Dwight

Welcome, . . . from next door, . . . Ohio. May God bless, Dwight

I have one machine that does 95% of everything I want. Haven't trained it to fry a bologna sandwich yet, though. Seriously, . . . I use a Tippmann Boss, . . . and someone will be getting a sweet machine when I wake up dead some morning, . . . because my wife won't mess with it, . . . and I doubt my son will. I've done chaps, chinks, sheaths, holsters, belts, suspenders, pouches, wallets, . . . . and that's just the leather stuff. But, . . . I digress. All of my gunbelts, . . . generally hit in a combined two layer thickness of something between .160 and .220, . . . and most of that depends on the length. Longer belts start out thicker, . . . shorter ones tend to be thinner. But that's the way I do it, . . . YMMV. My old beat up CCW belt I've got on right now is closer to .250, . . . but I surely would not want it any thicker. Personal preference is the reason. May God bless, Dwight

I've used Resolene for however many years, . . . have never had a problem like that. Here is my process: 1. Cut the resolene 50/50 with water, . . . stir it well, . . . keep it in an air-tight container. 2. I use a cheap, 1 inch bristle brush from Harbor Freight, . . . and while I do not put it on "sparingly", . . . I don't "slop it on" either. Maybe kinda like painting with water colors??? 3. I have enough of it to brush it around, . . . and create a bit of bubbles, . . . sort of like a froth, . . . just not too much. 4. I then brush it back and forth, up, down, left, right, etc, . . . till the bubbles disappear. 5. I hang it in a warm spot to dry, . . . and I'll go in and mess with it in sometimes a couple of hours, . . . sometimes it takes a bit longer, . . . depending on weather and humidity. I always flex it back and forth within 6 to 8 hours, . . . found out that will prevent any cracking. Hate it when that happens. 6. FWIW, . . . I did have a belt crack badly on me one time, . . . and I did a little "experiment" so to speak. I took an old piece of a tee shirt, . . . got it wet in acetone, . . . and rubbed the whole belt like I was buffing the black after dyeing it. It took some of the resolene finish off, . . . and I was able to re-coat it and save it. I think part of the success might have been that I got to it before it got fully cured, . . . but at least in that one instance it did allow me to salvage an otherwise candidate for the round file. Have not tried it since. It does not leave a Fashion 500 finish, . . . but it is a good finish, . . . sometimes there are some little streaks, . . . but they are indentations in the finish, . . . not color changes like the OP had up there. BUT, . . . resolene DOES darken every thing you put it on, . . . except black. It is a predictable darkening after you've worked with it a while, . . . but it is not a neutral finish, . . . it WILL darken the piece you put it on. I've tried a bunch of others, . . . keep coming back, . . . have never had a customer give me the business over the finish. May God bless, Dwight

I very seldom get a request any more for a suicide strap or a thumb break. When I do a thumb break, . . . I use the front holster "stiffener" or decoration piece as the thumb break also. It allows me to put the strap exactly where it needs to be so that it is between the hammer and firing pin. One thing I learned early on with those, . . . do not put the snap on the strap until the holster is completely finished, . . . and tested for fit and tightness. Get all that correct, . . . then put on the strap snap. You can then give it just enough slack that it does not get pulled down tight, . . . but also will not allow the weapon to inadvertently fall out of the holster. Like I said, . . . I don't make many of them, . . . and could not find a really good picture for you, . . . I'll keep it in mind for the next one, . . . put pics up. The other thing to do to preclude safety problems, . . . in the molding process, . . . mold in an indent for the safety, . . . laying in there, . . . it defies movement. May God bless, Dwight

Actually, . . . it doesn't hold very much at all, . . . I have to go back for more, . . . I found that applying a "liberal" coat first, . . . swishing it around, left, right, up, down, . . . working up a lather of bubbles, . . . then slowly but surely in varying strokes, . . . brushing out the bubbles, . . . gives me a nice single coat, . . . that holds up well. I've taught this in leather working classes, . . . most folks catch on pretty quick, . . . dye some scraps black, . . . buff the heck out of them, . . . then try this on them. Any streaks will show up really quick, . . . and you'll be able to see how well it's doing. ALWAYS make sure your item is dry, . . . and it should be dry to use in 6 to 8 hours. May God bless, Dwight

Or you can do what I do, . . . I use a 1 inch bag punch, . . . make the first hole, . . . carefully re-position, . . . and make the hole a bit longer. Takes a bit of practice, . . . and care, . . . secret is to put the end down in the already made hole, . . . and "tap, tap, tap", . . . until you get it enlarged. Works for me. May God bless, Dwight

