electrathon

There is really no reason to try to measure it before yo ustart unless you think you do not have enough. The 7 times rule of thumb is a guideline, but there are many variables (how far you space your slots, how far the slots are from the edge, etc). Pull out as much as your arms are long, about 5'-6' and go. You will likely have one splice in it before you are done. DO NOT try to do it with one piece. The lace will be worn out and very stretched before you are done. Aaron

I think it is pretty. Aaron

Here is a an example of both straight and crooked basket weave. Credit where due, it is Chan Geers work. The colored in line shows the angle the pattern lays in corectly at. The one row shows crooked. The is a very common mistake in basketweave layout. Aaron

I was going to bite my tongue, but you asked. Your basket weave is at the wrong angle on the holster. You did it correct on the belt and that looks good. Aaron

If your bevelers are made correct you will hold the tool pretty much straight up. Most (actually all) modern Tandy bevelers are made with too little angle to them. Since they are not properly angled you have to hold the tool at an angle to compensate for the tool. What this creates is your line is not as crisp in the bottom of the cut since your tool does not really drop properly into the cut. If you look through the rack at the store there are actually some that have no discernible angle to them (seems so simple, bevel means angle, not square). So the solution. Buy some quality tools, they are expensive. Or but some junky ones and reshape them properly. Or start from scratch and grind your own tools (this is the hardest answer). Aaron

I read the title line and thought that you were going to have a picture where your dog walked on your leather and you were convinced your dog was an artist.

I would coat it with spray varathane. Easy to apply and it will seal the wood. Aaron

There is a 4 page ling thread about this. likely would be your best bet for multiple opinions.

You can't have too hard of a surface. Always the harder the better. The tools bent/broke besause of poor quality metal/improper tempering. The ones in the kits are the worst of the worst so it was good they they failed. Aaron

As always, you have great looking work. Aaron

Tool directly on the stone. You want the hard surface to make crisp impacts, not a soft (rubber) bouncy surface. Carve on your cutting board, then when you screw up and tap the surface with your knife you will not harm the blade. Aaron

Good example, Levis does not use leather.

Bobby Rose is teaching a holster class at Tandy the end of this month. Even if holsters are not your thing,you will learn a lot in a short time. He is on here too, paooibly he will chime in. Aaron

I think you are going to have trouble no matter what. No leather is not going to be happy about being washed. Aaron

You do not want to soften it, if you did you would not be able to "dent" it propery. That said, I usually use Lexol before the knife cuts to make the knife slide smoother. Aaron

Overall I like what you have drawn up. I would loose the gap along the rear row, it will just let stuff fall sideways and get stuck. I have made a few of these and the last one I used larger holes and all bevelers went togeather and so on. It saved a lot of spread out space and also worked better when locating tools. What you have drawn up is going to be something to be proud of in your work area. This is so much nicer than is you just use a big chunk of wood with holes in it. Aaron

I work with a lot of leather and the fact that if it dead skin generally does not bother me. BUT, when I belt sand it I really feel like I am in a version of Silence of the Lambs. I have never had anyplace near the mess you have there. Aaron

Flat solid doors are particle board with a thin veneer on them. They have a strip of solid wood around the outside that the knob/hinges fasten to. You can cut them no problem but you will have an exposed particle board edge. Particle board is very dense, so it is a good, actually great bench top. They are so thick and solid there is very little bounce. If you are using 3/4 plywood there will be a night and day difference going to a solid door. An 80" tall door supported on each end can easily hold 200 pounds with almost no flex. Try that with a piece of plywood and you will have a lot of flex. Aaron

Those punches ARE NOT designed to be hit with a steel hammer! Not sure why you are using a rubber hammer for any leather, but a poly mallet or a dead blow is a far better choice. http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?keyword=dead+blow These work well for driving punches. Aaron

Go to home depot and find a pipe nipple the size you are looking for. Sharpen it on the grinder. Aaron

A solid core flat door is usually cheap to buy and they are one of the best bench surfaces you will ever find. Aaron

I use a food saver a lot. I usually put a small smooth board under the holster so that the pattern does not transfer and to keep the rear side flat.

Chan is very computer unfriendly. Just call him on the phone and he will happily sell you a video. The two new ones he has produced are great. Shows how to finish the project from start to finish. A lot of little tricks are demonstrated throughout. Chan is likely one of the best of the masters currently teaching, Aaron

Most of Tandy leather comes from Mexico, none is USA made. Herman Oak leather is a good choice, Tandy does not sell it, they have live oak, I guess trying to emulate the quality name to trick newcomers. Springfield leather is a good choice. Aaron

The ebay guy going by craftsjapan (or very close to that) would be a good place to start. he sells a lot to import here but I would have to imagine he would sell within country too. He is usually reasonable in what he has listed on ebay. Aaron