Dwight

Just remember (this is why I rarely if ever use it), . . . if you spill ANY gum trag, . . . or get it ANYWHERE you don't want it, . . . that piece of leather will NEVER in it's remaining lifetime allow any dye whatsoever to work on it. Gum trag SEALS the leather like a dungeon seals freedom. Just be warned if you use it. May God bless, Dwight

I would not be as concerned about burnishing those holes, . . . as just taking a spoon tool and rolling down the sharp edges with it. It would be a lot faster than burnishing, . . . get pretty much the same effect, . . . and once it is dried, . . . dyed, . . . and finished, . . . I doubt seriously if anyone would ever notice the difference. May God bless, Dwight

You must have missed them: pages 107 and 278. May God bless, Dwight

The most important thing is not "what do I take", . . . but rather "what does the market want". My market is simply the folks with CHL's who need a belt, a holster, and a mag carrier. I haven't been to a show for a couple years, . . . but when I went, that's what I took. Finished belts, finished mag carriers, finished holsters. Most of the guys in my target market seem to run in the 38 to 44 inch belt size, . . . they like plain belts, . . . black and brown, . . . and I would have 6 or so belts with me that met those requirements, . . . along with several holsters for 1911, Glock, and snubby .38 revolver. I did not ever clean my table at the show, . . . but I had sales, . . . and made contacts. Sometimes the latter is more important. Yes, . . . making stuff up ahead of time can be discouraging when it does not sell at the show, . . . but for all that, . . . we have Ebay, . . . and I have sold just about everything I've ever put up there or on Gunbroker. Anyway, . . . go do some "market research", . . . it'll pay off. May God bless, Dwight

Can you put a picture up, . . . with a ruler for comparison? "Very Small" to a saddle maker has a different meaning than "Very Small" to a watchmaker. May God bless, Dwight

Try these folks: https://www.ohiotravelbag.com/ They have always been super to work with, . . . but I don't know about your specific item. Check their search. May God bless, Dwight

The shaft size was 1/8 and the tip size was 1/16, . . . those were the smallest I could get then. May God bless, Dwight

A friend made himself a K-Bar, . . . about 4 inches longer than a standard. He asked me to come up with something for him. It's not finished yet, . . . but I always like the look of the product just before it goes into the dye tank. . . . and here it is. It was a fun project. May God bless, Dwight

Riley, . . . thanks, girl, . . . you made me go out and get my machine cranked up, . . . I'd been putting it off. My Singer 111W155 had to have a new motor, . . . and some "tender loving care", . . . and if you hadn't asked the question, . . . it still would be sitting out there rusting. But what I did was go out and scrounge up some scrap leather strips, . . . contact cemented them all together, . . . then sewed them together. I started out with size 108 thread, . . . and it did not work too well. Both of the outside tracks of sewing are the 108. The center track is the 138 pre-lubed I just bought a couple days ago, . . . and it looks a whole lot nicer. Now the overall thickness of the three pieces was .312 inches which rolls out just over 7.9 mm thick, . . . which is plenty for what you were talking about doing. If you get a machine, . . . make sure you get one with a servo motor on it, . . . or some type of gear reduction that makes it go slow enough for you to sew 15 stitches per minute. You will never really need it that slow, . . . but it gives you the slow speed needed to negotiate corners, etc. My original motor would slow down to about 150 stitches per minute, . . . and no more, . . . so I had to come up with a servo motor, . . . which thankfully I could get just 200 KM away, . . . drove up and back the same day. There are many other machines that are actually clones of the 111W155 from what I'm told, . . . and here in the states, . . . machine / motor / table and all can be had for a few hundred bucks. AND, . . . yes, . . . you really should get a walking foot machine. Do a youtube search on it, . . . somebody will have an example for you to view, . . . it is THE leather worker's tool. Good luck in your search, . . . may God bless, Dwight

Uhhh, . . . that was almost a year ago, . . . when we traversed the "shop" from the house to the actual shop built for that purpose. That is actually the first belt I did out there laying on the table at the sewing machine. And, . . . well, . . . it looks "different" now But thank you for your kind words, . . . there is enough "Destroyer Navy" influence out there that it is at least organized, . . . though maybe not painted and the deck swabbed. May God bless, Dwight

Riley, . . . First, . . . where are you located, . . . we may be able to point you to someone close. Second, . . . you mentioned at least 4mm thick, . . . the most important thickness is the other end, . . . the thickest. I have three machines, . . . one will barely sew 2mm, . . . another will do about 8mm, . . . and the big boy will do about 18 mm. The middle one is a Singer 111W155, . . . and is an old war horse of a machine, . . . but it works. May God bless, Dwight

When I get this, . . . it is 9 tiimes out of 10 the leather, . . . or something on/in the leather. Good luck, . . . This is one of the few things I detest about leather work, . . . just every now and then you get a piece all done, . . . anticipating a beautiful finished product, . . . and the leather itself lets you down. May God bless, Dwight

