gunfighter48

I just started selling my gunbelts for concealed carry back in mid Dec 06. Sold 7 at the gun show in Dec. Sold 2 more to customers since the show. Took the rest to a local gun shop/gun range and put them on consignment. They made a separate section just for my belts. Went back today and they sold 2 more belts. The owner says the customers were very impressed with my belts. As any of you that have a part or full time leather business know, it's great to get some sold and more than that the feedback is very gratifying!!!!! Dang, sure made my day. Just had to tell someone!! Here's what I am making: John

If it was me, I'd use 6-7 oz veg for the main shell. Then use 4-5 weight veg for the lining. Pig skin tends to grab onto the gun making speed draws tough. The main shell should be smooth side out and then glue in the lining flesh side to flesh side. This will give you smooth side inside the holster. Once molded it should provide enough hold to be secure but allow for speedy draws. Soft linings tend to hold dirt and grit which will scratch your guns. Try both ways and see what you like! John

The black holster is very well done, nice boning and stitching. I would stitch around the belt loops on the black and dark brown holsters, otherwise the leather could eventually separate. Other than that they look very good to me. John

Hey Luke, What machines are you gonna buy with all that money!!!!!!!!!!!!!! John

I'll take it, sent you a PM. John

I charge $12.00 Shipping & Handling on all my belt and holster shipments. But all my stuff goes Priority Mail, $8.95 anywhere in the 48 states, the rest goes towards labor. I know I'm not covering the labor involved but that's the way it is. John

Before Leatherworker crashed, someone posted a bible cover that was dyed so that the corners were darker than the center area. The center was almost natural and then the color got increasingly darker toward the corners. Looked like dark brown with some black as it got to the corners. I would like to find out how they accomplished the dye job. Could you post the picture again, please. Thanks, John

Thanks guys for all the info, just what I was looking for. I've decided to stay with my heavy stitcher for the present time. If Uncle Sam sends me a $600 check I might think about a lighter weight machine. John

I have a cylinder bed machine that uses the system 328 needles and it sews my heavy leather just fine. I am thinking about getting a flat bed machine for doing notebook covers, leather pistol and revolver bags with zippered closures, light weight leather items (8 oz down to 3 - 4 oz leather). I have found a number of machines that look like they will do the job and most of them use DPX17, 135 X 17, 16 X 231, DBX1 needle systems. Will the needles these machines use be strong enough to handle 8 oz and smaller veg tanned leather? Thanks for you advice. John

MY SASS name was "Diamondback John" cause the only good rattlesnake is a DEAD rattlesnake!! LOL I really enjoyed Cowboy Action Shooting. Being a kid from the 50's, there's no more fun than playing cowboys and Indians with real guns!!!!!!!!! After 8 years my back gave out and I had to get out of the sport. But I still shoot each month at the local range with my 1911 45ACP's. Nothing better to get rid of stress in your life than blowing holes in targets. John

Another good site for holster info is www.pistolsmith.com, look in the Holster section. Some of the top makers in the country post in that forum. John

Hi Scouter, I thought that the "Definition of a Veteran" was the best explanation of what a vet is, that I have ever read. Sums it up pretty good. I don't think todays generation could do what our grandfathers did in WWII. They don't have the grits our forefathers had. Too sissyfied by the educational system and their parents. My son in law is a SFC in the Army stationed ar Ft. Lewis, WA. He's a good soldier but not up to the WWII standards. I was 4th generation Army, only served 3years 4 months. Volunteered in June 1967. The proudest day of my life was when I raised my right hand and took the oath!!!! Wound up in Eatontown, NJ for 3 years, research and development in a new field called Satellite Communications. The US only had 1 comm satellite in the sky when I started and had 5 up when I got out in Nov. 1970. Now there is something like 58 or more comm satellites in the sky. We were on the cutting edge of technology at that time, was a lot of fun. John

But they didn't have to shoot 200 - 400 rounds in a 4 - 6 hour time frame! Have seen people at the end of the day with very blistered fingers, not fun. Besides all the actors had stunt doubles. My Aunt's brother was a custom motorcycle builder back in the 60s and knew Nick Adams very well. Nick came to Seattle for a custom bike show, had a couple of his own bikes in the show. I got to spend 4 hours with him while he visited with my Aunt's brother. He was a lot shorter than I thought he would be, but was a very nice man to be around. He loved custom bikes! He's the only celeb that I ever met. John

