SmilinJim

A guy at work got a Galco lefthanded shoulder holster at a gun show at a 'good price'. He only has the holster and he is not left handed so he asked me to modify it to a right handed belt clip. See photos. My question for the holster guys is... the thumb break now unsnaps away from his body whereas before it unsnapped towards his body. I would think it should break away in all circumstances. Can anyone shed a little light for me. I'm doing him another from scratch need a little feedback. Keep on Smilin Jim

Of course we want to see more of your work. I know nothing of horse gear but I can still appreciate the talent that went into making such fine leather equipment. Jim

My method. I cut a piece of leather for a project and get it just the way I want. Then I usually manage to stick myself with the awl or nick myself with a blade, of course without noticing since I'm concentrating on something else. Then there are all of these little blood spots on the leather piece. Even though I do this quite regularly I really don't think this is the way you were talking about. Keep on Smilin Jim

Those are so impressive. Have you been able to go to the gallery? Thanks for sharing. Jim

Nice. Some folks aren't familar with Deviantart. So I thought they should get to see more of your work. Jim

Mike those are Great. No need for improvement even if you could. Please give some more info. Type of leather number of strands and types of knots. Heck just do a tutorial. Again great work. Keep on Smilin Jim

I've always heard the joke "What do you call gun control in the South? They use two hands" and I tell the guys I live in Walker County where we have reverse drivebys. That's where these folks drove by and I shot at them, but that's a whole new topic. In reality I think it's time, location. I grew up a long time ago in the rural south. It was common for every young boy to grow up hunting and being familar with guns. I was taught that guns are not toys. Guns are made to kill. But they are like any other tool. It is the operator that is in control. I have several guns and have given my only daughter a couple of guns. When I though she was ready, in her mid teens, I taught her how to use a gun. She has fired automatics, revolvers, shotguns and rifles. She prefers the Ruger auto. I guess I'm from the old school I like to be prepared. If she needs to she can use a weapon be it for protection or for hunting. She is not afraid of guns. I like to think I've helped her. But we are in a different time now. Far less kids come in from school and go out hunting. Or plan a trip on a saturday for a bird hunt. It's plug in the Xbox and shoot monsters ( I have to say that I do like Halo ). In my forseeable future there will alway be bad guys with guns. I really don't know if owning a gun is a good idea for most folks but it just makes me feel safer. Enough already, just my two cents worth. Jim

Hey Nick Do I need to come to Montgomery? When's your next class? Jim

Nice work ghost I like seeing 'homemade' items. Been thinking about trying some simple stuff. Some of the tools mentioned in the older Stolman books are not available. Keep showing your work. Jim

Great looking piece. But I've got a question. I'm not a holster maker so bear with me. I have done several holsters, some cell phone cases and knife cases with the same type of belt attachment. In my case I wrapped the strap so it inserted from the top, wrapped behind the belt and then snapped in the front. Sorta upside down from yours. The thought being that if the snap popped the strap would have to slide up behind the belt then over before it would drop. Is this a concern? Or am I just doing overkill? Keep on Smilin Jim

Great work, of course. The gloves are intense. All that plating to get movement. Are the joints very stiff? I know it's not weight of metal but is it tiring to wear? Seen some at the ren fairs but have no idea of what it takes to wear armour, let alone fabricate it. Still, a great job. Jim

Good work Berndette. I like the baskedweave too. Nice and even. Keep on Smilin Jim

In my opinion anyway. I wanted to do a little practice so I got a piece of leather that I didn't mind losing. It was sorta thin but I cased, traced, cut, hammered and stained. Really didn't look too bad. Hmmm, can I use it for anything, how about covering my thermos. Yeah that's good. So I wrapped it and measured and cut then decided to use the braid I used for practice for a handle and cut some caps. You know just slipping it on the thermos may not be tight enough lets use a little barge on the thermos and then while it's wet I can slip the cover on. Do you have any idea how tacky barge gets when it's thin. Didn't want to slide after about half way. Now gotta pull it back off and get rid of the barge. In the meantime the leather has been pulled and folded and twisted. Wasn't in real good shape to begin with. Anyway, wet the leather cover and pulled it over the thermos. Smooth it down. Looks maybe okay. Let it dry and looks better. Hey I know how about antique over the design and that may cover some of the oops. Wrong. Brought out all of the little dinks and dents the leather ever thought about having. But hey, it's mine and will just bounce around in my work truck. My wife and daughter thinks it looks great. I've got 4 orders to do some for the guys at work. Go figure. The moral of my story is to use some of the tools the folks on this board use. The main one is to plan ahead. I should have done another with a better piece of leather. Looked into reference for attaching the handle ( I've got all of the Stolman Art of Making Cases books) and so on and so forth. But it's the way I wanted it and thats my story and I'm stickin to it. Keep on Smilin Jim

Thank you lady, we've been wanting to do a large chair and didn't know where to start. There's some great stuff there. Jim

Thanks Mike Knew if I thought too hard I'd confuse the issue. Sorta figured it was one of those things that just ran on autopilot. One more question. Is the weight ratio? about the same. Lighter maul for heavier mallet, or is weight a more personal taste? Jim

I got a pair of crimping pliers at a fabric store. It also came with a few snaps. The base flips for either the rounded cap or the flat base and the pin side is diamond shaped and keeps the snap centered. With a little care you can also do line 20 snaps. I'll post pics if ya want. Keep on Smilin Jim

Okay, let's show my ignorance. A mallet or hammer has a flat striking surface. A maul is rounded. It would seem you would have more control striking a tool with the flat surface. Can someone explain a little more. I've never used a maul of any type. In my dad's shop, way back in prehistoric times, there were several mauls but most were very large (two handed). Jim

Dang Clay!!!!!! You do museum class work. I'm almost embarassed to post on the same board. Notice I said almost. People got a right to see the other end of doing leather. You know, the good, the bad and the ugly. You being way above good. But all kidding aside you really do impressive work. Thanks for sharing. Jim

Hi Zilla, that's a good idea. Doing a leather cover for my thermos so there's a good place to try. Thanks Jim

Did some stuff for my daughter with some of the soft craft wire from Hobby Lobby. So I started a couple of rings to see how it would look as stoppers and transition pieces. Just a thought if anyone interested. The rings are 3 X 5 turks head knots or simple three strand flat braid if you can hide the start stop points. It's very easy to work with. Jim

That's great Billy P, I luv it. Just gotta do one in the front yard. May get run outta the subdivision. Got me Smilin Jim

Great pix Ms Johanna Have a great Halloween Keep on Smilin JIm

Hi Patrice Not an expert but the VL and VLS are basically the same. The VLS has a swivel connector for the paint bottle hence the 'S'. I don't know the Millenium. I just started using the brush again, never was real good, but works great with stains and stencils. I have a small Bager and the VL which is considered a large airbrush. My kit included 3 tips for a wide variety of spray sizes. Got a compressor at a yardsale for $5.00 and another at a thrift store for $2.00, needed minor repair. Jim

That's awesome. Really like the color and how rich it looks. Like to see completed. Keep on Smilin Jim

It's great work. I like it. My 2 cents, if it doesn't sell again try changing the name. The green gives me a sense of forest instead of ocean. You never know what will strike someone. Keep on Smilin Jim