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I agree dickf - I recently received back a holster that need to remake because I left too much of the trigger exposed (1911 with a short trigger). The guy only had it for a few days, and it already had a scuff - looked like maybe his ring scratched it or something of the sort (it was airbrushed). I recently applied some Fiebing's pro oil dye on the front of a belt - but this time I used a sponge. As I was applying it, the sponge slipped out of my hand and a LOT of dye soaked into the leather. I was ticked because I thought I'd totally screwed it up. A couple days later when I was able to work on it again, I noticed the dye had evenly dissipated into the leather and the dark spot was gone. That really got me to thinking about how I apply my base coat of color. So, I bought a section of wool to cut into squares so I can practice applying it by hand. I'm not sure I'm ready to dip-dye though, as I still like leaving the flesh side natural. Applying the dye by hand will probably make it pretty though to keep the backside from getting drips though... Still learning.

That's a good point - Hobby Lobby is another good one. Don't know if they're up there or not, but we have them here in Texas. I believe I bought mine at Michael's.

Home Depot & Lowes have tons of compressors listed on their site. You'll want to look at "Portable" compressors. Beyond that, it really just comes down to how much noise and floor space you're willing to put up with. Do you have any use for nail guns? Brad nailers, staplers, finish nailers - you can buy combo kits that come with one or more of those, as well as a hose and required adapters. Brad nailers are great for small woodworking projects - you can glue and shoot a couple brad nails to hold it together while the glue dries. They're also great for installing crown moulding, so long as you nail properly and use long enough brads, and also caulk your crown to help 'glue' it into place. Finish nailers are better for larger woodworking projects, while the staplers are great for recovering furniture if you or your wife are into that sort of thing. Pretty much any compressor you buy at the home improvement stores will be fine for airing up tires, water toys, rafts, etc. Some tools, like impact wrenches, larger paint spray guns, etc., require higher CFM (cubic feet per minute of air flow) to operate. Think about all the uses you might have, then buy accordingly. And remember to take the noise level into consideration... Oil-less compressors are LOUD... This is my compressor - it's pretty dang loud, but runs my medium size nailers (probably won't do well with a framing nailer because it'll run all the time), runs my Cobalt paint spray gun, etc., but it just doesn't have the CFM and capacity to run my impact wrench.

Do you have a drill press by chance? Not sure about IWB. I know the majority of people want IWB, but my OWB offerings have kept me about as busy as I care to be. I have other things I'd like to incorporate into my business, and if I'm always stuck making holsters, it doesn't allow much time for other pursuits.

I use a Badger 150 that I've had since the mid 90's and mine works great for my uses. If you can afford it, you definitely want a dual action so you can vary the amount of dye you're laying down. Regarding compressors - I use a cheap Craftsman compressor that I got on sale. It's very loud, but it does more than just airbrushing - it will run small to medium size nailers, air up car tires, blow off dust from my counters, etc. If you don't have a compressor, don't mind the noise and you're working in your garage, I'd suggest you go with a shop-type compressor. Personally, I'd recommend getting an "Oiled" compressor because they are MUCH more quiet than a "Oil-less" compressor - especially if you are in a residential environment and do most of your work at night and don't want to bother your neighbors. You will need to install a flow regulator, and adjust the pressure down to somewhere around 30-45 psi of constant flow. When you release the trigger, the pressure on the indicator will climb. When you depress the trigger on the airbrush to let air flow, the pressure will drop - the dropped pressure needs to be at 30-45. If you already have a big compressor and just want something for your airbrush, I'd get a specialty airbrush compressor - very small, quiet, and pretty cheap - especially if you get the Harbor Freight model. I don't dilute any of my dyes or finishes. As long as the liquid flows like water/milk, you're good to go with the airbrush. When you do get an airbrush, read up on it and learn to properly clean it. It's very easy to damage the little bushings, gaskets, o-rings, etc., sometimes necessitating you send it back to the manufacturer for repair, depending on how hard the item is to repair/replace. And whatever you do, don't run a pipe cleaner through it.... Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.

