TwinOaks

It's really going to depend on WHERE the part is and what it does. Sometimes having an aluminum part that fails is better than having a steel part that DOESN'T fail, and instead causes more damage. An example of this is the rack gear in the Tippmann Boss. They are made of aluminum. One member posted here that they had broken the part and replaced it with a steel one. When the malfunction happened again ( timing issue or some such....there was a bad bind up of parts) instead of shearing the teeth off the rack gear, the steel gear withstood the force and ended up cracking the housing. In that particular case, having a part with a fail point that's weaker than the housing was a good idea. I don't know enough about the Cubs (other than that I almost bought one) to discuss the internals.

First one? Really? Guy, that is beyond excellent for a first holster. Sure, there are a few minor things that would improve the looks of it, but I really see only one thing to change for functionality...and that may just be the camera angle. Very nice application of the knowledge you've learned here.

Well, since you insist.... I removed my reply because I thought I HAD misunderstood what you were saying, and in retrospect, decided that whether or not I misunderstood specific text of your post, the INTENT of your post was another thing entirely. At the very least, it deserved the benefit of the doubt, and my critical post did not take that into account. Since my post did not contribute anything constructive to this thread, and resulted in a bit of a bickering match between the two of us, I decided to remove it and your rebuttal, - to prevent hijacking this thread, and to keep it on the topic of braiding. If you'd really like to know why I posted it in the first place, well, here's why: TO ME, .....Lines 10-19 of post #9 are complaining that the master braiders aren't sharing their little secrets of making master class products. That's not picking out one sentence, it's nearly half of the post. Whining that even though 'they think we'd steal their patrons, but we really just want to learn', sounds like a bunch of entitlement minded, "you owe it to me", crap. Just because you don't want to do that, doesn't mean that no one else wouldn't. With that 'we just want to learn' comment, you're completely disregarding the braiders' concerns...which are valid. Then there's the issue of me mentioning that several have shared it ....in books. They speak Spanish; who'd have thought they might write a book in one? How dare they not write a book in English!!! Don't complain that someone wrote a book in their language and you can't understand it. That's not the authors' fault nor problem, it's an obstacle that the reader must overcome. The authors of books don't owe it to you to make it understandable, and the master braiders don't owe it to you to explain how they do things. If they chose to remain "tight lipped", and not share their techniques then so be it. Saying " but what they are forgetting is that they had to learn from someone else and just think if they wouldn't have shared their knowledge" is just disrespectful. It implies that they have to share the knowledge because somebody had to teach them, it's just not right that they won't tell you how to braid like they do. At least, that's the way I read the post the first time. After you posted the reply that pretty much said you didn't mean it that way, I re-read it and thought: 'yeah, I can see it the other way too.' Now, I removed the longer previous post that was here, because I couldn't see how those comments could possibly benefit this topic. Your rebuttal to the comment didn't make a whole lot of sense as a stand alone post, so both of the posts were removed. Also, I never said that you slandered or insulted anyone, nor that you used foul language. As for you knowing why I removed it.......well, now you do. I was perfectly content with realizing I posted a criticism in error, not recognizing the intent, and removing the post for the continuity of the thread. But since you wanted it explained.....

There's another edge braid that looks really nice on straight runs and it is essentially the same pattern but ONLY in the 'over' path ....no 'under' braids.. It results in a herringbone braid. I don't think it covers corners as well, but that could just as well be poor technique on my part. I've run it 1-3, 1-4, but it gets too unstable for good coverage after that.

I like waxed linen for a lot of hand stitched items. It just lays down in the stitch line better, looks better, and FEELS better, IMO. Also, when I back stitch with it, I can cut it close and tuck the end and have no worries about needing to melt it or having a little piece of it sticking up to poke or snag anything.

Regardless of what leather you use, don't forget to condition it well and put a good water repellant on it. You might check the biker gear section for recommendations on saddle bags. The top ones I can think of ,ATM, are Montana pitch blend, Snoseal, and Pecards.

