TwinOaks

Chris, I totally forgot about Clay's tutorials...thanks for bringing that up!

Look into a "hair tool" or a "hair blade" for your swivel knife. The hair tool is really just a shaft that houses two (one narrow, one wide...or fine/coarse) hair blades. Long sweeps look like long hair, short and choppy strokes look like fur. You can simulate the close lines with a stiff wire brush, but that really only scratches the surface of the leather, where the hair blade actually cuts into the surface. http://springfieldleather.com/29223/Tool%2CHair-Blade/ Here's a link to one.

If it's two layers, you need to properly bond the leather. There are some glues sold specifically for leather, but I've been getting good results with DAP Weldwood contact cement. If it's a single layer belt, you probably need to condition the leather.

Take a full wrap around the secondary tensioner and slowly increase the tension on the discs.

First, make sure you have the thread in the correct path. You presumably have the manual/DVD so I'll proceed from there. There are two screws involved in the bobbin tension. One is the lock screw, and the other is the tension screw. Place a bobbin of your preferred thread in the bobbin case. Loosen the lock screw just a turn or two, then with a little tension on the thread, loosen the tension screw a quarter turn at a time until there's only about a pound of tension. You shouldn't need to turn it much, so go slow. Once the tension is right, retighten the lock screw. You should be able to follow the disk's instructions for the top tension posts from here.

It could help, but then again, it might hurt sales as customers may expect you to mold to a gun exactly like theirs.

Meaning I make the bag large enough for more than one holster, and use the bag more than once. The bags get expensive over time, and if you have to cut off a little each time to open the seal (even if you cut it open on only one side, you still lose a little each time because of the gap between the "tray" and the sealing strip) a gallon size bag quickly becomes too small to use. So, I make the bag over sized and over the course of 6-8 holsters I work it down to the size of a gallon bag, or smaller.

30 mil. 10 mil doesn't appreciably change how much detail you can get (...should get) but it can make a difference in the durability of the bag. I used some very cheap bags and ended up damaging the bag, which resulted in loss of vacuum...back up and punt. I typically use the bag rolls, and make my own bag. With the 30 mil, I make the bag well over sized and use it several times before I "run out of bag".

As long as the leather is properly bonded so that the stitch isn't the only thing holding a seam together, there is no problem using a lock stitch. Yes, a saddle stitch is stronger, but a machine is much faster. I use a Boss.

Big enough for the snap. For line 24 snaps, 1/2" will work, but ya gotta kind of wiggle the snap in. 9/16ths would be almost perfect. You're basically making an inlay with the snap....that way it doesn't scratch the pistol during the draw.

You will probably want to punch a hole in the leather to let the snap be inset...otherwise, it's can be in the way of the gun when drawn.

And be sure that what you're getting is actually tanned, and not just "preserved". I can "preserve" a skin with sun, salt, and a jug of antifreeze (ethylene glycol), but it wouldn't be good for much. See if you can get the specifics of what the seller is doing.

Sounds like some sneaky marketing is required.....the local toy store sells man-purses as "Tactical (tac-ti-cool) single shoulder bags". I posed the question of 'how secure' because if it's supposed to be leather SAFE, any failure could leave you exposed or explicitly liable for loss. Not that this customer would do that, but it's just one of those things ya gotta think about.

I can't help but wonder how often the phrase "Get your stitcher in high gear" is used.....

"Lock" - as in has a mechanical device to prevent it from accidentally opening? or "Lock" - as in there's a mechanical lock that prevents unauthorized access? The first is easy enough to do, but the second is going to require some specific hardware. I think a zippered access would be the easiest to secure. Anything else will require multiple locks due to the flexible nature of leather. Of course, it'd never REALLY be secure because a pocket knife can cut the side out of it. If he needs a secure part of the bag, you could check into some small gun cases. There are some designed for keeping a pistol in a car that are no larger than a hard back book. Maybe incorporate one of those into the bag?

