byggyns

Yeah, JB Weld will work just fine since you don't have to worry about it being a structural or load bearing piece.

It really depends on the type of leather and if you are just trying to refresh the leather or re-color / dye it. If it is a latigo, you will have a hard time getting dye to soak into the leather. Latigo is a "stuffed" leather, There are waxes and oils that are forced into the leather structure which will resist attempts to dye the leather: even 20 years later. I have several latigo belts and the only product that has been able to put any color on them is a surface treatment like edge kote- which I use to refresh the edge color. I haven't tried using any acrylic paint on them because I'm afraid that would crack too easily. If you are just looking to refresh the leather, something like lexol would help to get it more supple and shiny. Sanding should not be done on the top / grain side if it is a full grain leather. You would irreparably damage the structure of the leather. Denatured alcohol can be used to strip off surface sealants, but can have adverse effects on the existing dye. I've heard of people using acetone to do the same thing, but that seems a little too harsh for my taste and I haven't personally tried it. After stripping the finish off of a veg tanned belt, it would be able to accept dye and oil and then can be re-sealed with resolene or some other surface sealant.

Honestly, Jim, I use your method more often than doing the math. The practical, rather than theoretical approach tends to be faster. Mostly, I use the math when making an initial pattern for a prototype. That way, I can layout any other pieces of the project and / or the tooling pattern to see how the composition will come together. Then, I revise the final dimensions with the test strap. The math also helps if you don't have the object on hand to test at first. Mainly, I provided the math because he asked for a formula due to being frustrated with his own calculations. If he used the same calculations I provided and still came up short, then I can't explain that. It gets me pretty close each time, but as you said leather has its own rules and all hides are a little bit different in how they behave.

If you want the math, take the diameter of your object, add the thickness of the foam x2, add the thickness of the leather x2, add 1mm for interference- nothing fits together exactly with no gaps. Multiply that sum by Pi ~ 3.14. That would get you a close to perfect butt joint. Since you want a 10mm overlap, add that 10 mm to the total, then add the leather thickness x2. That should get you pretty close to the measurement you want. An example is a 70mm cylinder, 2mm foam, 3mm leather. Add them together with the allowance for inexact fit, you get 81. Multiply that times Pi, and you get approx 254 mm. This should be very close for a butt joint. Add your 10 mm overlap and your leather thickness twice, and you end up with approx 270 mm. The biggest issues most people have with the math are forgetting to add the thicknesses of the wrap layers twice before multiplying: my normal mistake- I only add the thicknesses of each layer once forgetting that the leather measurement should be for the outside of the leather, since the outside grain does not stretch much, but the flesh side will compress more easily- so they don't add the leather thickness at all before multiplying not giving any allowance for the inexact fit between the layers not taking into account the leather thickness for the overlap: not adding it at all, or not adding an additional allowance for the bend outwards ETA: If you are overlapping the foam, you will have to add even more length onto the leather for that added thickness.

If you are not tooling, then I would suggest using latigo leather in 7-9 oz thickness for the belts. Before I started doing leatherwork, I bought all my belts from an amish leather shop & they alway sold me latigo belts. I have one that is over 15 years old that still works and looks great. You can also use veg tan and dye, oil & finish them yourslf for more customer color options. If you line the belts, there are even more options of leather for that: pig skin, garment leather, suede, veg tan, oil tan, etc. You can also use a thick veg tan or latigo base & do a thinner surface leather or do an inlay. There are just too many options with belts to list them all. Al Stohlman's book "Belts Galore" is a great resource if you want to get into tooling belts. It has lots of construction and tooling patterns. For basic assembly & design, you don't really need it. You can find that info online. But it does have really good information on construction techniques.

For belts, holsters & sheaths, Weldwood. When I'm doing book binding: weldwood to attach the leather to the boards or to other leather, white PVA to attach paper to the leather or boards. When using a fabric liner, I'd probably use the spray. I've had good luck with 3M Super Trim Adhesive when doing automotive headliner replacements & upholstery, and I don't see why that wouldn't work really well on a fabric to leather interface.

If you use Excell & have lots of standard designs, you can create formulas to calculate usage of materials. Have 1 sheet that tracks each item you make, then another that uses a formula to translate that into amount of leather, snaps rivets, thread, etc. used. After you set up the formulas, you would only need to enter the quantity of each item you produce, have an extra field for any custom orders or waste, and then use that to track inventory. If you do lots of variations in colors of thread or hardware, it would be just copying the formula and changing a few fields in them. you would just have to make sure you recorded the correct item as it was made: brown wallet, white thread; Black 20" collar, red thread nickel hardware, etc. I haven't played around with any databases recently, but that might be the best way to go. Setting those up takes forever, though. I don't do leather as a business, so I can't really say how easy it would be to even get the spreadsheet set up & into operation. But, at teh office, I've had to set up lots of multi-page spreadsheets to compile results, and that seems similar.

