TwinOaks

Without knowing what you're making, it's hard to be specific. Even so...... There are several things that can alter the look of the leather- The type of leather (specifically how it was tanned), the method of coloring, the finish / topcoat on it, and any physical applications. For example: If you start with rawhide, wipe dye on it, and cover it with neat-lac, it's gonna look like crap. If you take a piece of drum dyed bridle leather, run it through a glazing machine, and put an good topcoat on that, it'll look fabulous. The differences are as follows- bridle leather is tanned (and hot stuffed with waxes and oils for weather resistance), rawhide is just cured. Wiping dye on with a dauber or cloth will leave streaks and be uneven, drum dying gives a deep even color (you can also get even coloring with an airbrush). A glazing machine (somebody help me out if I named it wrong) uses glass rods in a machine to compress and smooth the surface fibers of the leather. I've found I can get a wonderful shine after spray-dying, by just rubbing firmly with a paper towel. It's just rough enough to glaze the surface, but soft enough that it doesn't damage the grain. A topcoat to seal it, and voila! nice looking leather. *yes, there are other steps like conditioning that weren't mentioned*

Entiendo, take another look at the tutorial and read the first paragraph, and the instructions and the caption at the top of the first pic. The pics were taken with that lace so that the reader could easily distinguish the laces and where they went, and she writes that beveled lace yields a more professional look. It also specifies that the leash would only be suitable for a small to medium dog. Ease up a bit, it's a basic tutorial, and we appreciate Myriam taking the time to make and post the tutorial.

I don't know about your end of the world, but I make 'em because I can sell 'em.

Have you flexed the top to see if that much build up of the topcoat will crack? It seems awfully thick from the picture.

Check your local Hobby Lobby / Michael's / craft store. In HL, there is a a dept. for making bead jewelry and they have a pretty broad selection of them.

Agreed. I'll sometimes do a "quick case" while I'm molding by spraying the leather with casing solution. But for carving, the best results are achieved through tried and true methods.

A comment on your boning and its application for retention: Molding the holster to the gun IS critical for good retention, so the more leather you have against the gun = better retention. As you saw with the accessory rail, you can have too much of a good thing. Concentrate on the leather INSIDE the holster and how it contacts the pistol...first. Then, once you've molded the leather to your satisfaction, you can add the aesthetic boning. Here's a tip that should help with that- less is more. While not a minimalist, I am most certainly a pragmatist. One or two strong lines can indicate the shape or features of the pistol without negatively effecting either the leather or the draw. As Katsass pointed out, repeated flexing of the leather pushed into the ejection port will break that leather down. If you're relying on that bit of molding for retention, you'll eventually lose the retentive properties of it. Waaaaaaaaay back when (and thankfully lost in the big crash of '07) I got into an argument with K-man (of K-D Holsters) about holster design. Well, quite a few failed holsters and many moons later, I caught him on here and offered the apology he deserved. He and Jeff (BOOMStick) correctly pointed out that the friction inside the holster is what counts. If boning increases the amount of leather against the flat surfaces (slide, frame, dust cover), then certainly give it a shot. But you don't need to (and shouldn't) try make a mold of the gun in leather. The outward appearance of a holster has very little to do with how well it retains a pistol. There's a tutorial on here by Jim Simmons on how to make a fitted holster in a western rig, and I've tried it. Just like the tutorial says, the holster will hold the gun very snugly.........and it has NO boning on it. That might be worth a read for you to see how the interior of the holster effects retention. Here's the link to that tutorial - http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=19338

Welcome to Leatherworker.net! We're always happy to have new members, so pull up a stool to the tooling bench and stay a while.

I just punch a round hole and add a slot with a knife.

Tina's comment reminds me that I have used my Viking 4240 for sewing liner leather to 3/4. I have a roller presser foot for it and that seems to work 'okay', but anything thicker than 5 oz is really just too much for the machine.

Okay. Read KK's tutorial on wallet guts. He explains and shows how he makes the card pockets for his wallets.

Please list the name of your former business, if you don't mind.

If you are looking for specific instruction on making card slots, I recommend the wallet tutorials by Kevin King.

You have experienced the reason why leather workers use modified commercial/industrial machines. Home machines are for the most part inadequate for sewing leather, other than perhaps some VERY thin lining leather. Please read the following thread: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=25239 This should explain things pretty well.

Addressing the other part of the OP, the part about cleaning leather, I thought I'd share a bit I read on Leatherchemists.org. From what they were discussing (in a thread about a realllllllly old saddle) using saddle soap that is alkaline (uses lye as one of the ingredients), it's entirely possible to change the pH of the leather to the point that it can crack and/or rot. Leather is slightly acidic, and changing the chemical properties of it will lead to changing the physical properties as well. It's also possible to wash the tannins out (presuming veg-tan) and have the leather revert to semi-rawhide, which can rot. Interesting stuff to read over there, but you do need a pretty deep understanding of the actual chemistry. http://www.leatherchemists.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=68&KW=century

