Red Cent

Where in NC?

Let there be light. And plenty of it. Looks great.

Buckle a belt. What two points determine the size?

Actually, the Hi-Point firearms have a high degree of dependability. Most of this is contributed to how they are constructed. The Hi-Point is a blow back design semi-auto rather than a recoil operated design as is John Moses Browning's 1911. And that is why they have this massive slide sitting on the frame. Since there is no lock up with barrel and slide, the slide must handle the "push" caused by the blast. Ugly but functional. Did I mention inexpensive?

I use the dauber, the one with a cotton ball on the end of a piece of wire. I do burn the fuzz off. I do not dye a raw edge. The dye will be sucked in erratically. If I am making a CC gun belt that is 1/4" thick, I take the glued (dried) together belt to the belt sander. I square the edges and make sure there is no smear from either piece of leather. Two defined pieces of leather. I bevel all edges with a #3 beveler on all sides. Then I hand sand the edge round leaving the defined line of the beveler on the belt side of the line. I use a little water on a rag to wet/dampen the edge of the leather and use a motorized burnisher. Usually this produces a glass like rounded edge colored as only a burnisher will do. Let it dry. I do not use edge dye, edge kote, edge enamel or other stuff. I simply dye the edge with a choice of regular dye. I dye a path at the top of the curve the full length and both sides of the belt and then I slow down and do the edges. Be careful and not overload the cotton ball. And, hold the object in such a manner if the dye does run, it runs down the edge. PS: Find a place to steady the arm/hand. A semi loaded cotton ball will produce a better line than a barely wet one. With practice, you can create a crease in the cotton ball and use this to create an even line on the edge. Don't try to stretch coverage. Do a safe 8" or so AND use the beveler line as a fence. The dye will stop (within reason) at the fence and soak in. About an hour later burnish. I have found that different leathers will react....well, differently. Some react by dulling the dyed edge. Stop and grab the faithful, very smooth and well used dowel rod. Rub light and vigorously at first. With my belts, I lay the belt along the edge of table and hand burnish. You can create a very straight burnish line doing this. Turn as needed. Hmmm, I wrote a novelette. None of these have an acrylic coat on the edges. The third picture (sorry) is simply water and burnisher . Really. I do add a mixture of bees wax and paraffin to the edge and "burn" it into the leather with the motorized burnisher.

I see your point JL. I am referring to the nubbin'. Thanks Dikman. AEMcClain, I can't answer that question convincingly. I am planning to put air over hydraulic on the press. And I do use the nubbin/ram quite often. I have a 2" oblong hole for pancake holsters and belt loop holes and my little one ton hand press ain't strong enough. Or maybe its me:). I use the press for cutting the tips of 1/4" gun belts and other stuff. I also plan to develop a couple or four concealed carry designs, some SASS designs, and some range/field carry designs. Then get clicker plates to cut the leather. Ha, wish I was as busy as I sound. Just thinkin'.

http://www.waterhouseleather.com/crackle_leather_culatta.htm

I posted this here to get good coverage. Has to do with leather and steel. I purchased a 20 ton press a few months back. I have obtained, thanks to some great friends, two thick metal square. Here are my thoughts. I don't want to cut off the ram. How about if I drill a hole, probably left/right, through the ram. Then tack a flat bottom "U" to the top of a metal plate. Slot the ears of the "U" vertically for a through bolt. This would allow the ram to contact the plate without any pressure on the ears. Plausible?

A bunch of people carry in Condition 3. You will find some very experienced 1911 shooters who say it is a nano second slower that Condition 1. These shooters discount a bad arm and a one handed cycle of the mechanism. I would vote for Condition 1. Carried a 1911 for 40 years.

Bet it is 50/50.

voltage in the UK?

Looks very good. Clean edges. Good stitching with the rope:). With a good gun belt, that will ride OK. Covering the trigger guard is a controversial item but with a 1911, ain't no problem in my opinion. 'Course I have carried a Colt lw Commander for over 40 years. Not my gun or holster. Typical early 1900s.

Most all of my SASS belts have a thin layer of suede sewn on. I usually use an 8-9 for the outer, 5-6 for the liner plus the suede. I inform customers I build for speed and ergonomics. All of the holsters are rock hard and fitted to the handgun. Might need a tad of tweaking by the customer to reduce some tension. A properly cinched belt along with the suede will inhibit holster and belt rise in case of a bad draw. ....

Tried the 346 top and 207 bottom with a 25 needle. I use 277 top and 207 bottom. Skipped stitches. Cobra 4.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=68859

Good leather is like pornography. Unless you can walk into a store and smell, feel, and look, our answers ain't gonna help you. There is, generally, a random post on here from experienced leather crafters telling us about the crap they received from a top leather wholesaler. You will not know until you open the package. You are going to using a few different weights in your endeavors and that will be a problem also. I buy sides and order two at a time. One 8-9 ounce and one 5-6 ounce. A bunch of the sides were not split evenly and weight varied from one end to the other. I have went back to Zack White (40 minutes from the house) where I can smell, feel, and look. Good prices also.

Dikman, I do not use diluted dye on my leather. Can't say you will have the same results. I have found that diluted dye wiped on with sponge or rag will have some dark places when dry. I personally believe that all the alcohol makes for inconsistency.

Molding the gun will create a lot of retention. I never mold a SASS holster. After it is complete, I soak the holster in very warm water, open the holster with a large pointed dowel rod, and then work in the revolver. I fan dry the holster and it dries as hard as a brick.

That is better. The trade off is the ability to access the grip. Might split the difference in that area.

A couple of suggestions. The stitch lines should be closer to the gun. If you made the curved front line for the front sight, next time tape a pencil to the top of the gun and sew straight and close. The loops are quite low as to the weight of the gun. The gun carries 15 rounds in the grip and is very top heavy. My rule of thumb is the top of the belt does not go below the rear of the trigger guard opening. You may get away with a much lighter gun but unless the wearer is very trim, the grip will stick out and if he has a limp belt, things get worse. I am not a hand stitcher but the stitching looks good. Design looks good. Next time, raise the belt loops. Keep at it.

"..... I just have to develop a technique for clearing the front sight." Snagging on the bottom of the holster or clearing the mouth of the pouch?

Some SASS members questioned the legality of the belt. However, Deuce Stevens presented the belt to the SASS RO committee for approval and it passed. Doc Noper, a friend of Deuce's, came up with the idea. That is a 21" X 6" piece of 8-9 ounce veg tanned folded in half. I use two pieces of leather to form the belt for each end. You will alter the tilt if you run a piece all the way around the bottom. After sewing on the loops, you glue it all together and sew.

I have tried dipping and I don't care for it. The dye will migrate to the lowest edge and pool. I have discovered that you cannot get good coverage unless you take the leather to the color intended. By that I mean, I lay a piece of leather flat and color it good, not worrying about streaks. I continue to color the leather (I use a small piece of towel. I cannot control my application with a sponge) and when I start to see that the coverage is good and the dye doesn't dry out/be absorbed so fast, I start long even strokes. Stroke until the towel piece is almost dry. There is a point that the dye will very slowly be absorbed and that's when I stop.

Thanks folks.

Stopped using a hammer most of the time. https://www.zoro.com/dayton-press-arbor-1-ton-4z328/i/G3382994/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA_%7BCampaignID%7D&utm_term=A_PB200_PowerTools