Boriqua

My solution while not very elegant is I dampen the leather some before I bend it. Then I work the straps a fair amount just using my thumb and forefinger I work it from the top to the bottom. I just keep rubbing it hard.. It generates a good deal of heat and softens the leather. Has to be an easier way but it works well. Alex

Nice .. What color dye did you start with and reduce in order to get that color? Alex

Very first thought I had was Wow very clean. Nice work sir.

Just received my hoover press and snap. Worth every penny. I had a little trouble justifying the expense but it is just awesome.

Thanks Wishful!! One more question. I went through the thread again but maybe I missed it. Is there a proper recipe .. I have filled my 2qt jar with vinegar and put in 2 00 steel wool pads. Its day 3 and they are pretty much gone. I put in another one today .. is it something you just learn over time or is there a formula like .. 4 wool pads to a quart of vinegar. Sounds like a stupid question even as I type it .. but if you know

I live in a very small place would it be alright to put it under the stairs outside in Arizona. It's 111 now

Thank you for being so generous with you time and you knowledge. I am going to try one next! Alex

Sweeet. Has she seen it yet?

Thank you thank you than you !! Now one more question for the group. I am always trying to save a few bucks where I can considering .. Im broke. I was thinking of just getting the long barrel caps from the link above and if need be take them down with a file if I need to use it on say 6/7 oz. I know it would be an inconvenience but would it work

Nice work. I think my next project will be an attempt at one of these cowboy action shooter rigs. I have a pattern from Leather Makers Supply and see how bad I can muck it up How many hours did it take you to do the cartridge belt by hand?

Just Beautiful! I love the way the Aztec drawing breaks the stitch line. How did you do the darks on the Native American piece. I couldnt tell if it was silhouette or paint. Awesome work

Have you had any success. I am going crazy looking for snaps. I have now been to Ohio travel bag, Springfield, scoval and a host of others but cant find a 5/16 Barrel line 24 snap anywhere. The longest barrel I have seen for a cap is 18/64ths. If anyone can please help. I have been through 10 pages of the forum and have no joke been looking all over the internet since before noon. About 3 hours I'm losing my mind. Tandy snaps are the worst and I am looking to upgrade. Please please help Alex

Thank you Dwight and all the other guys who chimed in but I mixed the beeswax and neatsfoot oil 50/50 and heated it up. I waited for it to become liquid and let it cool. I buffed my black leather piece to death. Not a single bit of dyd would show up on a white tee shirt. I appliedd the mixture dry like show polish and rubbed it in. I put it in my window for a bit .. Its arizona so that is enough applied heat as you can get! Took it out and started buffing .... Rubbing marks on the rag. So I rubbed and rubbed and rubbed some more. I put it on my kitchen table so whenever I would pass it I would give it some more buffing but after three days it still rubs slightly and I know in this heat anyone wearingg it would have a black shirt. Did I do something wrong? I then melted it in the microwave and dyed another piece of leather. Same thing buffed the leather until it was clean and then applied the melted wax/neatsoot oil onto the leather with a small brush. Man it sucked it up good and gave a nice dull finish but once again I couldnt get it to stop rubbing. It does seem like it would be great for outdoor gear because it was waterproof. But still on a concealed carry holster ...So tell me guys. Am I missing a step? Thank you everyone! Alex

I used to do it old school case work when doing these. Wet the leather in and out and with the back end of my plastic bone creaser I would press the leather down over the mold all the way around and rub a crease where the wet piece meets the flat surface. It does take a fair amount of stretching and prodding. I rub with the bone folder hard into the crease where the molded piece meets the flat surface. After I pulled stretched and boned until I am happy I then took carpet tacks and hammered them right into the creased seem/sew line. Let it dry. . After it was dry I pull the tacks, trimmed around it and then laid it up on another piece of flat leather and sew around the edges in the sew crease I made earlier.. Done. I have never had a pucker issue and I have used that system on some odd shaped stuff so long as it wasnt too tall. Lately I have been taking kind of a short cut and people love em. Its a one piece pattern so you dont have to sew the strap and the entire back on. You only wet the bottom and front. Fold it over glue the edges sew and your done. The belt loop is riveted to the pattern. Leave the back piece wider and you can make gang it anyway you want. double would be easy.

I have been searching for more than an hour and dont find the answer to this question. I have just screwed up 2 decorative snaps and it cost me over 5 bucks. Now I have to buy more. I have been looking at the Hoover Press n snap because I have read so many good things on the forums. I have been on the fence for a couple of weeks but I am sick of ruining snaps. Will the Hoover also be able to set decorative snaps like those from tandy http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/1265-09.aspx

I have a few sets of line 24 and line 20 snaps that I bought years ago. I am running out and recently bought some line 24 from tandy. I know tandy doesnt always have the best hardware but I am having trouble figuring out what I have so I can find it. I have attached a couple of pix. The snap on the right is the old stock I have and it has a Matte like effect like it might be real nickle but I only find nickle plated online so I am not sure. The one on the left is the tandy and coating looks thin and it is super shinny. You can look at the back and same deal. I cant remember if the ones I bought were solid nickle .. Did they make solid or am I just nuts and they are just another nickle plated. I went to Springfield and it looks like they only have nickle plate as well. If possible I would rather find solid brass and solid nickle. Alex

That is Beautiful!!! thank you so much for sharing the dyeing tip. Alex

If I am using this over a rigidly wet molded piece is there any danger of this softening the leather to a point where the piece would no longer be rigid?

I have used the Fiebings Leather sheen, Super sheen and Saddle lac. I am concerned about using any of these products on this gig because of the heavy use of the flap bending back and forth regularly. I dont want cracking. Can I get away with buffing out the dye and applying Neutral shoe polish or will the polish make it rub? I have buffed it to the point where it is not rubbing now without any sealer. The guy does not want a shinny lacquer like finish. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Alex

It was the A104. Im looking into some other background tools and am thinking about trying the e294 but am afraid. For 6 bucks I think I will give it a shot

I can lift a corner so if I just go in there with a small paint brush with dye reducer I should be able to free it. Now if a drop gets on the leather will I still be able to dye the leather after without having marks where the reducer may hoave gone? Thanks! Alex

I dont know what I was thinking .. or I wasnt .. but I have two small straps that I glued together. I forgot to set a snap between the layers and want to pull part of these straps apart. When I worked in a wood shop we were able to use a heatgun to loosen the laminate so we could get in behind it with lacquer thinner. Can I heat these straps to soften the cement some and pull it apart? Alex

Here is my test piece for a holster I am working on for a Desert Eagle. I always run a test piece before I dig into the holster. This stupid thing took me about 8 hours from block sketch to finished. There are some subleties that dont show up with my junky camera. I am going to fix a few things I didnt love on the test. I used a ton of knowledge I gained here. Thanks everyone Alex

I am doing a fold over holster like the one pictured. Im sure its not called fold over but I dont know what else to call it. Thank you so much for your response. alex

Hey Guys I took a job for a desert eagle. Jeez this thing is huge. Anyway I wanted to do glue two pieces of leather back to back. I have cut my outside piece put have a question about cutting the inside. If I bend the leather after I have glued the two pieces together the inside part will want to be shorter .. No? do you glue the two pieces together while it is flat or do you measure the inside piece after you have a bend in in the top piece. Thanks anyone Alex