Expanding on what Bill wrote, the actual "stuff" in hides is Collagen. In it's preserved state (tanned), the leather fibers and collagen are dry. By re-moistening the hide we are reactivating the collagen in it. That collagen is what allows us to compress and shape the leather. It is, for all intents and purposes, the 'glue' that holds skin together. When tooling, stamping, or forming, we compress the fibers and the collagen locks the fibers in place. As the leather dries, the collagen is still holding things in place. If you read of holster/sheath makers using heat to 'set' the leather, what we're doing is using heat to 'set' the collagen glue. Think of it like a kitchen sponge- if you leave it sitting out, it'll dry up and get somewhat stiff. You can bend it, but not as easily as when it's wet. Add a little water, and it swell up and gets very soft. Fold it in half, or compress it then let it dry, and it will retain that shape. The leather fibers also contain natural oils and waxes in them, which lets the preserved hide flex and the fibers in it to move against each other. When we case our leather, the process of re-hydrating it forces some of those natural lubricants out. It's possible (according to leatherchemists.com) to effectively wash the tannins OUT of leather over a long period, which causes the leather to revert to rawhide, which can get very hard and brittle ---AND---removing the preservative properties of the tannins. Oiling or conditioning after tooling/stamping/forming replaces some of the natural oils and waxes we washed out of it. There's a LOT more detailed info available, but you need to have an deep understanding of chemistry to understand some of what they write over at leatherchemists.com, so I'll leave it up to the reader to decide if they want to decipher it.

I agree with Kevin, you NEED to have some kind of moving air. You can rig a 'gluing box' pretty easily with a charcoal filter and a bathroom vent fan. If that isn't feasible, I do recommend a VOC filter mask from somewhere like Lowe's or Home Depot. The type of filter is important; you need to have something to capture or eliminate the VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). Having a beard won't be that big of an issue. Sure you won't have the same seal as skin, but you're guarding against VOC fumes, not chemical weapons. The commercial filter masks (with the filter cartridges) have a very good flow through, and should be enough.

Black dye has somewhat of a reputation for leaving particles on the surface. I think it is probably the worst of the colors in this aspect. There is, however, a 'cure'. When you dye the leather, you need to buff it until you don't have anymore rub-off. That is a pretty critical step for the application of ANY dye. If you are making an entirely black piece, then vinegaroon is a good way to go, but NOT if you only want a few black areas (like the background in a floral piece). Vinegaroon works by chemical reaction, and since it has a thin consistency, it wicks through the leather fibers very easily. That can result in black 'bleeding' through where it's not wanted. The blotchy appearance is caused by different absorption of the dye through the hide. There's a couple of factors that cause this- the tanning process, the hide itself, HOW you are applying the dye, and whether or not you've cleaned the leather before applying the dye. There's several commercial products available, but you might try using some high percentage isopropyll alcohol (drug store or pharmacy section). When your hide is purchased, at least three people have handled it, probably more. That means that several people, including you, have put hand prints on it. If any of those hands weren't clean, then oils, sweat, dirt, grime, etc., was possibly transferred to the leather. Use the alcohol to clean the leather before dyeing and you'll see a more uniform absorption. For the best results - meaning a very even application - consider getting an inexpensive airbrush and small compressor. There is nothing short of total saturation that will give such an even coat. Some terms to search (search box is in the top right corner): "Vinegaroon" , and "Casing Leather".

3/4 with stamps, less with modeling tools only......and a VERY light touch with the knife.

Welcome to the best site on the internet! We're glad to have you here with us!

Yes, other than dip dyeing, an airbrush is the best way to get a good even coat. Dip dyeing is just what it sounds like- put the leather in a bucket of dye for a second and there it is. I prefer the airbrush because I can vary the saturation of the dye on the leather.

I agree 100% with Guy W. Your time is what is being purchased, so charge accordingly. The reason overtime pays more than straight time is to compensate you for what you're missing. Like Particle, it's just me turning out my work, and there are steps that can NOT be combined, and take a pretty set amount of time....like finish coats drying between applications. I'll always try to meet a deadline I set, so I won't push other work out of order. I might spend extra time on a rush job, but that won't effect any other orders. That means that the rush job is infringing on MY time.....and I DO price accordingly. The key to managing it is to politely inform the customer that you have other customers that are just as important that didn't wait until the last minute to place an order, and that you won't rush a product because you won't sacrifice quality for time. I had this happen to me last Christmas. One of my fairly regular customers completely ignored the posted notice that no orders would be accepted after a certain date. He placed the order two days after the deadline, and left his deposit with my business partner. I left town to visit family over the holidays right on schedule and the next day I got a call asking when his order would be completed. My answer was "by the first weekend in January". He was livid that I didn't make his order, but calmed down when I asked him if he would volunteer to have his orders 'bumped' from the production schedule if someone else placed a late order.

That's CHEATING!!!!!!!!! Pardon me.....I'm off to see how badly I can't afford one of those......

Moving this to OLD/SOLD. Thank you New Guy for letting us know you got it.

I don't know the perspective of a veteran, but I have had to deal with PTSD. Part of the issues I faced was not understanding what was 'wrong' inside. Having friends take note was immensely helpful, but even more so were the friends that when I said "Yeah, I'm okay" said "No. You're not." Kudos to your and your friends/coworkers that can see that he has a problem and for wanting to help him get through it.