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

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

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

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

I use a Tippmann Boss, . . . May God bless, Dwight

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

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

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

About 10 minutes on google caught these images: You can mold vegetable tanned leather to darn near any shape you want, . . . it just has to be made in pieces. The Captain America image shows at least 2 front to back seams, . . . If I were doing it, . . . the owner would don a thin watch cap (toboggon to some) and I would wet, cut, and mold the inside pieces to his head over the watch cap. once you get the inside pieces, . . . you can add the strengthening pieces to the outside, . . . wet the whole thing good, . . . mold it on his head, . . . make him wear it for about 3 hours, . . . until most of it was basically dry, . . . take it off, . . . sit it in front of a fan, . . . come back this time tomorrow, . . . it should be ready for a trial fit and adjustment. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks for the good words, folks, . . . It actually was the second one, . . . first one got one hole punched about 3 inches from where it was needed, . . . could not figure out a work around, . . . so I guess some day in the fairly near future, . . . my old Jumbo saddle (I think it is older than I am), . . . will have a rifle scabbard hanging from it. It was a fun project, . . . for a friend, . . . and that Golden Boy going in it, . . . well, . . . it ain't never had it so good. May God bless, Dwight

Something happened, . . . cause I put the picture on here, . . . gremlins are amongst us I guess. May God bless, Dwight

FWIW, . . . Tandy's clips (and most others for that matter) were never intended to be riveted on and used as they came out of the package or off the sales hook. They need a leather "sleeve" over them, . . . it keeps them in place, . . . the rivet is a "make sure" deal, . . . and positions everything so it can be sewn together. As far as the rivets not staying on, . . . I'd have to see what kind of rivet you used, . . . and how you did it. I rivet my clips to the outside piece of leather, . . .the sleeve, . . . using 2 piece brass rivets, . . . then glue and sew the sleeve onto the holster, bag, knife sheath, whatever, . . . and I've simply never had any problem with them. May God bless, Dwight

A friend asked me to make this for him. I doubt it will ever see a saddle and horse sweat. Lined with a beautiful 1/4 inch long lamb's wool, . . . feels like a fur lining. May God bless, Dwight

A friend asked me to make this for him. I doubt it will ever see a saddle and horse sweat. Lined with a beautiful 1/4 inch long lamb's wool, . . . feels like a fur lining. May God bless, Dwight

They look good to me, . . . especially the basket weave, . . . something I gave up on a long, long, long time ago. What part of Ohio do you call home? I'm near a little burg called Waldo. May God bless, Dwight

Stohlman or not, . . . it's a lousy design. An IWB needs rigidity to make the draw smooth, easy, and non eventful. This design seems to defeat all three of those ideas. If you are dead set on having this design, . . . it'll have to be steel lined from the bottom to "up and over" the belt top, . . . and I'm not sure that would solve all of the problem. May God bless, Dwight

Best place to go is somewhere like Office Depot or Office Max, . . . try out every one they have. I have three chairs and two stools, . . . all of em sit above 24 inches. For your 38 inch top, . . . I'd just put one or two of them on a box on wheels, . . . 5 good swivel wheels at Harbor freight should set you back $35 or so, . . . and it should be plenty safe enough if your floor is fairly smooth. Just be careful of the mounting and dismounting. But then again, . . . I'm just a cheap old coot, . . . been making do for so long with home made contraptions, . . . don't know how to do it any other way. May God bless, Dwight.

Not meaning to bash you my friend, . . . but in a nutshell, . . . sounds like a lousy design. Try making a standard pancake, . . . then instead of belt slots like you would use for an OWB, . . . make the ears a little taller, . . . put straps and snaps on it, . . . the straps go over the top of your pants, . . . down under your belt, . . . then come up and snap on top. Tried and true design, . . . works like a champ, . . . and if you pull it out of your britches, . . . there is something else going on we just don't understand. May God bless, Dwight

I use Feibings thinner for their dye. In reality, . . . you don't save a lot, . . . but the dye goes on better I think, . . . plus there is a whole lot less ruboff and buffing that has to be done. As for contitioner, . . . I really haven't used it enough to be competent to tell you much about it. My "conditioner" I've used in the past has simply been neetsfoot oil, . . . used sparingly, . . . if at all, . . . as most of my stuff needs the rigidity, . . . belts & holsters and the like. May God bless, Dwight

I put this in my Google Chrome,..... youtube: airbrush dying leather I got a full page of videos. Didn't watch them, . . . but you'll probably find something there to help. May God bless, Dwight

Airbrush ! First dye the whole thing the lightest color you will be using, . . . come back and feather in the fades you want. Suggestion, . . . go practice on some cardboard or something else first, . . . get your technique down. Harbor freight has airbrushes for less than $30, . . . and they'll work for what you are doing. And yes, . . . if you want a hint of green, . . . you can add that to the clearcoat, . . . but again, . . . better practice it so you know what you are getting. May God bless, Dwight

Leather is like in-laws, . . . comes in all kinds of sizes, shapes, flavors, and temperaments. But only one can be fully and successfully utilized by most guys. In the case of in-laws, . . . it's that huntin / fishin / Ford driving brother of hers, . . . in the case of leather, . . . it's vegetable tanned. Put what you have in a box, bag, drawer, or cupboard for a while. Go get get a piece of good vegetable tanned 8/9 oz leather (buy a small hunk on Ebay), . . . get some cheap tools, . . . mess around with it, . . . see if you like it. Getting into leather working really is sorta like getting married, . . . and if you decide to bail out after 20 bucks worth of leather and 30 bucks worth of cheap tools, . . . you haven't lost much, . . . kinda like the $50 annulment, . . . May God bless, Dwight

I'll get in here, . . . just so I get the answer too, . . . never had that happen. Heck, . . . the cottonpickin' stuff sticks to everything in my shop, . . . Have you got a picture you can share??? May God bless, Dwight

Eirewolf, . . . I'm going to go out on a limb here, . . . but it is supported by several years of past experience: you simply are applying the dye and the resolene wrong. Especially the black dye, . . . cut it 2 to 1, . . . 2 thinners to 1 dye if you are using Feibings Pro Oil dye, . . . and let it dry, . . . 24 hours minimum. Then get an old wash cloth you never want to put on your body again, . . . and buff that piece of leather like you are shining your shoes, . . . buff hard, and seriously. THEN, . . . cut your resolene 1 to 1 with distilled water (or some water that has VERY low chlorine in it). Use a 1 inch, . . . cheap, . . . bristle brush (about 49 cents at a hardware store), . . . and lightly brush on a full coat of the resolene, . . . when it is dry, . . . 24 hours later, . . . buff it good just like you did the dye. Then add a second, maybe third coat. Experiment, . . . you may need a 4th coat. I don't do more than 2 for belts and holsters and they hold up great. Resolene and dyes are not made to be used full strength from what I've experienced, . . . so I really think that is your problem. There is another finish you can try, . . . and I really like it for some of the stuff I do, . . . it is a mixture of beeswax and neatsfoot oil, . . . it makes a very nice finish, . . . doesn't allow bleed through of the dye if it is done right, . . . but is a more time consuming finish. Anyway, . . . let us know how you make out. May God bless, Dwight

Vegetable tanned leather is what you will want if you want to dye it, stamp it, decorate it, etc. Blanks can be purchased through Tandy Leather, or almost any of the other suppliers. Go to a Tandy store and pick it out yourself. A belt is a good project for a "first one" and the folks there can get you started out at least mostly correct. I personally use Feibings pro oil dye and Resolene for a finish on all my belts. Both are cut 50/50, . . . dye with thinner, Resolene with water. May God bless, Dwight