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I sent Blueguns an email asking about their Sig P238 dummy to verify if their dummy is the old (thin) model or the new (thick) model - A.K.A. "HD" slide. Here is his response: "We have both models of the P238. The older "thinner" slide is the P238 pre 27A, our part number (FSP238-P27A)" Since both models aren't currently listed on their website, you will need to specify the correct part number before you order. New models are apparently being referred to as "27A" since that's the first the characters of the serial number in the current generation.

Thanks Sylvia - I just happen to have a few yards of various vinyl samples at home (I work for an architect in the Design department so samples frequently come through our office). Great idea! Before she left, I traced her iPad on a sheet of paper, and also stood it on edge and traced the thickness. Regarding my comment about the offset - I was referring to how far to offset the stitch line from the iPad tracing. I figure if I use a welted seam, that will allow for a smaller stitch offset and a smaller overall width/height dimension, while also reinforcing the edge a bit. I'll be honest and say the following video has really kicked my tail and inspired me to branch out a bit from holsters. Actually, it's what he said at 2:10 that did it...

I got to play with my sister-in-law's iPad yesterday and would like to try making a case for one. I've never made a sleeve before and am looking for tips before I start cutting leather and wasting time. The only leather I have on-hand is 8 oz Wickett & Craig veg tan leather and some cheap 3-5oz I believe Tandy veg tan leather. I also have some suede pig skin that's quite thin - not sure how thick though - maybe 1/16" thick or less. Should I make the sleeve out of 8 oz and use a welted seam? Or go with non-welted and use a larger stitch offset? Any pointers for an appropriate stitch offset either way? Should I like the sleeve with the thin Tandy veg tan leather, or the suede pig skin, or fabric? I lean towards the veg tan liner since, like with guns, it should be less likely to collect dirt and scratch the finish of the iPad. Anyway, any tips would be greatly appreciated. Like the title says - I don't own an iPad and my sister-in-law lives 30 minutes away so it's not exactly easy access.

I gave it another try a few minutes ago - this time with the post-it-note method. I gotta say - this might be the best method yet. It's very easy to adjust the spacing of the pieces of paper. I might try again with a bit tighter spacing and more layers. With this version, I can only utilize 1-22 out of the max speed of 40. I'll NEVER go that fast with this machine, but it's not working 100% so I'm not ready to give up yet. This spacing is roughly 1/16" spacing - it probably needs to be 1 ever 1/32" since I'm already hitting the max range of travel with this size/spacing. A darker paper color might help too, which will change the spacing too....

My motor is a TN-411 - that's all it says. Not sure what brand that is.

I did this mod today and it made a HUGE difference. It definitely requires experimentation. I don't think I landed on the perfect version because I can't get full range of speed control (1-40), but it works excellent at 1-15. I'd never set it at 40 anyway. Next version I'd like to try is a custom blade replacement with an angled end that covers the light more gradually.

Sorry about that - I saw "blue guns" and my mind instantly went to Rings. I meant to go back and add Duncan's, but got sidetracked at work.

You can support a fellow forum member here: http://leatherworker...showtopic=41256 http://www.bluegunstore.com Or, you can buy them directly from Rings at www.blueguns.com by calling in your first order, then you can email future orders by listing what item numbers you want to buy.

I have some of the Leather Balm with Atom Wax and really like it - but, it REALLY pulls up the dye and muddies up my stitching. Perhaps I'm just rubbing it too much as I apply it and need to change my application method. I've been rubbing it on with a cloth in circular motions and letting it dry before buffing it. I've seen a lot of people recommend Sno-Seal, but I've never looked at it before. I wasn't aware it's a beeswax product. Montana Pitch Blend sounds good too. I'll look into all of them - thanks for the suggestions!

Bravo!! Very nice. I admit, I was sceptical it would work, figuring the paper itself would be too opaque to allow any slow speed control. Guess I need to give it a try now!

I sell quite a few tooled holsters. I usually build about 8-10 orders at a time, and usually around 2-3 of them are tooled. I decided to stop offering revolver holsters. Everything I make is detail molded, which is a PITA to do with revolvers, and they never seem to fit as well once they dry. Plus, so many of the revolver requests I was getting were for models you can't buy dummies for, and I got tired of telling people I couldn't do it because there is no dummy out there.

I started with my Dan Wesson Commander Bobtail 1911 and posted images of my holsters on my state's CHL message board and also on one of the big 1911 message boards. It wasn't long before people started asking me to build holsters for them. It just sorta grew from there. But, to this day, the majority of my holsters are 1911's. I think if I spent any time on, for example, an XD forum, I'd broaden my customer base a bit more. I think the key is to find a couple guns you like, then build holsters for it and spend some time on the applicable message boards and build up a following. Let your customers advertise for you by building them holsters they're proud of - they'll post photos of your work and you'll pick up a few new orders every time.

FYI - the customer was referring specifically to the "Color & Finish" section of the following page. http://www.frontiergunleather.com/index.php/home/3-things-to-know/16-product-customization

Good idea. Perhaps I'm over-thinking it... I have a Google Drive account, and I know you can build custom forms and it'll submit the data to a spreadsheet. That might be easiest for right now.

I have a customer that asked that me NOT to apply a final acrylic finish to his order. He would like a wax finish instead of acrylic. I'm fine with that, but the acrylic helps to stiffen the holster a bit. So, if I skip the acrylic, what's the best way to apply a wax finish? Leather Sheen? Or rub beeswax over it and melt it in with a hair dryer? or something else? Acrylic sealers seem to help stiffen the holster, so I'd like to find a wax method that can help stiffen the leather if possible.