"Definition of a Veteran" A Veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve, is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America", for an amount of "up to and including my life." That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it. Author Unknown

When I was hand stitching, I got a pair of cheap leather gloves (soft leather driving style not the heave duty work gloves) and cut the finger tips out of them. That way I had a good grip on the needles but the gloves protected my hands, especially around my little fingers, from pulling the thread tight. Then I got smart and got a sewing machine!!! John

Hi skipi, I never had a problem with my lever gun rusting under the wrapping. But I used to take the wrapping off every couple of months and lube the lever, then rewrap it. Be sure to use veg tanned leather to wrap the lever. Other leathers, especially chrome tanned, will eat the finish off the guns. John

The braiding is used on the lower part of the lever to do two things, padding for your fingers, and to fill up some of the space. Filling up the space makes the fit for your hand better, less room to batter your fingers. It also makes operation of the lever slightly faster and more sure footed (less waisted movement of you hand). The cowboy action shooters will take any advantage they can get. And after shooting all day anything that pads your fingers is a VERY good thing. Been there done that!!! John

I bought a Neels Saddlery Model 5 sewing machine and it will sew up to 1/2" with no problems. I think the current price is $895 and that includes a decent table and DC motor. It's a cylinder bed machine that will sew threads from 207 to 415 weight. But there are some tradeoffs that you need to be aware of. It's not a walking foot machine, it's a bottom feed machine, meaning it uses feed dogs that contact the bottom of your leather and it will leave marks in the leather. I am making heavy duty gunbelts and the marks are not a problem. Parts are available from Neels and Ferdco, it's the same machine as the Ferdco 440R (but doesn't have a reverse). But there is'nt a lot of accessories for these machines. I bought two narrow leather pressor feet from Neels, and then cut one side off to make a left and right toed pressor foot for doing belts and holsters. But it does sew up a storm, takes some practice to find the right pressor foot and bobbin tension but doesn't require much adjustment after that. My budget was very tight and it was all I could afford. Due to several physical problems hand stitching is no longer possible for me. So I got the Model 5 and am making due until I can put enough aside for a bigger better machine. Just something to consider, it's a viable option. John

Gorgeous work, just gorgeous. I grew up in the 50s so it does bring back memories of the cap gun holster that I played with back then. I used to do cowboy action shooting and would have been walking on cloud 9 to have a holster set like that!!!!!! John

I used to bevel then finish with Edge Kote but I've been doing something different lately. I bevel, rub bees wax on the edge, use a heat gun to melt the bees wax into the leather, reapply more bees wax, then use a deer horn to rub the snot out of the edge. It makes a really nice edge. But heating the bees wax till it melts into the leather WILL darken the leather. On the belts I make that is the effect that I want but for other projects I'll either use Edge Kote or bees wax with no heat and just burnish with the deer horn. John

Hi Jordan, I have been using a couple of light coats of Lexol conditioner on my belts after I dye them. Then I finish them with 2 coats of Super or Satin Sheen and have not had a problem with them cracking. John

The Second Amendment guarantees all the rest. By conservative estimates firearms are used over 2.5 million times a year to protect Americans, WITHOUT FIRING A SHOT!!! John

The belt slots on the pancake holster are much better, very professional looking. Your stitching is looking very good also. Great Work!!!

Try the Thread Exchange they might have what you're looking for. http://www.thethreadexchange.com

With PVC pipe you can build a light box as big as you need; use the 1.5 or 2 in pipe for extra support. You can get clamp on reflectors and 100 watt daylight balanced compact fluorescent lights at Lowe's or Home Depot. The great thing with the fluorescent lights is they don't generate much heat. One thing worth spending some dollars on is a good tripod. You need one heavy enough to dampen out any vibrations and that will let you use longer exposure times to get great well lit photos. Your local fabric store will yield many different fabrics that can be used as backgrounds and also as diffusers over the light box. Check you local camera stores or book stores for photography books. There are many many books about digital photography. While I haven't seen any geared to product photography per se, books on portrait photography would be of great help. The lighting principals are the same just switch the product for the person. Canon cameras are excellent cameras. I've used Canons for over 30 years both as a professional and amateur photographer. I now have a Canon S3IS an excellent camera for the money. It's a mega zoom camera. 30 years of packing 20 to 40 lbs of camera gear took its toll on my back. So sold off all my gear and settled for a mega zoom, about 1 lb and it does everything that I need and then some. The new digitals do things that I could only dream about 15 years ago!!