Go on line, . . . get the 40 or 50% coupon for JoAnn fabric, . . . go to the store, . . . their 36 x 50 is in the neighborhood of $55 before you use the coupon. I have one on my table, . . . has been there only a little over a year, . . . but I love it, . . . like BDAZ said, . . . the lines help immensely. I put mine down on a plywood top with double faced tape, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Well, . . . you didn't say if it was a double stack 50 cal semi auto, . . . or a 17 double barrel derringer, . . . so it's hard to say for sure. But, . . . I've made several in my wood shop, . . . make the general shape, . . . take it to the sander, . . . knock off the rough edges, . . . do a little judicious chisel and carving work, . . . it'll do for holsters. Most challenging was a S&W model 29, . . . And, . . . yes, . . . they're pretty much all out of southern yellow pine or white pine 1 by,.............. May God bless, Dwight

Popeye would be proud of you,.................. And I'm sure the bos'n will enjoy all the ribbing he'll get with it. May God bless, Dwight

My first instinct would be that you "hung" it after you sprayed it, . . . I always lay my holsters down flat after dying, . . . otherwise I get exactly what you got, . . . light on the top, . . . dark on the bottom where the stain migrated. I learned about that several years ago, . . . made a bunch of belts, . . . all the same day, . . . had my brain dis-engaged, . . . only the black ones were up to par. All the brown ones were very dark at the buckle end, . . . light at the tongue end, . . . cause that was the way I hung them when I drug em through the dye tank. I'd just dye it black, . . . put a coat of Resolene on it and sell it, . . . it should look real good then. May God bless, Dwight

Most of the time I used the 1/16" bit. The shaft of the bits on my machine were all 1/8, . . . but the cutting end was a different size, . . . and the 1/16 was the one I'm pretty sure I used. For leather, . . . it has to be sharp, . . . and you have to go slow. May God bless, Dwight

I almost made one once, . . . and had decided if I did, . . . the mag would go along the sight track, . . . up front. Then I talked myself out of it, . . . had forgotten the whole deal until now. But then again, . . . if the customer wants a purple holster with 8 inch yellow fringe, . . . he ought to be able to get it, . . . somewhere. May God bless, Dwight

From what I can see, . . . it looks like a steel stamp set. They are used for stamping metal mostly, . . . but I've used them on leather, . . . mine don't look perfectly like that, . . . but close. It could also be an engraver. I used to have one, . . . it used a bit something like a little drill bit, . . . very high speed, . . . did a beautiful job on leather, wood, plastics. My machine was similar to this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Hermes-IM-3-GM-3-Operating-Instructions-Manual-11pages-/251794664682?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aa021acea It would duplicate that perfectly. May God bless, Dwight

You are very welcome, . . . happy leather working. May God bless, Dwight

Although limited, my experience with drum dyed veg tan is that it definitely is harder to work. You have to be a little creative in dealing with it. It does not want to bend, fold, stamp, and tool as well in my experience. HOWEVER, . . . if you take the time with it, . . . it does turn out nice. I quit using it, . . . preferring to dye my own, . . . cutting down on the inventory needs of different weights of different colors, etc. May God bless, Dwight

Jenn, . . . I do holsters, belts, knife sheaths, chaps, chinks, . . . and assorted & sundry other leather "stuff". If you want to avoid the hassle, . . . buy pre-dyed leather, . . . many folks do that, . . . they do not have "dye" problems for 99% of the time. I don't like being limited as to my color choices, . . . so I dye my own projects. I use Feibings oil dye, . . . generally cut 50/50 with their reducer, . . . and I "dip" dye, . . . meaning I submerge my product for several seconds in the dye, . . . none of that dauber / brush / mop, . . . etc, . . . dunk it and dye it is my motto. I then let it dry a full 24 hours, . . . lay it flat, . . . flesh side down if you can. Avoid hanging up large or long projects, . . . the dye will migrate to the bottom, giving you a light color on top, . . . darker on the bottom, . . . I then get a wash cloth type rag, . . . and buff the item until no more pigment comes off it. It will also shine a bit when I'm done. I use white paper towels to make sure there is no more rub off. Depending on the product, . . . Resolene (50/50 with water) or Bag Kote (80/20 with water) or Aussie Wax, . . . depending on the effect and the finish I want. Resolene is a hard, acrylic finish, . . . also sun proof. I like it best. Bag Kote is a softer finish, . . . not sun proof, . . . aggravating sometimes to work with, . . . produces a softer finish. Aussie Wax is a soft finish, . . . nice feel. NONE are water proof, . . . you want vinyl, nylon, rayon, or aluminum for that, . . . leather cannot be water PROOFED. A good dye job, properly rubbed down, . . . and at the least, a coat of neetsfoot oil and another rubbing, . . . there should be no problem with dye rubbing off. Acrylic paints do add a nice color to projects. My personal opinion of water based dyes is not very good, . . . but then again I have a process i like and works for me, . . . so I don't have to re-invent the wheel. As far as the colors lasting, . . . staying brilliant and beautiful, . . . put it in a showcase, lock it, it'll stay that way. Take a piece of leather out and use it, . . . it won't. May God bless, Dwight

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???

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

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