TwinOaks

I've been heating my holsters in a counter top oven and I go for the lowest setting of 150 for 10-15 min. But....that time starts when I put the holster in, so a lot of the 'cooking time' is used up by the oven coming up to temperature. Actual time at 150 (ish) is probably less than 8 min. You'll just have to play with the oven to learn when it's too hot. Also, most ovens have 'hot spots' in them, and that was my impression of what happened to the holster. In general, if the leather is too hot for you to hold, it's just too hot. Same thing applies to water used to soak/wet form- if you can't put your hand in it, don't put the leather in it. After all, it's just skin.

Sad to say, that ain't water stains....that's scorched. 150 degrees is too hot, shoot for a max of 130.

ehhhhhh, what's up Doc? Hi and welcome to Leatherworker.net, the best site on the internet! We LIKE getting new members, so make yourself at home, and pull up a chair to the tooling table. Coffee is in the break room, bathrooms are down the hall, and don't eat the donuts.

Thank you for the update. We have sadly already been informed about this by another of his friends.

Mold tighter....I can't make out the serial number. Good looking holster you got there. A few minor tweaks to make, but very good piece. "..color bleed through at the stitches..." And now you've answered the question : "why dye before stitching?".

Guys have the advantage over women when choosing to carry OWB. We aren't EXPECTED to have any fashion sense.

An online memorial...I like the idea. I think it would need to be a read-only thread, not open to public comment. Just a simple list of leatherworkers who've passed, with a little bit of information on their life....and a place for us to remember.

Worth a 1000 words. The other thing to consider is the belt. A flimsy belt ( cardboard centers from box-mart) will do a poor job of supporting the weapon, no matter what kind of holster it is.

It depends on the style wallet you're making as to what thickness you'd want to use. 3/4 oz should be fine for the type wallet you linked,and as long as you don't go for really deep tooling. Check out Springfield Leather in the ad banners at the top of the page. They also offer to cut leather for times you don't need a whole side. I believe they also offer splitting services if you need a specific weight. Their prices are competitive at the least and may beat the listed price on the website. .....then again, it may be Springfield selling on Ebay! Who knows? It's worth the time to send them an email telling them what you're looking for and see if they can help you.

This is sad news indeed.

For ONLY the items you're talking about making....the reverse is probably a luxury that you can justify omitting. BUT....like Ferg said, it's so dang convenient. If you eventually move into doing some harnesses for animals, even if it's just on a custom order basis, you'll love having it. There's also the distinct probability that once you start selling things that are made on a heavy stitcher.....people will show up wanting to know if you can repair X. In the long run, if you can afford to go ahead and get the reverse option, you'll be better off. A perfect example: Earlier this morning, I was finishing a custom sheath. The belt loop needed stitching, so I readied my new-ish Tippmann Boss, and ran a line of 4 stitches. Then over one, then eyeballed the spacing for the second line going backwards because I couldn't swing the body of the sheath inside the small throat capacity. Having a reverse capable machine would have meant perfectly spaced stitches that match the ones below it.

Yes, double up, but only in the stress receiving areas- no need for that much leather for areas like the barrel. Around the receiver, the attachment points, etc., yes.

Welcome to Leatherworker.net, Bob! Dang, very nice notebook cover.........that basket on the back cover is just about as good as it gets. Ya also did a fantastic job on the antiquing....something I still work on (but don't worry 'bout me....I've almost convinced myself to give up on it again).

I take it you like your coffee with a pinch of salt?

My first suggestion is labeling everything directly on a box, for the short term. Perhaps then keep an inventory spreadsheet on the computer, w/ a corresponding number on each box? That'd be easier I think, as you could check inventory w/o needing to move around too much. Besides that, what my wife did (somewhat recently) was found some of the mostly-translucent plastic drawers on sale at Walmart when they went on sale. I think they retail at about $25, she bought them at $10, so they're worth about $2. Look for them at the end of season clearances. Something like Christmas paper boxes, or back to school, etc. With those, you can mostly see what's what...at least enough to spur memories of what you may have put in the box.

certainly! Unless there's a decidedly adult flair to it, them put it in "All about us/ off topic". If it is adult oriented, you'll need access to the NSWF area (contact Mod) and post it there.

That was probably done with a binding foot. It has a little attachment to fold the material over and guide it into place. Looks kinda like a half a funnel. For the near invisible seam....either REALLY good measurement, a LOT of experience, or there's a jig to cut it just so. ETA: Upon further inspection, it looks like a tool was used to trim the pieces of the strap. Towards the bottom right on the pic, you can see the line wave just a little bit.

Do a search for "Indiana Jones Bag" of "Indy Bag". Should do the trick.

I'll answer both of your questions here.....Exact percentages of two waxes and one oil: They equal up to 100%. I don't use the mixture, and probably everyone who does has their own recipe. You can research it a bit, but it's gonna vary from maker to maker. To get beeswax without the yellow, you have to get beeswax that has the honey removed. Yes, part of the coloring is honey. You can order it online, I'm sure, and probably some places that sell candle making supplies.

Welcome back, Liu.

Glad to know it worked well. There's all kinds of things that can be done to and with leather that are "non-traditional" at best. Some of them border on sacrilegious!!! But, they work, and give the user/maker exactly what they're after.

For thread, I don't bother with the paraffin. I just pull the thread through the little block of bee's wax, then several passes through the fingers to heat it up. For edges, I've started using Bob Park's method and have had nothing but good results. He has a tutorial pinned here. There is a bee's wax, paraffin, and oil mix used to coat leather. It's more of a traditional finish often seen on sheaths, and the like, and some of our ren-faire folks may have a recipe for that.

Actually, I'm over that way quite a bit. My work route is from Hattiesburg/Laurel down to the coast- Waveland to Pascagula. I'm in Waveland at least once a month to work on the McDonalds at 90 and 603.....might just have to take a slightly long lunch and stop in to visit. I'll let you know when I'm headed back that way.