TwinOaks

I use the cheap airbrush from Harbor Freight and about a year ago picked up an airbrush compressor from the there as well. There is a HUGE difference between compressors. A regular sized air compressor can deliver a LOT more pressure, and do so with more consistency because of the tank. The tiny AB compressors are direct output, and have little use other than for an airbrush. Mine has a pressure cut off at about 30psi, but the constant pressure is somewhere around 18-20. I prefer a little higher pressure for spraying, and get around that by 'pulsing' the spraying instead of using a constant spray. I didn't really expect stellar performance from a $50 compressor, and I was right. If you have the budget to spend a couple of hundred on a compressor, then you can get a top notch AB compressor that WILL supply and maintain a pretty precise pressure. More $$ equals more ability. The advantage to an airbrush compressor (purpose built) is that they are VERY quiet. I can have mine running on my porch and my wife can't hear it on the other side of a sliding glass door. Then again, I may have some adjustments to make on mine.... In any case, if you have any other reason to have a compressor, get something like a pancake compressor from Lowe's or Home Depot. You can always build a sound restrictive box to keep it in.

For hand stitching your rig, I recommend using waxed linen thread. It's strong enough to hold up well and available in small quantities from local sources. You'll want to use an awl...but not the "stitching awl", and two needles. If you don't have it, I suggest picking up Stohlman's "The Art of Hand Stitching".

Also, without divulging TOO much about your design, how much throat will your machine need? Specifically, will you only be sewing near an edge, or will you need to rotate the design under the arm? I ask because that may greatly change the recommended machine. If you only need to sew along one edge, you might be able to get by with one of the old Champion Shoe stitchers (or similar). It has a tiny throat (about 3 inches) but it IS a needle and awl machine, designed for sewing soles on shoes/boots. There are other machines of this type that you might be able to use, provided your design can utilize the limitations.

When you use the acrylic finishes, it is best applied with an airbrush in light, even coats. Spray the first coat and let it dry over night. Spray the second coat and let it dry. Then start checking for bleed through. Alternately, you can dip the entire piece into a tub/bucket of the finish to get full coverage. You should also let the dipping method dry before buffing.

For tooling and stamping, you will want to use vegetable tanned hide, also known as veg-tan. This is most commonly from cow, but is also available in horse. Any type of garment leather will be unsuitable because it is a different kind of tannage.

You could always make a "hammer-die". It's quite a bit trickier to use, but you essentially make a plywood pattern (5/8ths inch thick or better) using a bandsaw, scrollsaw, or handheld jigsaw. Then, you nail the band saw blade along the sides with only about 1/4 inch or so protruding from the wood on the 'bottom' of the pattern. Then, carefully sharpen (by hand) that 1/4 inch 'blade'. Drill a hole or two in the center of the wooden pattern so you can push the leather out when you're done. You place the pattern on the leather and use a hammer of some sort (dead blow hammer recommended) to punch the pattern out of a piece of leather.

It's just more ....complicated...that's all. Now, here's the important part: What does it tell you about the 'damascus' knives if they're selling them at less than 50% of retail?

Unless you need to get nearer than the presser foot will allow, I would not change it. Just remove the needle and thread. If possible, take some of the fabric/leather that you will use and test the machine....both in single AND double needle configuration.

Yep, you certainly made use of some negative space.....but like grumpy old Mike said, too much too soon.....I just hope you don't need 30 yrs of practice before your next inlay . When you do an inlay, you need to trim down the inside of the top piece to make a smoother transition between the two pieces. Personally, it's recognizable as a horse, and the work on the eye is fantastic. You'll also find yourself hand wheeling through stitching something like that until you've become VERY proficient with the machine. I completely understand the want to make everything 'useable' and to generate as little scrap as possible. One thing for sure, it's a good way to learn to work with scraps! Accept that there WILL be some wastage, no matter how hard you try. When I was getting started, I bought a box of scraps from one of the members here just to learn how to do things like inlays....it saves your 'good' leather for th actual projects.

Yes, you can remove one needle and still sew with it.

A history of Damascus is available on Wiki.....that said, here's the short version. 'Damascus' was prized for it's durability because of the process in which it was made. The ancient smiths discovered a way to remove impurities to produce a better steel. That process was actually lost, but somewhat rediscovered when a blade smith started forge welding different alloys together. That's what causes the patterning of the steel - different alloys or grades of steel, and then an acid wash removes some of the "lesser steel" to reveal the pattern. Much of that is also true of traditional Japanese blades, particularly the Katana. The multiple folding of the blade was to pound out the impurities (and pound IN the carbon) to produce a homogenous steel which out performed steel that wasn't. Fast forward a couple of hundred years into the world of electron microscopes that can see the granular structure of the steel. Today's steel is pretty much homogenous from the mill. It's alloys are carefully calculated and combined in crucibles to produce steels that are exponentially better than the ancient innovations. Exact amounts of Carbon, Vanadium, Scandium, Chromium, Manganese, etc. (really, pick a trace element and you can probably get it made) are added during the smelting process instead of relying on (often) widely varying billets supplied to the smith (who had to forge weld the pieces together and beat out the impurities). Forging, hardening, and tempering (drawing) temperatures are an exact science. And yes, that was the short version. If you like the look of the 'Damascus' (pattern welded) steel, then by all means get one....but don't do so because of the perception that the steel is in any way superior to what's produced today. Side note: One of the reasons Katanas are such good slicers is that a true katana has a dendritic blade.......it has microscopic cracks in the edge of the blade where softer steel is removed during the polishing of the blade, leaving the harder carbides. The result is that it's almost a serrated edge. That cracking occurs during the quenching of the blade, which is forged straight. The quench hardens the edge and the combination of clay to insulate and the thicker cross section means the spine of the blade cools slower. Since steel shrinks when it cools, the back of the blade literally pulls the thinner edge into a curve. Yep....I can ramble on when I get started......anyway - buy damascus for beauty not any supposed specific metallurgical properties.

