SteelcityK9Cop

Did you try doing it "rough out" so is has more "bite" against your cloths? A pic of your prototype would help unless it's hush-hush.

What size needle goes with the 277 thread? #25 or a #24?

Hopefully his prices aren't a real kick in the nutz.

Gotta +1 W&C's Customer Service... I buy my sides there and have been VERY happy.

Thanks Gerry!

Ron... I understand what you are saying. Out of curiosity... with a powerful machine like a 441, why would the tension, if adjusted properly, not take care of the issue if the thread sizes were the same?

I have read on a number of different forum posts that people are using different thread sizes for holster making... I am curious why. For example 277 top thread with 207 in the bobbin.

Yes... I loaded the bobbin with the 277 white. As I mentioned before however, my normal bobbin is a 207 thread as shown in the top 4 rows in the first photo. Would the different thread size make a noticeable difference?

Disclaimer: I am a leatherworking noob When I started I bought a giant box of scrap leather from Springfield Leather... I noticed that there were all kinds of different types of leather in there.. spongy stuff..dense stuff... all took dye different. Some dipped mahogany looked dark brown and some dark brown looked almost black. I ordered a W&C side for holsters and belts.. have not had an issue dip dying at all. I'm getting good penetration with two dips (letting first soak in and then going for second and will rub it in a bit with my gloved fingers. I think there is a direct correlation between leather quality and dipping results. I am also dipping my Resoline...one good dip soaks in quick... a second is a little tricky...if I dip too long the risk for it to settle on top and not soak into the grain increases.

No problem! Only I had to use 277 thread in both top and bottom stitches... the white 277 for some reason shreds inside the needle hole.

If ya'll don't mind taking a look.... I'm using two pieces of 8oz. leather... #24 Schmetz Twist Needle.... 277 top thread.... 207 bobbin thread. I sewed a few rows then flipped the leather over and sewed a few more so you can see both the top and bottom stitches side by side. I'm looking for opinions if I have the tensions set correctly on my Cowboy 4500. Thanks!!!

Ya'll that Gum-T the insides of holsters.. do you ever get cracking issues?

Links seem broken.

Best videos on running the 441 machines....

Cabinet with peg board in the back and two infra-red heat lamps wired to the top. Fan attached to a hole cut into the side.

For me, I use the belly for testing and evaluation. Any new pattern I want to try out or something I want to experiment with gets done with the belly.

I wish I could hand bone like that... you humble me sir!

Thanks for all of the replies! Lots of good information... all of which confirmed my beliefs... regardless of which way you go (dye before or after) , if you are working with brown, a really detailed hand boning is going to be difficult to work with if the goal is to maintain color consistency. I will have to try another dip dye first then wet mold in the press with out the aggressive boning... just to see how much "compression damage" there is to the leather. Then I want to repeat it again with just the boning only and no press and see the difference. Experimentation is fun!

For my first few holsters I have been using W&C 8 oz. leather.. Wet molding them with a shop press and then hand boning them with edger handles.... antlers... fingers... modeling spoons.. you name it. I will bake them for a half hour and then force air dry them at room temp before I remove the dummy gun then dry some more. I have been dip-dying my holsters with Fiebing's Pro Oil Dye. No problem at all with the black but I have been having issue with the other colors and the consistency of the dye. Different areas would be slightly darker than others (most notable with browns). So the past few days I have been working on a piece that has a shark reinforcement. As a result I had to dip dye the pieces first (in dark brown) and they came out beautiful. So I get everything sewn up and molded then I start to hand bone. First... hand boning dyed leather seems to be much more difficult. The leather does not seem to want to cooperate as much and hold the details as well as unfinished veg. When I got all done and dried the holster, I noticed that the areas where a good portion of the boning and boo-boo smoothing took place has dried real dark... almost the same as the hand bone then dip dye holsters. So where is the balance... how do you get a real nice hand bone AND get a great even dye of your leather? Is it possible or am I goofing something up? I was thinking of adding another coat of dye to see if that would "even it up" but it will just make the dark areas darker I'm sure.

I went back and forth for months about weather to buy a Tipman or spend the extra money on a Cowboy 4500. Lucky for me the forum existed and Wiz was kind enough to let me pick his brain. I decided to spend the extra and get the 4500. I got in contact with Cowboy Bob and he was extremely nice on the phone. I drove all the way out to his shop and he had one all ready to go for me. He took the time to show me the in's and out's of the machine and was a great guy to deal with. Many months later I needed some new thread and some different needles for my 4500.. I called Bob up and he took care of me and mailed them right out. Bob even took the time to make sure the machine was running well and that I wasn't having any issues with it. Bob also was able to get me a custom made stainless steel presser foot that I inquired about. Top-notch machine....top-notch service!

All my holsters come from the "Ooops Box".

Visible or not... THAT is the extra mile... THAT is the subtle difference that makes me pick belt A over belt B.... and pay more for it.

I am on my tablet right now or I would search for the info.. if you knock a tooth or two off of the Arbor press it will allow your arm to ratchet so it's easier to use. It's worth looking up.

lol to the Sig purists the M11 & the MK25 are abominations!

The M11 is more like the P228 than anything.... the dimensions are identical but there are minor differences in design as seen here. http://whichgun.com/pistols/view/sig-sauer-p228 and https://www.sigsauer.com/CatalogProductDetails/m11-a1.aspx They took a little bit off here and there but essentially they are twins. The P229, if you want to compare it to anything.. would be the smaller version of the P226....but the P229 is really unique in itself.