Dwight

And if you are hard up for cash . . . a Tippmann Boss is a manual machine . . . one pull and one push of the lever . . . makes one stitch. I've sewn some pretty heavy stuff with one of them until I got my Cowboy 4500 . . . It'll do what you need . . . brand new for something in the neighborhood of 1000 bucks US. A cowboy 4500 is over 3000 just for comparison May God bless, Dwight

There is no real "calculation" you can make . . . what you have to do is take the holster . . . that has been wet formed . . . and then fully dried . . . give it a light coat of neatsfoot oil and let that dry . . . then add your contact cement to both sides of the inside of the holster . . . wait for it to dry . . . place the weapon in the holster and squeeze the sides together. I have a pair of tin bending pliers I use to squeeze the sides together. The holster stitch line has to be as close to the weapon as you can get . . . and again there is no "formula" for it. You use your sewing machine . . . mine is a Cowboy 4500 with only a half foot on it . . . allowing the needle to get up close to the intersection where the two pieces of leather are bound together with the contact cement. As you can see on this holster . . . I got up real close. I have a hand held stitch maker (from Tandy) which makes those lines next to the weapon. All outside stitch lines are made with a typical gouge set for a determined distance . . . then you simply connect the two . . . and you have your holster finished. There is no (A x C) / 3 = stitch line formula . . . or calculation . . . you simply sew it where the leather comes together. Most of the time this will produce a tight holster . . . the customer can loosen it with the freezer bag trick if he wants it more loose. May God bless, Dwight

If you don't know how to make them . . . you probably shouldn't be taking orders . . . May God bless, Dwight

That's some good looking work . . . Most of us would like to see them being "modeled" . . . I for sure would May God bless, Dwight

Got a picture of one??? May God bless, Dwight

I've used 120 for 20+ years . . . never had one complaint May God bless, Dwight

Call it a laptop tote bag . . . one of my next projects. Got a keyboard giving me fits . . . have to get that settled before I do anything else though. It's not exactly the design I will use . . . but thanks AndrewWR for the pictures . . . I'm getting closer to my project with your example. Good job by the way . . . May God bless, Dwight

I use either marine grade vinyl ( about 25 bucks for a piece that is 36 x 48 . . . OR . . . I use yellow manila folder stock. The vinyl gives me a really good shot at what I need . . . and is best for some unique do dad . . . but in the end I use the cut piece of leather to mark out and cut the pattern on manila folder stock for future reference. I always make the first cut 1/2 inch wide in all directions . . . and trim as needed. It is very seldom that 1/2 inch margin doesn't do the trick. May God bless, Dwight

I've never done that . . . and it would take a bunch of convincing to get me to do that. Stuff dries out in the fridge almost as fast as laying on the counter. For what stamping I do . . . if I have to shagnasty for a while . . . I leave it and hit it with the sponge when I get back. Works fine for me May God bless, Dwight

Good looking . . . wonder how long the soles will last . . . I'm gonna make myself a pair some day . . . using the 3 layer approach the Romans used on their sandals. Bottom layer is sole . . . thick . . . and they had kinda likd hob nails that gave them traction whenever they were worn. Middle layer actually is all one piece . . . toes and tongue would sew in like yours . . . sides and ends are all one piece Top piece is the inner layer that touches the wearer's foot. All three layers were sewn together . . . and if I recall correctly . . . may have been some rivets. That is what I'll do Plan on making mine to stop just below the knee . . . will put zippers in the inside for quick on and off May God bless, Dwight

Thanks pal . . . beautiful wallet . . . I won't even think about doing something like that . . . never been that steady at cutting & stamping. May God bless, Dwight

I think it looks fine . . . you definitely put a lot of time into it for sure Sometimes it is the time spent that helps the maker say to himself "Good Job" when he can look at it knowing it is done. What is the bag for? May God bless, Dwight

If you have someone who has a laser burner . . . the mittens could have a flat board pressed into them (to create a flat surface) . . . and if you could get it flat enough . . . and IF the person using the burner is good enough . . . he could just burn off enough of the waterproofing that you would have a rough surface for the paint to adhere to. The acrylic paint itself is waterproof . . . so you should work out good there. But the whole thing hinges on how good your laser burner buddy is . . . May God bless, Dwight

A couple of months back . . . had a fellow need a new belt . . . his older one had seen better days. Simple project . . . grabbed a Script font from MSWord . . . wrote his name out . . . on the computer . . . did a screen shot . . . turned it into a *.jpg . . . picked it up with Laser GRBL . . . plotted in on my little 50 dollar laser engraver . . . did a "guesstament" as to the settings . . . darned if it didn't turn out just hunky dory. Laid his belt onto my engraver's table . . . did a couple of test runs for position . . . turned my little laser loose . . . and about 6 or 8 minutes later . . . took the finished project off the table . . . wiped it down with a paper towel . . . dyed and finished the belt. He was happier than a broke out jailbird . . . May God bless, Dwight

If you saw the right front pocket of most of my work britches . . . you would not wonder why I don't have one. May God bless, Dwight