HBAR

Bob Parks has an edge marker out. Angellus also sells their version too. I think Bobs is wider and stiff enough that you dont get little fibers hanging over the edge. You fill them with dye and just keep them filled. It works well.

t-nut is the answer. Slide in t-nut. Amazon, grainger, mcmasters, everyone carries them. and about 10 different varieties of them.

looks like the things every man I know has right now. Every guy in the military has the same stuff.

how long would or should thread be good in your opinon... kept sealed in ziploc bag and out of any sunlight stored in a cardboard box. Is it indefinite? Ten years? Anyone know?

If you want, you can end your liner right before the tongue hole. Go ahead and dye that edge and burnish it. When you get the glueing done and you go to sew it you can start a couple stitches onto the double layer, then back up just over the edge, sew the belt and when you get to the other side stitch just over your edge then back up a couple stitches. Basically your liner will be 4 inches shorter than the rest of the belt. I hope any of that make sense. Doing it that way makes a nice pocket for the center bar and it keeps the bulk down. I have done it several ways. I have seen people skive the bottom side of both layers before glueing. I have seen people skive the liner after its glued. Which way is best... I dont know.

Matt, Did you say this was all hand sewn? That would be a lot of work for sure. Is the belt lined? Since its shiny on the inside it looks like it. If it is lined sew your billet, chape and bullet loops through just one layer. It should be easier for you to do it that way, and it will step up the finished look. It looks good the way it is now though. If you want you could make your bullet loops a little narrower to allow for getting the bullets out easier. They wont fall out, dont worry about that. It looks like you have them about 1" now, you could go 3/4" or less still.

Many people just use hose. Many people have done it this way for many years. It works. Kydex holster makers use a lot of this stuff. Me too. If you want to pay for a product here are some choices. All the other pieces you need are there as well. http://www.holstersmith.com/vcom/index.php?cPath=553_639 http://www.shopdiyholster.com/o-rings/ http://www.ifithermoplastics.com/products/spacer

Its just another way to secure the belt tunnel area. You could sew it of course or use some sort of metallic fastners, but for a holster with no skirt, I like this style. You punch holes only through one layer of the holster before you glue. You mark the holes on the liner and make sure you dont glue where the lace will go through. It doesnt show inside.

Dwight, I used to make the rigs with loops. People dont want them. I sometimes put 5 on one hip. Mostly the game of Cowboy Action is played by older people. They dont want the weight of the guns and a full cartridge belt too. Basically a match entails standing for 4-5 hours with all the gear. Now people have a few extra cartridge loops on either their shotgun belt or shotgun slide. Personally I like having an actual cartridge belt, but for the game there is no real reason to.

I made this for a lady shooter. She shoots black powder with a mexican loop style holster set up now. The holsters were not made for cowboy action, so they are 1 layer, floppy and too restrictive. I took Johanna's SLIM JIM pattern from this forum (thank you) cut it down and reshaped it to make this rig. I normally make the holsters much more minimal for competition rigs. This holster (I hope) maintains the original feel of the Slim Jim, Old West holsters. The holsters are around 12/13 oz and the belt is maybe 14 oz or slightly more. Fully lined (of course) I distressed the finish to, hopefully give it some charachter. Dark Brown Fiebings oil dye. 3/8 spots The belt is preshaped for comfort.

I too bought various feet from Steve at leathermachineco.com. He has always had time to answer my questions and get me what I needed. I dont remember the feet being very expensive either.

Alpha2, It looks very nice. I dont know how long you have been working leather but it is very nice. what are you stitching with? If you need to use a stitcher (or any other equipment) you are welcome to come out and use mine. I think you know where I am.

