Dwight

Looks like black to me.............. May God bless, Dwight

If you want the rig to carry that cannon, . . . better do the belt right. Yes, . . . it needs to be curved, . . . there is an excellent video series from John Bianchi, . . . he goes through it. Basically, . . . if you can think of a bow where the string is 6 inches from the bow at the middle, . . . that is the curve you need to make. That keeps it from dropping to his ankles every time he sneezes. I make only dual layer belts, . . . two pieces using contact cement and then sewn together, . . . 7/8 oz veggie tan. Tongue is also double layer, . . . same leather. Buckle holder is 7/8 single layer. Belt loops are 4/5 or 5/6 depending on what is there when I need it. I use a single hole looping system, . . . the loop comes through the hole, . . . around the cartridge, . . . and back out the exact same hole. This is ONLY done on the outside piece of the belt, . . . NOT on both pieces. There is an example on my website, . . . but it is a money belt, . . . made a bit differently than the standard gun belt and it is not curved. Gun belts are not that hard to do, . . . just time consuming. Oh, . . . final point. Make it a practice to add 4 inches to the length of the belt the guy wears, . . . for a hip holster. That way it fits, . . . if you don't, . . . you'll re-make it most likely. May God bless, Dwight

I have no experience with pleather, . . . but I would not hesitate for one instant: getting together the facts and figures about the manufacture of pleather, it's contents, it's toxicity, . . . as well as pointing out that the leather most of us use is a by product of meat growers, . . . and by using the "cast off's" of another industry, we are indeed being better stewards of the planet. But then again, . . . she'd a nut case, . . . and will most likely twist and spin the whole topic until you become Attila the Hun / Jeffery Dahmer. Good luck. May God bless, Dwight

I had made one identical for it for my XD, double stack, that I did not keep very long. Must have traded off the mag carrier too. At any rate, . . . this is how I did it, . . . you can see that the front piece, . . . and both straps are cut from one piece of leather, and the back is a second piece. I made my template using yellow manila folder material for the pattern, . . . then cut the leather and simply stitched it together. I then wet them real good, . . . jam the mags in to do the forming, . . . allow them to set for a couple hours, . . . gently tug out the mags, . . . let them finish drying for a day or two. I then dip dye them, . . . resolene coat them, . . . apply the snaps, . . . and we're good to go. Here are some picture of the single stack rig. May God bless, Dwight

That'll usually work, . . . or, . . . depending on how you plan on finishing the wallet, . . . if you plan on adding any oil, . . . this is a good itme & place to do it, . . . let it set for a day, . . . work it slowly, . . . I've also done it with other final finishes, . . . used them to dampen the leather, . . . bend it, . . . the do a nice final on the areas I handled in the bending routine. May God bless, Dwight

I am not certain on the website, . . . I don't think so. But this whole western belt and holster rig was done with it, . . . it is my personal "parade" rig, . . . so to speak. It is a product of the John Bianchi video's, . . . and the 50/50 mix. Pardon the scratches and digs, . . . it happens when you use a piece of equipment, . . . May God bless, Dwight

I have that situation when I make a western gun belt, . . . it has a 2 1/2 inch wide belt that needs a keeper on the underside to hold them together up front, . . . along with the buckle and billet. I put the keeper in the bottom of the belt, . . . in the exact position it belongs, . . . and using my Boss, . . . I sew across the keeper, . . . about 4 stitches before it and about 4 stitches after. BUT, . . . I don't thread my machine at this point, . . . all I'm doing it making holes. I then pull the keeper out, . . . put it in the proper location at the top of the belt, . . . thread the machine, . . . and sew, . . . starting in the last hole I made in the belt. I sew all the way around the belt, . . . including sewing the keeper on the top side, . . . and when I get back around to the keeper on the bottom side, . . . I sew up to within a couple stitches of it, . . . pull off 20 or so inches of thread from my bobbin and my spool, . . . and sew those last 12 to 15 stitches by hand, . . . including the keeper. If you did not see me do it, . . . you would swear it was done by a very tricky machine. This is also the way John Bianchi shows to do a Western belt in his holster videos. Hope this helps, . . . May God bless, Dwight

My first choice of course you are already doing, . . . line it with suede. I personally will not make it any other way for my own use, . . . But if someone insisted, . . . my choice would be several applications of an old fashioned product: 50/50 virgin bees wax and neatsfoot oil, . . . weigh them out on a scale, . . . equal weights of each, . . . put them in a jar in a crock pot or a pan on the stove, . . . melt them together. I pour it out into a muffin pan that has muffin papers in it, . . . makes little waxy muffins. THEN, . . . rub the hardened wax/oil product across the back and front, . . . like you were using a piece of chalk and trying to color it. Next, . . . hit it with a heat gun set on low or med, . . . you want to melt the wax, . . . and get the oil to penetrate with the melted wax. It'll take several coats, . . . you just play with it, . . . you will find the place you like it. It will buff up to a nice shine if you want, . . . or you can leave it kinda dull, . . . I basically use that product for all my "special" holsters, knife sheaths, etc. for those who want the old fashioned look and feel. BUT, . . . it is a great product and a great finish. It does however, . . . make you have to sand that flesh side if there are bad sections, . . . you want it smooth to start out with. May God bless, Dwight

Waldo, . . . says hello,........ Scotty at Tandy will treat you right, . . . Over there on Morse Road May God bless, Dwight

