fredk

If a joint is not to have any forces upon it then glue only would do. I glue the leather to my boards when making gaming boards; no joint under stress there. All other items I use glue to hold bits together until I get them sewn up Reading of Viking age finds of Dublin [Ireland, in case there is another somewhere] a great many knife sheaths were only glued together; but these were also the majority where the joint had ripped apart or failed and they ended up in the trash pile, whence they were found.

Depends on what happens after its restored a; for sale onwards - then original grey b; for personal use - dark green or dark blue would be my choices

I acquired some car upholstery and house upholstery leather. I used lacquer solvent [aka cellulose thinners] to cut through the top finish The car upholstery was pearl grey; I can do it most darker colours, eg blue green dark red, browns and blacks The house upholstery was mixes of medium to dark brown; I can only re-do that in dark browns or black I just use Fieblings dyes

I've been getting stamps cut by a dealer in Hong Kong [cos there is absolutetly no-one in my area at all that can do this]. He cuts the design on brass, so it can be used for stamping or with a pyrogravure/soldering iron it can be used for burning in. His work is able to copy the finest of lines. A 1 inch stamp costs about $23 and I get it about 7 to 10 days after ordering & paying.

Le Prevo has them is shiny brass http://www.leprevo.co.uk/photos/F15se-20.htm http://www.leprevo.co.uk/hooks.htm I use a chemical to age brass when I want the antique look

Never be afraid to cut or file a tool to suit the job. Most tools are made for general purpose use. Just cut one down & re-handle to suit your job. I have a vintage racing car; most of the tools I need are no longer available so I just cut, file and weld up tools to do the work

Look at the title of this thread; under it you'll see four greyed arrows with words in them. Those are the tags. AFAI can see only the thread starter can add tags on this forum. By using those 'tags' anyone searching for Tandy eco-flo dye will get this thread in their search return as well as any other using those words

Water based final finishes should be OK. They are usually acrylic. The water is just the carrier for the acrylic resins. Once the acrylic has dried it cannot be disolved in water again. To remove it the usual fluid is an alcohol, eg IPA, methylated spirits, vodka I use beeswax/neetsfoot oil mix to feed leather but it will wash out*. Resolene, which I also use: on sportsmans bags, wont wash out. When using the Resolene I thin it 1:1 or 1[R]:2[W] with water and apply multiple coats using a children's art brush or sponges - just whichever I have handy or can find. I dip coat sometimes on things that go into my tray, bags ain't so easy so they get it by brush/sponge * Just after I started leather working several years ago I made a bonnet [hood] hold down strap for my vintage racing car. I used beeswax/neetsfoot mix on it. My vintage car doesn't get used much but I found I had to give it more beeswax/neetsfoot after just a few months. A similar strap I made for the 'boot' [trunk] at a later time got Resolened, after 7 years it now needs replaced as its showing its age

Looks like the harness for a donkey to carry peat baskets on each side, or perhaps just for harnessing a donkey to a trap

go onto ebay; you can get bars which have a concave dome on the end for for setting domed rivets. Make sure its the right size for the rivet you want to use; bigger is ok but not smaller eg; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mushroom-Rivet-Tool-Domed-Decoration-Leather-4mm-5mm-6mm-7mm-8mm-9mm-10mm-12mm-/121692760737?var=&hash=item1c55742aa1

I would prefer solvent based glue for laminate For leather on natural wood I've used regular PVA [water based] and Evostik Contact [solvent based] glues I've found that the Evostick Contact, whilst giving a superior bond, can leech through thin veg tan leather, but no problem with chrome tanned

The main thing you've left out is where you are located

I can only see the thumbnail sized picture. Resolution is not good for enlarging. Thus I can't see any of the detail to make any comment about the band

well thats me out voted but wat da ya expect - I'm colourblind!

find some images, maybe free ones, on line and print out to size on card stock

I think the pocket needs to be deeper/longer, to bring more of the mag lower

I'm thinking 'British Tan'

I use both methods. I now only use double-head rivets. Never yet had a problem with them and some have been put to great trial. That chaps statement don't make sense; one head is made as part of the base and is soild with it and the other head is hammered on. It doesn't matter if its single or double headed we can't see how well the head is affixed. As for strength; I attach the guige strap to battle-ready shields with double head ready rivets. I've done loads of shields and not one rivet has failed. The shields, weighing about 15lbs, hang by the guige, and get flung around by it.

Very different I like 'em

But are they not using chrome-tanned leather? and not veg tanned?

no pic here, but in his other posting of this same question there is a pikky

AFAIK 'eco' leather is PVC leather cloth. Its fine for covering bus seats but has its limitations in bag making. For the effort you'll put into using it it would be better for you to use real leather. You'll spend more time trying to get it to look like a leather item and extra work re-enforcing areas to take the strain of clasps and straps. For the edges, you can't burnish them as you can with leather, you'll need to do a fold over or sew on a seperate piece to cover the edge You'll need to add in to your price a charge for time. Your price for a non-leather item is up against the cheap prices of cheap imported bags sold in the likes of Tesco and ASDA. Better by far to have a higher price for a real leather bag - which they don't sell. To stiffen it for a bag; two layers, wrong-side to wrong-side with a bit of compressed cardboard in between.

With respect chaps; perhaps someone should do a test? Perhaps it was the case in the past chrome tan damaged guns, but perhaps modern chrome tan is better, doesn't leech and doesn't affect the guns. Only way to be sure either way is to do a test or two. #PS; I thought suede was chrome tanned

I find that most re-enactors are obsessed with the idea that leather items from past eras were badly made and roughly finished. In the case of the holster here; it would have been part of the soldiers equipment which needed daily polishing and buffing up to pass morning inspection. Signs of wear would minimal. If the re-enator is depicting a WW2 soldier with a WW2 holster then that holster will look very new. Even today, 70 odd years on, a WW2 holster still looks very good - only ones neglected will have a worn look.

The leather will shrink by about 20% and harden as it dries. If you want a really hard case for something then do it, but if you want to retain any suppleness at all use cold or hand-warm water only