TwinOaks

Yes, but on a pulling stroke instead of pushing. You'll know immediately if your strop is working, as you'll have gray/black streaks where your tool passed over it. Look for a mirror finish, but you CAN settle for just a high shine.

I'm with Beaverslayer....Breath Deeply! I have moved my spraying rig so I can use it outdoors. It's a few steps from my table to fresh air, so I just step outside for the spraying.

I do agree that effectively 'folding' or 'wrapping' the holster around the user's waist will change it's properties....I apparently misunderstood the intent of your post. I thought you were saying that the holster (type) was built so that it NEEDS to be tightened up by the belt.... Can you build to accommodate the curvature of the wearer? Most certainly...it's one of the aspects of fitting a holster to a person instead of making a generic 'one size fits all' pattern. One of my friends is a local LEO and is on their version of SWAT. In FULL tactical gear and weaponry he scales out at 205lbs. He's one of those wiry guys that eats a 16oz steak and loses weight in the process....and he can hide behind a 2x4. Putting a holster on him requires either a single point attachment or widely spaced belt loops because he has a 26" waist (and incidentally my favorite belt customer because it takes NO time to make one for him). Any narrow width holster gets pulled too severely....the standard Tagua wraps so far around him that it's almost like folding the 'wings' up to make a box. Even kydex paddle holsters 'flare' out away from his profile. On the other side of that coin is my friend who runs the gun store - He's pushing 380lbs, and obviously has a much larger radius at his hip. Holsters with closer slots work well on him. So I think we're in agreement after all, and that the guy posting the info on the other board is correct. I've made some flat back holsters, and in using them I've found that once the holster breaks in, there really isn't any difference because of the placement of the molding. Depending on how it's designed, the stress of supporting the holster/gun will be either mostly on the back panel, pretty equally shared by the front and back, or mostly on the front panel. If you build to support the holster, then once it's broken in, you'd have to be intentionally over tightening the belt to make it deform. My support of this line of thinking is the design of holsters with exotic inlays. For those, the front panel is mostly flat because it's more difficult to get detail molding when you have extra layers. Retention is achieved through molding on the back panel. Also, two layers of leather molded in a tight curve (like at the top of the gun) will resist collapsing pretty well. For people like Katsass, who build with doubled leather -grain out on both-, the holster is pretty dang stiff. 'Mouth bands' on IWB holsters is simply an abbreviated second layer to provide that support. ETA: If I screwed any of that up in my description, I'll fix it later. I'm still trying to figure out why I'm up and awake at 02:15.

The t-nuts are also quite useful if you want to hide the back of the fastener between two pieces of leather. Yes, the prongs are sometimes too long and poke through.......right up to the point that you get a pair of side cutters (dikes) and clip the little prongs to the size you want.

You can find t-nuts in the hardware section of Lowe's and Home Depot...usually around the furniture hardware. Lowe's typically has 3 prong, HD has 4 prong. 99% of the time you can get by with the 6/32 size, plus the 6/32 require less room on back and the 6/32 screw heads will fit inside line 24 snaps with no modification.

If I'm understanding this correctly....the idea is that the tension from the belt going around the gun is what holds the gun in place???? Whoever is giving that advice needs psychatric help. The HOLSTER should hold the weapon in place. A proper holster will: Hold the weapon in place to prevent loss, and still provide a reasonably release from the holster; Keep the weapon in the same position every time (because muscle memory from training will have you grabbing at where the gun is supposed to be); Provide adequate room for the user to attain a full firing grip before they ever unholster the weapon; Serve a dual role of protecting the user's body parts from the gun as well as protect the gun from damage (sweat, bumps, scrapes, etc.) Usually, all this can be done and be comfortable. Looking good is an added advantage, but the holster should be able to do those things on it's own. The wearer of the holster should NOT rely on running a belt around the weapon to provide secure carry. _____ If the intent of the quoted lines is that the belt is what tightens up a holster so that it WILL perform correctly..... See above, A belt simply holds the holster in place. It should NEVER play a critical role in the retention/function abilities of a holster Once upon a time, I had some differing ideas about gun leather....I was fortunate enough to have several people who make holsters for a living set me on the right road.

The sewing machine folks will be along some time today to say what kind of wheel you can get....but for now, you can try rubbing out the marks with a modeling spoon or anything that is flat. Moisten the leather, and rub the marks with the smooth tool, then allow to dry.

For the ostrich....if it's actual ostrich and not 'ostrich print on vegtan', you'll probably see more life from the holster if you use the ostrich as an overlay. That means build the base holster from vegtan then glue and sew the ostrich on top of it. Here's the results from one of our members: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=43152&hl=ostrich

Yep, faux gold leaf turns out pretty well... http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=43030#entry267871 It's a little time consuming, but worth it.

Aside from the above comments, I recommend molding a bubble/bulge over the areas of the switch for the laser. I was slightly embarrassed when a friend was wearing one of my OWB holsters for his PF9 (Keltec version of that gun) and similar laser. The gun was secure and he reported the holster to be comfortable...the only problem was the little red dot on the floor. The holster was molded closely enough his movements would push the gun/laser into the leather and activate the laser's switch. We solved it by cutting out a small circle on both sides where the switch was. I would have been much happier to just make a bubble where the switch was and avoid cutting a finished holster.

