TwinOaks

Weldwood. I bought the little bottle with a brush in the cap, then I bought a quart in the can. I refill the little bottle from the can, and I've had it for quite a while now. Spread it as thin as you can on both pieces, let it get tacky and press together. This does require exact placement, because once it's set up a tack and put together....it's done. You can also put the pieces together while it's still 'wet' and have a little bit of wiggle room, but not much. Once this stuff dries, you'll actually be destroying leather fiber to get it apart. Avoid getting it on you, and have good ventilation. If the leather starts talking to you, put the glue away and move to fresh air.

Look up Rod and Denise Nikkel .....www.rodnikkel.com

You can buy tracing paper at Walmart....you can also buy transparency film there, too. Either should be a good substitute.

If your belts really need a stiffener, consider a second layer of leather. If you're just set on putting a stiffener in it, go to Lowe's or Home Depot and ask if you can have the scrap (trash) banding straps from bundled wood.

You're best bet for a first project is a PLAIN belt. You can order a blank from Tandy, Springfield Leather, Waterhouse.....pretty much any of the leather suppliers listed at the top of the page. There's a tutorial on how to make a belt in the "how do I do that?" section that will show you the basics. An oval punch is useful, but a round punch will do just fine. You can make the billet end with a good pair of scissors. Slicking can be done with with house hold objects, burnishing can be done with scrap denim from blue jeans. Most of what you listed is frequently used tools, and you might be better off buying a small kit from Springfield or Tandy (or Hobby Lobby or Michael's), as it will include several tools, some leather, patterns and instructions.

Best tutorial on the subject, by Bob Park, aka Hidepounder :http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=18101

Call Bob Kovar at Toledo Industrial (ad banner at top of page) 866-362-7397. He sells new and used machines and may be able to point you towards another suitable machine if he doesn't have what you are specifically looking for. One of the key things to tell him is the maximum thickness you'll be sewing. It's not a good idea to run a machine at max capacity, so be looking for a machine that will sew a little more than what you expect. Given the advice you were given, I'd suggest looking at some of our suppliers and checking out the -618 clones, or the Consew 206RB. Artisan has it here: http://www.artisansew.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=194 Cobra Steve has one here: http://www.leathermachineco.com/catalog.php?item=5 And Bob Kovar has this Consew: http://www.tolindsewmach.com/consew-206rb.html He also has the Cowboy CB318, but it doesn't pull a spec sheet on the web page. There are other options, not just those 3 (4), so check w/ Bob, and keep an eye on this thread.

Hey Greg, We have a sub-forum located kinda far down on the screen especially for computer help. Most of the common issues are addressed in the "pinned" topics at the top of that forum. It's located HERE. Let us know if you have any other problems or questions.

I use a different set up, with a larger needle, so I usually spray from the bottle. Keep in mind, though, that thinner sprays better. The first 3 could be cut at 50/50, and should do fine.....not sure about the bag kote. Any sputtering or spitting means you need to go thinner. When spraying any finish, you need to make several passes, overlapping for coverage, and......let it dry before doing another coat. Get some cheap acrylic paints and thin them to watery consistency for practice. The color of the paint will give you a good idea of how much medium you're spraying at different settings. It will also indicate how long you need to clean it. VERY IMPORTANT: If you spray any of the acrylics, you need to clean thoroughly after use, and don't let it dry inside. You should be able to do this with just water as they are all soluble in water. Just keep running water through at a full spray until you're getting ONLY water.

Olive oil (Extra Virgin) is used by some makers, me included, in place of neatsfoot oil. It's used to condition the leather after molding or tooling, because the process of casing and tooling the leather can dry it out. Apply with paper towels, daubers, fingers, whatever gives an even coat and only do a light coat. Let it soak in and evenly distribute through the leather before you consider another coat....several hours to a full day, depending on the hide. When applying ANY oil, stop about two coats sooner than you think you should. One of the attributes of it is that it doesn't significantly darken the leather....at least not as much as most neatsfoot oils.

Look up "tool roll" using the search function for an alternate idea - make a tube that opens on the side. Since you'll be making a tube, you're going to have a seam (unless you build it in a spiral) on one side. Take whatever you're going to use to form the tube and try to get something a little bit smaller, put an over sized disk of wet leather on it. Using your hands, start folding the leather over the blank so that you get a round piece of leather with a lip on one side. To see what size you need, measure the size of the tube you'll form on, then subtract twice the leather thickness to get your new diameter. If you can't get a smaller size tube, don't worry, you can still use the disk, you'll just have to flex it a little to make it fit. Get a strap or some tape to hold the leather in place and set it aside to dry. While it's drying, mark the center point of the tube and offset by half the lip where the divider will be, then mark and punch your stitch lines. You'll need to do this while it's flat so you can maintain a straight stitch. Once you have the stitch holes punched, glue in the (dry) disk, using the stitch holes as a guide to put the center of the lip on the stitch line. Now, secure the bottom half of the tube with a few stitches to keep it in place. Reach in the top of the tube to the divider and support it while you go through the same stitch holes again, making stitch holes in the divider's lip. Start sewing, and be sure to over lap the stitch a few stitches to lock in the thread. Both needles should end up on the inside of the tube before you cut the thread. That secures the divider, and you can start stitching nearest to the divider on both ends of the tube. OR....if you want something easier.... If the game pieces are a uniform diameter (which I think they are) you could just stitch a welt of leather in place while it's flat. That would prevent them from sliding past a certain point....think of the inside of a PVC coupling- it's got a little lip that the pipe won't go past.