Welcome to Leatherworker.net! Yep, you've got a real pickle of a decision...but we can help you out. Hand stitching - If it can be machine sewn, it can be hand stitched, and sometimes the hand sewing is the better option. Hand sewing using a saddle stitch is less likely to unravel when a stitch breaks, if all other considerations are the same. The reason for this is the saddle stitch uses two needles and the thread weaves through the holes, alternating sides, and crossing its counterpart. This means if a stitch should break, there's still another separate thread holding the item together. With a lock stitch (most sewing machines) or chain stitch, the top thread goes into the stitch hole, the bottom thread wraps around it (the lock) and then the top thread comes back out on the same side of the hole. So if one breaks, there's no stitch holding the seam anymore. The downside to hand sewing.....time. If you hand sew with one of the little "stitching awls" where you are actually making lock stitches instead of saddle stitches....well, you still spend the time, but give up the advantages. Hand sewing should be done with a diamond awl (or harness awl, bridle awl, etc.) and two needles. There are several discussions about it, and Al Stohlman's book. With the new generation of machine sewing, the strength of the stitch really isn't a problem anymore. Bonded nylon and polyester thread is very durable, and with the better glues we have today, a broken stitch doesn't necessarily mean anything will come apart.. So....if you are making things for yourself and have lots of time, or there's no reason to hurry, hand stitching is a very cost effective way to go. If you have deadlines, look into a machine. But which machine? A Boss is a good entry level machine, and will have you making things in less than half the time it took to hand stitch, plus being able to just pull a lever instead of shoving an awl through thick leather is really nice. But, in the ~18 months I've had mine, I've already started to "out grow" it. It has a pretty narrow throat, which limits the size of what you can sew. It's also an arm ache and a half on long/large items because each stitch requires a pull and push of the lever. I've added the cost of Advil to the price of my belts. You'll sew faster than hand stitching, but you only get to use one hand to guide the product. Being manually operated, there is very little chance of losing control of the machine, and you can literally put each stitch where you want it. Stitch length adjustment is kinda quirky. It's done with a screw that has ZERO indicators on it, and no lock method...you adjust it and it sorta stays there. A detent of some sort would be a vast improvement. Because of this, I've pretty much set mine and everything is sewn at that spi. That's some of the downsides. Here's where it shines - I make holsters/sheathes and often times need to go to my friend's gun shop to have access to either one of his guns or a customer's because there's a lot of 'one-off' items. I pick up the machine, take it to the store, and make the item. If you are doing tack repair, you could easily put the machine in your vehicle and carry it to where you need it. Also, being human powered, there's no requirement for electricity.....which comes in handy if you happen to lose power in a storm of some sort....or there's no power wherever you need to use it. It's also a pretty small set up. Mine is permanently mounted to a base I built and if I need the space I pick up the whole unit and put it under my bench. Powered machines - typically MUCH faster than a Boss or hand sewing, especially on long runs where you can crank up the speed....but with the servo motors that are being offered, you can slow down to 1 stitch per day if you need to. The 441 clones (16" arm) are among the cream of the crop, and have at least a 3/4" clearance so large items are very easy to do. But they don't do everything. Most shops have at least two machines - one set up for heavy work, one set up for light work. This also applies to the Boss - there's a bottom limit to what it can do, and for really thin stuff I go back to hand stitching. Powered machines (complete stands) are also much heavier. Though they might be on caster feet, you still need a place for them to be - no tossing it in the back of a car either. But, for most things, one of the big machines can handle it quite well. Since I don't do a whole lot of light work, I'm trying to save up for one of the Cobra 4 machines. Depending on your location, there's also Techsew, and Toledo Industrial.....both of whom are offering comparable machines. Any really thick items would require a special type of machine called a Campbell High Lift. It can sew over an inch....all day long. It is a needle and awl machine, which is a completely different type of sewing than the modern (441 clone and Adler clones) machines. A needle and awl machine uses an awl to punch the hole, then a needle comes up and grabs the thread. Some are fed by the awl, some by the needle - both are well known for good tight stitches that look good front and back. Be careful of picking a neeld and awl machine though - most of them are fairly old and may need rebuilding or at least some TLC. My Champion is from around 1912, and is "in process" of becoming operational. Campbell is the only current producer of needle/awl machines that I'm aware of. If you want to see some examples of really nice hand stitching, look at some of the work by Katsass - all hand sewn items If you think you'll go with a sewing machine, go ahead and save enough money for TWO Tippmann Boss sewing machines.....and purchase one of the 16" 441 clones from Steve (Cobra), Bob (Toledo), or Ronnie (Techsew). You'll have just as much learning curve as with a Boss, but more capability in the end.