Ruger MkII, or any other model with a gut-hook front sight!!!!! Maybe even something with high rise target sights. That's how I learned about sight channels. I think the issue here is with the quality of the flesh side of the leather. If it's extremely stringy, it will become un-matted through wear, resulting in the 'torn to shreds'. You can have the look of 'unfinished' leather for a little while, but the act of holstering or drawing from the holster will, in itself, cause burnishing of the leather where the gun is in contact with it. You CAN have un-dyed leather, relatively easily, and still protect the leather. When I run into stringy leather, I 'glue' it down by spraying lightly with water, burnishing, then applying resolene (actually, I use Mop-n-glo now....thank's Mike!!!). This creates a light finish on the inside of the holster that maintains the look of 'natural', while still protecting the leather. Perhaps the best way to address the issue is to make a lined holster, using 2/3 oz for the liner. That gives you the unfinished interior you want, and puts the grain side (the strongest and smoothest part) against the gun. My most recent is a Judge holster, but I've used liners on holsters for lots of things from LCPs to a 8 inch 686 with an Aristocrat sight rib, to a Highway Patrolman.......still waiting on the green light for the 10" SBH.... It adds a bit more cost, and a little more work to making the holster....but the results are WELL worth it.

From the descriptions, it sounds like this is almost a form of liquid shoe polish, but in a water base. Perhaps even a compound that uses pigments and Satin/Super sheen. Kinda like the black resolene? I'm getting curious about it now, and may have to order some for experimentation....hang on, lemme find my 'mad chemist' hat. It'll be interesting to see how well this stuff sprays. I just dropped a note to Kevin @ SLC, to see if they'll be carrying it, and I'll post the info back here when I get a reply. Thanks for doing the preliminary reviews on it.

Perhaps I did take it wrong. In the interest of keeping this thread on the topic of braiding, I've removed my comment and the reply.

You can take a look at different type of textured leather by visiting Springfield Leather. They have pictures showing the different types available. Specifically, check out the lining leathers, and the one's called "mission grain".

Good post, Darren.

You could perhaps do something like "your company @ gmail/yahoo.com", but to have an email with your business name "you@yourbusiness.com", you'll have to register the domain name first. The second part of the address, after the 'at', is called the domain name. That part has to be registered, and there are MANY sites that will do that for you...some cost more than others, you can google "free web hosting" and see some of the options. If I may use an analogy... The address (first part) is like the mailbox at your house, the domain (2nd part) is the street you're on. If you cut a road in to the woods and plant a mailbox, but never tell the Post Office about it, you won't get mail. That's where registering the domain name comes in. It's a way of telling the internet post man 'hey, there's a new road here, with a mailbox'. Now that really is over simplified, but hopefully helps you understand how the system works.....at least a little bit. You might also be interested in knowing that Johanna (our Admin) is a guru on this subject Since LW.net has leased some pretty big servers, with LOTS of room, you could have your domain listed on the LW server. Contact her for the specifics, please. Another one of our members, CitizenKate, is a website designer. So, we really are a one stop shopping experience!!! Learn more about leather, contact members, have your site designed, and have it hosted.....all in one place!!!

THERE ARE NO STUPID QUESTIONS!!!!! All us started out learning at some point, so don't be embarrassed or concerned about asking questions. Yes, there are several things that can be used, and you mentioned one of them already..sorta. Rubber cement, liquid frisket, liquid latex (model building section of hobby lobby), painter's tape, frisket film, etc. You can use pretty much anything you want, just make sure the mask doesn't discolor the leather, raise the grain, or leave a residue....... Test on scrap first. Of those mentioned, I've only really used liquid latex. It needs good ventilation and at least two layers (I usually run about 5), fully dried before exposure to the dye. Be sure to test the products WELL on test/practice/scrap pieces. I have, on one occasion, tried to spray dye a base color, mask the tooling, and overlay with a top color. The masking did a wonderful job of keeping the top color off the base color......but completely stripped the dye from the leather (where masked). Also, your impression about resists is a little off. There are several types of resist, based on different forumlas. Some are lacquer bases, some acrylic. It is possible to dye through the resist, just as it's possible to oil through a topcoat.

To further explain my earlier post... first, I called it a diamond knot....should've called it a pineapple. Oops. It's a turk's head with an interweave. Then, like Leatherpownder said, it has every other section laced over. There's a tutorial for a pineapple knot . That will give you the knot underneath, then you go back and lace in the overweave on every other section.

Because of the raised portions of that, I think that's just a simple diamond knot with an over weave on the opposite pointing strands. In the second photo, you can see the strands UNDER the raised ones.

After a long hiatus from ANY braiding, I was inspired by Enrique so I picked it back up. First project.....learn the 6 strand round. And just for kicks, I added an eye splice to one end of it. Looking at the eye splice, I'm reminded of why I drifted away from braiding!! Thanks for the recommendation on the books.