Looking good! How far away from the edge did you place your stitch line? I usually stick with about 3/16". I haven't played much with IWB and snaps, but I'd probably suggest reducing the length of the belt loop a bit - as the leather stretches and wears, I'd be afraid the loop would get loose on the belt - allowing the belt to slip upward (even though you molded a step in the leather), and thus the holster slipping further down into the pants. The only other thing I might mention is your edging - it looks like you might have hit the edge with the edger, then burnished it after it was formed and dried in the oven? If so, I suggest you quickly burnish the edges just prior to forming, right after you dunk the holster in water. You'll have to burnish again after it's formed and dried, but this allows you to get a nice rounded edge, which is very hard to do after the holster has hardened from its time in the oven.

How long are we talking before it loses stiffness? Seriously - all jokes aside - are you saying your holsters never firm up after drying in the oven? Or they soften up after worn for a week, month, etc. of being worn? For your holsters that aren't firming up enough - When I've had this problem, I apply a liberal amount of my finish - enough to make sure it is soaking into the skin quite deeply. I was using Satin Sheen, and it was easy to brush on with a damp sponge paint brush. Once you've coated the entire holster and are comfortable that it's soaked in quite well, wipe away the excess with a folded paper towel. Use the same spot on the towel so you're rubbing the holster with the damp portion of the paper towel, which helps to minimize streaks in your finish. Let it dry, then come back about 24 hours later and repeat the process. If you have any resulting streaks, they are usually easily covered up with a lightly sprayed on coat of Resolene. I know some people routinely dunk their holsters in their finish to make sure it coats all surfaces of the leather. Brigade is one of those makers from what I can tell, though I have no idea what finish they use. When I've dunked my holsters in Satin Sheen, it's made a huge improvement in the stiffness of the holster. I've recently started using Angelus 600, and have been applying it with an airbrush. I might try diluting it 50/50 with water so I can brush it on for better penetration.

I love my Boss, but I wish it had a larger throat capacity, and now I'm dreaming of a powered machine because there are times when you really need two hands to hold the item you're sewing. That being said, the Boss has been a great machine for me - it's small, portable, and can be clamped down just about anywhere!

Ahh, that's what I was imagining, but wasn't sure. Thanks for the link. I have a copy of that article printed out somewhere...

Wow! That looks incredible!! Nice job!

Thanks Dave - I'll give that a try!

I have a customer that contacted me about redying his holster. It was airbrushed with Fiebing's Pro Oil Saddle Tan (or maybe Light Brown, can't remember) with Black airbrushed around the edges. It was sealed with a couple brushed-on coats of Satin Sheen, and may even have an airbrushed coat of Resolene on it. The customer inquired if I could dye it black. Last night I took a prototype holster that was sitting on my shelf that was made about the same and finished in a similar manner, and I dunked it in a nasty batch of vinegaroon. As you can see in the attached photos, it penetrated in some places, but even after soaking for several minutes, I was having little luck. Even the areas that turned black still had a hint of brown to them. While my little experiment didn't turn out as expected, I was very pleased with the way the finish was holding up against being dunked in the liquid! So, what's the best method for re-dying my customer's project? Or will I be doing more harm than good?

It seems like the teeth on a bandsaw blade would cause severe tear-out and/or very fuzzy flesh-side. Plus, you'd be gluing the flesh side to the backer board, and skiving away the grain side of the leather. Good idea though. I've wondered about cutting pieces out with a scroll saw - haven't tried it yet. I bet someone here has though.

Thank you yepod - very nice of you to say...

Nice find! I love the integrated bobbin winder. Do you have a compressor large enough to power it?

Thank you sir - I appreciate the compliment. I'm actually only using the Angelus 600 finish, and haven't tried any of their dyes. I've just used Fiebing's Pro Oil dyes, which I've been very happy with thus far. I'm not sure I know how to do that... can you elaborate?

