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TwinOaks

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Posts posted by TwinOaks


  1. It is a very basic sheath style holster, often comprised of a single piece of leather that's folded around the gun. Depending on the size of the gun, you may opt to do all the molding on only one side of the holster so that only a flat panel is facing "out". That's to minimize "gun shaped printing" through clothes. The same criteria as other holsters applies: The user can get a full grip while the gun is in the holster. The holster fully covers the trigger, but not the mag release. The holster needs to keep the gun in the same position, all the time- no wiggling around. The holster needs to cleanly release the gun when drawn to a certain point.

    You can play with the shape and/or texture of the exterior to give it more "stays in the pocket" when the gun is drawn. Rough out is a good way to start...and you don't need to line the holster.


  2. There's several things you can do to the flesh side to make it smoother. The simplest way is to simply slick down the flesh side using a combination of coating, pressure, and friction. Apply something like gum trag, and rub with a burnishing stick until it's smooth.

    You could also sand it first, depending on whether or not the back is stringy or if it's kinda soft like suede. In severe cases of the flesh side being really stringy, you may be better off by slicing the majority of the stringy leather off with a skiver.

    If the back is kinda smooth, but is really hard (the 'crackly' description) it is likely a pasted back. That will benefit from sanding before slicking. You can use a variety of tools to do this, but I've found that an electric random orbital sander really speeds things up. Remember to step through the grits, ending at 400 or 600.


  3. You can use veg tan and make a dress belt. If you decide to line it, simply bond and stitch two thinner straps together so that you have the grain side out for both sides of the belt. Then bevel, slick, dye, and seal the edges. You can take a look on this site at "gun belts" and see the process...you'd just be using thinner leather.

    Bob Park (Hidepounder) has a tutorial for finishing edges that's pinned in the 'how do I do that?' section. There are multiple belt tutorials that describe correct measuring.


  4. If you're going into production, then yes you can get the things to make a pair of sneakers....but to only make one pair? The anecdote about free milk from a cow comes to mind. I'm not saying it can't be done, mind you, but I think you'll have significantly more time and materials involved than you may expect.

    Would you be able to take them to a shoe repair store and have them resoled?


  5. Cut strip of each type of leather, apply contact cement, bond layers together. Stitch for reinforcement. Paint edges, punch holes, attach buckle.

    Granted that's a bit OVER simplified, but it does cover all the bases. :)

    You might try searching for variations on "lining a belt with chrome tanned leather". I know it's been done by multiple people, and by specifying "chrome tanned" you'll remove a lot of the search results that would pop up with double layer belts (like gun belts)


  6. I used to have that problem too. Then I re-read the glue instructions for the cement (Weldwood) and it specified a thin layer on both pieces, which should be dry but tacky before bringing together. I started spreading the glue on with a pallette knife (or putty knife) and letting it dry out a bit more, and now when I put the pieces together, there is no squeeze out. Perhaps that might work with your cement, perhaps not, but I thought it was worth mentioning.


  7. ONE "I have _____ for sale" topic per item is enough, and it should be posted in the appropriate location. Two in one location, and a third in a completely different 'for sale' section is too confusing, especially for the same thing. So, I decided to be helpful and have moved all of them into one neat and tidy location! Now, anyone who's looking to buy some can find all the posts on this in one place.

    If you have updates on your inventory, you can post them in this thread, and if you simply need to 'refresh' it after a week or 5, then a simple "bump" post will bring it back to the top of the "new content" feature.


  8. Here's the reason for my suggestion to be certain of which metal(s) are in the mix: I was using a dauber to apply one of my batches, and left the dauber in the jar. The next time I used it, the brew produced a green-ish black. I checked the dauber and the galvanized wire was showing signs of corrosion. Prior to the dauber being in the mix, it only produced black. The results were the same on additional pieces from the same double shoulder, as well as completely different pieces of leather.


  9. I think you'll have better results with the steel wool...(burnt off to remove any anti-corrosion coatings and oils)

    1 You know what's in it. The nails are most likely just mild steel, but you don't know the FULL cause of the rust...there could be caustic chemical corrosion as well as plain ol' moisture rust.

    2 You will know how much you're adding of both steel and vinegar

    3 The steel wool has a MUCH larger surface area to mass ratio, which means the 'roon will brew faster.

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