Ed in Tx

Sorry I don't have the answer to your specific question but I do have the non-railed versions of both guns and there are differences in the slide design. There are also small variations in the dimensions of the depth of slide. I learned the hard way that there are subtle differences in 1911's of varied manufacturers, I made myself (luckily not for a customer) a holster from a really nice hide of shark and used a Springfield 1911 Blue Gun to do the forming. Spent time finishing the holster off before real nice.. well when I went to put my Kimber in the holster.. it didn't fit. The Kimber dimensions were different in several areas compared to the Springfield 1911 Blue Gun. Lesson learned.. do exactly as you are doing and verify before forming!!! Wasn't a complete loss though, I just soaked the holster again and reformed and finished. It wasn't anywhere near as easy to get it wet enough to form again but I got it done.

I have seen posts on the forum before from folks in Australia and apparently they have some very stringent rules regarding the importation of exotic hides. In some cases I believe hides that we in the U.S. are allowed to have are strictly forbidden under Australian regulations. I don't remember what the specific animals were. I have purchased elephant hides that still have a sheet of paperwork attached with the CITES numbers, same for alligator. We are very lucky in the U.S. apparently when it comes to choices of exotic hides we can have or make products from.

I would look for a facility that does 3D printing. They are capable of duplicating almost anything from a drawing. Since you are in NYC there shouldn't be any problem finding a place.

I have a Cobra 4. One thing I see right away that may be an issue is the size needle you are using, you say you are using thread size of 277 and a #23 needle, the proper needle size for 277 is a # 24 not a #23. That isn't specific to Cobra or Cowboy, that is the recommended needle size on several sites regarding thread and needle sizing. I recently purchased a lube pot and found that I had to back the tension off on both tension springs. I plan on playing with it a bit more before I start using the pot on a regular basis. Bottom line, try a size #24 needle for 277 top thread.

CDthayer, I think you have a misunderstanding regarding the advertisers for the forum. The support they lend makes the forum possible without you as a user having to pay a fee. They are businesses and monitoring individual posts on the forum isn't always possible or feasible. I also think that you have a misunderstanding with regard to your needs, ANY servo motor will work with your sewing machine, the motor simply turns, operating your machine. You will probably want a servo motor with a speed reducer of some sort. Like I posted to your original question, there were at least 4 different vendors that could have helped you. The prices at the show are usually better than you can get with regular ordering. Besides the price you missed out on the ability to have a face to face discussion with experts that would have been more than willing to assist you. This year was my third time to attend the Wichita Falls show, every time I have gone I have learned something and made excellent contacts for my future needs. Best part of going is meeting the people and finding some fantastic deals you won't find elsewhere. How about a Cayman hide for $50, not a junk hide a quality hide, several other deals on leather just as good. It would have been worth the drive and the $10.

It will depend on which vendors are there. Last year there were several vendors that deal in sewing machines and accessories. Nick-O-Sew has all sorts of motors available, Leather Machine Co. will probably be there as well. I am 100% positive that there will be a vendor you can talk to that will be able to help you out. If you pre-registered you should pick up the vendor list at the registration desk, it lists who is there and what they specialize in. Just 2 more days until it starts, my only hope is that I can minimize my expenditures and not come home broke from buying too many goodies!

Actually Tandy has changed the vendor that makes the "Eco-Flo" dyes for them. They are now made by a company in Italy called Fenice. I looked them up and they are a large scale maker of all sorts of leather related products such as dyes and finishes as well as cleaners etc. Personally I thought the old "Eco-Flo" dyes were absolute junk, on the other hand, the new stuff labeled a "Professional Waterstain is incredible. I am no fan of most Tandy products but this new "Eco-Flo" Pro waterstain is by far the best dye I have ever used. Even the black will amaze you, it does a perfect job of coloring the leather and usually in one coat. It will NOT rub off either. As usual Tandy's prices are a joke, they have some ridiculous price on the stuff so the only time I have bought it is on sale. They had it for September at $21.99 retail, even less for gold and elite. I would highly recommend trying this new dye.

