Jordan

Welcome DD we go ape over photos around here. Enjoy your visits and hope to see some of your stuff. Jordan

Well I got the holster portion of the combo partially sewn together. It is for a long barrel revolver like a vaquero or a colt. About 7/8 wt. veg tan. White waxed thread hand sewn. Watered down Smoke black ecoflow for the color. Satin sheen after everything is done unless I go with oil. The resist I put on the stamping didn't work to well, my guess is a heavier or multiple coats next time. I am still waiting for the .45 dummy rounds I ordered before I can finish up the cartridge belt. The owner of the gun shop down the road is willing to put the set on display when I finish it. Might make a few sales

I noticed in the newest tandy mailer they offer kits for western and now auto holsters, might be a good place to start as it is already cut and holes are punched, Will Ghormley has some great patterns for western holsters and belts, and Bianchi has a DVD set on holster making. Pretty much you could make due with a minimum of tools for your first one like a pattern, a razor knife or very sharp leather sissors, an edger, some waxed thread and a couple of egg eyed leather needles, a hole punch or a drill/dremel with a 1/16 drill bit and a few other things that make certain procedures easier. If you make the trip to tandy they usually have scrap bin that sometimes has good sized pieces at reasonable cost, plus face to face info would be invaluable as far as tips and tricks to make working with leather easier. Of course these things are just my opinion and worth every penny I charge! This was one of my 1st ones with a very minimum of tools.And a more recent one with more tools

While they may be decent knockoffs, my experience with anything from HF is that I need to remember I am buying a disposable item, as most tools I have purchased there barely last long enough to finish the job at hand.

I cut them out of MDF with a jigsaw, screwed the one block (cut to the size and shape of a zippo) to the other and plugged the heads with leather. The whole contraption is held together with C clamps overnight after putting the wet leather piece in it.

The Leatherworking handbook by Valerie Michael and the Making Cases 3 book series by Al Stolhman are a good starting place for mold making. Basically wood or some other shapeble material is used to make a form the wet leather is shaped to and held in position until dry. Here is a simple mold I made to form a case for a zippo lighter.

thehappyviking.com is a sportsbar looks like a pretty cool place, but I could not find your site either. Welcome to the best leather site on the net and enjoy. Jordan

Better watch out you will be making a living off those construction excersizes. One good thing is you will only need to make one a month, the prices for one off handbags the Diva's are paying are astronomical LOL.

A local beauty supply store should have what they call cuticle sticks a nickel or so each in bulk.

Here is a few

wowzers, wish my first ones looked half that good.

I would think that a book press would work. The one I have my eye on is an antique, cast iron frame with a screw down steel plate on top and a solid plate for a base. I will have to wait until I get to calif to try it out as it is sitting in my mom's livingroom as a knick-nack. She collects all kinds of interesting stuff

Thanks for the heads up, I have seen the adverts, in the recent past, by this person and it has most of the classic red flags of a scam.

A gentleman and his wife gave me a bag of stuff at church last Sunday, they said it was his fathers and since I work with leather they figured I could use it. There were a bunch of wallet sized blanks and a couple that had been Sheridan carved and a tool that I had not seen before, marked made in England by Maun Industries, it has a three prong slit cutter and a swivel anvil, they look removable some how. Also a photo of a practice wallet that I think Tina will recognize.

A light oil rubbed in, like olive oil, or baby powder has worked for me. The sounds will also decrease with use.

Snaps, Velcro, small watchband buckles or small eyelets and a leather strip tied in a bow. These are the ways I have done them, all have good and bad points and some are easier to do than others. With most I thin the bracelets down at the ends so they lie flatter on the wrist, just looks a little better as overlapping the ends can be quite thick.

Short of contacting a mfg. of straps and hoping they are willing to part with their mass production measurements, I would say going to a music shop and asking to measure their most popular sales sizes might be the way. Unless the buyer of your stock is willing to show a sample board of your straps and have customers contact you with their own measurements (maybe on a sales percentage basis) and have one made to their size. Strap size and length is a pretty individual choice and I don't think anyone sells the exact size a musician uses unless it is a custom piece. And I don't think they really know their prefered size they just pick one that they like that is adjustable. I know this is not much help, but as the prior post said it is best to have a range of adjustable straps that fit most and the rest will have a custom one made. Again the old adage,, if you give the customer too many choices they will never make up their mind. LOL

You may have already thought about it, but I was just thinking of using a double D setup that would cinch up by pulling on the loose end of the strap. I noticed on some camping gear a plastic square buckle that has a serrated sliding bar that holds the strap tight when the loose end is pulled tight. Just thought I would throw these ideas out there. Jordan

On that guitar strap I was curious about that so I put one end in my vise and pulled as hard as I could on the other end with barely any movement noted. It may not be as secure with a smaller slide and lighter leather though.

Yes, I made a slider for the guitar strap by taking the hook thingy off the center bar of the buckle. It might work with a much smaller buckle although tandy carries a slider with a center pin, I forget the name of it, which I have used after grinding off the post so I did not have to punch holes in the strap.Haha, looked alittle lower and behold a topic of Conway buckle!

Just so it doesn't get bruised feeling I like the one on the right.

Turned out real nice, is it friction fit to hold it in place? Looks like a rear fender for a small custom bike!LOL

Just a general question/request. You know I have seen a lot of adverts for leather related shows around the country and have always wanted to attend one but, distance, time and costs have seemed to always get in the way. Anyway I was wondering why there is not one or two in Utah. There seems to be a pretty vibrant market here for conventions and shows of all types except no leather related stuff. How, who or where can one get information to bring one to my area? Davis County has a brand new convention center that would seem a perfect site halfway between Salt Lake City and Ogden with lots of hotels and restaurants in the area. I would imagine it would be some type of vendor organization, large leather guild or perhaps the state tourism department, but I haven't the faintest as to where to start. Any info would be appreciated.Thanks, Jordan

Although the photo does not show it real well, you could use a belt buckle with the center hole hook (dont remember the proper name for it LOL) removed and use it as a slider on the straps, friction of the double strap going through the buckle and over the center bar holds the strap in place once tightened.