I've never had that problem, . . . but after about 3 or 4 editions of it, . . . I'd probably have a little bad boy hissy fit. Then, . . . I'd take off the spool of thread, . . . take out the bobbin, . . . take out the needle, . . . I'd wipe down and clean all those parts I could get to, . . . doing a "tear apart, . . . clean, . . . oil, . . . grease" type PM on the machine. Next, . . . I would put in a new needle, . . . different bobbin, . . . and a different spool of thread. If that did not solve it, . . . off to the sewing machine fix it shop it would go. Through 55 or so years of working with mechanical "stuff", . . . I've learned most importantly, that most problems are common problems, . . . everyone has the same ones, . . . they are even somewhat predictable. BUT, . . . every now and then there is this other one, . . . and yours seems to be in that category, . . . and the process outlined above I've used on guns, sewing machines, cars, trucks, tractors, and even people to a certain degree (I'm a pastor also). May God bless, Dwight

OK, . . . I didn't catch that on the first go around. You are using a very thick piece, . . . and a very thin liner. I use two pieces (usually out of the same hide, . . . cut back to back) of the same weight. I generally use 6/7 and follow the instructions from John Bianchi's old VHS tapes, . . . and sometimes I will get a few wrinkles in the fold over for the belt slot, . . . but that is usually all. Try using two pieces that are closer in thickness, . . . you just might get rid of the problem. May God bless, Dwight

I've never had any real problem with wrinkles in my lined holsters. I lay down both pieces on a flat surface, . . . cover both with a coat of Weldwood contact cement, . . . put em together, . . . roll em with the rolling pin or something similar, . . . fold as needed, . . . cement the edges, . . . sand, edge, sew. I use a Tippmann Boss machine. I then wet form the holster to the weapon, . . . voila, . . . when it's dry, . . . it's done. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, Chuck........... May God bless, Dwight

Good looking job, . . . but way too big for this old hillbilly to carry. You do great work my friend.......... May God bless, Dwight

Outstanding, . . . awesome, . . . super, . . . Don't know any better words. You do superior work, it is a pleasure, just to be on the same forum with you. May God bless, Dwight

Here is a trifold idea that I did some time back. Guy had a billfold like this, . . . his daughter bought him 30 years ago, . . . it was falling apart. This is my practice workup piece, . . . can't find pics of the final one, . . . but this shows the general idea of it. Pretty simple, . . . back, . . . two insert pieces, . . . one fold over piece, . . . bill holder, . . . done. May God bless, Dwight

I did a very simple 2 layer belt, . . . stitched of course, . . . 46 1/2, . . . saddle tan, . . . for my last 2015 project. It goes to my son's father in law, . . . if he ever gets over here. Happy New Year to all, . . . like chief said, . . . this is one great place to be, . . . y'all take care. May God bless, Dwight

I make insoles for my feet, . . . using veggie tanned, . . . cut out the basic shape, . . . get the leather wet, . . . step on the leather, . . . then pull it up around my feet to mold to my foot's contour. I then cut hard foam pieces to fill in the arch, etc, . . . so I can walk without my feet hollering at me. You could do the same with a piece of veggie tan that was cut say 1 inch bigger all around than your foot, . . . pull it up, . . . mold it to your foot, . . . let it dry, . . . you then would have a "somewhat" pattern for your foot to go by. May God bless, Dwgiht

OK, Badluck, . . . curiosity has the better of me. What are the 4 rivets for? I like the design, . . . and the artwork is really good. I would prefer, . . . myself, . . . a standard pancake, . . . instead of your design . . . but that is my personal choice, . . . and I'm glad you offer choices, . . . makes shopping more fun. May God bless, Dwight

I added a ceiling and a floor to 16 feet of my 24 ft wide car port, . . . put in a non vented propane heater, . . . and I love it. It is my leather shop, . . . reloading room, . . . private get away room, . . . and by being on the other side of the car port, . . . I stay dry traversing the two, . . . but they are far enough apart that no smells cause problems in the house. I had thought of the trailer, . . . a good dual axle with steel siding, . . . steel studs, . . . foam insulation, . . . would be hard to beat. You won't lose money on the trailer, . . . hook it up and go when you move, . . . and you won't have to get ready for shows, . . . just unplug from the house, . . . hook to the truck, . . . and drive. May God bless, Dwight

You have apparently purchased a pre-finished product. I'd go back and get some regular veggie tan leather, . . . I've never been highly successful with the prefinished stuff. May God bless, Dwight

That's a good little gun, . . . nice holster for it as well. May God bless, Dwight

Me too............ May God bless, Dwight

I tend first to agree with all the above, . . . but sometimes I want to see just the simplistic, basic item, . . . So I guess what I'm saying, . . . it is not mandatory, . . . but a lot of your customers have come to think it is, . . . or expect it. You have to look at it through the eyes of the customer. One of the prettiest tooling pieces I ever did, . . . a rose on a black holster, . . . only tooled, not painted, . . . to this day I love that simple piece. It was done for an uncle who has since passed on, . . . I got the holster back from his estate, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Trevor, . . . If you want the rig to carry that cannon, . . . better do it right. Yes, . . . it needs to be curved, . . . there is an excellent video series from John Bianchi, . . . he goes through it. Basically, . . . if you can think of a bow where the string is 6 inches from the bow at the middle, . . . that is the curve you need to make. That keeps it from dropping to his ankles every time he sneezes. I make only dual layer belts, . . . two pieces using contact cement and then sewn together, . . . 7/8 oz veggie tan. Tongue is also double layer, . . . same leather. Buckle holder is 7/8 single layer. Belt loops are 4/5 or 5/6 depending on what is there when I need it. I use a single hole looping system, . . . the loop comes through the hole, . . . around the cartridge, . . . and back out the exact same hole. There is an example on my website, . . . but it is a money belt, . . . made a bit differently than the standard gun belt and it is not curved. Gun belts are not that hard to do, . . . just time consuming. Oh, . . . final point. Make it a practice to add 4 inches to the length of the belt the guy wears, . . . for a hip holster. That way it fits, . . . if you don't, . . . you'll re-make it most likely. May God bless, Dwight