I saw the new version at Tandy list price of $300 on sale for $240 gold or $180 elite. My thought is it is way overpriced. I sure a heck wouldn't spend $180 much less $240 or $300 on a book that you are going to cut up in order to use the patterns. Most copy place aren't going to let you make copies of a published book. You can tell them you own it but I have had issues just getting paper patterns copied in D size at Kinko's. Seems to me like they would have been better off doing the book in a "paperback" format with the large patterns as single sheets. In any case it is so typical of Tandy these days with regards to their pricing of everything. In the past I spent a great deal of money with Tandy but couldn't get "elite" pricing because I didn't have a tax id. Don't have that problem dealing with Springfield Leather.

Sent my entry fee in a couple of months ago. Started my shopping list already. Can't decide if I will go Friday or wait until Saturday and hope I can win one of the $250 certificates to spend at the show. Friday seems to be a better day as far as selection of some leather goes.

If you have only purchased leather from Tandy then you have probably not been getting good quality leather. When I first started working with leather I bought from Tandy because they were close by and I didn't know any better. Occasionally I would get decent leather from them, however, most of the time it was questionable. I found out about Springfield leather and started ordering from them after a year or so, since then I have only purchased leather from Tandy a couple of times. Order some of the Hermann Oak from Springfield and you will probably never buy from Tandy again. My biggest issue with Tandy besides quality is their pricing, I can order Hermann Oak craftsman leather for $6.49 sq. ft. from Springfield, any leather from Tandy that is close to that quality is going to be more than $10 sq. ft. As far as the color question, what I personally have found is the leather that is almost white is usually import stuff, at least that is from Tandy and weight didn't matter.

I am blown away every time I see one of your creations. It is amazing that they are made from leather.

One thing that many users never consider is the need to keep your anti-virus software definitions up to date. Failing to do this is just the same as not having protection installed in the first place. The settings on your software are also critical, failure to have real-time scanning active is just one example. If you aren't sure about how the software you are using for anti-virus/malware/phishing is supposed to be configured visit the manufacturers web site and if needed ASK FOR HELP. While I am sure there might be some decent versions of freeware available for system protection personally I won't take the chance. The large software developers such as McAfee, Norton, Kaspersky, AVG and others have the ability and resources to constantly keep definitions up to date. There are always people coming up with new ways to screw your systems up just for the fun of it or for more malicious intent. Don't be a victim because of inaction or lack of understanding.

I have a question for the holster makers regarding the type of leather being used for lining your holsters. I know opinions are probably going to be varied on the subject but here it is anyway. When you are lining a holster are you using a straight veg-tan tooling leather of a lighter weight or are you using other types of leather as well? The issue is more related to the tanning process used for your lining leather. I have read and been told in the past that using anything other than a straight veg-tan has the potential for creating issues for the gun being placed in the holster. Chrome tanned leather can create pitting and discoloration of some metals. When you are buying leather it is fairly straight forward when you buy tooling leather you know it is a veg-tan. If you pick a pigskin for lining you may not be aware of how it was tanned. I know the processes are different for a Latigo leather versus a Harness leather. etc. Second part of the question is also regarding the type as well. A while back I had stopped at Tandy for some emergency supplies and a guy was buying a huge stack of rust colored splits. I asked him what he was making and he told me he was using it for holster lining. While I wouldn't call it suede the splits are not a smooth leather and have a "nap" to them. I have read that this type leather can create issues because of the possibility of some of the leather wearing off and creating "fuzz" which might get into the workings of the gun. So there you go. Can the holster makers out there weigh in on this and maybe educate me and anyone else that might have the same questions. Thanks, Ed in Grapevine, Texas

Dwight.. Thank you for the recipe... Now I just have to find the rhubarb.. I haven't seen it in any grocery stores around here but will have to look again now that I have the recipe!