I'm trying to figure out how to create a dynamic form (of some sort) on my website. Basically, I'd like to have a form that: 1) asks the customer what they're shopping for on my site via a drop-down list and... 2) if the item isn't in the drop-down list, there is a text box where the user can type in what they were looking for. Then... 3) the contents of the text box are automatically added to the drop-down box. 4) the results are presented in such a way (via tallies or charts) that shows the popularity rankings It would be great if there was an approval process for new additions from #3 to make sure SPAM doesn't make its way into the drop-down list. Does anyone know of something out there that might work for me?

Sorry about that - I misinterpreted your previous post, thinking you use gum trag OR 50/50 mop & glow. Don't give up on the gum trag - just use it after you dye your pieces. I use it at the very end, right before I apply my final sealer. For my airbrush, I'm using an old Badger 150. You should be able to spray anything thinner than milk just fine - is your airbrush just spitting the liquid out, or not spraying with a very heavy flow? I have to tear mine apart completely every now and then and dig around inside to pull out the gummed up dye and acrylic residue. Gets clogged up after maybe 20-30 uses.

renegadelizard - how well does that gum trag work for you as a sealer? Have you ever tried wetting an area you sealed that way? Did it repel water? I only ask because I gum the interior of all my holsters, and then follow it up with a 50/50 heavy coat of water/acrylic sealer and it has no trouble at all absorbing into the leather... I'd advise always following up that gum trag with a proper sealer coat.

Give this page a look. I have a video that shows how I do it. Not necessarily the best way, or the only way - but it should give you a good starting point. http://www.adamsleatherworks.com/hows-it-made/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOoBoFE74PI

Personally, when I tool my small leather pieces for holsters, I put a few pieces of double-sided tape on the grain side, then stick it to a piece of 12" x 12" x 1/4" hardboard that came in an old Tandy beginner's kit. I'll wet my leather from the grain side, then turn it over and let it rest face-down against my granite slab to give the water a little more time to absorb into the leather. The benefit to the double-sided tape is it can be removed and usually the sticky residue rubs right off if you rub it firmly with your fingers. So, for example, if you're tooling a journal cover, you can still have exposed flesh side if you prefer. This won't necessarily help with or prevent stretching, but I'm mostly just concerned with keeping my leather from sliding all over the place while I try to tool it.

I airbrush my pieces, and I always try to hold the pieces in such a way that my thumb makes contact on the edge, and my index and other fingers only touch the flesh where I know I'll be applying glue. That being said, accidents obviously do happen and I sometimes get dye on the exposed areas. If it's in an area inside the holster that will be difficult to see, I'll leave it. If it's on the sweat shield, I'll try to sand it off with a bit of 200 grit sandpaper - this usually works if it was just a smudge. If it's a full-on, nasty drip of dye that penetrated the grain pretty deep, I'll just go ahead and dye the grain (with my airbrush so I wastes less dye). That's probably only happened twice in around 300 orders.

Personally, I only dye the interior on black holsters. Every other color I offer gets left natural on the interior. I just like it that way.

Agreed - one of the things I really want to start making is journal covers, but the machine can't really handle appropriately thin leather. The presser foot simply doesn't go low enough to apply any pressure to the leather. That being said, you can install the stirrup plate or the holster plate which solves the presser foot issue, though you gain the ugly puckering (from the lack of a lower feed dog pressing the stitch holes closed) on the backside of the leather (which can be hammered out easily enough) and the thinner leathers can have more of a tendency to slip down into the slot of the base plate. I've debated buying a MUCH cheaper used Consew 206rb to use for journal covers, laptop & tablet sleeves, etc. so my Cobra Class 4 can focus on holster gear.

Any idea if they might make a Springfield EMP soon? I've got three orders for them in my current batch of 8 orders. At least one or two last month and every month before that.

Unfortunately, in regard to the motor this thread is referring to, there is simply nothing to adjust. Yes, you can move the chain along the actuating lever, but it has NO notable effect when we're talking about such an absurdly small range of travel. The foot pedal hangs under its own weight. Having the chain tighter or looser simply means the foot pedal starts off higher or lower in relation to the base of the table - it has no effect on the 'adjustment' of the motor. Perhaps if you left the foot pedal resting closer to the table, you could prevent the pedal from pulling downward too hard on the actuating lever since the pedal would hit the base of the stand before the actuating lever hit the end of its range of motion. I've thought about doing this in case my kids start stomping on the foot pedal when I'm not in my garage (where I keep my machine). Sadly, these particular motors just have a really crappy switch built into the motor and there is nothing you can do about it (without risking ruining the switch itself by monkeying with the light-blocking blade inside the switch). The only real option is to replace the motor (or just live with it, always knowing there is something better out there that works properly), which is a shame to have to do on a brand new machine. I'm still trying to decide if I want to go through that trouble or not. For now, I just keep the motor speed set at 7 or 8 and hand-crank when I get close to corners or tight curves, and maybe turn it up to 12-15 for belts and then hand-crank when I get to the tip. For reference, max motor speed is 40. In a perfect world, I could leave the motor at 12-15 for any object I'm sewing and control the speed properly with my foot. As a customer, I would have gladly paid a little more for a motor that works like everyone expects it to. I wouldn't be happy with a $50 dimmer switch for my dining room light that only utilized a tiny fraction of the lever's range of motion, and I'm certainly not happy when we're dealing with a machine that costs thousands of dollars. For the record - I love the machine. I've done two batches of holster orders (around 30 items total) with it and am VERY pleased with the machine itself. But they really need to start shipping with a better motor, or at least give customers an option to upgrade before it leaves the store.