Red Cent

Are we talking a 2 ply or lined holster? Or a single piece of leather?

The holes are as nice as I have ever seen. How do you get such a clean hole? Those are really high end belts you bought somewhere, right?

Those look great. Another thing to learn.

Thanks ST8.

Thanks.

I use the safety beveler as a skiver. Much easier to control for me and it needs to pulled at a small angle. I use the beveler on long skiving projects. On a belt, I use my drum sander on the drill press. Easier to control depth, smoother looking, and a very smooth finish. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/3001-00.aspx

Good lookin' gear.

What they said.

This is 277. I might try the 346.

Hey WLG. I think the top is 207? The 346 looks good. BIG!!! What do you have in the bobbin and what needle do you use?

Great work. And handstitched!! Not me!

Floats. Need to do a neater job or maybe rivets. Discussing the keeper with other cowboys, I found that a fixed keeper close to the belt causes a lot of wear and tear and effort. Lazy. huh? The floating keeper works very well with the wide straight belt (not ranger). Once you buckle up and slide the keeper on to cinch, it stays.

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-bench-grinder-with-light-61318.html http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-jacobs-keyed-chuck-45731.html Get the grinder, remove the grinding wheels, guards ( we don’t need stinking guards), and other stuff and you wind up with two shafts. Put a keyed chuck (keyless will be more expensive) on each shaft and you can use anything within the chucks’ capacity for a burnisher. The grinders are relatively small and just a little noisy but not much more than the Dremel. The chucks tap onto the shafts with a little help with a hammer. Press fit. Measure the shaft diameter and you are off to better burnishing.

Another dunk in Vg doesn't hurt if you bathe in BS and oil. Gets darker and darker if your "roon" is done.

Oltoot, I don't understand. Are you saying the bottom looks as good or better than the top?

Thanks Dirtclod. It works for me also.

Show me:)

I am familiar with Doc Holliday's Immortals and Cherokee Cowboys. Used to shoot MuleCamp at Gainesville then Conyers. Lots of great cowboys and cowgirls. Camano: HA!!

You didn't mention anything about oiling the leather after the VG. I use VG a good bit but it will definitely dry out the leather. After mine dries from the VG, I lay it flat and really smear on the NeatsFoot Oil. On raw veg tanned, I usually wipe off excess and buff a little. With the VG I let it be and let it soak in the leather. I don't put the oil on the backside. And I do this on any leather that I dye.

and you are welcome.

WLG, I use 277 top and 207 bottom for everything I make. Forming holsters puts tremendous stress on the stitches but they hold. Isn't 346 an awfully big thread? I use a Cobra 4 and I like it. The belt is deerskin lined. The deerskin soft lining will not show the "exit holes" like dry leather does. This picture was taken before I had applied oil to the front piece. A sample:

Thanks ST8. Would you share your alias and the name of your cowboy club? I used to shoot a lot from Maryland to Florida and know a bunch of cowpeople. 'Course, my era is from 200 to 2007.

I buy directly from Zack White in Ramseur, NC. I lack knowledge regarding the quality of leather since I have never bought elsewhere. No matter what you buy you will have waste as every one of us know. But are you talking about places in the leather that is not acceptable? I am fortunate to live within 30 minutes of a supply of leather. I know that the double shoulders that I buy are tanned in Mexico. Between the drum dyed and the natural leather, my price is around $7.00/sq. ft. What are you folks paying for the Premium stuff without the shipping expense?

I don't think you will get rid of the rough bottom stitch through adjustments. As in another post on the site, the needle slices/pushes leather down and out along with the stitch. I wet the backside of a belt and use a roller to smooth out the bumps. My stitch on top will pull level with the leather without making a stitch groove. After posting yesterday, it occurred to me that most of us use smaller thread for the bottom. My question would be to those who use, for an example, 277 top and bottom. Do you get nice straight buried stitches on the bottom?

Thank you.