TwinOaks

I haven't read Al's books, so I can't comment on the directions listed there. When I line holsters, I match the liner to the shell for glue-up, full size. Just before stitching, I'll go in and skive the edge of the liner so that the edges line up well. If the pattern is utilizing a welt, I don't bother with the skiving. The shortening of the liner may be to allow for shortening as the holster folds.

Oops...I wrote 'Montgomery'.....I still think of that, I suppose, because that's where I met him. I've been to the Hoover store a couple of times on my way to/from Huntsville and Mobile. He had mentioned that small guild but indicated that they started meeting further north than the store. Hence....I'm a-tryin' to find them.

awesome start if that's 'just playing around'! I take it you're making stamping blocks, then using a press?

I'm curious as to just how fine of a mist that particular sprayer can make....and how fast the dye particles will clog the tip. I think you'd be better off going with an HVLP sprayer that's designed for things up to the thickness of paint. They use a siphon tube, true, but they have a larger nozzle port. You can get inexpensive (but serviceable) models at Harbor Freight and they're usually all metal, have a seal, and since it's directed through a nozzle you'd have more control over the spray pattern. The other IMPORTANT thing to consider is the amount of over spray you'll see. The solvent will be flashing off as soon as it hits the air, and if you're far enough away from the piece of leather, you'll be literally spraying dry dye particles onto the hide. (Incidentally, those DON'T penetrate nor stick to the leather). If you're getting even 20% over spray, you certainly won't be saving much money. After spraying, you'll need to buff the entire piece, then condition it, and working a whole hide/side at a time would, I think, be a bit cumbersome. FWIW, I think you'd be better off dyeing the pieces as you need them, or in batches instead of a whole hide/side at once. If you don't have one, see if you can contract clicked patterns from one of our members here. That would at least save you the time of cutting out the pattern(s).

No need to be rude about it. You asked the question, remember?

It takes more than 'wiping' off the excess...you should be using shearling and lightly scrubbing to get rid of all the excess that CAN be removed.

I don't think you can. You might be able to match it, though. As Architects say: If you can't hide it, make it part of the design.

Howdy everyone, I'm trying to find out if there are any members in or near North Alabama. I spoke to Chance at the Tandy in Montgomery and he indicated that there were several people from this general area. I'm not sure if it's an official guild or just a collection of makers, but I'm interested in meeting any of our members in the area.

It looks like you got a pretty even coat of the antique gel and it penetrated EVERYTHING. That can be caused by a number of issues, but generally speaking, if you use one type/brand of product, stay with that all the way through. Don't mix Fiebings and Eco-whatever. Specifically regarding the eco-antique: I've used it and found that once it starts drying, it's THERE. Apply it per the instructions (over a GOOD layer of resist) but don't use a dry cloth to try and remove it - use a damp one. A damp sponge works very well, you just have to keep a light touch to keep from squeezing any moisture out of it. Work in circular motions, and rinse the sponge often. That should help you pick up most of the unwanted antique. Once that's done, THEN buff with a dry cloth, let the antique fully dry, and re-seal it...preferably with a sprayed on WATER BASED finish like -sheen, or resolene. If you use any finish that has a stronger solvent, it can pull the antique up and it'll start smearing around. Now, with that being said, IF you have the opportunity to try Fiebing's Antique paste...do so. You'll be amazed at the difference in how easy it is to apply and remove the excess. Plus, you can use regular solvent based finishes

The primary difference between the two is that antique is thicker than hi-liter. If you need to make LINES darker, then the hi-liter is the better choice. When I've used it, I apply with liner brush, both for precision and to limit the amount that gets applied. The run off, rub off issues mentioned above will have a LOT to do with the method of application. PROPERLY done, it will not stain the leather, merely darken the tooled areas. To do that, you have to seal the rest of the leather prior to applying either hi-liter or antique. Then, after application and wipe off, you seal the hi-liter/antique, then seal the whole thing. Take look on Youtube for "antiquing leather", and pic the vid by Keith Valley Saddlery. It's one of the best explanations (with video) of the process.

