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Dwight

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Everything posted by Dwight

  1. Have you thought of going to Goodwill and / or Salvation Army store? You can usually find several there, . . . get the one that fits you for less than $5, . . . take it home, . . . dissect it with a razor knife, . . . iron the pieces flat, . . . you have your pattern. AND, . . . if you buy the right one, . . . throw away the outside, . . . use the liner on your leather vest. May God bless, Dwight PS: What part of cheese land do you call home???
  2. Speaking from both experience and practicality, danfordman, I would just put that holster up somewhere and get a new one for the KelTec. 1: Someone, somewhere, someday, . . . may want that old Ted Blocker Holster (try selling it on Ebay), . . . as they have a "prize" pistol that would look wonderful in it. 2: You will NOT be able to re-work it to give you the satisfaction of a virgin piece of leather will give when made into a proper holster. The KelTec is "similar in size and shape", . . . but a 1911, a Beretta 92, and a Ruger P85 are all "similar in size and shape", . . . and the only thing you can carry them all three in successfully would be a plastic bag from Walmart. 3: THE single most important work of the holster is to keep your weapon secure, which means snug and tight, . . . which will not happen with used leather, . . . unless you put a flap, thumb break, or suicide strap on it. So all in all, . . . put it away and start fresh would be my advice. May God bless, Dwight
  3. Didja offer him one of them new fangled plastic Walmart bags, . . . tip it just right, . . . you can get 30 degrees on it. May God bless, Dwight
  4. Another option, . . . if you only want to do single layer belts, . . . watch for a Tandy flyer or sale, . . . buy their belt blanks. Already cut, ready to tool. May God bless, Dwight
  5. Whatever you do to the holster needs to be done to the belt if you want them to match. At least that is my theory and practice. May God bless, Dwight
  6. Even better if you can do it, . . . cut the wood 1/8 or 1/4 of an inch thinner than needed, . . . then lay a piece of steel the right thickness under your leather. You might wrap it in saran wrap so that the steel doesn't discolor the leather inside. The steel makes a much better surface on which to tool than does wood. I have little plates of steel just for this purpose, . . . and for doing rivets inside a pouch or bag. Works great. May God bless, Dwight
  7. Thanks, everyone, for your advice. I'm going to attempt to take it up to 207, . . . but I won't jump froggy if it revolts on me. Got plenty of other stuff to do with it that will not need that heavy of thread. May God bless, Dwight
  8. I have made several holsters using suede lining, . . . after a digital conversation with a very famous holster maker who assured me that suede was safe. I have never had any problems with any that I made, . . . and I kinda think the chrome story has been blown out of proportion, . . . IMHO. Back on track, . . . yes, . . . glue the two together (I use contact cement), . . . then treat it as one piece of leather. Cut it, . . . mold it, . . . sew it, . . . shape it, . . . stamp it, . . . whatever you desire. None of mine ever caused a problem. I would, . . . just on the safe side, . . . make a test piece and see if there IS any bleeding of the dye. In all reality, . . . there should not be, . . . but red's are funny. Best wishes and may God bless, Dwight
  9. From the title, . . . I was looking for something with planets, . . . moons, . . . etc. But that is really neat. It'll be a pain to sew, . . . but should look real good when finished. Would you care to post a picture showing all the pieces, . . . some of them were cut off in that one. And I really do like the characters, . . . good job. I think I can see a light tan one maybe, . . . with Darth Vader and one of the white warriors on it. May God bless, Dwight
  10. Thanks, TwinOaks, . . . Would you believe, . . . I got to kicking around in some old threads on here, . . . found an old military "how to" handbook on that very machine. Apparently they were used by parachute riggers, . . . I printed it and made a booklet out of it, . . . now I got to do some serious reading. Table is all bowed too, . . . will need to put a new table on it, . . . but that's a spring project, . . . gotta get myself up to speed on it first. Just one quick final question, . . . should I use pre-lubed or waxed thread with this machine? I use a waxed thread on my Tippmann, and it works real well, . . . just wondering about this one. Again, thanks, may God bless, Dwight
  11. A friend sold me his Singer 111W155 sewing machine over the weekend. Looking on Ebay, I got a pretty good deal. BUT, . . . all I've ever used is my Tippmann Boss, . . . and a household type Singer machine. Just looking for some "pointers" from anyone there who can push me past making silly mistakes with the machine. I'm looking to mainly use it for belts, spur straps, and chaps. Any wisdom you would care to share is more than welcome. I'm particularly interested in the maximum needle size and maximum thread size it will do. Thanks, may God bless, Dwight
  12. I simply refuse to make exceptionally "high ride" holsters. My reputation and my customer's safety is more important to me than a whim on the part of a customer. If he/she decides to go elsewhere, . . . that is their decision. But there needs to be enough of the weapon below the belt line that the weapon does not "rock" back and forth. If it does, . . . it will loosen up the holster, . . . gun will fall out, . . . you will be the bad guy, . . . or worse. Falling firearms are never a good thing. I make mine so that there is a good hand hold between the belt and the grip, . . . and nothing more. If they are wearing their britches up where they should be, . . . it already rides fairly high. You can see my website for a basic example. May God bless, Dwight
  13. Get some soap stone from a welding supply house, . . . or on ebay. You will have to play with it to get it the way you want it, . . . but soap stone will mark on just about anything that has a dry surface. It is my "go to" product when using pre-dyed leather, . . . especially because it just brushes off when you are done. May God bless, Dwight
