Chief31794

Hey, If they don't have a tutorial on check writing, how about videoing it when you write yours and post it for the rest of us, lol. He has an email, not sure why he won't at least open a PayPal Account. I have a Square D and can take credit cards anywhere. Hope the leather is worth it. Chief

I did some sample tooling on the samples they sent and I was very impressed. I should have some in the shop in a day or so I'll carve something and photograph it and let you know what I think for sure. If you contact Roger he'll send you some samples to try. Chief

I have had one for several years. It is indispensable as far as I'm concerned. I use it for punching and love it. Chief

The strap is a work of art, very nicely done. Chief

Red Cent, Me too. I liked the samples a lot. Samalan, I agree on Roger being great to deal with and have high hopes for the leather. Chief

X2, I went to Tandy today and looked through some of their leather. For the most part it was not very good, I would put iy at a D grade if there was such a thing. Hermann Oak has lost some of its quality in my opinion over the last few years but still way ahead of Tandy. I asked for some samples from RJF and they were beautiful. I asked out here and everybody raved about them that answered. I placed a sample order (a side and a shoulder) they will be here next week, I'm anxious to work with them. I was a little surprised thar they don't have a PayPal account or take credit cards, it's either check or money order, but I can work with that. They seem to cater to the holster trade and that suits me fine.Chief

I don't dye until after I wet form mostly, then I dip dye. If you are using water based dyes that maybe the problem. If I wanted to go the other way (dye first) then I would dip dye the pieces with alcohol based dyes then let them dry for at least 24 hours befor wetting for wet forming. I do use drum dyed backs and with them there is never a problem with discoloration from forming. Chief

Mine is shipping today. I bought the U shaped table because sitting and sewing appealed to me (I'm getting older). It will be delivered on Monday or Tuesday and I'll post my opinions. I've been using a Boss for a couple of years but wanted a triple feed machine with smooth feet and dogs so the back of holsters, sheaths and instrument straps didn't scar up like it does with the Boss. Chief

Picture didn't post. Chief

Looks red and green to me. I use these colored dyes sometimes to dye flowers and leaves on carvings and they work ok. I like the tint a little better when I use paint, but that wouldn't work for what you're doing. I think they look good, if possible I would dip dye them, that will make the color more consistent and "deeper". Chief

As always, don't take my word for it, there maybe differences in the contact cement, etc. Try it on a piece of scrap, glue them together, completely dry then soak them as if you were molding and see if the glue bonds well for you. Chief

Contact Cement will not be affected by water if it is dried completely before you wet for molding. I do the same thing with holsters when I laminate two pieces of leather together to get a smooth surface on both sides and a stronger (Stiffer) holster. I then wet it thoroughly and mold. One thing, on the holsters, I sew the stiffener and/or the opening in the top and bottom before wetting for molding (just helps and it's hard to sew them once you've molded the holster, then I continue the stitching through the glued edge(s), after it's molded and dry. then I dress the edges. It should work the same way with pigskin, but I don't normally mold items with pigskin linings in them. Chief

I line the punch up, tap it to make a small impression, check it, correct if necessary and retap, when it's right, I put the punch back in the impression and punch the hole. I center the holes using a template from Blackriver Laser. I also will not punch any holes in a belt other than ovals. Chief

I use the size that fits the buckle, punch a hole with the one you have in a piece of scrap (preferrably the cutoff end of the Belt you're making), and put the tang through it a couple of time to see. I like them a little snug they will open up some with use regardless of which size you use, so it being a little tight to start is not necessarily a bad thing as long as the tang passes through the hole without you having to hit it with a hammer. Hope that helps, Chief

Welcome aboard, great site here with lots of good tutorials and information. Chief

Thanks to both of you, It really looks like high quality, I just wanted to make sure that the leather I got would look like the samples they sent. The answers from you two have made my mind up. Thanks, Chief

Does anyone use their leather? They sent me some samples and it looks really good, kind of like what Hermann Oak used to look like. The Hermann Oak I've gotten lately is starting to remind me of my Tandy Leather days when they went off the deep end and started selling inferior quality leather. Their prices seem great and I'm just normally pessimistic when something seems too good to be true. Chief

I live about 150 miles from there, that is just below Atlanta and I live almost on the Florida Line in South West Georgia. Thanks, Chief

I buy a lot of stuff from Ohio Travel Bag, they got some bad press lately about high shipping costs, but I get very good quality from them. They have just about anything, they have several different types of key bars. Chief

Plough Guage, Strap Cutter, or if you don't already own the leather have the distributor you buy it from cut it into 5" strips, most will do it and the charge is nominal. I buy my leather from Springfield Leather and they will cut it into whatever size you want and the charge is very reasonable. If this is something you will continue to do for a long time, then there are industrial machines that will slit leather, the Leather Pro Model 4 is one, I think there are others, I would contact some of the large leather equipment manufacturers. I know Weaver sells one but it only does up to 4". Sorry I don't have more information, perhaps someone else with more knowledge on these will chime in. Chief

Just my opinion and I will probably get some flack, but here goes. Hand Stitching is all you ever need, Machines are good when you need to produce a lot of goods and time is important. The machines on the market today are great but they are also a $2K+ investment. Anything they can do, you can do with hand stitching. That being said, I do have a machine and use it but If my hands were younger and less arthritic I probably wouldn't use it as much. Electrathon gave you some great advice and I echo thanking you for your service. I retired from the US Army in 1990, then spent the rest of my career with a Government Contractor basically doing the same thing I did when I retired. Chief (Chief Warrant Officer Three (Retired), United States Army)

The belts look great, but everyone is right this can lead to problems. Most people continue stitching all the way around the billet, that's a good place to start and stop the stitching if you're using a machine. Chief

Wish I were near Robert, but alas I live in South West Georgia. Good luck, Chief

I use Oxylic Acid to clean leather, I don't normally use a deglazer. I tried deglazer and it didn't seem to do anything, deglazer is mostly denatured alcohol so if I think it needs it, I use that. I buy it at Lowes by the gallon. I dip the piece in the dye ensuring that it is totally submersed then bring it out and let it dry for at least 4 hours, I normally like to dye in the evenings and let it all dry overnight. I try to hang it up so that the excess dye will run off but if there is no convenient place on the piece to hang it by then I hold it up over the dipping dish until it runs off pretty good, just takes a minute or two then I lay it out on a paper shop towel face up and let it dry. I don't use saddle soap on raw leather before I dye it, It always seemed to me to cover some areas more than others and thus prevent penetration and cause splotches. I could be wrong, that happens quite a bit but it's just the way I do it, everybody does things a little different, experiment with different techniques to see what works best for you. Chief

Yes, I dip dye with Feibings Pro Oil dyes diluted. To me they seem a little to "Strong" right out of the bottle, I cut everything except black 1:1 at a minimum. 1:1 gives it a very nice rich color, I have thinned them more but 1:1 normally gets the job done for me. Chief