Check with Steve Tayrien at Leather Machine Co. , and Bob Kovar at Toledo Industrial Sewing (there are ad banners for both); they can both discuss in detail what kind of machine you'd need. I also hope you have researched the patent design well, because kydex sewn between leather is not a new idea. I have been doing so for a while now, and I modified my method from other ideas that have been around for years. You need to do some research on Tucker Gun Leather. The idea of sewing through the kydex has also been tried before, usually with less than satisfactory results. So you'll know what you're looking at, take a look at the Cobra Class 4, the Cowboy 4500, and perhaps even the Toro 4000 (though Toro doesn't receive as much support as it used to). Either the Cobra or the Cowboy line of sewing machines should do well for you. If, by chance, neither will be suitable because of the sewing method, you could also look at the needle and awl machines. The best current option is probably Campbell-Randall. It'll sew through pennies, so kydex penetration won't be an issue. What WILL be the issue is the persistent issue of the kydex damaging the thread, and the 'blow-out' of kydex on the back side.

Welcome to your new addiction hobby!

Send it back to the factory......they forgot to put the barrel on it!!!!!! You could use any of the Judge holster patterns and just shorten up due to the lack of barrel.

Thanks for the good topic Sylvia, I've been kinda wondering about this. With all the good reviews on the mauls, I feel kind of silly boring out the spare wood mallet and using shot pellets to make a wooden dead blow hammer.

Springfield Leather can accommodate you.

If you'll take a look at many of the holsters on here and on commercial sites, you'll notice either a close profile to the weapon or if there's more holster than weapon that there is a stitch line that follows the profile of the gun. The stitch line is there because eventually, the leather WILL stretch and the molding will no longer be sufficient to keep the weapon in position. The stitching helps (and usually eliminates the issue) by limiting the amount of stretch that the leather can have. Though there will still be some stretching, the stitching around the profile acts much like a 'frame' for the pocket in which the weapon rests. I also agree with the previous posts on corners and grip clearance. Be sure to read on here about bonding the leather when joining two piece (or folding a piece over onto itself). OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE: Double check where you have the mag release covered by the holster and BE SURE that you won't inadvertently press that button. At the range, you'll earn a new nick name from your friends if the magazine falls free when you level the pistol.....in real life, it could be deadly.

From what you're describing, the customer want's a LEFT HANDED cross draw holster worn in the wrong place. That's how I designed the one I made for a friend.....and TOLD him that he'd be more comfortable with a regular IWB. 3 months later........"Hey, Mike, I was wondering if you can change this holster......"

In lieu of a maul, you could get a CHEAP dead-blow hammer from Harbor Freight. Since you're punching conchos with it, the db hammer might be a better option anyway....no (or at least very little) bounce. Beater You can find viable whet stones at Lowe's, Home Depot,...and Harbor Freight. You could pick up both solutions for about $20. clicky

As I've posted before, your awl should be sharp enough to get at least halfway through your finger before you feel it. When you sharpen the awl, concentrate on the tip, not so much the sides. Also be sure that if you really give it a work out on a stone....you finished by pushing the blade instead of pulling it. When dealing with a very fine edge, it's quite possible to get the metal thin enough that it actually rolls to one side. This little piece of metal is called the 'burr'. Sharpening away from the edge/tip can leave that burr and it will fold over in a heart beat. Finally, after you do all your profiling and sharpening, STROP it. This will polish out the very fine striations left from the stone, resulting in a very smooth face(s) of the blade. A quick test is to LIGHTLY drag the tip across a finger or thumb. If you can feel the individual ridges of your finger prints, you're almost there.

Have you considered getting an inexpensive tripod for your camera? It would make life MUCH easier and can be a business expense because you need to take pictures of your work for advertising/sales/portfolios.

One issue that may be occurring is jamming the machine. If you are sewing close to an edge and have the presser foot pressure cranked up too high, it will squish the leather a bit causing needle deflection. Or, if you are pulling/pushing/twisting the leather to hold it in place you can do the same thing. If you deflect the needle to the point that it hits the plate, then you're effectively using the 'cheap' rack gear to try and drive a steel needle through another piece of steel. The rack gears are designed to fail if there's too much force put on them. This "weak link" is actually somewhat of a safety device. We had one of the members here mill out a rack gear out of good steel stock because the zinc ones kept breaking or shearing off teeth. The next time he jammed the machine, the steel teeth held up to the extra force and he cracked the housing. Another cause of it jamming are really dull needles. If you have driven the needle into a plate, it needs to be replaced. Otherwise you're trying to push a flat point through the leather. There's a LOT of aluminum Boss sewing machines being used, mine included, with no problems. Instead of decrying the machine to be a piece of junk, take a look at the operation and the operator. See if there's a cause and effect issue occurring. If you're still THAT unhappy with it, I'll give you $100 + shipping in it's current condition, broken gears and all, and relieve you of the headache.

The choice of leather is the key here. Because the bag is intended to withstand the elements, it is commonly made with English Bridle Leather. This type of leather is drum dyed at the tannery and hot stuffed with tallows and waxes in the finishing process.....in short.....it comes that way. W&C and Hermann Oak can both provide this type of leather, and Springfield sells a similar "harness leather". Take a bit of time and look up posts by "Esantoro". Ed was producing this type of bag for a while and I think he's included some pics of the process.

Look up member " Leatheroo" (Caroline). She's also down there in Oz, and has posted some very good info on where to get things.