TwinOaks

I'm in Vista with FF, and have also tried Chrome, using DSL LITE. All pages are loading fine, much faster than before......on one of the computers. The computer I'm on right now has additional lag times, but I'm 100% sure that it's this computer. More often than not, the computer shows considerable lag time for 'on screen' commands, like scrolling a window, clicking, etc. I am typically typing blind, waiting for the words to appear. It does this with EVERY web page, including gmail, and even does it when I'm offline and in a word processor. I mention this to point out the possibility that some of the lag time experienced may be platform based instead of web page based.

I quit buying the "harness" needles a long time ago because of the large eye. Not that it's any larger diameter, but because it's a weak point. If you get any lateral movement while the eye is in the leather, you can easily bend or break the needle at the eye. Instead, I buy upholstery needles with a small eye which doesn't get bent nearly as easily. The sharp point can be dulled quite easily on a sharpening stone if you feel the need for it. I just pull the opposing thread 'back' and slip the point past it.

It sounds like there may be some clogging in the nozzle. However, I'd also like to point out that the lacquer finishes do much better when they are rubbed into the leather, not just sprayed on. I learned that early on when I tried spraying a clutch purse with saddle-lac. It dried fine, but the first time it was flexed, it cracked and peeled off because I'd sprayed too thick. Since then, I spray into a applicator pad or sheepskin, and rub it in. No problems since.

You can find the seam tape at most hobby stores, and occasionally in walmart. It is the double sided tape, not the 'iron-on' type.

To do it on the cheap, drop the burnishing tool, edge slicker, bone folder, edge dressing, and gouge tool. You can use the handle of the edger for slicking (you can use a variety of mediums, or just use saliva....yes, spit. The enzymes in saliva do a nice job on activating the collagen in the leather fibers and getting it to slick up). Look up the edge finishing tutorial by Bob Park (Hidepounder) in the 'How Do I Do That' section. That should address the edge dressing for you. In place of the 'bone folder', use a spoon. Don't forget that it has a handle, which can be used for small areas. A large serving fork can be used to lightly scribe a stitch line by hanging one tine off the edge and lightly dragging the next one on the surface of the leather. Personally I use an adjustable creasing tool....but I don't adjust it any, I just use the same spacing all the time. This will put your stitch line a consistent distance from the edge. Another way to do it is build large, and trim the edge after you've stitched. Unless it's on small items, I don't use the gouge. I use a sewing machine for most construction, but when I hand stitch, I still don't cut a groove. With waxed linen (provided it isn't the dry rotted junk from walmart) you get about 20-25lb tensile strength. That's strong enough to pull it tight to the leather, and it will lay flat. You can always run over it with something if you need it to lay flat. The important part is that on anything that needs strength, I prefer to leave as much leather under the stitch as possible....so why cut a groove? Take a look at some of the holster work by Katsass - completely hand stitched, using an awl, two needles, thread, and a pair of pliers (to pull the needles through the holes). Spend some more time reading in "holsters, et. al" for tips on molding.

You do need to realize that you're buying a cow for free milk, right? Absolutely NEED.......leather, needles, thread, work space, something to cut with, and an idea. Being completely new to it, Al's book would serve you well. You can get it at Tandy, or online as an E-book. You can punch holes with a finishing nail, but an awl does a better job. You can sew with one needle, but two makes it faster. You can use a fork as a stitch spacer, but an overstitch wheel does a better job and will make the threads look better in the long run. Good quality glue or contact cement makes it much easier to keep things in place while you're stitching. You can use a stitching pony if you want, but I've always just sat back in a chair and shoved needles through the holes I'd punched...with an awl. Now you need to decide just how you want to color the leather, and how to seal/finish it. Oh, we can't forget the edges!!! Need to smooth and slick, then dye and finish those too. You will probably find that you are paying a premium for your holsters and that there are alternates available for less. Or...if you are getting some nice fully tooled holsters, perhaps even complete rigs, you may find that the holster maker is getting $150 for the holster because that's what the market will bear....not what the holster maker actually wants to charge. Most of us started this as a hobby and sell things to be able to get more leather...so we can do more projects....to sell more....repeat. A brief breakdown for you - (and I'm looking at Springfield for the prices) 1 sq ft of leather - $12 +shipping - should be enough for one holster if you lay it out right.....you might want to get more than one unless you have your method down pat. Or you could buy a shoulder, double shoulder, side, etc.....it's priced per foot, based on quality of the leather. Upwards of $150 for a side of decent quality leather is a good 'starting point' when considering your budget. awl - $11.50 needles and thread - ~$5 (I prefer regular needles I can get at walmart, and waxed linen thread from hobby lobby) all in one finish because it's pretty easy to use - $9 - $12 depending on where you get it. sand paper for your edges - cheap fork from your kitchen - free. Overstitch wheel - razor knife - cheap, if you don't have one laying around already. TIME - relatively cheap, or incredibly expensive.....it kinda depends on what else you could be doing with it. Expect to spend at least a couple of hours for your holster. Time per project decreases as you get the hang of it. Now, do you want just plain leather, or do you want fancy tooling? Add more tools and time if you want fancy. There's also a 'basic construction starter set' at SLC, that runs $230 and will get you pretty much all the tools you need to get started. Be wary of asking salesmen or saleswomen what you should buy. It's their job to sell you things.

