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Everything posted by Dwight
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Reinforcing Mouth Of Iwb Holster
Dwight replied to asbandr's topic in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
C'mon, Red Cent, . . . 11 gauge is closer to tank armor than flashing,........ that stuff is an eighth of an inch thick, . . . well, . . . almost armor anyway May God bless, Dwight -
Right on my friend, . . . the leather is not a lining, . . . it is the hinge, . . . follow the picture, . . . it goes down under all three pieces there, . . . one upright is screwed to the bottom, . . . as well as the spacer, . . . the leather is just tacked onto the 1 x 4 with some little brass brads, . . . acts as a hinge. In case you haven't figured it out, . . . I am a scrounger, . . . don't always have to have "the thing", . . . I can usually figure some way of making something do, . . . in this case it was the hinge. May God bless, Dwight
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This is my little pony, . . . it is 18 inches tall, . . . base is about 14 inches long. It is cut out of one 1 x 4 pine board, . . . about 51 inches long or so (actually was a piece of scrap out in the wood shop, . . . a cutoff from another job). I lined the jaws with scrap leather, . . . used a cut off 1/4 x 20 piece of all thread (probably also a longer bolt cutoff from the shop), . . . and some nuts. Bottom hinge is another piece of scrap leather. Probably took me an hour to make. It sits on my chair, . . . between my knees, . . . and goes under my workbench or desk when not in use. May God bless, Dwight
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There is also a Tippmann Boss stitcher on Ebay, . . . current bid is $610,................I love mine.
- 8 replies
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- treadle pros and cons
- stitcher
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Two thicknesses of 12 oz leather becomes 3/8 of an inch, . . . of dry leather, . . . which will take a heavy duty treadle machine. As Constabulary pointed out, . . . most treadle machines on CL are dressmaker type machines that will at best sew a couple layers of 2 oz together, . . . and will not handle the thread you need. On the other hand, . . . take a couple of pieces of the leather you want to use, . . . make a change purse out of it, . . . stamp it a bit, . . . tool it a little, . . . then take it in to a larger JoAnn Fabric store, . . . ask one of the demonstrators there to show you how well their machine works (or won't work). You might be surprized. I do have a little "Brother" machine that I use for some light leather sewing, . . . I paid $25 for it to a lady who bought it for less at a yard sale. But, it will not do 2 pieces of 12 oz. Good luck, may God bless, Dwight
- 8 replies
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- treadle pros and cons
- stitcher
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I'll try to answer best I understand the questions: 1. Yes I do, . . . in "most" cases. I can do that with full confidence as I always cement the pieces together, . . . sand and bevel the edges, . . . before I stitch groove. That gives me the ability to run a stitch groove on the front and the back and know that they will line up. 2. Yes, . . . if you do your part in punching them straight through. For the little bit of hand stitching I do, . . . I run both grooves, . . . mark it with a stitching wheel, . . . and punch through the front, . . . while watching the back. I use a pony most of the time for this. I watch for the point to appear, . . . if it is not in the groove where it should be, . . . I back up the awl a few thousandths, . . . re-push, . . . until I get the point to come out where I want it. 3. Lay down a piece of virgin bees wax, . . . stroke the awl on the beeswax (both sides of the awl) before starting in. That will fix your problem. 4. Take a look at the little drawing, . . . it'll show you how to clamp down the edges to get rid of the space you are having. On another note, . . . that is a good looking piece of leather work. May God bless, Dwight
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I didn't know Ruger put rails on their bricks,........... Just kidding, . . . of course, . . . personally I don't think it would make a big difference on that particular model of gun, . . . there are some out there that would, . . . but I think you might be able to slide this one by with or without. May God bless, Dwight
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Reinforcing Mouth Of Iwb Holster
Dwight replied to asbandr's topic in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
I'll play the devil's advocate, . . . take a look at a Versa Max 2 holster from Milt Sparks, . . . take a look at my Cactus on my website, . . . we both use a reinforcement piece, . . . and I do know for a fact it makes a difference. My Cactus will stay open with that reinforcement piece, . . . and it does not need a piece of steel or anything else sandwiched in between. I cannot speak for the VM2 as to whether it has or does not have metal in it, . . . but the extra leather does far more than add thickness. It adds strength, . . . and it does also aid in keeping the mouth of the holster open so the re-holstering can be accomplished with only one hand, . . . something that cannot be done if the mouth collapses. But it is a "to each his own", . . . Lobo makes all sorts of holsters, . . . without reinforcements. May God bless, Dwight -