I recall one of the folks on here giving the following advice about applying oil to the leather: Stop putting oil on the leather about 3 coats before you think it has enough. Meaning, that once you apply the conditioner, it needs to have time to spread through the leather and be evenly distributed. Applying too much will leave the leather too soft (at best) or so saturated that the oil leeches out onto anything the leather touches (at worst).

I'm going to second a lot of what Dwight said, even though it was a little coarse. It is always a good thing to try and innovate new products, new designs, and even new ideas....but there are only so many ways to wrap a dead cow (or horse) around a gun. When trying a holster design, please don't disregard the work of your peers and especially your predecessors. We, the people who've come before you, have done a LOT of the legwork for you in determining what works and what doesn't. In the case of handguns, safety is of UTMOST CRITICAL IMPORTANCE. At no time is an "oops" acceptable. There is simply too much liability, both Legal and personal, to risk having a gun fall out of a holster. Since such risk is involved, practice and learn on established designs, not what "some guy on youtube" instructed you to do. Odds are, he tried something and it "sorta" worked, so he made a video and it's become sacrosanct because the viewers didn't know what a holster SHOULD look like or how it SHOULD perform. Early in my holster making career, I had a heated discussion with Kevin from K&D holsters, arguing what I thought was best vs. what he (as a professional holster maker) KNEW was best. Much to my relief, the convo was lost in the crash of '07, so there's no actual record of how much of an ass I made of myself. Two or three years, and MANY failed holster designs later, I had the opportunity to apologize to him. He graciously accepted and offered some invaluable mentoring to my efforts. Nowadays, I use tried and true holster designs - some 'standard', some of my own. But before I offer them, I do the legwork on the design - I personally use the holster, I have trusted friends and fellow shooters use the design in training courses. Only when a 'new' design passes some pretty harsh testing do I even consider it for production. There's at least 20 designs where I tried to "Improve" an existing idea....and all of them failed. Holster design is really pretty simple: The holster needs to hold the gun securely in ONE place; it needs to be comfortable enough for all day, every day carry; it needs to allow the wearer to instantly access the handgun by providing excellent access to the grip and cleanly releasing the gun....but only when it's supposed to; and finally...the holster needs to endure whatever it is you face on a daily basis without negative effect on its performance. Once those criteria are met, then you can apply whatever aesthetics you want to the holster. Specifically regarding the holster pictured above - If it works, then great. But I see the following issues with it (some already mentioned): It doesn't provide a clear grip; the molding/retention/stitch line can still be improved; and most importantly, the suspension for the holster is very likely to be insufficient. The straps (thankfully stitched) are thin and loose, which will allow the pistol to flop around, no matter how tight the belt is. This will become more pronounced as the holster gets some wear on it and the straps stretch a bit. You may be able to mitigate this by stitching them down a little higher so that the strap is laying as flat as possible along the back of the holster. The snaps on the bottom are a concern...if you used pull the dot snaps (aka security snaps) then it wouldn't be too bad as long as the release direction isn't vertical. Lastly, I would like to add that comments like these are not usually intended to belittle you, mock you, or make you angry. Those of us with experience are willing and able to help you improve your designs and your construction methods....and let you know when something isn't likely to work. I haven't seen your first attempt, but this one has some people commenting on it being improved. That's a GOOD thing. For your second holster, it's a decent effort. Now, take the comments we've made into consideration and build the next one even better.

Since you can't get the guns themselves, I suggest using the measuring process listed in this tutorial: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=19338 Have the customer trace the guns, then measure around them with a cloth tape at multiple points, then write the measurement on the tracing. It would be best to build a template to approximate the difference between the tape and a strap of leather, but you should be 'okay' if you just add 7-8mm to the measurements. That will give you a "close fit", but will never match the precision of actually having something with which to mold.

so...2*r = d, yes? and that's what I did......Pi * diameter But I like Brian's method....it's easier! So, I'll just use that one from now on. Here's the tutorial for round braid that I usually send people to: http://myriam.dakotabraiding.com/Tutorials/Leash/Leash.html Step by step picto-tutorial, and you can click each pic to get the instructions that go with the individual pictures. Also, look up Bernie46 on Youtube - he's a whip maker and shows how to bevel the lace with a homemade lace beveler..which will help the strands lay down correctly.

