JS22

I can tell you exactly how Sam finishes his belts. First, he gets his suede from Hide House in Napa California. It is 4-5 ounce chap split. He then glues it to the belt with Barge cement overlapping the belt edges with the suede. When dry, he uses a exacto knife to trim the suede from the leather around the edges. After sewing, to get the bevel on both the leather and sued side of the belt, he uses a #5 Osborne edge beveler. He slicks the edges with water only, then finishes his edges with a concoction of fiebings and angelus brown edge coating. Well, there you go! Hope that helps. I have spent wayyyyyy too many hours in Sams shop

Your probably correct. Not too many cowboys wearing stingray in the 1800's. However it was available and the technology to tan them did as well. I used a Cowboy 3500 from Bob at Toledo sewing.

Yes, it was spliced in the middle of the back. It is not very noticeable at all. I sanded the overlapping piece down to a very thin edge so the married together perfect. The other two splices are located under the billet ends so its not noticeable.

Well, building the rig for myself has paid off. Just got an order for a rig just like it with matching shotgun belt, 2 knife sheaths, and cowboy cuffs. In addition to a spinal stingray dress belt to boot. Looking like alot more dremel work in my future. Thanks for the compliments.

Yes sir. Alot of dremel work to say the least.

346 bonded nylon and #26 needle

Have wanted to make this rig for myself for a long time. I finally got around to it just before Christmas. I shoot cowboy action and getting to wear and model my own leather has brought me the most bang for my buck when it comes to advertisement. This one has turned a few heads. Tell me whar you think.

Havent posted in a really long time. Been very busy with this leather stuff. I primarily build cowboy leather for the cowboy action shooters but on occasion I dabble in concealment. Finally got around to building the stingray holster for my Dad's Glock 19 for Christmas. He's been asking for two years. Also finally got around to making a hornback crocodile holster for my Sig 938. Tell me what you think. Thanks, John Sapp JSCustomleather.com

Post says it all. I'm looking for a source for violet ( purple ) spinal stingray. My regular suppliers of stingray only have the normal black, green, burgundy in spinal. I know I ran across it once on the web when I wasn't looking for it. Now I can't find it.

K-Man Sent you a PM

I'm in need of a mold for a 5.5" old model vaquero or its equivelant. Checked Duncans and have sent an email to Rob here on the wire but I'm impatient. Any ideas? Thanks, John

Cut that booger with serrated tin snips. Cuts like butter and you can be very precise. Sand the edges with a belt sander or dremel but as already stated, avoid the dust. Good luck!

I have several different chap patterns from Tandy and from Dusty Johnson. There are 3 different style patterns on one large pattern sheet. How in the world do I transfer these patterns to cardboard or the like without having to buy the patterns 3 times to get use of all 3 patterns.

Sorry, shouls have checked before I posted. Here's the link. http://riteonscrew.com/allproducts.html

Try ritescrew.com for your screws. Only $5 minimum and they will ship vis USPS priority. They also sent samples of some screws I had asked about.

I remembered seing this post some time back and felt I needed to add my 2 cents. I too ordered snaps from DOT fasteners what will be a month ago tomorrow 11/3/2011. 3 weeks into waiting with no charge on my card, I called to inquire and was told they were waiting on 1 item and that my order would ship by that Friday. That was last Friday, nearly a week ago now and no shipment. I called this past Tuesday 11/1/2011 to again inquire. This time I was told the order was ready and would ship Wednesday 11/2/2011. Now I'm not sure if the package is in the mail but I can't see them shipping it without first charging my card or atleast putting the money on hold. Neither of which has been done. Aside from the fact that they are obviously slow in fullfilling orders, as previously posted, but they are extremely difficult to get a hold of. I have yet to have anyone actually answer the phone. I have had to leave stern messages to get someone to call back both times. My advice, which I intend on following myself, is to pay a little more somewhere else and deal with alot less hassle. I can't recommend this company to anyone. Your experience may vary.

+1 to what Twin Oaks said. There's a reason why that piece was left over at Tandy. A little nap would be Ok in most instances, but if its as furry as it sounds I would be leary of it staying adhered. If you are going to trim it with vegtan and sew through to another piece of vegtan it may be OK. Good luck!

I have a 3500. Wish I would have gone bigger in the beginning. A larger throat would have been nice but it has seved me well to this point. Thank you for the compliments.

+1 for Bob Good guy to deal with. Good machine also.

Sold pending funds

I have only used this burnisher a few times and is in brand new condition. I purchased it here on the forum but can't remember from who. Measures 5 1/4" from end to end. Mounts to any standard drill or drill press. Asking $25 delivered to the US. http://i853.photobucket.com/albums/ab98/JH-HARDLY/IMG_0413.jpg

Here's what I use. http://www.xacto.com/Product/X3206 I use a #24 blade to cut patterns and the long slender #2 blade to trim my linings and also to cut my thread flush to the leather. The exacto fits perfectly in the palm of your hand and I push it in a compact sawing motion to folow my pattern lines. You can cut perfectly on the lines and around very tough corners with a little practice. Good Luck

Barge here.

Just wanted to thank all who have contributed to the thread so far. Extremely good information and suggestions.

Topic about covers it. Where does the bulk of your business come from? I'm fairly new to the leather business as a builder. As a buyer I'm an old pro. I was extremely lucky and learned from a truely classy and knowledgeable craftsman. I am blown away at the volume of orders he receives on a daily basis. He has a website and has done countless shows over 35 years, so I can see where the following is. I personally can't attend shows at this time and the the type of holsters and belts I enjoy most are not the typical leather Joe Blow at a show is there for. I enjoy building western speed rigs for action shooting and also enjoy building them out of exotics. Most of my business has been from the rigs I have built that are slowely being shown off by the happy buyer. Very few orders have come from the website itself. Some inquiries have come from cards I have left at local gun and leather shops. I could advertise in Cowboy action magazines or sponsor local and state events but I need to se results to overcome the cash shelled out up front. Not to mention their are countless well known leather businesses already in those publications. Although I feel I make atleast a compareable product, how does little old me compete? I'm not unhappy with the volume of business I am receiving and always seem to get that one more order when it looks like I may be without work, but more would be better. What would you do? Better yet, what do you do? Please feel free to take a look at my site. JSCustomleather.com Any suggestions on improvement or ways for better exposure would be appreciated!