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Looks good from what I could see. Lay it out and take some closeup pictures of the belt. Nice buckle but its in the way of the carving. With more to see we can tell you more of how good you did. Show us the spot you are unhappy with. Did you intentionally put the chape end with the folded part on the top? Normally that's folded under. Not saying its bad just different.

Springfield will sell it to you and cut it for you. Tell them you need 2 pieces of Herman oak cut 70"x1.5" each. They will cut it to for you gladly. You might need to buy 3 to make the minimum but its worth it. If its a single layer belt get 8-9 oz. if its a lined belt get the lining 4-5 oz. it will make a great belt. Tell Springfield what you are making and they will get you what you need for the best price you can get. I buy 72"x24" of Herman oak 8-9 oz b grade. Gets me 6-7 belts and 6 holsters. I cut the straps myself. If you don't want the much buy less. I tell them it's for belts and holsters and they give me leather from a back or a bend depending on what I need and they have in stock. I get them long,72", so I can accommodate requests for longer belts.. They will work with you to save you money and get you good leather. Michael

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If its been in a shed for years clean and lube it BEFORE you do anything else. Then watch all the videos on tension set up. Tension is the biggest issue with a Boss. I have one and love it. If you buy it send it to Tippmann and get it gone over. It will be worth it since its been in a shed.

It could be. A picture of the belt would help a lot. Include a good close up of a few of the places you feel are really bad.

+1 on the takeup arm adjustment. When mine skips a stitch Its always becasue I need to adjust the take up arm. Just be careful and do not adjust it too much. You get a ton of problems with tension issues when its set to far.

Looks like you are on the way to being a leather worker. Very nice work. Keep it up. You will do fine. Ask all your questions and someone here will be able to help you. Good luck Michael

Make sure you are tapping straight down with the hammer and tap lightly for the first 5-8 taps. Angle the tool slightly and change the angle slightly with each tap. This will make the snap start to roll over properly. Dont hit it hard at first.

Sorry for jumping to conclusions. I sometimes type without thinking things through. I can't help you with a business to sharpen the iron but have you thought about doing it your self? A jewelers file and a fine grit slip stone and it should be a simple job to fix the edges of the iron. They are made thin enought to get between the tines of the prickling iron. Set the edge by following the original shape of the edges then hone with the stone. If you don't find someone to do it if for you it's worth a shot. It sounds like you do not even need the file just the slip stone. Once you have one you can use it to sharpen your edgers and other tools. I bet you can get them locally. This is an example of the type of stone I am talking about. http://www.thebestthings.com/newtools/norton_slips.htm Hope this helps Michael

Prickling irons are to make marks not holes. As long as they are not bent you should be fine. Are you using it to punch the holes?

Make sure to rotate your awl so that the hole is always the correct angle for the spot on the belt you are pushing through.. And as always Practice a lot.

I use waxed Irish linen for hand sewing and Bonded poly or nylon for my Boss sewing machine. The linen works great for hand sewing. 3-7 cord linen depending on the thickness of the leather. Michael

Use Snow Seal to make it water proof. That will hold up.

The Glock 19/23/32 (all the same frame) is the most in Glocks. Followed by the 17/22/31. An occasional 34 or 30. The S&W M&P 9/40 and the 9C/40C are more popular than the Glocks. M&P Shield then the Large frame Sigs followed by the P938 sig, Ruger LC9 etc. It's all depends on what the customer wants. Some of the Airsofts are exact duplicates and other are just close. Make sure its a Licensed copy and you are fine. The M&P's are licensed copies. The Glocks are not and do not fit as well. Let me know if I can help some way. Michael

Get the BearMan handle. He does great work and its less expensive.

The Glocks Mentioned above and Smith and Wesson M&P 9/40 and 9C/40C The 9 and the 40 are the same size as are the C models. C= Compact. The M&P 9/40 Shield. Those are the majority of my sales and I live in the Denver area.

When I first started several members were very helpful. One of them was katsass. He hasnt been on since early July. Anyone heard from him? Im just wondering if he is ok. Michael

Tandy Gun metal Chicago screws are still good. Got 100 last month and they look and hold up like my order from 2 years ago. I put one on the buffing wheel and it didnt rub off.

I use this groover, Works as a free hand and a edge groover. Cant say its the best but it works well for me. Pro Stitching Groover Set

+100 on the book. Get a diamond awl and PRACTICE, a lot. Hand stitch a couple of belts. That will get you to the point that you can do it correctly. There is no substitute for a good diamond all. A drill bit works and many people use them but the best look is with a diamond awl. The above is my opinion. I am sure there are those of you that will disagree.

Cast Iron or Aluminum?

I found a Google book The leather workers manual from the 1900's and has a lot of great old info, Chapters 4 and 5 are about making Dyes, Stains, Vinergaroon and other ways to color leather. The other chapters are full of recipes for all sorts of things having to do with leather work. I found out that you can make a bright yellow stain with turmeric (a spice). Its got a lot of great information. Not everything is applicable to today but worth the read. I have included the table of contents to give you an idea of what it contains. FYI it takes a long time to load and the first 8-10 pages are blank. (I did a search and did not find information about this book on this site. If I missed it I apologize for the duplication) Table of contents.pdf

Stanley Knife and a Rotary blade knife depending on the type of cut. Cant beat the rotary blade for long straight cuts. This is the one I use.

Personally I use 3-4 for wallets unless its a trucker wallet than I use 4-5 or 5-6. Guitar straps I use 6-7 or 8-9 depending on the guitar and what I have around. Others might use different weights.

Get yourself a harness needle, Size 0. Get used to that and then try a 1,and a 2. The larger the number the smaller the needle. #000 is the largest. Get the book on The Art of Hand Sewing Leather and learn how to taper the end to thread the needle. Its on sale at Tandy for 9.99 as a PDF download file. I use a #0 harness needle and 5 linen waxed for my hand sewing. I also have 3 strand and 7 strand. I use the 3 for 3-5 oz leather the 5 for 6-10 oz and the 7 strand for anything larger. You will find that everyone has a different favorite for hand sewing. Its what you like and works for you.