Russ

Guys, I really appreciate it. Thanks.

Yes, that makes sense now. I see these are 8/32, I guess they won't fit? I see Home Depot has 6/32. http://www.bluegunstore.com/?slug=product_info.php&products_id=299 http://www.bluegunstore.com/?slug=product_info.php&products_id=301 Thank you for the reply, I really appreciate it.

Hi Everyone; This Line 24 type snap with the screw in stud, where do I purchase these? It isn't just a screw that goes through the leather, right? I have a customer that wants inter-changeable belt loops for his surveying equipment belt pouch. I've seen these on some of your CCW holsters. I assume it's not this http://dotfasteners.thomasnet.com/viewitems/durable-8482--2/durable-8482-screw-studs?&forward=1 because you don't want the screw to go in that far..... Thanks for the help!

I wonder if there is someone here on Leatherworker.net that lives in Canada and near a Tandy or other Canadian supplier that could go to the store and pick out some leather for you and have it shipped? I know I've done that for someone here on the board. They ordered what they wanted from my local Tandy and I went and picked it out for them. I hate buying my leather blind. I go to Tandy and look for what I want. If I can't find it, I hold my breath and order from SLC or Weaver. I haven't been burned too badly yet, but I certainly prefer to pick out my own. Russ

Before this reply, I was afraid I was going to be a jerk disagreeing with the majority here. I agree with dickf, I think this refusal letter is a little overdone. I got to the point that I was skipping the lecture and looking at the final sentence to see what the end result was....I'm positive I would never send this to a customer unless I wanted a lot of bad word-of-mouth.

Make sure when you glue the lining in you glue it with a little curve...don't lay the vegtan flat. Otherwise when you curve the leather closed, you'll get a wrinkle in the lining. With fur you probably won't see it, but your client will definitely feel it.

I, for one, like the time spent feature. And there's ways to turn it off, individually, if you don't like it.

I use my Artisan 3000 for holsters, heavier journals or binders, belts, and most chaps/chinks. I use a Juki DNU-1541 for most purses, journals and wallets, and any other type of material I need (such as canvas). There's really no way to have one machine for all leather. Between these two machines, I can do almost everything I want. I say "almost" because I use a regular sewing machine to sew cloth liners for the purses. Note: there may be a better machine for wallets than the Juki, but I bought mine because I saw it worked for Kevin King. Not saying I wouldn't recommend the Juki, because it works great. Just sayin'. )

Google search will show ya... http://grafea.co.uk/shop/Leather_Rucksack.html

If you send me a PM with your email address, I'll send you a pattern. Do you want to carry them in front above the waist, or on the belt with one cross-draw and one straight, or what?

Rob; What guns are you carrying? Russ

I will second this: Mr. Adams' manual is a lot clearer than the Stohlman books, especially for a beginner. Well worth the purchase if you want to pick up another reference book.

Personally, I don't use a pattern until the end, and then I use an old seat that doesn't necessarily fit; I use it as a guide for the bottom of the seat. I cut the seat out square, and spit it around the horn so it fits better. Put it on the draw down stand. Then I make the slits where the ears will go. Here it is, without the draw down strap on. Then I start cutting around the swells. Very conservatively. And I mean, very, very, conservative cuts....a little at a time. I get the seat trimmed from the split in the hand hole around the swells and around where the front concho will go. Pound around the hand hole so it will be marked on the back, so you can cut it out later. Then I let the seat dry. (with the draw down strap on, not like in this picture. Once it's dry, I get out one of my old seats and use it as a guide for the bottom part of the saddle. My old seats (patterns), most of them don't fit. There's just too many variations in saddles. That's why I stay away from using patterns to cut out seats. Perhaps I use a little extra leather buy cutting out a square seat from the side, but not much. Here is a pic of me using a seat (on a different saddle than those above) Wow, these pictures really suck on the site. Sorry about that

That's really nice. So you put snaps on the coat and snap the patches on?

And, looking at your original question, I am still using my original gun rig to compete with. I'm going into my 5th year and it has retained it's shape just fine. I replaced the sight locks this year. My experience is the sight-locks wear fastest. Some folks want their holsters "tightened" and that's an easy fix....I just shave the welt down a bit and resew. Short answer....stay away from the metal. It's not necessary, and if it wears through the lining for whatever reason it will damage the gun. And, oh......it's not cowboy!

