Dwight

Herman Oak is good leather, . . . but just leather: it'll crack, peel, bend, break, fold, spindle, and mutilate, . . . the blank with snaps is what I don't like and prefer not to use. Chicago screws keep the belt together, . . . snaps can easily come undone, . . . not often, . . . maybe never in your experience, . . . but only one sneeze in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and your gun may be sliding across the marble floor to the chagrin of those around you. Probable???? NO, not at all. Possible, . . . Murphy says it is, . . . and I've known that goofball long enough to know he comes around at the worst possible times. My belts I make and sell, . . . generally are never thinner than .160, . . . and not thicker than .210. The shorter they are, . . . the thinner, . . . and vice versa. I carried an XD double stacked .45 for a while, . . . it took my .240 belt to comfortably keep it and two mags together on my skinny frame. I still carry a compact all steel 1911 most of the time, . . . on that same .240 belt. It is comfortable. Your SR9C is light, . . . but also because it is light, . . . will tend to flop around if not well secured. Again, . . . a better belt makes that an easier chore. Try a stitched double layer belt, . . . what have you got to lose??? I really think you will be amazed and happily surprised at how well it carries the extra weight and keeps everything in place like it is supposed to. May God bless, Dwight

If you are going to carry a scandium 5 shot .38, . . . probably will be OK for a while. Eventually you will find the snaps will come apart if you put any real force onto the belt buckle (at least I've seen the experience, . . . and it ain't funny). And the time frame for that eventuality becomes much shorter if you are carrying a steel 1911, . . . a Python, . . . or similar piece. I use Chicago Screws to hold my gun belts together. Good luck, . . . like they say in the funny papers, . . . you can make do if you make yourself do it. I will always prefer a double layer, stitched gun belt, . . . after my first one years and years ago, . . . I got hooked. And, yes, . . . for myself (not for profit..........), . . . for myself, . . . I would hand sew one. That single layer belt will sag like a stepped on jump rope after a fairly short while, . . . Herman Oak notwithstanding, . . . it's just leather. May God bless, Dwight

Because I only make double layer gunbelts, . . . yes they are contact cemented together, . . . but they are also sewn ALL THE WAY AROUND. With my sewing machine, . . . it runs between 10 and 20 minutes per belt. But it is totally worth it. I know a fellow who used to do them by hand, . . . he started on one end, . . . his wife on the other end, . . . usually took them an evening of watching TV together, . . . but they enjoyed it, . . . made a few bucks, . . . win / win situation. May God bless, Dwight

I had the privilege of teaching a couple of holster classes and belt classes there a number of years ago. Scott is one of the few folks I consider a true friend, . . . May God bless, Dwight

You can also hand flex the piece. Veggie tan will get hard, . . . but you subject it to multiple bends, . . . squashing, . . . etc, . . . it'll go soft again. May God bless, Dwight

I was given the recipe by a wonderful lady in either Oregon or Washington state several years ago, . . . I use it for my "special" stuff, . . . if it has to be "old timey" or something like that. My parade rig has it on it. From what she said, . . . it is an old, . . . old recipe, . . . been used for a long, long time. The other finish I use, . . . is Resolene. May God bless, Dwight

And the tooling part is the big difference between our customer bases. Mine very seldom want tooling, . . . preferring a simple belt. I might lean more toward your way if I had the customer base, . . . but without it, . . . no need to. Thanks for bringing up the tooling subject, . . . some of the folks may not have considered it. May God bless, Dwight

Yes, . . . Tandy Leather store. May God bless, Dwgiht

My guess, . . . looking at the picture, . . . you are using the pre-dyed leather. It is HARD stuff. Wet it first, . . . WET, . . . and if that does not work, . . . put the spot in the holder, . . . use it to mark where the legs are, . . . use an awl to poke the holes for the legs, . . . then use the tool to complete the job. Second guess, . . . you are trying to WHACK them through, . . . gently, just tap, tap, tap, tap, . . . works better for me. I am not a great fan of spots, . . . May God bless, Dwight

No problem, Rick, . . . I use two equal as I cut them side by side from the same piece of leather. I know the dye will be exactly the same, . . . I know the width will be exactly the same, . . . and I do not have to skive one end to make it lay down next to the other one by the buckle. Also when you burnish, . . . sometimes (seldom really) the thinner one will want to do it's own thing with the burnishing, . . . I know what to expect when both pieces are side by side from the same cow. AND, . . . putting the thinner one on the inside is almost a guaranteed wrinkle patch. The thicker piece outside will not want to give, . . . forcing the inside to wrinkle. Sometimes I get a few small wrinkles in my belts, . . . but I can work them out easier with two equal thicknesses than with one fat / one skinny. I also only have to stock one size, . . . only have to check one size before accepting the order, . . . and there is no appreciable savings in having a side of 9, . . . side of 7, . . . side of 5, . . . and a side of 3. They are for the most part the same price, . . . so why knock yourself out? Hope this helps. May God bless, Dwight

I went to a plastic supplier I found in the yellow pages, . . . took a sample of what I wanted. He took me back into his warehouse, . . . I brought out a piece, . . . 30 by 48, . . . 1/4 inch thick, . . . it is on my old work desk as we speak, . . . I think it cost me $40 or so. AND, . . . if you have a TSC or Rural King close, . . . ask them about bed liners for pickup trucks. If I were doing a 4 x 8 table or something near that size, . . . I'd seriously consider one of them. May God bless, Dwight

I need a pattern for a 2x leather fringe jacket, . . . Needs to be for deerskin, . . . open / button up front, . . . collar, . . . fringe, . . . Can someone point me in the proper direction for finding one? Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