If you want light color letters with a dark background, dye the letters first, apply a resist to only the letters: your resolene, then dye the darker color over it. be careful, or you could get color bleeding around the edges. Also remember that the dye color combinations will be different, so test it on scrap first. For dark letters on a light background, dye the whole thing the light color, then come back with a brush & carefully dye the dark letters. Again, dye bleeding can be an issue, but since there is no resist, there is an even greater chance. For bright colored letters, use acrylic paints like Angelus or Cova Color. For your green / brown, you can use a brush to dye the letters, then use a resist on the letters, then use the brown dye. As with anything with dyes & finishes, do tests first on scrap to see how it works with your particular combination. I haven't used the oil dyes, so I'm not sure how that changes how it interacts vs. the spirit syes.

my order with a holster will not fit everything else, but you may be able to draw some insight from it cut out patterns, leaving liner a little larger than the outer piece tool / stamp holster body (if any) dye, antique or highlight light oil with neatsfoot to restore what was stripped in dying process install any loops, straps, snaps, rivets glue liner to outer in stages: glue front of holster, start the fold over, glue rear of holster trim liner flush with front piece groove, mark & stitch liner to front in areas not folded over sand, edge bevel, dye, & burnish all edges not accessable when fully assembled glue stitched area for fold over mark stitches, saddle stitch sand stitched edges edge bevel, dye & burnish edges of folded over seam wet form to weapon, let dry completely buff to prevent dye rub-off apply finish (resolene), buff, repeat final buff with a little neutral shoe polish Of course, different holster designs call for adding steps in certain places & moving the order around in others, but this is a basic list for a lined holster. Unlined, I just remove the steps relating to the liner. Knife sheaths are nearly the same, but I normally don't line those. 2 piece holsters don't get liners & don't require a fold, but will normally use a stiffener piece.

My grandfather played back in the 40's / 50's and they used wooden sticks. The sticks are laced with cat gut and rawhide leather. He has 2 sticks that are still strung 65 years later. I don't know how they waterproofed the lacings, but I'll ask the next time I see him. I'd suspect some type of tallow. I'll also try to get some pictures of the sticks & his old laminated & laquered leather helmet so you can see some vintage gear.

I use the weldwood. I find that if you rough the leather up a little before using it: a light sanding to remove any surface glaze, that it works better. I also only let it get tacky, not dry completely. Once I put the surfaces together, I tap the joint with a mallet. I find that without the tapping, it does not stick as well.

When I saw the pictures, I thought they were hog rings. Thanks for confirming that. Are they stainless? It has been a while since I looked at hog rings, and can't remember if they are mild steel or stainless.

I think it depends on what is used take the pictures. Sometimes pictures taken with mobile devices don't encode the orientation the same way the websites do. Someone who actually does this stuff professionally may be able to give you a better explanation. I also like the fact that you are a stickler for grammar. It does bother me constantly in forum posts, but I rarely point it out.

If you want the Tandy water based dyes, you want the Eco-Flo Professional Waterstain dyes. They cover well. The color I got out of the tan color is close to your example, but I think the orange would probably match better. The tan has more red than you probably want. My store has small sample swatches that they can show you the final result of the dye. Ask your store if they have them. I have only used the Eco-Flo professional finish over the top of the pro waterstains- they are designed to work together. I've wanted to do a test with resolene over top, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Resolene will work on the undyed leather. I cut mine 50 / 50 with distilled water to make it easier to apply thin coats. 2-4 thin coats with 24 hours to dry between I find is a good number. After that, I like to use a little beeswax or neutral shoe polish to give it a little extra shine.

The thickness of the thread depends on a lot of factors. The overall thickness of the leather layers is one factor, but the main factor is how you want it to look. A smaller stitch length generally requires a smaller thread. I use 1.0 mm for a 3.5 mm to 4 mm stitch (6-7 spi). For 2 mm to 3.5 mm (8-12 spi), I like to use a .8 mm thread or smaller. This is however, a personal style choice. Some like the look of a larger thread in a short stitch, and others don't mind a thin thread in a longer stitch. Play around with it until you get a combination you like. For wallets, you can use the full range of stitch lengths. Many modern styles use very fine stitching (10 spi or finer), where a more traditional western style can use larger stitches or lace. Check out Nigel Armitage's YouTube videos on saddle stitching & stitching chisels / pricking irons. He goes through a lot of different thread sizes & stitch counts. You can see lots of options before you do your own experimentation.

I'm very interested in this tooling style. Do you have any suggestions for books or online resources to get more info on it?