A stitching pony is very easy to make, . . . and it makes a world of difference if you do have to hand stitch something. May God bless, Dwight
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Sewing on loops like Will showed produces a very pretty gun belt, . . . and it will carry the cartridges, . . . But if you get John Bianchi's video series on making western gun leather, . . . his process is much cleaner looking, . . . and from my personal experience, . . . is a better way to do it. Of course, . . . Will's process is geared mostly to the hand sewer, . . . John's is to the machine man. Either will work, . . . but neither is as durable as the #2 post from Bruno Rock above. May God bless, Dwight
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I've still got an undyed right hand holster laying in my "project" box. I finished sewing the doggone thing, . . . all formed and boned of course, . . . but could not kick the "nagging feeling" that something was not right. Checked the fit, . . . AOK, . . . straps, . . . AOK, . . . dye I was going to use, . . . AOK, . . . anticipated fnal finish, . . . AOK. Re-read the order and determined that I needed to make a new one, . . . this time for a left handed individual. Some right handed fellow will come along some day. May God bless, Dwgiht
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I haven't had a "learning experience" holster lately, . . . but does a rifle scabbard count? I had marked where to punch the holes for the conchos, . . . punched the holes. Only one of the holes, . . . of course on the front, . . . in the singularly most obvious position, . . . was in the wrong place, . . . and it was only off by 3 inches. I made a new scabbard. I think I'll just keep the other one for myself, . . . use it on Sunday, . . . call it my holy scabbard. Just don't let it get to you, . . . laugh, . . . spit, . . . drink 2 liters of Mt. Dew, . . . do something to get over it, . . . then, . . . yeah, . . . get over it. Folks been making learning experiences since Cain whacked Abel and found out that wasn't in the original script. Leather work is just a different way of making them. May God bless, Dwight
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Thanks, Bill, . . . I make all my cowboy belts with a curve in them, . . . makes the top a tad shorter than the bottom, . . . makes it hug the hips better, . . . keep it from falling off. Cowboys really hate it when their gunbelts hit the dirt. I made the square originally so I could get that straight down slot from any place in the curve, . . . just have to make sure the front edge and the back edge of the top piece are equal distance from the edge you measure from. . . . May God bless, Dwight
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From the picture of the OP, . . . it seems he is doing style # 2, . . . which IMHO, . . . is THE way to do them. They will not get loose if done right, . . . they keep the rim of the cartridge from digging into the belt itself, . . . and they will get to a place where the cartridge is easy in / easy out, . . . but if you lay it down, . . . or tip over, . . . they won't fall out. Stitches on that style is just overkill, . . . and a lot of extra work for nothing. Actually the slots are pretty easy to cut, . . . if you have the "tool". It is a little home made "T" square that has marks for the top and bottom of the slot. It also has a little piece coming down from the top that shows the exact spacing for the next one. Makes the whole process a whole lot simpler. May God bless, Dwight
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If I understand you correctly, . . . looks good to me. The stitching around the back of the zipper end is for me one of the most important parts, . . . as an unbroken line of stitches will keep it all together and from shifting around. Show us the finished project when you get it done. May God bless, Dwight
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First Shoulder Rig
Dwight replied to Eaglestroker's topic in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
As others have said, . . . good looking rig, . . . good looking work. Lobo definitely is one of the good guys, . . . May God bless, Dwight -
Gun Belt Questions
Dwight replied to glockanator's topic in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
Glockanator, . . . If I understand correctly, . . . you are talking about a cowboy gun belt, . . . something similar to what John Wayne wore in his westerns. If that is the case, . . . the generally accepted rule of thumb is to make the gunbelt 4 inches longer than the belt the person wears to hold up his britches. That recommendation comes from himself, John Bianchi, . . . and so far it has not failed me. May God bless, Dwight -