I have a box pattern, . . . looks like a cell phone case when finished, . . . Lemme know if you are interested. May God bless, Dwight

My favorite leather jacket has a similar treatment. It's an Eddie Baur, . . . bought at a yard sale for $3, . . . every seam and outside edge is "sanded" or something to make it look worn on the edges. At first, I just thought it had been worn a lot, . . . bought it anyway for a run around coat, . . . began looking seriously at it, . . . it was darn near brand new, . . . but had been subjected to the "worn" treatment. Probably not "THE" best buy I ever made, . . . but certainly one of them. I'm with Tinker, . . . beat it up, . . . jack up the prices, . . . smile and say "thank you" when they pony up the cash, . . . laugh all the way to the bank. May God bless, Dwight

I dislike using different thicknesses because they never work out for me as well as the double layer / same thickness. At the buckle end of the belt, you either have a step/shelf, . . . or you skive it down, . . . weakening that piece of leather. With holsters, . . . they tend to wrinkle more on the inside, . . . and I DO NOT like wrinkles in the interior of my holsters. What little I have done that way turned me off, . . . I'm just following Mr. Bianchi's advice, . . . two equal pieces. YMMV May God bless, Dwight

Except for one small thing, . . . If that is a good hatchet, . . . the first time somebody forgets the sheath is on the hatchet, . . . swings it into a piece of wood, . . . each rivet that is cut in two, . . . will leave a nasty, ugly, horrible nick in the edge of the hatchet. I refuse to put them in my knife, ax, or hatchet sheaths simply for that reason. If the stitching won't hold it together, . . . and it needs rivets, . . . it was not done right to begin with. Yes, . . . they are pretty, . . . but totally non functional. May God bless, Dwight

That's how I do it, . . . just be sure not to hang it up by one end, . . . top will be light, . . . bottom will be dark , . . . I lay it on the top edge for about 15 minutes, . . . then flip it and let it dry out. You can use Red Cent's process too, . . . I am just a bit lazy, . . . and I'm also a Baptist, . . . and a doughnut lover, . . . so "dunkin" just comes kinda natural to me. May God bless, Dwight

I have no idea who bad mouthed the stitch groover from Tandy, . . . but I'd bet it was either someone who did not know how to use one, . . . or someone wanting you to buy his fancy one, . . . or one like his fancy one. I am in the holster, belt, knife sheath, purse, and wallet (reluctantly only) business as a hobby. My Tandy groover has been in service since somewhere near 10 years, . . . still working fine, . . . used it today. My belts alone are almost never shorter than 35 inches, . . . add 9 inches to the blank to start, . . . doing both sides, . . . both edges, . . . which works out at 176 inches per belt, . . . and that is the short one. I get belts for them guys that wear 53 inch britches, . . . You want to spend more than their $15, . . . have at it, . . . I surely would not. May God bless, Dwight May God bless, Dwight

If you make the belt out of two equal thicknesses of veggie tanned leather, . . . contact cemented together, . . . sew the edges, . . . you will have a belt you can will down to your grandchild possibly. They are absolutely sturdy, . . . strong, . . . look great, . . . wear great, . . . and if you carry "stuff" (cell phone, . . . handcuffs, . . . CCW, . . . pager, . . . ammunition, . . . flashlight, . . . etc) on it, . . . it won't sag. If you use almost anything else, . . . the edges will not burnish really well together, . . . wind up looking raggedy in a couple years or so, maybe even sooner. May God bless, Dwight

My first one did not look that good, . . . Altogether, I'd say good job for the first one. May God bless, Dwight

By the time all is said and done on that "first" one, . . . profit is slim to none when you add in the blue gun. Fortunately, . . . after that, . . . it's a whole lot better. May God bless, Dwight

Mine is about an inch and a half thick, . . . but I'd say your's will probably do the trick. The important thing is to allow the stamp to do it's work, . . . which on a spongy surface, . . . doesn't happen correctly. I would, however, . . . build a box to put that thing in, . . . with handles at each end, . . . and bring the wood up around the edges so it is flush with the top. My piece sometimes aggravates me when I get kinda tired and rest my wrists on the edge, . . . with a rounded wooden edge you would not have that problem. I have meant to do that to mine, . . . but for now just throw a towel on it. May God bless, Dwight

Tinker hit both nails right on the head. I've just about made it a habit, . . . and part of my "pre sewing check out", . . . to check the bobbin. I make just enough belts that I got into that habit, . . . knowing that on my machine with 346 thread, . . . I'm always good for one belt on a bobbin, . . . but need to check for that second one. May God bless, Dwight

Well, . . . first thing you gotta do is go spend time at the EAA museum, . . . tell em Dwight sent you. Then, . . . get into the habit of dip dyeing your projects. I use all Feibings products, . . . I cut them with thinner, . . . half dye / half thinner. I use a couple of old cake pans I scrounged out of my wife's kitchen, . . . they're 9 by 14 or something thereabouts, . . . 2 inches deep. The leather goes in, . . . end for end, . . . dunked all the way around, . . . and sometimes it's tricky to get the last few places dyed, . . . and sometimes it gets a bit messy, . . . BUT IT GETS THE JOB DONE. Another process is spraying it with an air gun, . . . but it is only surface deep, . . . I don't like it as well. Both processes work well though, . . . purses, holsters, belts, billfolds, pouches, etc. May God bless, Dwight

Always was a fan of his, . . . you did well in your re-creating the image. I thought about making one for myself several times, . . . but I guess I just don't think I could do justice to the persona, . . . gave up the idea. If I did, . . . I would hope it came out as well as yours did. May God bless, Dwight