A good conditioning will help with the squeaks as well as rubbing the leather to buff off whatever is coating it. To me, it is just denser, but it might be the tanning process too. It almost feels hot stuffed....but not because of the way it takes water. I recently made myself a holster, left it natural, and it squeaks. The one I made for a friend was lined w/ 4oz cow and it DOESN'T squeak. That makes me think the squeak is the gun rubbing on the holster, and not just the hide itself squeaking. Maybe it was the dye....I guess a few experiments are in order. As to using it.....LOVE it. If I could, I'd use it exclusively, but it typically isn't available in large (double shoulder or bigger) sizes.

Jim has generously modified it and I think will be re-posting it.

Sorry folks, but if it's copyrighted we have to have permission of the owner to post it. Not just the rules, but the law. Jim, thank you for finding the patterns. People should be able to find them via the link in your post.

Also keep in mind that if you're stamping deep, the leather will try to warp a little. You can help alleviate this by sticking the leather down to something rigid - a piece of plexiglass, some stiff paper/fiber board (like what's on the back of a notebook), etc. Just anything that will keep the leather from being able to move. You can read different options and what others have had success with in the stamping forum. Only slightly off topic is your knife. How sharp is it? When you cut the leather, there should be almost NO drag....even if you don't get all the way through, it should be smooth. I routinely use little 'Olfa' knives. The kind that have the snap-off lines in the blade seem to work well enough for most things. When I get a new blade (or snap off a section because the fine point tip is gone), I strop it to the point that arm hair jumps off my arm to avoid the blade. "Razor Sharp" is a good starting point, but the blade needs to be stropped to polish the edge. Any time you sharpen on a stone, there are very fine striations left on the blade, and they are part of what causes a blade to drag through the leather. If you can't get a strop immediately, just work on sharpening with the finest stone you have and very light strokes to avoid ANY marks on the cutting edge. To give you an idea of how sharp you can get the blades, once I start on a cut and can feel the blade bite into the cutting board...I can usually hold the knife still and slide the leather into the blade to complete the cuts....with no more resistance than sliding the leather across a table top. That's what you're after. Also, on long straight lines, lean the blade at a shallower angle to get as much edge making the cut as possible.

I don't know of a specific class for it, but there's lots of advice here about it. One of the best I've heard is to start with some cardboard scraps and sew with needle only - no thread. That will get you used to the timing of turning between stitches. After that, well...you have a box of scraps don't you?

Do most of the needle and awl machines keep a constant stitch length? If so, I might reconsider getting rid of the Champion (rebuild project).

We DO try to move them as soon as we see a notification that the item is sold. However, we all have day jobs, chores, etc., so it doesn't all happen quite as quickly as we'd like. Sometimes they get by us, but we'll keep an eye out for them. Incidentally, once a thread is started only moderators can change the topic title. Members can not change the topic title after the item is sold. As far as items being updated....yes, there are a few that are sold and no further posts are made by the seller.

I made a few paperweights like that a while back....my interior design was a bit different though. I made it two layers with a full thickness welt in the head, and used a full thickness 'runner' down the handle, sewn in place so that the edges were 2 layers, while the core was 3 layers thick. It wasn't nearly as stiff as a spring would be, but acted more like a whip belly. It was stiff enough to stand straight out, but would flex pretty drastically when swung. I used lead shot instead of steel (#9 I think) and sewed a small pouch of denim to keep it all together. All told, it was a little less than 1/2" thick, and about 10" long....but with the over sized head at 2.5" diameter and just packed with the lead shot, it could certainly knock the befuddling out of an unruly stack of papers.