I have a ton of the osbourne punches. They work fine for slots. All the ones I have are skinny though. Like the ones you posted. I make holsters for men who wear guns all day everyday and use heavy belts. Just try to get a 1/4" belt through those slots. It sucks. I made holsters with those for a long time. If you punch the slots with the osbourne and then get the holster wet enough you can use your burnishing tool (one of mine is mounted on a drill press) then you can wallow the slot out and it will be larger. I knew there had to be a better way to do it. I didnt want my customers to have to jam their belts through the slots. The new slots are wide enough that they dont have to get a hernia pushing their belt through. Once again the smaller slots are fine if your customer is using a thin belt, just not a good gun belt. Comfortable carry of a firearm is made easier with a good holster and a good, rigid, lined belt.

each plus shipping. its costs money to do things professionally. It will make your slots look like you know what you are doing AND it takes about 2 seconds to cut the slots with the punch. That should be worth something to you, it was to me. As far as curved slots, I think its more of someones gimmick. I have tried both ways. I dont see any necessity in doing them that way. Im sure somebody thinks they look cool, but I think they just drag on the center of the belt more. Potentially scratching a belt.

Mine are from Texas custom dies. I have one that is 1 1/2" by 3/8" which is good for heavy gun belts smaller than 1 1/2" . I also have one that is 1 3/4" which is nice for heavy 1 1/2 belts. They are straight oblong. They cost me $80 plus shipping. I had one develop a crack immediately and it seemed like I was being blamed for it. Which Im guessing was a misworded or poorly worded email to me and me being overly sensitive and annoyed. I sent it back, they fixed it. I wasnt sure that it was going to last the second time, however its still going good. I think they have good products for a decent price. My experience wasnt perfect but I would probably buy from them again. You will not regret having the punch to do your slots. I see pics here of people doing it with round punches and then cutting the material between. Im sure it can be done neat and clean, but most of the attempts look like crap. This will solve that for you. Punch the hole, run the backside edge, dye and burnish and your belt slots will look great.

I personally dont need the fanciness of it either. I like the design of the blade, the angle of the handle, the good steel. However I find it strange that a craftsman who probably makes decorative items for money would begrudge another craftsman for doing the same thing. I mean I can buy a $5 nylon guitar strap that holds up my Martin, but its nice to have a custom leather guitar strap made by a skilled craftsman. Also, I dont own the knife pictured or know the people who sell it. I did use one of their knives like this one at a class I took. It was fantastic.

I love this style or a slight variation. The shape and handle angle make it wonderful to use. http://www.shop.leatherwranglers.com/product.sc?productId=37

if its glued, it will probably be ruined http://springfieldleather.com/Shark-Black-SqFt 20 bucks a sqft.

They are also called bachelor buttons, suspender buttons, brace buttons, logger buttons. I have used them extensively. I personally wouldnt use them for anything that needed fastening.(if it mattered) The two pieces will separate if you put too much tension on them or flex them too much. Im sure there are certain ones that are better than others. https://www.amazon.com/Bachelor-Buttons-Suspender-Suspenders-Replacement/dp/B017YY7SLS

I always used a utility knife, thinking it was easier. Then I took a class with Chris Andre of Slickbald.com I now hate to use a utility knife. After I was properly taught how to use a head knife and a good one it is night and day different. The head knife is so so smooth and manuverable. I have an old osborne head knife and it sucks. The smaller ones with different shapes and features are great. I think leather wrangler makes or sells some of them. If I was learning from the start again, I would get trained to use a head knife and use it properly.

Doesnt anyone use a drill press? They are variable speed and the Beary burnishers (the ones he used to sell here) chuck right in and you are done.

Surface plates are THE way to go. You can get small ones cheap from many different sources. I have one as well as a monument from a monument place by the cemetary. Mine was a mistake and it was for a home warming from all the kids to the parents so no creep feeling. I bought a thin piece like springfield and tandy sell. I broke mine right away. Then I got a sink cut out free, once again broke it right away.

http://robertbeardtools.scalabledata.com/catalog.html he will either have it, or can make it. His tools are top of the line. depth, quality, consistency.

How much do you cut the resolene to air brush it? What pressure? any other tricks/tips I would love to hear.

XDM 3.8 Glock 19