Just read the post and all I want to know is where can you get the strawberry rhubarb cobbler from?? I moved to the south from upstate New York more than 35 yrs ago and now living in Texas haven't even seen rhubarb. We used to have several patches growing in our backyard when I was a kid, I actually think some were wild. Nothing better than cutting of a ripe piece and chewing on it for a while. Actually thinking about it I might rather have a strawberry rhubarb pie!! with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream !

Both are awesome. I really like the second one, the spider web tooling with the color contrasts just stand out.

Milled leather is a soft texture and very flexible, not what you want for anything you will be forming. Why order from Tandy now? Springfield has Hermann Oak bellies for about $25 you choice of weight. They also have deal on HO single shoulders. Warning though, once you us HO or any other higher quality leather you probably won't be back at Tandy. In order to get anything resembling decent leather from Tandy expect to pay more than $10 per sq. ft.

I just tried using both IE10 and Firefox and didn't have any issues. I would recommend that you do a virus scan on your PC. There is malware that will cause that type of message, it's intent is to get you to bypass and it will redirect you to who knows what or will cause further issues. I don't know what virus protection you use but it might be a good idea to go to CNET and download one of the free virus protection suites that will scan your system before it installs.

Just a thought, I wonder how much the other physical dimensions are similar to a Springfield 1911 in say a 4" model? If you were making an open bottom holster you might be able to use a 4" dummy for most of the molding. Like I said just a thought that might save you from buying another dummy.

Many people don't know that the 1903 hammerless was the pre-cursor to the famous 1911 by John Moses Browning. It was actually called the pocket hammerless, must have had some deep pockets back then. If you do some digging at a few gun shows you might be able to find a replacement grip. Very nice acquisition indeed, I am jealous.

Bought a Cobra 4 last November and it has been a hand saver. I was hand stitching but with the machine I can sew a holster in just a few minutes versus an hour or so. Want to make a belt, I did 2 by hand and thought I would never finish, literally took hours, with the Cobra 4 done in 15 minutes or less. It is tough to shell out $2600 for a machine but you end up saving a lot of time and your sanity. It only took me about 2 weeks to become fairly proficient on the machine, as time has progressed I have learned the small things that make it even easier.

Ferg, These don't look like they were used very much, they are flat with no curling. I was surprised at how thick the plastic is, about credit card thickness. The numbers on the belt craftaids are 2681 and 2181. I may actually keep the alphabet set, I might have some use for it down the road. Some of the patterns for the billfolds are pretty strange, they are zodiac characters and pictures. One thing that is very telling about the entire lot of stuff is just how behind the times Tandy is. There were several magazines that look to be something Tandy must have published in the late 60's early 70's. I was looking through a few and Tandy is still selling the same kits and patterns today. The person that original had the stuff must have made quite a few purses as there was a lot of bag hardware like latches etc. They look like ones Tandy is selling now for the "steampunk" stuff.

This is why I hate the damn Flash Player. I have had those setting all turned off for years, however, it seems like they end up reverting to the defaults of allow when an update is made. I wish there was a way to get rid of Flash player altogether but most webpages require Flash to run.

Well the big questions iswell the big questions is.. How much was he trying to sell them for? and did you buy them?

I came across a sale that had some old leather craft books, magazines and several older Craftaid templates. Based on the dates of the magazines they are probably from the late 60's or early 70's. There were a couple of books as well, one is Projects & Designs by Al Stohlman and the other was General Leathercraft by Raymond Cherry. My question is, are these older Craftaids of any value at all? There are 10 or 11 for billfolds, a couple for belts and one is upper case alphabet. I haven't used Craftaids from Tandy but I had looked at a couple of new ones and these seem different. The instructions say to case your leather and rub over the template to set the pattern. The plastic is fairly thick but nowhere like an embossing plate. I didn't pay much for the entire lot and figured I might find a couple of patterns of interest. I may sell them if they are of any value and someone wants or needs them. Thanks