  14. Well, . . . I don't pay that much for the leather. Now, . . . I'm just a cheap rascal, . . . truth be known, . . . and I buy "bargains" when I can, . . . if I'm pretty sure that it will get used "some day". Leather is definitely one of those commodities. I'm also retired, . . . so my costs are going to be different from yours. You might look here for some idea: http://www.klendasaddlery.com/chaps.htm May God bless, Dwight
  15. The fanninator and red cent gave you some real good advice. I bevel / burnish / etc. all without using any gum trag or edge cote, . . . my edges on my every day work belt are still good, . . . and I know it is in the 10 year old category. May God bless, Dwight
  16. I don't do a lot of stamping on my gun belts I make, . . . most folks want em plain and simple (don't make me mad either). BUT, . . . when I do have to do one, . . . everything else is done but the staining and finishing. It's glued, screwed, buckled, punched, sewed, . . . Reason is simple: that is the part I'm confident in, . . . the stamping is the part I cannot afford to screw up with one of the other processes. If it has to be stamped, . . . I do it then, . . . because it forces me to take my time, . . . be careful, . . . not "mess up a good thing". But, . . . that's just me and my way, . . . May God bless, Dwight
  17. Welcome to the forum, . . . from one of them Buckeyes, . . . Glad to have you aboard. May God bless, Dwight
  18. OTOH, . . . I can knock out a wooden mag in something close to 15 minutes, . . . or at least something that will make the pouch for me. Biggest part of the time is looking through the scrap bucket for a "right sized" piece to make it from. Cut, . . . sand, . . . form, . . . use, Of course, . . . having a cut off saw, . . . jointer, . . . router, . . . band saw, . . . belt sander and an orbital drum sander, . . . and a pile of lumber always at hand does sort of help too. May God bless, Dwight
  19. It is not what you want to use as much as what your customer wants to have their chaps made from. I've made them from suede, . . . from 3 oz upholstery leather, . . . chrome tanned, . . . Let your customer define what they want. I took a chance last year for a very special pair, . . . for a very special young lady, . . . really soft milk chocolate upholstery leather, . . . they are still the talk of her group, . . . and if I tell you she looks good in em, . . . not even half the point. OTOH, . . . mine, my two riding partners, . . . all out of suede. Try suede for your first pair, . . . for you. AND, . . . a trick I use for new customers, . . . I make a trial pair out of the heavy vinyl that is sold at JoAnns fabrics. I get their 40 or 50 off coupon and go in buy a yard to 2 yards, . . . that material fairly well imitates 1 or 2 oz leather, . . . and it gives you a really durable pattern. They can even go riding in the pattern if they want, . . . and when you're done with their pair, . . . you have a pair of "trial chaps" that the next person can try, . . . May God bless, Dwight
  20. Paramedic, . . . the easy way is to make the back of the holster flat. Prepare the back by outlining it, . . . cutting it out. Make up the front edge (closest to the belt buckle) with both of the pieces there, . . . sewn, . . . just don't pop out the belt loop yet. The actual "front" of the holster at this point will be the leading edge, . . . and a big glob of leather, . . . specifically cut too big, . . . so you can put that Python in a baggie, . . . soak that front piece of leather, . . . and hand mold and form it to the Python. Don't be gentle, . . . do it, . . . do it right, . . . make that leather mold into the cylinder flutes, . . . front of the trigger guard, . . . front of the cylinder, . . . down the edge of the ventilated rib. Then, . . . gently remove the Python, . . . and hang the holster up over a stretched out string, . . . along the sight track, . . . let it dry for at least 24 hours. Come back, . . . put the bagged Python back in the holster, . . . clam shell it shut, . . . mark and cut away the excess, . . . glue, cut, bevel, gouge, stitch, . . . and you will have a holster you will be proud of. This is how I make all my revolver pancake holsters, . . . never had a customer come back yet and say it was uncomfortable. Actually, I wish I lived near you, . . . would love to do a "joint project" on a 4 inch Python. I had one once, . . . let it slip away, . . . have kicked myself more times than you can ever imagine. If you really want to cheat, . . . just lay a piece of soaked leather down on the bagged Python, . . . put it all in a vacuum bag, . . . on a cutting board bigger than the backside of the holster, . . . turn on the vacuum sealer, . . . and you can get the form of the front, . . . then cut it out, . . . add the back to it, . . . and you have a holster. I've done it that way too, . . . and it does work, . . . I just use a semi-pro vacuum rig. Make sure you post some pics of the thing when you get it done. May God bless, Dwight
  21. Contact cement directions clearly state that the cement is supposed to dry BEFORE you put the pieces together. Putting it together while it is still wet, . . . may result in it not curing for several days if not weeks, . . . and will never bond together like it should. Course, I could be wrong, . . . only been using this stuff for about 50 years. May God bless, Dwight
  22. The vast majority of mine are simple white pine, spruce, or fir, . . . cut from a scrap piece of 2 x 4, . . . sanded to fit. I found out that the single most important part of it is the sanding. They need to be slick and free of splinters. I've also got a double mag pouch I made a number of years ago for an XD 45, . . . it's a double stack .45 ACP. I had not used it in several years, . . . needed a black double stack for a special assignment, . . . grabbed it and put it on, . . . it works with the single stacks as well. My mag carriers are simple things, . . . see the pics. As you can see, . . . just two pieces of leather, . . . sewn together to make two pockets. May God bless, Dwight
  23. And when you get done using Troy's method (it's also my method) you'll have a box of fake mags as big as my box, . . . Seriously, . . . that is the way to do it. May God bless, Dwight
  24. Just in case you made that into a motion, . . . I'll second it, . . . only had to mess with them once, . . . that was twice too many times. Can we somehow get a binding vote on it,..................lol May God bless, Dwight
  25. I started to tell you how I do it, . . . but he's already laid out "our" way of doing it. May God bless, Dwight
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