Spray the inside of the holster with a LIGHT misting of water, put it on a belt, insert the gun (it's an XD, a little moisture won't hurt it), and wear it around for most of a day. A tight holster can be stretched, but a loose holster is an accident waiting to happen. When I wet mold holsters, I use the gun or a model of it and force-stretch the leather to fit. Most of them will 'click' into place when done. If your holster is that snug NOW, it should be just fine once it's broken in. GOOD JOB!

I'll take the steel blades. PM inbound.

Got something for you to check out...scroll to the top of the page and click "members". Then, click "more search options" on the right side of the screen. Scroll down until you see 'location' and enter 'Alabama' and start the search. That should pull up 3 pages worth of members who've listed Alabama as their location. From there, you can either browse the members, or go back to the search options and get more specific to narrow down the search.

Not off hand...but I'll see if I can run a search for it. Presuming you're somewhere around Cullman/Irondale, I've got family just north of you (Moulton) and I'll see if they know of anyone too. You might give Chance a call and ask who's doing what in that area. You may have a bit of travel, or you could end up finding out that there's someone two blocks away.

Not too far from my sister in law... Are you looking for someone to make something for you? Want help with a project? Would like to be an apprentice? Looking to join a guild? ...are looking for leather workers because it fits the FBI profile....? (If this is the reason why....Ignore the little thing that say's I'm on the coast...I'm out of the country...really.) You should be able to get down to B'ham pretty easily, so look up the Tandy store in Hoover. (last I checked) The manager is a fellow named Chance, and he's just fantastic at helping people. Tell him Mike from Mobile sent you.

Pete, I didn't want to drill holes in my dining room table for my Boss, so I mounted it on a base. Now, when I need my Boss, I mount it on the table with a set of clamps, or take it off the table if I need more layout room. It makes the sewing machine a 'modular' unit instead of a permanently mounted one. Versatility on what machine goes where is pretty handy. Have you thought of doing something like that?

There's several of us here. What area are you looking?

Ah. You can try Herman Oak Tannery, or Wickett and Craig. Typically, they have a minimum order (I think the HO minimum is 10 sides), so you'll be looking at quite a chunk of change. If you won't need that much, contact the vendors here. The one I use is Springfield and I know they sell shoulders, bellies, double shoulders, backs, sides and sometimes whole hides.

There is a type of carving that pushes the image IN (visually) rather than it standing out from the surface (again visually)....it's called INVERSE CARVING. That would work well on that hide. You can also slick the smoother of the sides if you prefer that look. It will not behave exactly like a grain side as far as tooling, but it WILL take dye and sew pretty close. If you happen to have the tools you can also try pyrography *burning in a design) on the splits.

The post of the rivet (which gets clipped) IS the part that gets peened over. The post is on the opposite end of the head...much like a nail, and the washer is driven down over it. The post has a slight taper at the tip to help align the washer, but you aren't likely to push it down by hand. Once you drive the washer down on the post, you clip off the excess post, leaving just a little nub. That little nub is literally BEATEN (peened) until you deform and spread the metal out to cover a portion of the washer. Once that is done, the only way to remove the washer is to move all that copper that's been peened down...which typically 'work hardens' it. As long as you have the washer in there, the leather is REALLY unlikely to work it loose. That is why they are so secure. My experience is that you need something pretty solid under the rivet, and a real hammer...NOT a mallet...to do the peening. After all, you're beating a short metal post into a wider and flatter piece of metal. Don't be afraid to smack it. I was having difficulty with the domed part of the set until I picked up 'enough' hammer (24oz smooth face Estwing) and flattened the post a good bit with direct impact. THEN I went about rounding it. P.S. Don't set copper burr rivets on your stamping block....unless you're angling for a new stamping block.

I agree with everything Phil said, and will add that you CAN pretty them up a bit.....in a 'modern art' sense of pretty.

Incidentally, I'm about 3/4 of the way done with a crossdraw rig for a Judge 6"...I'm using horse w/ 4oz cow as a liner. I hope I can get that much marbling out of mine. The real challenge was making a belt for a 48" waist....the horse butts aren't that long!

Kevin isn't here as much as he used to be, but I'll try to help out. Each pocket flap is made from a single piece that's been folded over, then the individual pieces are sewn to a single long piece (I'll call it the pocket flap). That creates the section seen in the 6th picture. A second long piece is lined up over the 'pockets' with the grain sides facing each other...then it's sewn along the 'inside'. That second long piece is then folded around the back of the pocket flap and glued down to make the finished edge that will be towards the center of the wallet. That creates one complete pocket section. Each pocket section (left and right) is sewn around the top, bottom, and outside edge...BUT NOT THE MIDDLE. The middle (where you have that finished edge from that folded piece) forms the interior pocket.

The hardness of it is one issue the other is that it's too thick to penetrate into the leather and really get a good hold on it. One of our members, Tina, had some success using artists' oil paint, but it's got a LONG drying time. If you use acrylics, you'll need to apply in multiple thin layers instead of one thick coat or it will crack and peel as well. What color did you want to use anyway?

Yes, if you don't mind. I've been searching for an easy to make speed loader pouch that doesn't require excessive molding.