The first thing you need to do is inspect the cutting edges for burrs, nicks, or flats. If you find any, you'll need to lightly re-face then cutting end by stoning it flat/smooth. Once you've done that, THEN you can look at sharpening it.Here's some useful threads: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=28862&hl=%2Bsharpen+%2Bpunch and especially this one. Watch the video, starting about the 3 min. mark. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=24024&hl=+sharpen%20+punch#entry152979

If you've got the right sized chuck, you can mount just about any punch in a drill. That will yield a better hole because even spinning, a punch slices the leather, where a drill bit has a tendency to tear the leather. I picked up one of the multi-punch sets a long while back and one of the things I noticed is that the tip has a LOT of shoulder to it - much more than a dedicated punch does. I chucked up the handle and spun the bits against a belt sander to make them more tapered. It made a world of difference when using them.

You'll find plenty of posts along the lines of "which machine to __________", and those would be a good reference. RESIST the urge to buy a machine that "should" handle leather. Take the time to read the posts by the sewing machine experts, manufacturers, and most importantly the people using them. In the mean time start saving for a proper, capable,sewing machine. And while you're doing that.....keep hand sewing - it'll help you save faster,

Stay away from the old home machines. They don't have the strength, or ability to use the thicker thread typical in heavier leather work. Nor do they have the capacity for thicker items or the ability to feed the leather properly. Take time to read the pinned topic by "Wizcrafts" about which sewing machine you should look for.

No, not from gusset to gusset....from front to back. I meant that you could put the holes in the gusset so you don't have to punch a hole in the front/back/flap panel. Just go to the corners where the gusset meets the front/rear panels. That way it pulls the sides of the top together. And if you bow the gusset in, it'll return to 'tucked in' under the pressure of the elastic.

Sandwich the bigger piece between two layers of leather, with the clip part inside the fold. You can kind of see what it would look like if you put a bobby pin in your wallet - just slip it over the money pocket.

I don't think I'd do too well in a world with perfect hides with zero blemishes, no scars, no fat marks....no UNIQUE qualities....it'd get too boring. Besides, where's all the <insert anagram/description of choice> people protesting for Naugas? Those little critters ARE harvested only for their skins.

I think the issue is that the gusset is bowing OUT instead of IN. There's also a small point that many of the bags I've seen (and one or two that I've done) the flap part of the gusset is a little longer than the panels so that it can fold in. You could dampen the vegtan side of it, pinch it together (front to back), and let dry. That should 'set' the gussets that way. Orrrrrrrrrr......You could punch a hole in the gusset just off the corner (two per side of the bag) and reinforce each hole with a grommet. Then, put a length of bungee cord (I'll let you decide on what size and color) through the holes to act as a closure. If you start from the inside, go out one hole and in through the other....back to the inside of the bag and just tie off the ends with a knot....you'd have an easy to make elastic closure that will keep the front and back panels pulled together with the gusset bowed in and under the flap. You could also add a couple of additional gussets and do the whole top of the bag with a drawstring if you don't want to sacrifice a bungee.

