I'm disappointed Weaver Leather requires minimum purchases to buy their products. And if you don't meet the minimum, they charge a $200 per year "fee" to buy as wholesale. I've bought several things in the past, but being a small business, likely will not ever get to the $1200 per year minimum to avoid a $200 per year fee to order. I did buy their large floor model snap setter in excess of $500 and some other tools in the past. It is unfortunate they appear to not want any business from small businesses, without jacking up their prices through the use of retail pricing or jacked up member fees. Have bought from them at leather shows as well, but likely no more. Seems to me they work hard to turn away sales. I understand their business model, but I'm disappointed they push away small businesses like mine.

I have 2 Cobra 4's. 277 bonded nylon thread (top and bottom) in both, one white and one black thread. I use # 24 needle on the white thread, and #25 with black thread. I used a #24 on the black thread and got sporadic skipping. Changed to the larger #25 for the black and skipping stoped all together. Back thread is considerably stiffer than the white.

Yes, mostly cosmetic. I doubt one row would fail, especially with 277 or higher thread. But there is no doubt it is stronger double stitched. I've looked at some big named holster makers and they double stitched. Considering it looks good and is easy to sew with a machine, I've done it too for larger guns like full size 1911's.

Good job for the first try. On large guns like that I like to double stitch the lines on both sides of the gun. Try it and see if you like it or not.

Should work, if it is a J-frame 1 7/8 inch, it should work. They are all the same size.

I have ordered a few times from the Buffalo Leather Store. First time I got 2 hides and all seemed OK. The second time I got 3 hides and one was total junk and had to be returned. It has several holes in the middle of the hide, which made it useless for the projects I had. I got a store credit for that hide. I also figured out at that time, I was charged not by the sq. ft., but by the hide. When I questioned that, I was told they charge by the hide and the average hide is 23 sq. ft. But they also advertise $7.00 per sq. ft. on their website. Every other place I've ordered from charges per sq ft they send me. Apparently, that is too hard for The Buffalo Leather store to figure out, even though every hide is marked individually the amount of sq. ft. per hide. The owner told me it is a web based sell and they can't charge by the sq. ft. Of the 3 hides that I got on the second order, only one was barely 23 sq. ft. and the other two were 19+ and 16+ sq. ft. So after I do the math I figured I paid a little less than $9 per sq. ft., because it is too hard for them to read the sq footage on the hides and multiply by $7.00. I was given a credit for the difference to bring my cost back to $7. Some hides are over 23 sq. ft. and I guess they charge the same per hide charge. However, with that process, the customers that get under 23 sq ft are subsidizing those that get over 23 per sq ft. That is not fair in my eyes. I recently ordered 3 more hides and the one was total junk, so I returned it. Still waiting for a refund, but I'm told by the owner that he does not know how to do the refund and needs to talk to his accountant, even though they have had the returned side for a week now. When trying to contact via email or phone about the returned hide, communication was zero on their part for a week. would not return emails and not answer at 2 different phone numbers. One number has a voice mail, but it is full, so you can't even leave a message if you wanted at that number. They seemed to ship the product quickly when you want it. Unfortunately, you may be paying a pretty higher percentage in cost for what you get. Also, it appears that in my last 2 dealings, it is a crap shoot on the quality you might get. And God forbid you want a refund, as they have apparently not figured out how to do that yet. Based on my experiences, I would pass on The Buffalo Leather Store. I can get the same thing much cheaper at the Hide House and they have apparently figured out how to charge you for the exact amount of leather you purchase, which still alludes The Buffalo Leather Store. YMMV

I have a Cobra 18 and it seems fine for me with thinner leather. I actually bought it because i have two Cobra 4's that do not sew real thin stuff. I use the Cobra 18 to sew thinner purse/bag straps, wallets, Thinner Ipad covers, etc. I generally sew 69 and 138 thread with the Cobra 18. I even sew purse/bag liners with the Cobra 18 and the material is duck cloth. I use #69 thread and a fabric needle to sew the duck cloth. I've been happy with the Cobra Class 18.

I do cut it hair down and use my round knife. I have a 4X8 table with cutting board material on it as my cutting table to accommodate full 1/2 hides. Having the vac around to immediately suck up the hair works pretty good, but you have to do that before you start moving the cuts parts around or it flies everywhere.

Thanks, Me neither, but the dang thing grew on me after I made it. The girl I made it for is all country and loved it. The stuff makes a mess when you cut it, as hair is everywhere. I try to cut it out side when possible or have a shop vac handy if I'm inside.

I've been trying my hand a some women's purses/totes. Here are a couple of the latest ones I've done. These are about the 6th and 7th one I've done, and they have gotten better than the first ones. Did not line the first couple, but the liner makes them look much better IMO. This one is Bison with a cloth liner. The person I made it for ran track for the women's track team at The University of Texas and she liked the liner! This one is hair on cow hide with a light colored liner

Does the rivet show on the inside? Not sure of how you constructed. Looks like the rivet would be on the inside of the holster and then covered with the outer layer stuff. Also the hole looks too big. I punch a hole barely the size of the rivet stem. If the rivet shows on the inside it could scratch a gun. I use the same rivet but rivet it to a strip of leather. Then glue and sew that to the outside of the holster. Never had one come loose or fail in 9 years.

I like and use 6/7 for pocket holsters. R J Hedley used that weight and he suggested that weight to me. He was known for great pocket holsters, so I was not going to argue with his success and experience.

I use two layers of 6/7 and that works well for me and have nice comments about the belts. 6/7 also allows the belt to be worn as a regular dress belt if wanted. If someone wants a thicker belt you can offer it, but I think most will be pleased with 2 layers of 6/7. The thicker it gets, the less it is likely to work in varieties of belt loops. My Cobra 4 makes sewing belts a breeze. I use 277 upper and lower thread and a 25 needle for black thread.

I use drawing pencils to trace patterns and general use on leather. I get them at Hobby Lobby. They come in various softness but I use the 5b. Much easier to see than a regular pencil and you can still erase if needed. Not a fan of ink on leather. http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/general-pencil-kimberly-drawing-pencil-5b-364521/

When I had shredding it came from the shuttle hook. I removed and buffed the point with green rouge on a soft buffing wheel. Reinstalled and shredding was gone. If doesn't take much of a burr to cause shredding.

I have the Heritage foot press from Weaver. Very nice machine and sets snaps perfectly every time. But I suggest getting the dies from Tandy. The Weaver foot press uses the Tandy dies (setters) and the dies are cheaper at Tandy if you have a business account.

I got the Cobra strap cutter a few months ago and like it. Personally I like the power cutter option, rather than having to crank.