Dwight

What does one of those run . . . and what is the learning curve?? May God bless, Dwight

Everyone has a two arm pits . . . as well as a couple of opinions . . . and depending on the circumstances . . . they all stink. But in this debate . . . the saddle stitch will always be the better route . . . simply because even when one thread breaks . . . the other "may" still hold . . . any "non" saddle stitch does not have that backup. If the saddle stitch is done correctly with an overhand knot being tied in every hole . . . it is not only very time consuming . . . but it is also much stronger than any of the others. To say differently is only posting an ugly and stinky opinion . . . because it simply is a statement that does not hold water. Anyone with two pieces of leather . . . some thread . . . and two needles . . . can do the saddle stitch . . . and any or all others . . . and then put them all to a series of beat down tests . . . the saddle stitch will be the last one to give away . . . and that goes double if the thread was both waxed and the overhand knot tied at each stitch hole. May God bless, Dwight

I'd get some change from 500 bucks on all of them. Seems to be a boat load of folks trying to sell them . . . from about 400 plus shipping to 485 with free shipping . . . and lots of "in between" sellers. May God bless, Dwight

I have a fairly new Singer . . . table top portable machine . . . it will do embroidery and a bunch of other stuff . . . I bought it with the eye on the 90 day "send it back if it don't work" idea I had with the seller. I was looking for something that could sew two layers of suede or maybe 2/3 oz veggie tan. When I use it . . . I mostly use carpet thread . . . and it has surprised my britches off at the things it has done or will do. Anything in a shirt or light jacket . . . it'll handle it . . . no sweat. I used it to put my E-6 Navy patch on my short sleeve white shirt. Name tags . . . and the like are a piece of cake with that machine. I wanted to add to the group . . . the below picture . . . mostly for jackets and stuff . . . biker work . . . etc. I live between two towns of of 45K and 35K . . . with lots of police, military reserve, national guard, etc . . . and from the research I've done so far . . . I'd have it all to myself and the little old ladies with their thimbles. Plus there is a huge Harley place a 1/2 hour away . . . and 5 different state prisons plus three county lockups . . . and all them folks need patches sewn on. I wouldn't make a living at it . . . but at a minimum of $5 for the first one and 10 bucks an hour for the rest . . . I was looking at a nice extra few bucks . . . and I don't have to create anything here . . . just stitch the dude down. Most of it hinges on two "interviews" I have to do with a couple of dry cleaner shops. If I can become their supplier . . . I'd be looking at maybe a 100 a month average. May God bless, Dwight

Just to sew them on shirts . . . jackets . . . vests . . . etc. May God bless, Dwight

I am looking to get into the patch business as the last one in this area just up and quit. I need suggestions for a patch machine . . . and a quick couple of paragraphs on how they work. Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

A bandolier is NOT cut like a belt curve. A belt is made to go around your total round waist . . . the bandolier only needs a curve where it goes over the shoulder. The easiest and least costly way is to make the shoulder curve . . . then lace the edges of it and the two straight pieces (front and back) . . . decorate the curve with appropriate stampings for the person or time period the bandolier would be used. The straight pieces overlap at the bottom with a snap or a rivet. May God bless, Dwight

There's a market for virtually anything produced. Price will generally determine how big that market is. May God bless, Dwight

I don't wear spurs much . . . mainly when I'm in a parade with my cousins . . . But I took all of mine . . . put them in a wood vice that had leather jaws . . . and squeezed them so that when I put them on my boots . . . between the heel and the heel of my boot . . . in that little crease . . . I tightened them up until they did not move . . . I could wear them outside . . . get on a horse . . . off . . . walk around the yard . . . and the spurs stayed on my boots. They're not tight enough to scratch the boots . . . and you certainly wouldn't ride far with them . . . but that is how I wear mine . . . with of course a leather spur strap across the front arch of my boot. May God bless, Dwight

Altogether . . . it certainly is most likely a very functional holster . . . just a couple comments One . . . if you look at the bottom backside of the holster . . . from the top of the leading edge . . . all the way around to the second chicago screw . . . the space between the edge and the stitching varies drastically. For a practical holster . . . that's OK . . . but you won't sell many like that. That space needs to be very near uniform all the way around . . . and you do that on a belt sander. It takes a practiced eye . . . and a bunch of practice . . . but when it is done . . . it looks so much better. The dye did not take very uniformly . . . and if you used Feibings . . . make sure you dilute 1 to 1 with thinner . . . and ALWAYS brush a light coat of neatsfoot oil on the hair side of your projects . . . then let is set for 24 hours before dyeing. I always dip dye everything I do . . . and while it takes more dye that way . . . the dye also goes in deeper . . . making scrapes and scratches later on . . . less noticeable. Dip dyeing for me has always also been much more uniform than any other way I've tried. You also might want to take the top of the back piece that lays against your side . . . take it up and round it . . . so that as you look at it . . . leather comes up above the hammer, rear sight, and most importantly if it has one . . . the safety. It is a lot more comfortable that way. But all in all . . . just a few constructive critic words to make your product more tasteful. . . . I do really like the design down the front or it though . . . and the clips are a nice touch. May God bless, Dwight

After you have done every thing else to the belt . . . except deliver it . . . lay it on it's side . . . use a dauber . . . and lay on several coats of thinned Resolene . . . (50/50 with water) . . . if you flex the belt a bit . . . 1/2 hour after each coat . . . it won't seriously crack . . . and looks really good for a long time. May God bless, Dwight

Take a piece of 8/9 oz leather . . . use a splitter . . . run off a square piece the same as the thickness of your leather . . . makes the bolo stand out much better than any piece of woven rope . . . Just an opinion from a guy who has several of them May God bless, Dwight

They won't. Working them wet . . . you will take them out . . . and when you do they will shrink . . . Nature of the beast. May God bless, Dwight

First thing I would do is help him find a diet he could live with. Then I'd follow Leather Repair Center's plan May God bless, Dwight

On Facebook Marketplace . . . you can pick up a decent 12 inch wide planer for 100 bucks . . . or at least I did. Then cut your HDPE about 11 1/2 inches wide . . . run it thru the planer. If you do it right . . . all the pieces will be THE EXACT same thickness . . . and can be either screwed down or double sticky back tape . . . put to the table. Take a thin file . . . just BARELY take the length wise edge off the sides . . . your leather will never notice it if you just cut enough off so it is not sharp. The two pieces should slide together really super flat. One thing about it though . . . after about 15 years . . . it has a tendency to become brittle on the edges . . . I have a 3 by 5 piece to prove it. I could probably cut out a piece that would be 2 1/2 by 4 1/2 . . . but I can snap off pieces of the edges in about 3 inches or so. But I gave up on it . . . went to Joann Fabric . . . bought their 3 ft by 5 ft sewing table piece . . . it is the second one now in a little over 10 years . . . cost 75 apiece. To me . . . that is worth twice the price. Hold it down I bought a 4 x 8 sheet of it last spring for a little less than 300 bucks for a different project . . . shop around . . . you may find it . . . I had to go to Columbus Ohio . . . population one million . . . to get it. May God bless Dwight