Since you live in Spain, I don't know how it translates, but in the US, those large ones are called grommets. I think the main difference are that eyelets are small and tend to be a single piece of metal. A grommet is larger and has two pieces: an eyelet style piece and a metal washer. I can find a grommet kit with the requred hardware & tool at a local hardware store, or on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Hodge-1073A-4-Grommet-Kit/dp/B00004Y692/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432817068&sr=8-1&keywords=grommet+kits

I'm wondering if you laid out the line for the groove with dividers or some other method, then used a freehand groover to do it. Or if you used a groover with a guide around the entire thing. Either way, it looks good. I always hate to take a groover to already dyed leather. I've made enough errors with one, it will probably be a while before I try to use it as a highlight feature like you did. Also, what dye did you use? I notice that you used the same purple (at least it looks purple on my screen) in the background of your tooling as on the main body of the cover. That's a very neat touch.

On my first pankake holster, I wanted it molded on a curve, so I used a 5 gal bucket as a round form. That's not the best Idea with a holster as it looses retention when it flattens out, but has enough when its worn. In your case, I would mold the backing piece first, then stitch the front of the pockets & the flaps to it after it is already curved. You can do a little wet molding again to the fully assembled belt & pouch to help the attached pieces form to the curve. Then oil & seal with resolene or whatever your preferred finish is. When the 5 gal bucket is upside down, the top of your piece will have a smaller radius at the top & larger at the bottom, much like a person's hips. I would do one of the pouch locations at a time.

If you are going to use veg tan, Tandy sells it by the single shoulder, double shoulder, bend, and side. With oil tan, chrome tan & pretty much everything else, they only sell it by the side or whole hide. Also, depending on the size of your messenger bag, you will probably want an entire side. You will need the extra for imperfect spots, off cut scraps, errors, and for the other projects you will want to make when the bag is done. I'm still low on my project count since I started last year, but I've worked through 2 single shoulders, a double shoulder, most of a goat skin & am currently using 2 sides & another double shoulder- each of different weights.

If you do make the back & flap out of separate pieces, I think it is better to have the seam on the back rather than on front of the flap. Having the flap curve around to the top of the back piece gives a better visual flow. I'll echo the comments about rounding the corners & burnishing edges. It gives a more finished look. That's a very nice tooling design.

If you are close to a Tandy, sign up for a class there. If Hartfort, CT. is the closest to you , they have classes just about every Saturday in May. According to the Tandy website, they still have 6 spots open for a stitching & lacing class tomorrow. As has been said, there is really no replacement for getting your hands on some leather & getting started. Using some tools at the store that you don't have to buy yourself will show you what you like & don't like in some of the tools that Tandy sells. Most Tandy kists come with the basic supplies needed. You will have to buy rivet / snap setters, any stamps for tooling, and dyes / finishes if you use their kits. Once you take a few classes or make a few kits, you can start to design & build things on your own from a shoulder or side.

I you are talking about a rigging belt, tool belt, weight lifting belt, or a westrn style gun belt, then they can be thicker- 16 oz or higher, since you have no belt loops, slots, or clips to deal with. The upper limit for the loops on most jeans & slots / clips on commercial holsters is near 16 oz. Dress pants I think are around 10-12 oz. Lower limit is, I think, 3-4oz and thicker depending on what it will be used for.

If you are emphasizing natural processes & craftsmanship, I would suggest including a small section on brain tanning. Brain tanning was, from the research I've read, the original method of tanning hides & furs, and pre-dates veg tan. Chrome tan was really developed to imitate the properties of brain tan in a more economical, repeatable, & mass produced method. I think that it would benefit you to emphasize that much of the chrome tanned leather on the market is not "full grain" it is "top grain". What this means to consumers is that the top surface has been sanded to remove imperfections and then coated in a finish that changes the texture of the leather. That is what gives the "painted look" you refer to. Full grain leather has the top surface intact, but may be shaved or sanded on the back side. Full grain leather can come in either chrome tan or veg tan. To my knowledge, there isn't a way to make "top grain" veg tan. I think this is where a big divide in the leather quality comes from, more so than the tanning method. Having the majority of the structure of the hide and the entire surface layer together gives a strength & durability that altered skins simply cannot achieve.

My first leather project was a holster for my own 1911 pistol. I did it at a class at my local Tandy shop. There are tons of pre-existing patterns to choose from, or you can design your own- depending on what he wants. I designed my own in the class & have since designed and built holsters for my other pistols. The section of this forum on holsters offers tons of information, patterns, tips, etc. Camano was exactly correct that you will need the pistol or the correct dummy gun to properly mold the holster. (SIG Sauer slides are very different from the standard government specs, different frames are out there that have accessory rails, different length of the slides / frames: long, govt, commander, defender) The other option would be a loose fitting military flap holster. There are patterns for those available on the forum as well just search M1912 and M1916 to find those.