Check into the 441 clones made by Artisan, Cobra, and Cowboy. They're machines capable of at least 3/4 inch and use the Unison feed mechanism. A 9 inch arm machine should run you just under $2K, and the 16 inch machines go for around $2500. It's more machine than you probably need, but they will do the job and then some. The major suppliers of these machines have ad banners at the top of the page. I

I think you're on the wrong track with rivets. Since one of the measurements is 9.5mm (which is really, really, really close to 3/8ths inch), I'd suggest getting some 3/8ths stainless steel staples and pushing them through from the back of the wrist band, then bend/peen over the prongs once you've installed the bezel. To make it even more secure, add a drop of 5 minute epoxy or lead free solder to help reduce twisting. Maybe a second staple so that you have a "+" on the back side where the staples cross. You should be able to mark, install the staples, flip the piece, and install the bezel (making sure you pull the leather up tight) in something like 2 minutes once you have the procedure down. Set things up as production stages instead of doing one at a time - lay out 30 wrist bands, mark and install staples, flip. Go back and install bezel, bend/peen staple legs. Mix epoxy and apply - you have a limited working time, so move quick. Install top piece (maybe while epoxy is setting?). Start on the next batch. If you have your materials laid out, you should easily be able to do 30 per hour from start to finish.

Yes, I bonded the two before doing any molding. The glue softened up a bit, but remained tacky when heated. As it cooled, it reverted to its 'stuck' status. As mentioned I used Weldwood, and per the directions got a good coat on both pieces. Where I knew I'd be heating large areas of it (initial fold and press), I dampened the leather w/ water in a spray bottle first. Like a lot of good contact cements, if you apply heat to mostly dried cement, it regains it's tackiness. In the forming stage, there wasn't really any lateral shear to move the leather, so as the glue re-set, everything was where it needed to be. Out of several things I've tried, the Weldwood has held the best so far. It's not a permanent bond, as the leather can be pulled off, but it takes some real effort. At the flat edges, I skived down the leather to reduce the chance of hanging the edge of it on anything. As it sits now, you can peel the leather off, but you have to have an edged tool to work under it. 90 degree corners could be lifted (with a tool), but I advocate radiusing all corners anyway, so I eliminated them. If you take a finger or thumb and try to roll/peel the leather from the flat areas (mouth of holster), all you get is some smudges and a sore spot. If anyone has a suggestion for a better adhesive, I'd like to hear about it. Despite my little incident, I still see a use for this, and want to make it better.......................just no IWB holsters.

Interesting discovery and fantastic idea. You might expand on this a bit and make some 'stamps' for other things, or for when you need to maintain a border....maybe use a rolling pin for constant pressure over large areas?

That's my take on it, so I'll be limiting any future endeavors (with fully enclosed in kydex) to OWB only. I think it was the mag release that got me. For the primary molding, where I heated up large sections of the kydex, I sprayed down the leather until it was about half cased. I think it helped preserve the leather, because when I molded to the pistol, I had tremendous moisture transfer to the cooler steel.....which required additional cleaning and oiling.

Since I've been seeing an increase in demand for kydex holsters, I figured I might need to have some in the display case. So, it was time to experiment. Now, as many holster makers know, very few things will pull the finish off of a steel frame faster than kydex, so it's something I wanted to avoid. I did a little research and determined that yes, I can bond kydex and leather. Using Dap Weldwood (which I use for just about everything else) I scuffed the plastic well, and glued in a liner made from 3/4 veg tan. It seems to be the best of both worlds- smooth leather against the steel, and the molding/retention properties of kydex. In that aspect, the experiment was a success. However, my application failed in the design phase. My thoughts were to have a very low profile leather lined kydex IWB that would use the tension of the kydex for retention and reduce or eliminate the need for a retention strap. So, I bonded the two, molded the holster, added the chicago screws and belt loops and promptly donned the holster. Here's where I found my failures of the design phase: First off, Kydex may cool off quickly, but if you were in a hurry and kept the chicago screws in place.....well, they take a little longer to cool off. Minor first degree burn....nothing serious, but an important thing to remember. Second - In wanting to make a low profile IWB, I completely left off anything resembling a sweat shield. The following is an excerpt from the conversation: " See honey, the kydex will hold it tight and it just snaps in like this.....*click* Oh My God!!!...... What the %@$#%^&$#%$$ !?!?!? It HURTS!!!! Get it off!!! Get it off!!!! Get it off!!!!!" Lesson: When holstering a steel framed pistol in a hard plastic holster, neither of the two give very much. There should be NOTHING between the two, and certainly nothing as sensitive to pinching as 'love handles'. It seems that in my enthusiasm, I completely overlooked the VERY important fact that I've gained a little weight, and a small portion of that weight just BARELY pushed over the mouth of the holster. When I nonchalantly holstered the pistol, I managed to grab a piece of skin between the holster and the gun. It felt like I'd used vice grips to check my BMI. I did three complete turns, knocked over two drinks, one chair, and stepped in the pets' water bowl.....all while shrieking like a little girl. My wife was at first speechless as she stared wide at me. Then she was pretty much useless as she fell into uncontrolled hysterical laughter while I had a conniption fit. I finally realized I did this to myself, I jerked the gun from the holster, giving INSTANT relief. I've cleaned up the spilled drinks, picked up the chair, refilled the pets' bowl.....but I think the cat will need professional therapy. It probably wouldn't have hurt as much if I hadn't pinched the same spot I'd just burnt with a 200 degree chicago screw. So, for anyone else considering using kydex..... It's the devil's own. Run away from this stuff, stick to the leather we love. If you carefully heat and mold this stuff into a nice holster, it will BITE you at the first chance. Even now, as it's sitting on the counter, I can see it plotting against me, just waiting for another chance to take a plug out of me. Never use this stuff unless you or the customer is built like a twig.