Kevin, you have an INCREDIBLE opportunity.....Tell her the machines you have won't do that detail work and you need another one!!! Then....go buy some new blinds in a different color and stage out your work area with some spilled paint, scrap pieces, etc. Oh, and you might need a new truck to go pick up your machine.... This isn't making lemonade from lemons.....this is opening a nationwide franchise of lemonade stands!!!!

If it ever does become an issue of moving, just pull it off and put a thin layer of rubber cement in a few spots. That'll add a little friction to keep it from wiggling. The tri-weave can be difficult to run straight and you did a very good job of it. I prefer having a defined border, so I run the cam tool opposite of the way you have, but it still looks good.

dang....learnt sumthin new. I don't have access to any saddle makers around here, but a guy at a tack shop called it a "latch knot". I guess he was thinking "night latch", and it made sense, so I never bothered to look further into it. Thank you Bruce.

Before we worry about wet forming....what type of leather are you planning to use? If you make it out of all veg tan, then you simply wet the leather and fold over/out then let dry. If you make the front and rear panels with veg tan, but use a chrome tan gusset, you don't have to wet form at all - just tack it down and sew it in place. This would be much easier to do and would be somewhat collapsible (front to back) to fit under a seat....depending of course on how thick you make the bag. You could also check out a thread called "Wet Formed Bag Tutorial" and just forget about even having a gusset. The front piece is molded around to make the sides as well. Then, you could make the retention devices on a panel, attach the back panel to that one and sew the whole thing along the edges so you'd have no stitches visible on the back side....just one stitch line around the edge.

I was wondering who Hank Iii was!!!

Exceptional work as always! Which finish are you using on the rigs? I like the high gloss look, but have seldom been able to replicate it.

On some versions of the knot, when tied in multi-strand cords or strings, you pass the running end (of the string/cord) through the string itself (instead of a loop) to better "lock" the running end in place. To get the string through itself, you use a fid, awl, or knife to separate the strands.

Wow...lots of wise men. An UNwise man once said "Hey y'all....watch this!" ahem....back on topic. The only reference I see in the ABOK is that a blood knot is a double overhand knot tied in a cat o' nine tails (or similar flog) used to cause welting and bleeding. In fishing terms, my google-fu turned up very little on the history of it, other than that's it's good for monofilament lines. It was probably used in stranded fishing lines before the development of mono lines because the knot is pretty compact and mostly symmetrical around the line. This means that is can pass through the guides of a fishing pole better than a knot that's 'lopsided' to a line. I can offer the speculation that the name comes from ONE person's description, and then spread from there. Consider the British vernacular use of "bloody", as in "Bloody 'ell!!!" The name might just have derived from one cranky old salt complaining about having to repair his fishing line ......i.e. "the line broke and now I gotta tie this bloody knot".....which became shortened to 'blood knot'. I don't know if that has any chance of being right.....but it sounds pretty good!!!

You can use just about anything, really. All you're doing is providing a medium to "float" the small bits of metal that are removed from the blade, which keeps the stone from clogging up. After sharpening on a stone, it's a good idea to also strop the blade to polish out all the microscopic grooves from the 'stone'. After that, wipe with a lightly oiled rag/cloth then dry the blade for storage.

Instead of worrying about a specific angle, put the gun/holster where you'll have it (presumably on either your belt or your chair), and use a ruler or such to find either Horizontal or Vertical. Either will work as a base line so you can replicate the angle. Then, build your holster to suit YOU, and not someone else's idea of what angle you should have. I think you'll be more satisfied with the results. Once you have it where you want it, you can see what angle it actually is. When I make holsters for my customers for the first time, I have them try out several different mock ups at set angles to see what's most comfortable...then I build on that and have them 'adjust' the angle ( wider belt slots with alignment marks, and using the gun as the pivot point) to best suit them. I find this to MUCH more marketable than " you have a choice of 3 angles", and have garnered repeat business because of it. Backing up a paragraph....to find the holster angle, simply measure the angle (from 90 deg) of the 'front' of the holster which typically is pretty straight. To make the holster at that angle, you simply keep the holster in place and mark a "horizontal" line where the belt loops (or other attachment method) will be. In a sense, you're measuring the angle of the bore axis from vertical....but since it's trickier to do with just a barrel, I use the top of the gun.