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The person that created that is a user on this forum. "NoahL" http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showuser=9937

Add a light over the top to help increase the overall light and see if that helps. That way you can reduce the exposure a bit, lessening the hot-spots. You can also pull the lights away from the surface a bit to broaden the 'emitter', reducing the isolated hot spots.

That looks fantastic! Very nicely done.

Wow - excellent demonstration Chris - thanks for sharing! Brent - when I airbrush, I spray 4 fairly heavy coats to make sure I get as much penetration as possible with the airbrush method. I don't allow any drying time between coats - I just spray up and down in one direction, wait for the dye to absorb into the leather (doesn't look wet on the surface), then I spray up and down in the other direction. I do this process 4 times, then allow it to dry overnight. You can buff it the next day, once the leather has dried thoroughly - if you buff it too soon, the leather is very susceptible to damage via stray fingernail scrapes, tool marks, work surface impressions, etc. Dip dyeing is undoubtedly going to offer better penetration, but it will also result in a much darker final product, and it will use a TON of dye because it absorbs so rapidly into the leather. Lots of makers use the dipping method - I just haven't had good success with it so I favor the airbrush. Dip dying takes a very long time to air out. I let some leather that was dip dyed sit for around 3 days on my bench and it still had a very strong smell. I buffed the snot out of it, then assembled. There was so much pigment in the leather it turned all my natural thread a nasty orange color (dyed Saddle Tan) as I stitched it. People will probably say I left it in the dye too long, but I poured my dye in a tray, laid my flat pieces of leather in the dye, then instantly pulled them out - they probably weren't submerged more than maybe 3 seconds total. I did not dilute the dye - perhaps that's some of my problem. Here is a photo showing my first attempt - I ended up remaking the entire order because I wasn't happy with it and didn't feel right sending it to the customer. It also seemed like it had a negative effect on the leather itself. And here is the set after I remade it.

I use the same on both sides as well. Here's the way I see it... If you are leaving the interior natural, the quality of the leather will be even more apparent than what is visible on the dyed exterior. I'm okay with scars and stuff on the inside layer, but the leather overall still needs to look nice, without a bunch of fat wrinkles, etc...

I have a few videos on my website you might enjoy watching. Click the link in my signature and go to the How's it Made page. Without knowing what equipment your buddy has, you'll likely need: leather pattern something to cut the leather something to punch the belt slots leather cement edger burnishing tool boning tools (bone folder) dye neetsfoot oil gum tragacanth to help burnish the edges and smooth the flesh interior acrylic or wax finish adjustable groover something to stitch with snaps if you need a retention device I'm sure I missed something... You can improvise with most of the tools - but I assume your friend probably has everything you need.

Here you go - looks like www.paragear.com has them. Looks like you have to buy two parts - the "seat belt quick release" and the "lug quick release". They're pretty expensive - might be a better priced alternative, but at least now you know what they're called and what to search for. http://www.paragear.com/templates/parachutes.asp?group=246&parent=34&level=2

Those are some pretty interesting ideas Don.... You might be on to something!!! Thanks for the compliment.

Wow - thanks Jeff for the compliment! I think the key for me was focusing on a small group of guns when I first started out - that helped me to focus on refining the technique, without getting bogged down and frustrated with bad patterns for new guns. I'm a visual learner too, so seeing and trying to mimic the fine work here and elsewhere was a big help too. I still have a LOT to learn. As you'll see from looking at my website, I have a very small product offering - I only offer two styles of holsters, one style of mag pouch, and belts. I've been really slow to branch out and take on new designs, but I hope to add a few more options very soon.

I think 7 or 8 is about how many holsters I sewed by hand before I bought the Boss. HUGE difference once you step up to a machine. The stitching might not be a nice looking on the back, but 2-3 hours of sewing vs. a few minutes on the machine was well worth it to me.

I don't edge the top side, but I do edge the back side since the corners are much sharper than you get on the top side (since the punch basically bevels the top, making it hard to edge). I think the con to not edging is the sharp edge will probably get dinged up more quickly, making the slots look bad on the back. I'm loving the Cobra - It's unfortunate a bunch of them shipped without the mod (only Steve has any idea how many), but very glad Steve was able to find a solution that is so easy to apply. It's a great machine!

Hi Jeff - I do get burnishing, but most notably when the leather starts to dry out. I don't mind the burnishing - I think it adds to the character and shows it was hand-made - but like renegadelizard said, burnishing will make it harder to dye. The only reason I dye before assembly is so I can use any thread color I want.

Well, I punch when wet because my slot punches suck. The shoulders are so thick that the leather was splitting at the ends of the slot if I punched when it was dry. I tried wetting the leather and found it punched a million times easier, and the splitting went away as well.

I do the same as Denster - but I hammer mine closed right after I dunk the holster in water for forming so the leather is nice and wet. I dunk it, punch the belt slots, edge the belt slots, then hammer everything flat.

Thanks Phil - I hadn't noticed the tweet problem. In case you weren't aware, my site was hacked a few weeks back, so I completely erased and rebuilt the entire site from scratch. Those tweet posts are linking to pages on my previous site. Guess I better start tweeting I can push those off my page! Thanks for the feedback on the site - I appreciate it!

Awesome - thanks!

Like the title says, I need to know if a standard 1911 .45ACP magazine will work when forming a Springfield XDs mag pouch. I have an order for one that's waiting on me to buy a pair of magazines for forming, but I'd rather not buy them if I don't have to.

Bobby - nice job on the holster! You're off to a great start! Did your Cobra's servo motor come with the sensitivity fixed already?

No problem - yeah, that's a punch from Texas Custom Dies. Weaver carries some nice ones that have a high polish and are sharp when they arrive (but the slots are pretty narrow). My TCD punches took a lot of work to sharpen, and the shoulders are still way too thick to easily punch through thick leather. Maybe they've gotten better since I bought mine a couple years ago.

Yes, my pear shader is smooth.

That's correct - the switch was variable, but the entire range of speed was regulated within just a fraction of an inch. The fix is a very minor modification (addition) to the light-blocking blade inside the switch via a printed sticker with a gradient printed on it. Very simple fix that works very well. I sewed another batch of holsters with it last night and couldn't be happier with the fix and the machine itself.

LOL! Thanks mojoe - I don't mind at all if you share the link. Thanks for the referral and glad the video was helpful!

Hi Jeff - as others have mentioned, the cheap leather from Tandy will be very difficult to work with when it comes to detail boning a holster. Yes, it can be done, but it's much harder to do. Honestly, I bought one hide from Tandy when I first started making holsters. As soon as I switched to Herman Oak, my boning instantly looked better - it was just SOOOO much easier to work with in that regard. If you're interested, I have a video on YouTube that shows me boning an Avenger style holster. You can find a link to it on my website in my signature. Do yourself a favor and buy a basic bone folder made of real bone - don't get the cheap plastic kind from the hobby store - they're too flexible and won't do the job. It actually takes quite a bit of pressure to shape suitably thick leather to the gun.

Just to throw something else out there - you might also consider Wickett & Craig. You can order directly from the tannery, and they will split their tooling sides down to whatever thickness you desire. There is also (at least currently) no minimum order on hides so you can just order 1 or 2 hides at a time if that's all you can afford.

I was wondering the same thing!