The nice thing about 7/8 oz leather is that with just a little shaving, you end up with 6/7. So, for the first purchase, just get the thicker leather and shave/sand/skive a little bit off of it if you need thinner leather.

Good start on the holsters, but still a few rough spots. Something to note about small of back holsters (or SOB)- There is a potential for injury using that placement. If you were to fall or be knocked down and you landed on your back, you have a piece of steel right across your spine. It'd be akin to getting hit across the spine with a metal bar. That might not be an issue for you, but it's something to think about. That is the one type of holster I won't make, because of the risk potential.

Yet another inspirational piece of work. Thanks for posting it Bob, it gives us something to work towards!

YEP!!!! Silly mistake, thank you for catching it.

Nice semi-tuckable design....nice and clean. I like it. Guy, in the above pic, notice how much space there is under the grip of the pistol. There's lots of room to provide a full firing grip without having to make any adjustments. Being able to smoothly draw without fumbling the grip on the gun is a VERY IMPORTANT aspect of holster design.

Hope that helps. I typically don't quote large posts, but it's easier to answer multiple questions like that. The other Mike. P.S. Further exposition on stitch line spacing for holsters: Ideally, when you bond the leather through glue and stitching, it becomes and behaves as "one piece of leather". Omitting the glue between the layers can result in the leather squeaking or creaking when you move. This happens when the layers of leather move against one another....it kind of sounds like a cricket. If you properly bond the leather this is avoided, but there is an additional effect (which is quite predictable): The bonded layers are stronger than the single layer. That means that it will be much more difficult to stretch. You are placing the stitch line along the profile of the pistol to prevent the leather from stretching any more than you intend. This will ensure that the holster maintains it's retention over a longer period. If the stitch line is too far away, then the single layers will stretch out over time, resulting in a loose holster that will be less attractive, and potentially dangerous.....not to mention expensive if the weapon falls out and gets dinged/scratched/gouged. Now, that you know why the stitch line is there, here's the why it is where it is: You'll effectively be building a holster that is flat. The leather NEEDS to be stretched into shape to allow the pistol to fit between the layers. Since you will be bonding the leather, you've eliminated much of the stretch of the rest of the holster, you need to make provisions for what's NOT bonded to stretch......hence the little bit of space outside the immediate profile of the pistol. The leather needs to be damp to allow proper stretching, and you might even add a plastic bag, or a couple of layers of saran wrap around the pistol to stretch it a few extra thousandths of an inch. As it dries, the leather will shrink back a little, so the extra space is warranted until you get the knack of making holsters. To get a good visual of what's going on with the leather, take two pieces of paper and make a 'holster' out of them. Glue or tape pieces together and get the fit as tight around the pistol as you can, trying to make the two sheets meet at the mid point of the pistol's width. Now, flatten them back out and draw the outline of the gun on them, and you'll see that where you put the 'stitch line' is actually outside the outline......and that's just with paper. The leather may stretch, but it's also MUCH thicker.

Also, I'd suggest having a little more room between the gun and the rear tab. That way, the tab (belt loop attachment) isn't in the way of a firing grip. Remember, when assembled and worn, that little tab will be on the same plane as your belt, while the pistol will be somewhat "behind" it. When you get ready to attach the belt loops, remember to add a leather washer between the holster and the loops - the gap allows for the thickness of the pants. For your first holster, I recommend using T-nuts and machine screws from Lowes/HomeDepot. You might need to trim the little prongs so they don't over penetrate, but it's a good EASY way to do the attachment. You can use 6/32nds size just fine. The pattern looks fine otherwise, just remember that you can remove leather, but not put it back. Cut a little on the large side of the line and trim later. What are you planning for a finish?

Chaps, soft side tool bags, straps (it may be a little oily for a belt).....that kind of things.