particle

Well crafted, informative, helpful posts with a website in your signature line on websites such as this (see Kat's above post, for example) will also drive people to your site. You'll be surprised how often your own posts will come up in Google search engine results.

Indeed - my mistake. My frame of reference was based off my Consew 206rb complete with a metal table and motor attached. The Boss isn't anywhere near that in size/weight, especially considering there is no motor to deal with. Never actually seen one in person.

I can't really help you, but expect the machine to be bigger, and much heavier than you think. Bring a friend to help you load it if you win the bid.

Here's a pic on a different rifle.

I can't really tell what/how this works, but you might do some research on it. http://www.cabelas.com/p-0037527216121a.shtml

GrampaJoel - even if that's not quite what the OP was looking for, I'd certainly be interested in a little guidance. I've been tossing around the idea of jazzing up my Marlin 1894 Carbine .357 Mag. with a butt stock cartridge holder, and a wrap around the lever. I think what you've shown could easily be lengthened a bit and some cartridge loops added on...?

I've looked at those kits for my wife - could you perhaps fabricate a box / compartment, and glue it to the inside face of the purse - sort of like a one-sided holster? If you left the sides of the compartment un-trimmed, you could sandwich it between the side/back panels and stitch it all up together so it's fastened more securely. You could also skive the edge of the holster/compartment piece so it doesn't noticeably add to the thickness that's visible on the outside of the purse seams. You could include a flip-top flap with a magnetic closure to keep it concealed. Just some quick thoughts.

Wow! That thing looks like it'd sew through a Buick!! Nice job!

VERY nice!! And to think, I sold my Consew 206RB nearly a year ago because I didn't figure I'd need it anymore. Oops! I'm certainly impressed.

Okay - here is my take on Minwax stains. If you're looking for an inexpensive, easy to apply, readily available stain for a project that needs flexibility in the final leather product, you should definitely give Minwax wood stains a try. What I found is that it added nothing to the stiffness of the leather. It took close to two days to completely dry (for the stain odor to disappear). The leather remains very flexible. The colors are easy to regulate, as it doesn't seem to penetrate in the same way typical leather dyes do (in my VERY limited experience with leather). I dipped small squares of leather (roughly 1" x 2") in the stain for about 4 seconds, then removed them, and set them on the bench to dry. The only exception to that rule being the Mahogany stain, which I dipped from 2-3 seconds, and another piece for 5 minutes. Late last night I brushed a coat of olive oil one piece from each stain color, then sprayed them with Fiebing's Leather Sheen tonight. This is the Mahogany stain - the two smallest pieces were the piece that was dipped for 5 minutes, with the rest ranging from 2-20 seconds. As you can see, all pieces basically took on the same color. Even the two small 5-minute squares are relatively light in color when compared to the stain on the outside of the can. I should mention that I did nothing to aid the opening of the pores in the leather. These were simply dry pieces of leather dipped in the stain, removed and set aside to dry. In the following image you can see that I've folded the finished piece completely in half. And released it from the clamp... Notice the lack of cracks in the leather - there is minimal stretching, which I assume is to be expected, though it's not really visible in the photos. And lastly, here is the piece flattened back out - looks just like the original picture (except for some smudge marks from the clamps). Bonus images - here is a couple other stain colors. Anyway, I hope this is of some benefit to someone out there. Maybe someone smarter than me (which shouldn't be too hard) can tell everyone what the main difference is between wood and leather stains, and why the coloring had little impact on the leather. Oh - "Penetrates, Stains & Seals" - one test piece still absorbed water very quickly, for whatever that tidbit of information is worth.

I have never in my life assembled a snap, or popped a rivet. I'm assembling my holster, which is made of two layers of 8/9 oz. leather. Then I'll have a belt loop that buttons to the holster. I'm trying to mimic this holster from Brigade. The piece of leather that folds around on the top/slide side of the gun is simple, aside from determining what size shaft is required (which I don't know how to figure). The butt/grip side of the holster is a snap, plus a rivet or screw of some sort to attach the leather piece to the backside of the holster. Can someone please help me determine what items I need to order to assemble this bloody thing? I don't know the terminology for the components, and how to determine sizes, so I don't really know what to order...

I checked the sample pieces of leather this morning on my way out the door. They still have a strong stain odor - nowhere near dry yet. Meanwhile, the new holster that I'm making (and dyed a couple hours after I dyed the Minwax samples) is already dry and will be ready for its next step in the finishing process tonight.

Here is my preliminary, rookie, uneducated, unscientific results thus far. Penetration with the Minwax oil-based stains seems to vary depending on the stain color. For example, one of the lighter colors penetrated almost 100% of the color of the stain in the can (it absorbed the color very well). Mahogany stain (very dark) did not penetrate as quickly. I soaked pieces from 2 or 3 seconds, up to 20 seconds with little difference in color. I stained another piece for 5 minutes, and it got quite a bit darker, but still fairly light when compared to the 'actual' mahogany stain color that's drizzled all over the side of my dye can. The pieces are still drying, so I'm not sure what effect the oil in the dye will have on the leather. I'll check the pieces tomorrow, and try to post pictures - fighting a headache right now. If anyone has any definitive information as to exactly why wood stains are not suitable for leather, please feel free to chime in. Likewise, if you've used wood stains on your leather projects, I'd like to hear from you as well.