I found a long time ago that the most dangerous part of zipper installation is the direction it is sewn. I usually use example # 1 as it allows me to continue my sewing (sometimes at least) around the one end, without stopping, . . . it is a continuous sewing path. # 2 works well also, . . . the way of course I generally sew chaps. # 3 will work on chaps, . . . or something like that, . . . but if you use this sewing pattern on a billfold, a purse, a jacket, . . . you will often wind up with a zipper that looks like it was not put in correctly. And since I sew almost exclusively by machine, . . . they are always contact cemented in place before I start the first stitch. But even there, . . . sometimes, depending on the material, the cement has been known to come loose, . . . Zippers look good when done and done right, . . . but the can be a pain. More than anything else, . . . take your time. May God bless, Dwight
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Actually, . . . not meaning to disparage TexasJack, . . . but if it is done correctly, . . . that cannot and will not happen. First, . . . make sure the leather you are using for the loops is about a good 1/16 wider than the slots you punch. They then get pinched into the slot and don't move because of that pinch at the top and bottom because of the excess width. Second, . . . pull the loops tight around the cartridges as you go. Third, . . . contact cement your loops to a liner and sew the edges together to make your belt. There is then no feasible way the loops will become loose by taking out a cartridge here and there. That is simply an internet rumor, . . . as far as I am concerned, . . . and if anyone saw it happen, . . . I'd chalk it up to sloppy workmanship on the belt. May God bless, Dwight
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Tooling and forming are like speed and power, . . . you can have one for sure, . . . but the more of the other you want, . . . the less of the first you will get. Unless you are an absolute, dyed in the wool, # 1, expert. Aside from that, . . . you will make the choice, . . . based on how much of which you want the most. It really is that simple. There are some guys who have tooled leather longer than most of us have been on the planet, . . . they can do what you want to do, . . . and when you have tooled leather that long, . . . you will be also able. Until then, . . . learn how to make holsters first, . . . then learn how to decorate them. May God bless, Dwight
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Well, . . . it definitely does have a learning curve, . . . but not insurmountable. I bought it because I liked the "non power" feature, . . . not needing electric. I had planned on maybe hitting some horse shows or county fairs, . . . have not gotten there yet. Some restrictions: the needle to right side throat is fairly small, . . . I sometimes have to seriously plan out my stitching route. The back side of the stitches never seems to come out as pretty as the front, . . . which can be a liability in some circles. There are times when a couple more hands would seriously help, . . . one is always occupied with the lever, . . . leaving only one to hold the thread at start, . . . and move the item as needed. BUT, . . . it has never balked at any sewing job I've thrown its way, . . . belts and holsters to it are like unleaded gas to a Ford, . . . just hums along. I also do my chap tops on it, . . . and that is a challenge, . . . but it is doable. One of the best things for me, . . . I'm 2 hours from the factory, . . . and Ben has fixed it both times I've taken it there, . . . all he needs from me is a day's notice. I did actually call him one time, . . . said I needed it today if it was at all possible, . . . he told me to get started, . . . his desk would be cleared by the time I got there, . . . and he is a man of his word. A sleeve had come loose, . . . blew the timing all to smithereens, . . . he was seriously perplexed until he noticed it, . . . but when he saw it, . . . he knew right away what to do, . . . had it fixed in a NY minute. For me, . . . shipping it up & back or driving is about the same $$$, . . . plus I enjoy the ride, . . . and I get the problem fixed that day, . . . shipping takes me down for 5 days. Holsters usually sew up in about 5 minutes or so, . . . I did a belt yesterday for a fellow with a 41 inch waist, . . . took something in the neighborhood of 15 minutes, . . . not hurrying, . . . making sure the stitching is straight. I'm very much pleased with mine, . . . May God bless, Dwight
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I would start at Goodwill, or Salvation Army, . . . get a used glove in there for $3.59 or so, . . . take it home, . . . and take it apart. You will then know how the "other guy" did it, . . . and you can make whatever changes suit your whimsy. May God bless, Dwight
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Actually, Mike, . . . leather working is not rocket science, . . . you just have to figure out how the other guy made his. I have a "gift" sort of, . . . I can take most anything apart in my mind, . . . and see the pieces, . . . and how they go together. I've drumrolled it for almost 70 years, . . . and it has certainly proved it's worth in the leather craft. If you do that with the two helmet pictures I posted, . . . you'll see it is not overly complicated, . . . daunting maybe, . . . but doable. May God bless, Dwight
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What he said ^ ^ ^ ^ That is except for basket weave, . . . you can do it, . . . or you can't. I can't, . . . gave up trying, . . . some day the tools will go to my rifle range for targets. But other than that, . . . yeah, . . . tooling is sometimes a lot of fun. May God bless, Dwight