You don't say what kind of bags or how big, . . . world of difference between a possibilities bag and a golf bag. I do holsters, purses, belts, . . . and I brush it on with a cheap, 1 inch, bristle brush bought at harbor freight. I have also sprayed it on using an air brush. Whatever you do, . . . be sure to cut it 50/50 with water first, . . . and don't get in a big hurry. May Gob bless, Dwight

I've never used the tool you have, . . . but I have this one, . . . and it does ALL my extra grooving that my two edge groovers are not suited for. I've made some interesting free hand stitch patterns with this. http://www.tandyleather.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/88074-11.aspx May God bless, Dwight

You didn't say how long the sides of these were, . . . I'd opt for some clear plastic French Curves, . . . lay the groover next to it, . . . do one side, . . . flip it over, . . . do the other side. May God bless, Dwight

He said he used 5.5 oz oil tanned leather for his. Go back to the picture in the thread, . . . then read down several posts, . . . lot more info there. May God bless, Dwight

I'd second that, . . . beautiful design, . . . beautiful execution too. Sad to say, . . . I just do not have the patience for the brown one, . . . the black one I can do, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Show me what you want the mold made for, . . . I have made several for other leather projects. May God bless, Dwight

I do it the simple way: 1) prepare the belt, . . . sewing / tooling / stamping / and dress the edges with the proper edging tool 2) burnish the edges with water and a wooden burnisher on my motor or with my dremel 3) dye the belt, . . . dip dyed in whatever solution I choose for the product, . . . if it is Feibings oil dye, . . . it is generally cut 50% with thinner, . . . let dry 24 hrs, . . . lay on bottom edge of belt in a circle on cardboard for 10-20 minutes, . . . turn it over, . . . leave on the top edge for an hour or so, . . . hang up by one end. If you hang it up right out of the dye tank, . . . dye will migrate to the lower end, . . . giving you a dark end / light end / multiple shades in between. 4) apply 1st coat of Resolene, . . . cut 50/50 with water, . . . applied with cheap 1 in bristle brush, . . . flesh side, . . . then top, . . . hang it up, . . . touch up edges where you handled it 5) re-burnish the edges / add hardware / if I want it to have a high gloss finish, . . . 50/50 mix of neatsfoot oil and bees wax applied to the outside and edges with my finger, . . . let dry, . . . buff, . . . kinda like using shoe polish. That's my way, . . . works for me. May God bless, Dwight

Another voice saying Thank You,................... May God bless, Dwight

I use a ball point pen on the hair side. I fooled around for a long time, . . . trying not to "make cutting mistakes" by just lightly marking on one or the other side, . . . made more mistakes that way than I am now. Besides, . . . marking the flesh side makes you slide it around on the hair side, . . . too much chance of creating a burr, scratch, etc. I figure if I commit to doing it, . . . well, doggone it, . . . do it, . . . do it so you can see it, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Quite honestly, . . . constructive notes, . . . if you wear either of these daily for 2 months, . . . the gun will probably fall out of either of them when you lean back in your recliner. The artwork is good, . . . stitches are definitely passable, . . . and while the molding is more than I prefer, . . . it's good. Where you missed it is the single most important part, . . . your stitch lines are in Mississippi, . . . the gun is in Alabama. Tighten those stitches all the way up to the edge of the molding. If you don't, . . . because the holsters are outside the waist band, . . . there is nothing to "hold them steady", . . . the butt of the gun will rock back and forth as you walk, turn, sit, or otherwise move. It will waller out the excess you left and make it more of a bag than a holster. But, . . . this is the fun of learning a new craft. You are on your way, . . . looking good so far, . . . just tighten em up. May God bless, Dwight

You need to determine if it is the leather or the finish that is cracking. Then, . . . dampen the leather before you dye it, . . . and make the fold, . . let it dry, . . . dye it. That should take care of the cracking either way. You didn't say what you use for the final top coat, . . . finish, . . . and since I don't deal with pinks, . . . I have no real suggestion, . . . but you might try out some Resolene, . . . two very light coats, . . . 50/50 mix with water. The only pink I have done lately was a very special pair of spur leathers for a very special little young lady, . . . I used Resolene on them and was satisfied with the result. May God bless, Dwight

Simple answer, . . . don't oil it. I almost never oil my products, . . . unless the leather feels extremely dry. Most of the leather I work with is acceptable without the oil. For something as artistic and delicate as you are doing, . . . as they would say in Joisey, . . . fugeddabouddittt. May God bless, Dwight