I happen to have quite a few cans of various Minwax wood stains in my garage, so I went ahead and stained a bunch of small squares of leather to see what would happen. They're drying, but I thought once they dry that I might cut each piece in half and then oil them with Olive Oil (don't have any neatsfoot oil on hand) to see how much darker they get. Regarding prices, you can get a quart of Minwax wood stain for less than $8, or an 11.5 oz. aerosol can for about the same price. A gallon sells for under $26. Half pint (8 oz I believe) is under $5. And it is easily cleaned up with mineral spirits. Edited to add - that's roughly half the price of Fiebing's Leather Dyes at Tandy.

I've been digging through the form, but can't find any answers to my question. And, the question is - can you use Minwax stains on leather? I'm making a holster, and my plan is to dip the holster in a light colored stain, then airbrush a darker stain for accents. If Minwax is acceptable, would the oil-based or water-based version be better? If oil based, would that eliminate the need for applying a coat of Neatsfoot oil for flexibility? I'm making a holster similar to the following, and want to make sure the leather remains flexible enough to fold and snap, and would also like to use readily available Minwax stains if at all possible (large selection of colors, and no shipping charges since I can pick them up at the local hardware store).

Lobo, thank you very much for the thoughtful, in-depth response. I will most definitely put them all to use on my next holster.

I'm certainly no expert, but that looks spectacular! Tooling looks excellent to me.

In looking at various holster images, it's hard to determine what exactly is key to building a well-designed concealed carry holster. This particular holster suffered from a lack of stiffness in the final product (as mentioned in another thread of mine). That aside, since I plan on making another holster for my 1911, and another for a friend's XD and my dad's revolver, are there any changes that some of you pros might see in my current design that could/should be addressed in future holster attempts? I would like to spend more time on each step in the future - such as more detail in the boning, soaking them in neatsfoot oil, and dipping them in a light base color of dye as opposed to simply airbrushing it all on. Anything else you would suggest? Also, I'm a huge fan of the Brigade Holsters (never worn one, but I think they look spectacular), but never did order one because of the extremely long wait. Per this page, it looks like they dip the formed leather into harness oil that's been mixed with their final dye color, then they dip them in some other mixture of milky stuff for added stiffness. Any idea what that is? http://www.brigadegunleather.com/m-11.html

Thanks for the response - I'm pretty proud of this one, and was hoping to actually be able to wear this one! (it's my 4th try...) I agree - I like a dull finish. When I run out of this rattle-can stuff, I'll try the resolene since so many people seem to favor it. This stuff I'm using is just too shiny. For the stiffness, I'm using Oak Leaf Brand Double Shoulders 8 to 9 oz from Tandy. The previous two holsters I've cut from this hide came out much more stiff. Of course, I applied several coats of dye with a wool dauber, which I assume contributed to the resulting stiffness of the leather. Since I only airbrushed this latest holster, I assume I didn't get nearly as much penetration, thus the holster isn't as stiff as the previous ones. This Oak Leaf hide stinks, by the way. It doesn't smell like a normal piece of leather - not that the smell has anything to do with why this latest holster is softer than the others. And thanks for the compliments on the molding. This 8/9 oz hide is a pain in the rear to manipulate!

Okay, so here it is. Unfortunately, the leather still hasn't stiffened up, and it's already been sealed with Fiebings Leather Sheen...

I'll try to post pictures tonight. Meanwhile, I need advise. I decided to airbrush the stain on my holster this time because I only have Light Brown and British Tan and I wanted a lighter finish, with darker edges. I'm using Fiebing's leather dye, and some old stuff that came in an old Tandy Leather kit that my sister-in-law let me borrow. Procedurally, I glued, stitched, molded, boned, then airbrushed the oil-based dye, then sprayed it with Fiebings Leather Sheen in a rattle can. Does the act of dying the leather with a wool dauber aid in stiffening the leather? If I simply airbrush it on, I assume it doesn't penetrate deeply enough to cause much of a reaction in the hide, and will thus have minimal effect on the leather. If I want a lighter, more natural finish, what should I do to achieve that, while ensuring stiffness of the final product? Also, how do you avoid the "squeak, squeak" of a cheap pair of shoes when you wear the pancake holster on a belt? How do you keep the belt and holster leather from squeaking against each other?

Maybe this is a silly question - but what is wrong with concrete? A guy on a budget could take some scrap pieces of wood, build a box to the desired dimensions, and pour his own slab. If it chips, it's easy enough to replace, and you could pour an entire counter top to your exact dimensions for about the price of a couple pizzas! Bad idea?

Thanks Art - I asked the lady on the phone with Artisan what I needed, and just ran with it. I told her what size thread I had, and she said I needed a size 22 needle. It definitely bores some pretty large holes... I'll give the needle size a try first. Are there any videos that I can buy that tell about adjusting / maintaining these machines?

I was finally able to take some pictures of my stitch problems. I'm not so concerned anymore about the flat appearance of the backside of the leather, but I have other problems that have popped up. Please take a look and let me know if there is an easy fix, or if I just need to have the machine serviced and tuned. You can see (above) the puckering of the thread on the backside of the stitch when it hits the webbing - as you can see, it happened on the second (inner) stitch, but the first stitch (outside) worked fine just moments before. (Above) See how it skipped a stitch as it stepped on/off the edge of the webbing where there was a lack of pressure on the leather immediately before/after the webbing? Two layers of webbing and two layers of 3-4 ounce leather. (Above) Again, but this time on top grain leather. You can see where I tried to back stitch this time, but it still had difficulty catching the loop in the thread, and it also messed up the tension for a few stitches afterwards. I'm using Coats 69 bonded nylon thread, and Schmetz 135x16 size 22 leather needles that I bought from Artisan. Any thoughts on something I can try to adjust on my machine? It's a Consew 206RB compound feed.

Ahh, the one class I got an 'A' in.... There is always swimsuits and/or really thin jogging shorts.