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Whilst we're on the subject I did find this which might help not making em dull in the first place. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111749803736

Wish I'd had a decent sized "yard" to explore. You guys take that sort of thing for granted, over here there's far too many people for the amount of land hence the "portions" are smaller. Also, whenever someone buys so much as a garage they put a fence around it. That's the only thing I envy you guys for is the space and the freedom. You should cherish it cos someday some arsehole will try to change it.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

We can all pick a project to suit an argument. I had no specific project in mind, I was merely pointing out that it's possible to mould - dye and then stitch.

Here's another showing dying before stitching.

There's no detail here but it shows the principle. If there were detail such as a gun it would be easy to get out.

Let me first state that I don't make holsters. That being said I have wet moulded many other things. There are many examples on Y/T of getting detail into wet moulding using all sorts of tools including bone folders and fingers as the leather dries. When I pondered this problem I assumed the back of the holster would be flat, (why wouldn't it be if it lies against the body?). But now I understand that not everyone makes holsters this way. If I were to make a holster this way I would wrap the gun in plastic film, lay it down and prop it up level, then using some kind of moulding clay I would press it all around the gun to make a mould. Then using something like resin I would pour it into the mould to make a form that I could use again and again using the normal wet moulding techniques.

We're all different I guess. A blue gun would assume not a one-off. I think I'd rather make a slightly smaller mould and do it the easier way.

Ah, you mean shove the actual cling film wrapped gun in the wet holster rather than use a mould?

Perhaps I'm missing something? Why not just wet mould - dye - stitch - two coats of 50/50 Resolene?

I struggled with my 801 for a while (and still do sometimes). Your asking the worst of it with soft thin leather. Thick veg tan is a breeze, is why any YT vid trying to look good uses it. As someone said fractions matter. Don't forget the tension. I found that mattered a lot on thin stuff. Make sure everything is not just the right distance and tension but also the right shape. That feed roller is shaped like a rugby ball for a reason. It wants to be close to the knife at both ends and the middle. You'll get there, just make sure you have lots of scrap. Good luck.

Good work Fred but as you've found out Chrome Tan doesn't stamp very well. Hot foiling sometimes works and you don't need a machine for one offs, If you have some scraps just lay some foil down and stamp it after heat up the letters with a blowtorch or even the gas ring. It doesn't have to get too hot either.

Excellent job! Well done.

Nice job Chuck, practical, non sheridan/western/floral etc, what's not to love?

Bit late now but maybe a makers mark type lozenge to cover it. I think that blue/grey is a cool colour. Well done.

I remember that picc line. Didn't like it at the time but blessed it many times over afterward. There was two Macmillan nurses feeding the tube into my right arm and I decided that it wasn't something I needed to watch and so turned my head to the left. They said sorry, you have to look this way else instead of going across to your heart it'll make it's way up to your ear. As said, it was an absolute boon because it meant that the second type of chemo came in a tube that plugged into the picc line and I could go home every day.

I did call em and asked if they had anything smaller. When they said no I thought maybe the needle bar is aftermarket. The bar on the Durkopp 239 is all one piece unlike the "69". Maybe I'll just drill it through and tap it to the size of the new screws.

college sewing is a big stockist for many brands and they sent the listed screws for the "69" which are too big.

I've struggled with the needle clamp screw forever. Bought two replacements from College Sewing and they were too big and college doesn't do anything smaller. On closer inspection, the needle bar seems to be wrong. The bar on my Durkopp 239 is just one piece down to the needle but the "69" has a bit on the end. Is this an aftermarket needle bar? Do I need to change it? Does the bit on the end come off? I don't mind changing the needle bar but how difficult is it? You know how much I appreciate any help I can get. Thanks.

I guess I was lucky when I had throat cancer in 2000 because I was able to roll with the punches. Because they didn't find the source (they diagnosed from a lymph node biopsy) they gave me the harshest treatment to ensure they caught it A whole week of chemo followed by a break of 3 weeks and repeat. I had 3 rounds of this followed by radio therapy, every day for seven and a half weeks. I found the anti sickness was worse so stopped taking it. I have to say the oncology at Maidstone hospital was wonderful and the worst of it was when the radio machine broke down when I was locked down tight on the bed (They had to make a clear mask because they couldn't indelibly mark my face and neck as a target) and I couldn't move whilst hoisted up to within 3 ft of a very high ceiling for an hour which, I found later traumatised me to the point where I couldn't watch people being handcuffed on the TV. The worst of it was losing all my saliva and severely compromised taste buds. Some saliva is back but gravy is my God. Try eating a potato chip after wiping your mouth out with a man sized tissue. I count myself lucky, could've been a lot worse. That's enough about me. I only tell the story to show that it's doable if you can not make a big deal of it. It's a shitty thing to happen to anyone but you being there for your wife is immensely important. I didn't have that support. I don't know how far cancer treatment has come, I was lucky with my treatment, my hair didn't fall out. People that were likely to lose their hair were given thick "cold caps" which were kept in a fridge while getting their treatment and it seemed to work. They forgot to give it to one woman one time and her hair fell out so you can ask about that. I wish you both best wishes for the future and I know this will all be a bad memory in the months to come. Good luck.

Don't have a post bed. You would've thought that In this day and age someone could come up with a machine that could have a drop down cylinder arm to make way for a raised up rounded needle plate. That would sew these damn corners.

Been trying this without success. Here's what I'm talking about but hand stitched on a much smoother curve. Hand stitching lends itself very well when going around tight corners because every stitch pulls the two sides together bit by bit but when you try to do it on the machine you can't see the underlying piece so you must use a guide line or glue it but a tight corner forces the leather to rise up under the presser foot. You want to turn the gusset but can't because it's underneath. And yes, I did try cutting notches. Has anyone conquered this seam around a corner without resorting to a different machine?

Not knowing where you are doesn't make helping you any easier. As I said before, I changed my handwheel, pulley and belt for less than £40. For the big wheel look for "taperlock" whatever the size of the big wheel, The taperlock bush is the same. I've never had a pulley wobble. The speeds we are talking about means that if the bore of the pulley is slightly bigger than the shaft pad it out with a piece of baked been tin or whatever.

Have you been watching Don Gonzales?