TwinOaks

First off, there's more to it than just 'douse for 2-3 seconds'. While that's typically enough water, you need to let the moisture equalize in the leather before stretching....and you might need some more moisture, depending on the leather. The other consideration is the placement of your stitch line on the holster. As a general guide, you need to place your stitch line "1/2 the width + the thickness of the leather" from the actual outline of the gun. For example, a Glock has a ~1 inch thick slide. Using 8oz leather we add 1/8th" (leather thickness) + 1/2" (slide thickness) for a total of 5/8ths of an inch. So, trace the pistol closely and at the slide and under the muzzle, we'd mark 5/8ths outside that tracing. At the trigger guard, it will be a bit less because the leather doesn't stretch as much. --This is for a pancake style holster with the seam pretty much in the middle. If you're making a pancake with a flat back, then additional stretching (and moisture) will be needed to get the leather to form correctly.

Cover the portions you're not tooling with plastic or glass to prevent over-drying. If the leather does get too dry, CAREFULLY flip it over and spritz with water....on the flesh side only. This will get moisture back into the leather without getting the grain side too damp. While you're tooling, avoid flexing the tooled areas too much, as it causes the fibers you just compressed with the stamp to start moving.....effectively un-burnishing the stamping.

measure and mark your most common keeper size on straps. Sew that line, pull some slack thread, skip half inch, then set the feet back down and (holding the slack loops you just pulled) start sewing at the beginning of the next one. When you get ready to separate the keeper from the strap, cut the leather AND the strings close to the next one in line. That will leave you a bit of thread to saddle stitch the two ends together to make the keeper. When you saddle stitch it, just overlap the cut threads at the beginning of the keeper and either tuck or burn them to keep them in place. Ex: You mostly use 1.25" belts.....your keepers are 3" long (unwrapped). Sew the keeper strap for 3", pull 4" of slack, move the strap 1/2", reset the machine, hold the threads, start sewing another 3". When you cut, you have a stitched 'keeper' with 3.5" of thread hanging off the end...which you use to tack both ends together.

3/4 of a 20oz drink bottle....filled with water.

The edge roller problem is one YOU can fix....and you get to use A HAMMER!!!!! When I got mine, it was really stiff....barely able to 'roll'. After examination, it was apparent that the roller wheel was pressed onto the shaft just a tiny smidgen too tight. A center punch and a few taps later, it was free wheeling like it should. If nothing else, you get to feel better because you hit something with a hammer. I can empathize with the feeling......I dropped too few hints as to what I might want this year............I got a Christmas tree ornament, a coffee mug, and a box of "Whopper -malted milk balls". That's it. Keep a positive outlook and call Tippmann in the morning. If you get an answering machine, leave a message and tell 'em you got a broke Christmas Present.....they''ll take care of you.

Check the needle alignment, especially the position of the scarfed section. Look inside the shuttle and see if you can tell when the hook passes the needle, and ensure it's not hitting. If the hook isn't hitting the needle, it sounds like you might have a bit of short-stroke issue. I've found that I occasionally get a dead soldier on the back side caused by the short stroke...that'll cause it to bind up when the hook rotates back to it's resting position and snags the loose loop. Be sure you're stroking the arm all the way to the stops...every time. While you're stitching, reach up and pull a 3-4 inch loop of thread down between the thread guide and the first (actually identified as the secondary tensioner) tensioner you come to. Pull a slack loop every 6-8 stitches so the thread is not under additional tension going into the secondary tensioner. This keeps the take up arm pulling tension against the tension disks and NOT against the thread coming off the spool....which can be, at times, loose and free or hanging up as it pulls off the bottom...or a loop gets crossed..etc. Frank (member here) told me that tip and it's been the single most helpful in keeping stitching smooth. Other than that, can you get a pic of where it's hanging up?

Q-tip. Spray your clear lac into a small jar or cup, and dip the q-tip in it, then apply by wiping or rolling along the edge. You can do the same thing when you apply your dye, just press the q-tip against the side of the container to squeeze out the excess.

After thinking on it a bit....one of the issues with making Glock holsters is the effort to make a holster with 'fluid' lines for a gun with square lines. Most holsters have a certain grace to them- the lines flow from one to another and we make an effort to eliminate sharp corners that could snag or get dog eared. The Glock platform is mostly square (except for the grip angle), and it's a competition between the two visual aspects as to which is more prevalent in the design.

No offense taken at all, apologies if it sounded that way. I just think that the right leather can make just about ANY gun look good. You just have to adjust the holster design to HIDE THE PISTOL!!!! Hmmm...perhaps the exception is a Hi-point. Yeah, that would take a fully enclosed pouch with maybe some of Bob Park's tooling on it.

The vinegaroon will soak into the fibers, possibly bleeding into areas you don't want it. Remember, it's not a dye, it's a liquid chemical and it's causing a reaction inside the leather.

Very nice looking rig!

Welcome to Leatherworker.net! We're glad to have you here with us.

I ordered needles and thread from the and was very pleased with the transaction and shipping time.

Bob, I think you forgot to mention the secret ingredient that you use......... Experience.

Nope, no problems when making holsters for Glocks....And Greg, I disagree with you about this statement :" It is impossible to make anything that isn't ugly for them."

this ^

After reading a bit of the info about the horse hide, I also decided to try some.....and somehow completely overlooked this thread until tonight....which is kinda fortunate. The piece I got WAS pretty stiff and was rolled into a flat rate box. A little time unfolded/unrolled and it straightened out. The hide does take longer to case, and is VERY dense in comparison to cow hide of the same thickness. However....after a little experimentation and learning that it needs a little longer to case, I've found it to be quite suitable. The flesh side was almost as smooth as the grain side, and the cuts were so smooth that they needed very little in the way of 'finishing'. I evened them up, and skipped the slicker...moving straight to burnishing. The results were quite a bit better than I was expecting. HH is already on the re-supply list, and provided I get some decent pieces, will be a regular item. I also purchased some of the strips, and likewise, the flesh is almost as smooth as the grain. If I can get a longer butt, or more skinny customers, it will probably become the staple of my lightweight belts. Here's the most completed rig made of HH. Everything except the thread, dye, and chicago screws is horse hide.

You can try the DOT fastener site......specifically, this page: http://dotfasteners.thomasnet.com/viewitems/durable-8482--2/durable-8482-posts-eyelets

I got mine from lasergiftcreations.com. As the name implies, it's laser cut and made from Delrin. So far (2 years-ish) I've had no problems with it that weren't caused by me (double strike). Very easy to work with Brenda via email- I sent a graphic of what I was after, she tweaked it, I approved it and made the payment and I had my stamp in I think two days. It was shipped in a padded envelope, with the stamp end wrapped to prevent damage. I think her prices have gone up just a bit, due to material costs, but I wouldn't hesitate to order from her again.

Call the local Tandy store and talk to Jimmy. Tell him what you need and see if he can recommend one of his customers

Please do share your tutorials! There are enough options in GIMP that since I don't use it regularly, I forget some things and the pic work takes twice as long as it should.

Welcome to Leatherworker.net! Glad to hear you've picked up this addiction hobby. Have fun learning the craft, and don't hesitate to ask questions when you have them...we'll do what we can to help.

Welcome to Leatherworker.net! We'd love to see some pictures of your work when you're so inclined.