It's all in the little things. Proper spacing with the veiner, cams, etc. Good clean beveling with no chatter marks. Good clean matting/backgrounding to the same level. Using a petal lifter to lightly increase the height of certain portions. Antiquing the piece to help with the 3d. Choosing the right color to dye the background...or IF you dye the background......and getting it perfect so that there's no bleeding onto the floral design. ....the little things. I recommend comparing your work to the likes of Bob Park, King's X, Bobocat, Keith Siedel, Troy West, etc. Look at what they put into it vs. what you've got.

Bienvenidos, Enrique! ¡Somos felices de tenerle aquí con nosotros! Usted hace un cierto trabajo asombroso! That braided edge, as explained , sounds like a lengthened version of the "Mexican basket weave" border.

I think I see a minor issue. Neat-lac actually IS pretty flexible.........if it's applied correctly. I've seen (and have) spray cans of Neat-lac and Saddle-lac. My first mis-adventure with them was putting a glossy top coat on a clutch purse. I sprayed on a coat, let it dry. Another, and another.............until I had a beautiful glossy finish over the carving...right up to the point it started getting used. Then, it cracked, chipped, and flaked off. Lacquer finishes need to be rubbed into the leather, not just sprayed on. I'm not saying that neat-lac won't crack at all, but it's pretty good stuff. 4-5 layers of clear coat may be too thick to adhere to the leather, as I don't think it's designed to be built up....but as you say, time will tell.

While you're testing / evaluating it, do you mind taking a slice through one end and reporting the penetration depth?

You need a graphics program to resize the pics before uploading them. Most camera software includes just such a program, but if it didn't, you can download several from the internet. One of the simplest and easiest to use is IRFANVIEW........aka, 'flat kitty'. It has several 'default' sizes, including the standard 800x600, which works out well for most folks. For our members who would like to view images that have been posted here, and the image is too big .....click and drag the image to the 'new tab' button on your browser. This will open the photo in the new tab in a viewable size.

The "badge" in those photos is NOT an issued item. Concealed carry licenses are issued, usually in the form of a card. The "badge" in those photos is a gimmick item and is often worn by people that DO have CCW permits. It is close enough to a real badge that if a bystander should see the (mostly) concealed gun a person is carrying, and also sees the "concealed carry permit badge" that the bystander PRESUMES that the wearer is a form of law enforcement. Down here in the states, the agencies have different badges - city and state police, county sheriffs, FBI, Marshal's service, Homeland Security.....the list goes on. When somebody sees the gun and a badge, they're not as likely to completely freak out......at least as long as they think it's a LEO. I asked a few local LEOs about it and there's not much they can do (at least around here) UNLESS the person with the "badge" portrays himself/herself as a law enforcement officer. Like I said, it's a gimmick badge, and IMO a very bad idea. Concealed means concealed, and there's not reason to display a badge that could either misidentify a person or potentially make them a target....kinda like wearing a "photographer's vest" in the summer to cover a weapon....around here, we call them "shoot-me-first vests". I HOPE the badges in the photos are only there as props to show the fit of an actual agency badge.

You could do it with veg tan to basically build a 'sheath' for the handle.....while the handle is still in it. It'd take some stretching, some molding, some cursing, and a beer or two, but you could do it and just lace up one side of it....maybe use the closure to cover the end? IMO, braiding a wrap for it would look a LOT better and possibly be more durable. Something along the lines of a 6 or 8 plait braid would cover it quite well, and conform to the slightly irregular shape of the handle. For the end.......terminal turk's head, or a pineapple?

Rubbing down the dog tracks would also rub down the blow outs. Ronnie- What happened to your tension setting!?!?!? JoshK- What are you planning on doing with the machine? That should be the determining factor. The next step up from the 2500, is the 3500/Cobra class 3/ techsew 4100(?). That machine class has more capability and may be more suitable.....dependent on what you're doing. If you're planning on sewing holsters with it, save up more money and go for more machine; preferably one with unison feed (walking foot plus needle feed). The next step after the 3500/class 3, the 4500/class 4 has the same sewing capabilities but with almost double the space under the arm. A well repeated adage on this forum, and from probably all the sewing machine suppliers is: Buy more machine than you think you'll need. It's better to have the capability and not need it, than to run a machine at max capability for prolonged periods....kinda like driving a car over a speed bump at 40mph. Can you do it in a BMW? Yes. Should you do it often? No, it's going to wear out or break something. Could you do it in a jacked up 4x4 with puddle jumping suspension? Yes. Should you? It doesn't really matter, the design of the vehicle won't be damaged by it.