A sight-lock (I apologize for misspelling it before) is a piece of leather that is about 1.75" by 3/4". I use firm 12 oz leather. I skive one end down to a feather edge. The leather is put in the "fold" of the holster so that the skived end is facing the mouth (up), and grain side facing into the holster. When the gun is inserted into the holster, the front sight passes over the skived end and "snaps" past the pull end of the 12 oz leather. So the sight is sitting below a piece of 12 oz leather. It then takes a pull to remove the gun past the lock; it won't shake out. The lock goes between the holster leather and the lining. Obviously, if you want to use 5-6oz veg tanned leather for the lining, this won't work. I use 2-3 oz pigskin. If none of this makes sense to you, I'm not surprised. Hard to explain. If needed, I can take photos for you next time I build a gun rig. One thing I did not mention before. I put a piece of rawhide between the lining and the holster (only around the area where the cylinder is, and below the mouth by about .75"). You don't need it around the barrel...it's like a fat figure 8. The whole idea is down the road when the holster has been used a lot, to keep the holster open so the gun can be re-holster without looking. If you use good, firm 8 -10 oz leather, 2 - 4 oz lining leather, and a piece of rawhide in between, you'll have a holster so stiff you can almost stand on it. Remember, with the two pieces of leather plus the welt, you'll be sewing through 22 - 28 oz of leather at the mouth of the holster, depending on how much welt your pattern calls for. Clear as mud?

Metal lined holsters for mounted shooters are not popular. What retains the gun for the mounted shooter is a site-lock. The thickness of the leather is mostly preference of the shooter and the holster-maker. I've made holsters out of 12 oz skirting. I prefer to make them with 8-10 oz leather. They retain their shape just fine. Plus, 12 oz skirting can be a little harder to mold and turn out the top of the #1 holster, to enlarge the opening to make quick holstering easy.

I gave up on Tandy leather in Cincinnati after about a half dozen projects. I found I got better leather from Siegle's (now gone) and Weaver. When I traveled to Weaver I found a lot of good stuff. I still do good when I order from Weaver. I do 60% CMSA/SASS gun rigs, 30% CCW holsters, and 10% "other" stuff. To be fair, I still go to the Cincinnati store for other leather, such as lining leather and various tools and other necessaries....and the tooling leather in the store has slowly been improving over the last 6 months or so. Dunno if it's the store or the entire franchise. I haven't needed any leather, but I MAY consider buying some next time I'm buying. Now, their saddle skirting.....yeck. Always been bad, still as bad as ever.

My first moderately successful wallet completed. That applique' sewing is a LOT harder than it looks. The installation of the binding roll also caused the 'gator to turn over at the top where there wasn't any lining leather to give it some body. I fought it for awhile but still lost the lining at the top. But overall, I guess I'd give it a "C+." Now it's time to put it all away and get to some paying jobs

Kevin; I have all of your tutorials and WIP posts bookmarked, and I refer to them constantly. THANK YOU for sharing with us. Russ

I use the Toro 3000 for holsters, belts, CMSA gunrigs, mag pouches, chaps, and saddles...no problems. One of many good machines available. If you check out the Leather Sewing Machines forum you'll find lots of info. Russ

Happy Valentine's Day, Birthday, and Anniversary to me

Eldorado; Didn't TurboTax tell you that you didn't have to report inventory if: Leather Products Manufacturing Important: You are not required to report inventory if either of the following apply:You had less than $1 million in sales or receipts in each of the last three yearsYour business is primarily providing a service, rather than selling a product Of course, if you hit the $1 million in sales receipts, bully for you. Perhaps it shouldn't be a side business Naturally, there's some tax benefits to reporting the expense of COGS, but maybe it's not worth it if yo try it both ways. Russ

Those are gorgeous Kevin. Do you use your Juki for the bags? Russ

You may want to pick up the Sept/Oct 2011 copy of the Leather Crafters and Saddlers Journal. It has a nice tutorial on making a notepad cover project, by Billy Brown. I used it with little modification to make Christmas presents. If by "inside cover" you mean the lining leather, the tutorial suggests 1 or 2 oz leather. As a side note, I've tried to duplicate Chan Geer's articles tutorials on "Fun with Basket Stamping" and have never accomplished what he can do. I end up so frustrated. He's amazing with that stamp. Russ