Dwight

I'll be the first to say it was a freak accident, . . . one in a million at least, . . . but it happened. An elderly guy had a striker fired pistol, . . . and a badly worn leather holster. He sat down in his car (passenger side) and somewhere in the wiggling around getting seated and getting the seat belt all cinched up, . . . a piece of the worn holster slipped into the trigger guard and fired his weapon for him, . . . while he was seated. IIRC, . . . he was lightly wounded, . . . hole in the seat, . . . hole in the bottom of the car. Literally hundreds of thousands of those weapons are used each day around the world without incident, . . . but there is the opportunity, . . . much worse than say a Python (revolver) or a 1911 (pistol) as other examples. That is why I am extra careful around striker fired weapons when I make a holster for one. May God bless, Dwight

When I bone a striker fired pistol, . . . I never go as deep in the trigger guard as you did. That looks like an XD which also has a grip safety, . . . but the Glocks and others don't, . . . and anything in there, including an errant piece of the holster, . . . can trip the trigger, . . . and that will ruin the whole day. But, . . . that's just my policy, . . . if the buyer wants something else, . . . I send him somewhere else. May God bless, Dwight

The advantages to this method: a more uniform dye job overall, . . . the colors from item to item come out closer than other ways (at least I think so). May God bless, Dwight

In the "old" days, . . . bees wax and / or oil alone were the only things that could / were used on leather by the majority of makers. Bees wax and neatsfoot oil make a wonderful paste that I use by itself, . . . even with black, . . . had have had no real serious bleeding problems. That is not to say it will never happen, . . . and I wouldn't wear that black belt for at least the first 10 times with a pair of white pants. But my "cowboy" holster is made that way, . . . no problems. My "recipe" is a 50 / 50 mix of neatsfoot oil and virgin bees wax, . . . measured by weight, . . . boiled together in a jar suspended in a crock pot of hot water until it all liquifies, . . . pour it out in muffin papers, . . . use it like Kiwi shoe polish. But if the item will allow it, . . . I prefer Resolene, . . . it is my first choice. May God bless, Dwight

I would ask him first, . . . he has asked for raw, . . . that is what I would give him, . . . After a few gigs on a Milwaukee stage, . . . it ought to have it's own personalized color bands May God bless, Dwight

When I get in a pickle like that, . . . a wool dauber, . . . resolene, . . . finishes off the pickle. May God bless, Dwight

If it were mine, . . . I would cut the pieces, . . . they look to be about 3 inches wide, . . . dip dye them, . . . buff them like there is no tomorrow, . . . burnish the edges, . . . and apply a light coat of Resolene, . . . cut 50/50 with water. Then I would weave them onto the chair, . . . I'd also make a little grabber out of two small pairs of vice grips, . . . and a turnbuckle in the middle, . . . they will pull it every bit as tight as you could ever want it. Truth be known, . . . you CAN put the leather on there wet, . . . and when it drys, . . . it will be taut, . . . but the first time anyone who is, . . . uhhh, . . . ummm, . . . "not undernourished" sits in the chair, . . . all that special planning and stretching will be for naught. It will loosen up and sag a bit, . . . that is the nature of leather. May God bless, Dwight

In the chap work I've repaired and fixed in the last couple of years, . . . the upholstery thread sold at JoAnn's fabric shop has been super. A spool of it is only a couple of bucks, . . . and it comes in many different colors. May God bless, Dwight

Weaver Leather in Berlin, Ohio can make the cutters for you, . . . they will cut the shape out to the "zinth" degree from what I have heard. They are not cheap, though, . . . I have also heard. THEN, . . . go to the stamp, . . . have it cut from delrin or another plastic, . . . line up the stamp, . . . press it, . . . you should be done. I believe delrin is the name of the plastic I have for my maker's stamp, . . . it has held up well for the 5 or 6 years I've been using it. May God bless, Dwight