?!? where'd I go wrong in the calculation?

have you checked the tension of the nut that holds the take up lever in place?

Looks like a short stroke on the lever....not getting all the way to the stops on the 'up' cycle.

Nothing against Tandy, but if you're looking to get a head knife, avoid them. Osborne, Rose, Gomph, Blanchard, some English name, and one or two more are the "old standards", but don't overlook the newer makers on the block: Leatherwranglers makes several round/head knife versions, and there are two others I'll recommend: Terry Knipschield makes some awesome blades; also, Joshua Fields who makes some smaller blade designs.

I think it's because drum dyeing doesn't use ONLY dye, or at least not the same dye formula that we use. It also uses some oils which may carry the pigment further due to wicking between the fibers. Then there's the shear amount of dye/mix involved, so total saturation is possible. I'm pretty sure the hides don't just sit there; they're turned in the drum, so there is flexing of the fibers in the hide. Next up is the humidity factor. At zero degrees (F) there's very little humidity in the air, so any leather exposed may simply not have as much moisture in it to keep the fibers expanded. Interesting question!

There is a ratio that you need to follow, (Braiders, chime in here if this needs correcting). Basic instruction: Take the circumference of the size braid you want (or of the core if you have one), and divide by the number of strands you want to use, and that gives you the width of the strands. In this case, 1" x Pi (3.14) --> 3.14 / 4(strands)---> .785"....or 3/4 inch. 1/2" would work, but would not have the same diameter without some gaps. Another thing to consider (since we cant' see what your strands are doing) is that you may need to taper the edges of the strands so that they lay down neatly. You can purchase or build one of several variants fairly inexpensively.

Wiz, that's cheating!!!!

The issue with the really soft leathers is that unless supported, they can be pushed down into the slot of the needle plate, which boogers up the whole idea of the machine feeding the leather. The best thing to do is to just support the leather right where the slot is. Which gets interesting because the needle has to move through there. Some of our members, when sewing shearling, have put a piece of heavy duty duct tape across the slot, then slit it to allow the needle to move. I think something like that would work here as well. Since you're talking about using a patcher, you should realize that that is jump foot only (top only) feeding mechanism, and the needle only goes up and down through a small hole. That should help prevent the edge from collapsing, but hey.....it's time to test it, then let us know how it worked.

It sounds like you're putting on too thick of a layer. Resolene works best if applied by damp sponge or sprayed. Either way, it should be several very light coats, with drying time between them. One or two coats, with possibly a 3rd IF the item will see a lot of exposure to the elements. This pic is of my leatherman sheath that has been worn almost daily for close to 8 years. Yes, it has some dings and scratches, but the majority of the time I've used it has been climbing in and out of ceilings, and knocking it around on the inside of a fiberglass bucket on my work truck. That's a sprayed on resolene finish (two coats, sprayed with an airbrush), and once it 'cured' to the point of not being tacky, NOTHING has bothered the finish or the leather. It's seen summers on the South coast, lots of rain, and more very cold days than I would have liked to spend in the bucket. After all this time, water occasionally gets through the finish....but not much. ETA: I have NOT refinished, nor redyed it. The only thing needed was a repair to the belt loop. Once.

You can certainly test for 'rub-off', and if you get any then buff until there's none. Then seal the leather. A note on the process- When you put any sealant on the leather, there should be enough that you aren't "rubbing it off". Saturate the applicator, and use gentle, light pressure to wipe on the sealant. In the case of any of the acrylic waxes, I prefer to spray them on. The best method (by far, IMO) is the use of an airbrush to apply the resolene in a light mist. If you have a good enough pump style sprayer, you could use that, but it needs to be a really fine atomization. As far as sand paper??? NOOOOOOO! it will permanently damage the grain side of the leather. If you are working on the flesh side, or with a split, then it wouldn't really be noticeable. Just use some good solvents - acetone, denatured alcohol, etc.,.....AND LOTS OF VENTILATION!

since that is a direct drive, how does it do for speed vs. torque?