Or a larger pulley on the machine, . . . usually pretty hard to do. May God bless, Dwight

Well, . . . I've never been enlikened to Paul Harvey before, . . . but thank you, . . . he certainly was one of my favorite personalities of yesteryear. I used to make sure at 12:00, . . . I was somewhere near a radio, . . . I've even pulled off the freeway, . . . opened up my brown bag / balogna / PBJ / and chocolate milk lunch while I listened to him. I'm not sure I ever really learned anything from him that made a great difference in my life, . . . but in a dull and dreary world, . . . he was certainly a bright light of entertainment for me. Thanks again for the compliment, . . . may God bless, Dwight

Brett, . . . In a one word answer, . . . "Yes", it is a business you can break into and make a living. I don't make a living at it, . . . it's a hobby for me, . . . but there are just too many successful stories to say no you can't. But it is like any other product, . . . you have to have a good product, . . . know your market, . . . know your competition, . . . be flexible, . . . and for at least a while, . . . you will have to work some long, long hours. Get an internet presence, . . . (mine is with GoDaddy, . . . a good place to start I think), . . . get a Gunbroker.com account, . . . get an Ebay account. From what my ears tell me, . . . brick and mortar is fading fast, . . . E-commerce is the wave of the future, . . . and that has been my experience. The one serious exception I have found, . . . is gun shows, . . . if you can handle it. I've done well at local gun shows, . . . but again, you have to pre-guess the customer's desires, . . . and that only comes through experience. And the reason I say, . . . if you can handle it, . . . it will take up both of your weekend days, . . . from about 6 in the morning until 6 or 8 that night, . . . and you WILL have to put up with some people that you would just as soon you never, ever, met in your lifetime. I sat across a room one Saturday, . . . selling $50 to $100 holsters, . . . fellow on the other side of the room was putting a kydex and leather thing together (it seriously looked like the blanks were cut with a table saw) and selling them for 20 bucks a pop. He had more sales in units, . . . and probably took home more cash, . . . and put out a product I would not have had my name associated with. I prefer custom work, . . . I have a muzzle-down shoulder holster to make for a young man, . . . with a double mag holder on the other side, . . . and his Glock has a flashlight on it. CHALLENGE, . . . yeah !! I'm also making his fiance a holster for hers, . . . but it will be just a plain vanilla job, . . . little challenge at all. Start out slow, . . . do a "bang up" job on the work, . . . price them accordingly, . . . you'll do all right. But remember, . . . you will never be able to compete with the trash being sold at Walmart, and even some of the high end gun stores. Good luck, may God bless, Dwight

I make my patterns usually out of file folders (thank you John Bianchi), . . . and some of them I have transferred to the material Tandy sells and calls bag stiffener. It is a lot stiffer, . . . and holds up really well to a heavy fisted old coot like myself. I gave up a long time ago on scribing, or using a pencil, . . . I get out the ball point pen, . . . outline my pattern, . . . then I don't have to go searching for where my wife put my reading glasses, . . . or wonder if the cat grabbed em. By the time I put the pattern back in the file and step back over to the table, . . . the ink is dry and I can both cut and see what I'm cutting. The really neat thing about ball point ink is you get a good line, . . . not too wide, . . . not too narrow, . . . and you can see the doggoned thing. Oh, . . . and a side benefit of using a ball point, . . . you will learn after only a couple of mistakes, . . . make sure that you want THIS piece cut out of THIS leather. You will suddenly begin to make really good decisions in that department. Enjoy,.............. May God bless, Dwight

I don't recollect where it came up the first time, . . . but after a similar complaint / statement, . . . someone chimed in "well, think about how many years it took the cow to make your leather in the first place". Kinda puts the whole thing in a different perspective. And besides that, . . . as Pops always used to say "Builds character, son". May God bless, Dwight

It has to be slightly longer, . . . if not, . . . there is no room for it to crimp over, . . . holding the other piece in place. You don't say what you are doing, . . . but I very seldom need anything different from the bulk packs I buy at Tandy's. May God bless, Dwight

Just a word of caution, . . . be careful about molding the trigger guard real deep on striker fired weapons. That trigger can move very quickly with very little pressure, . . . and of course you understand the effects of that happening. But, . . . otherwise, . . . it certainly is a ton better than my first one. May God bless, Dwight PS: I still have it, . . . but NOBODY sees it.