HAHA!!! I was scratching my head when I read the thread title...

Thanks Lobo - I didn't time myself, so maybe it was longer than 5 minutes to stitch it. Once I started cranking that lever, it didn't feel like it was too long - at least not once I started thinking about how much it would cost me to upgrade to a powered machine... I agree about staying in the stitching groove - I figured it would be much more difficult to keep a straight line, but it really wasn't bad at all. I just made a pretty deep groove to make sure it was easy to see as I cranked along. I appreciate the compliments. My father-in-law wants a tooled belt. He said he'd be happy to buy it from me. He'll probably have second thoughts when I tell him how much tooled belts cost (I haven't researched costs yet). Anyone have any idea what's a good price to charge for a floral tooled belt? I'm figuring in the $250-300 range, but really have no idea. (edited to add: I won't charge him full price...)

He's referring to the pronunciation of Bianchi. It's bee-ain-key ain = like "pain", without the 'p'

I apply my Fiebing's Pro Oil dyes with an airbrush. I really just make holsters, and now getting into belts. I have no problems at all with oil absorbing into the leather after it's been dyed. I've never used bag kote, but I would certainly oil before applying any type of sealer. Just let the oil settle into the leather for about 24 hours and you're good to go with your finish coats. If you're in a cold climate or cold work environment (like a garage), be sure to warm your oil and leather to room temperature so it flows freely and absorbs easier.

I don't own the roller guide attachment yet. I wanted to buy it, but after sewing these without it, I don't really think I need it. Wasn't too hard to keep straight. Yep - it took a while to sew them, but probably only about 5 minutes if I had to guess. The worst part was running out of bobbin thread on my belt when I was about 4 inches from the end.... LOL Wishing for a powered machine one of these days...

I'd love to tour his facility and see how in the world he can output that many holsters in a single day. Even before - when it was just him and that other guy, and they were outputting - what was it, 17 holsters a day? That's about all I can do in an entire month, if I'm lucky! Yep - I'd been saying his name wrong too.

Thank you - yes, they are two layers. I bought belt blanks from Weaver - 8-9oz, then skived them down. I've never used a skiver before I worked on these belts, nor do I have a thickness guage - I was just running the blanks through until it started shaving some of the flesh away. I was a little more aggressive when I did my son's belt - I wanted it quite a bit thinner. His belt probably ended up right at about 1/8" thick, if not a tad over. No stiffeners on these.

Well, I finally got around to making myself a gun belt (1.5")... I ordered blanks a little while back from Weaver, bought a skiver from another forum member, skived them down to an undetermined thickness (no calipers at the moment, but the finished thickness still ended up being about 1/4"), and tried to figure out the proper way to build a double layer belt using the Stohlman belt book as reference (no mention of double layer belts in his book). I would greatly appreciate feedback and constructive criticism on these first two belts before I start making them for customers... My first attempt - a belt for myself. The edges look like crap. I was trying to use the brown Edge Kote method shown in the Bianchi DVD, but I guess since I did not wet the edges first, I had a hard time getting smooth edges. That stuff has an odd smell anyway, so I guess I won't use it anymore... In the future I think I will use Hidepounder's method for edge burnishing. The finish was two brushed on coats of Angelus 600 - wish I would have airbrushed it... LOL Is this wrinkling to be expected on the back side? Or do I need to do something to prevent this? Here is a belt I made for my son. I made it a little long so he could grow into it, and also skived it down a little thinner. Not sure how thick it is - I forgot to measure it. The build and colors were the same, but I recycled one of his old belt buckles, which also meant I had to cut the belt down to 1 1/4". I had the light box setup and wanted to go ahead and snap some pics, but the edges weren't done yet in these photos. I ended up burnishing with beeswax, then finished with Angelus 600 sponged on, but this time I cut it 50/50 with water - much happier with the way it came out.

Thank you Bruce - that sounds like exactly what I need!