Having worked in maintenance at a production factory for many years, . . . I can see where you would really like to have this machine / tool. BUT, . . . having said that, . . . I also know it would be a pain to produce for a decent price, . . . and the eventual sharpening of it would be another troublesome spot. Think in terms of having the design pressed into the leather by a "stamp" that has outside dimensions of the final product you want. If the leather blank was as wide as you wanted it to be, . . . one end squared up, . . . when you "pressed" in the design, . . . you would only have to make one knife cut, . . . along one side, . . . and you would not only make that one piece but would prepare the leather strip for the next one, . . . which again would only take one 4 inch knife stroke to finish the piece. That design would be far less costly than an "all in one" and because no blades are involved, . . . also much less dangerous. Presses that cut and / or shear material are absolutely notorious for also doing fingers, hands, arms and anything else which gets in their grasp. Think about not putting yourself in that opportunity for disaster. May God bless, Dwight

The most important thing you can do right now is learn how to use the tools you already own. Expansion of the tools will not make you a better leather worker any faster than sleeping in the garage will make you a better driver. Learn the basics, . . . carving, stamping, shading, beveling, burnishing, sewing, lacing, etc. . . . and figure out what you want to do, . . . and what you do not want to do. I love making belts and holsters, . . . and I have no desire to become an expert at stamping and decorating them. I also do not do hand stitching any more than I absolutely have to. It took me some time to decide all these things, . . . so if you take your time, . . . you also will find where YOU belong, . . . in the leather working world. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks Kai1865, . . . my thoughts exactly. Several different sizes, . . . some with ridges to keep it from sliding around while putting it together, . . . I had to laugh too, . . . I was just trying to put the words together, how I would say it, . . . there was your post. May God bless, Dwight

Will your machine sew 400 nylon thread through 4 layers of 12 oz veggie tanned leather that was all contact cemented together? If it won't, . . . then you'll know why I own an Tippmann Boss, . . . And just FYI, . . . from an engineering standpoint, . . . it IS a very efficient design, . . . but like anything else, . . . it is not for everyone, . . . yourself included. May God bless, Dwight

The blemishes you see in your belt on the inside from burnishing, . . . are never seen in mine, . . . because I dunk dye the whole thing, . . . after it is fully created. The only thing to be done then is burnish the edges, . . . add finish coat(s), . . . buckle & hardware, . . . send to customer. But that's just my way of doing things. May God bless, Dwight

My belts are whatever combination I have at the moment because I do not own a splitter. I generally try for an 8 oz and a 6 oz together for a 14 oz or so belt, . . . just shy of 6mm. For holsters, . . . 7 oz to 9 oz or two 4 or 5 oz pieces sandwiched together for a lined holster. Knife sheaths start around 6 oz and go up, . . . depending on how big the knife is, . . . how it is carried. Guitar straps are generally 5 or 6 oz, . . . maybe 7 if I got to stamp it much. May God bless, Dwight

Dwight, Which Model of rings do you have, the Colt or the Springfield A-1? I had to go look, . . . it is the Colt, . . . but not with the "cocked & locked" attitude. When I'm doing a Commander, . . . I just use my own firearm, . . . as that is the size I carry. May God bless, Dwight

My Rings blue gun only found one that didn't fit, . . . it was an older 1911, Stainless, made by Springfield. The dust cover was bigger, thicker than any other I ever ran across. May God bless, Dwight

Very few things I do are stained first, . . . I dunk em all when they are assembled. Admittidely, . . . for my Centurion armor, . . . I used pre-dyed leather, . . . but would have dunked it after assembly if I had not used pre-dyed. I do not put any of the metal: buckles, chicago screws, conchos, etc. on the work, . . . but it is sewn, burnished, sanded, stamped, all that stuff then it is "dunked" and done. I have an air brush, . . . but no paint booth yet, . . . so I cannot really comment on that. May God bless, Dwight

Atom wax is just that, . . . a wax finish. Kiwi shoe polish is another wax finish, . . . so you have something to compare it to. Both give a fairly protective coat, . . . look really good when first done, . . . but will scuff and wear off in time. Resolene is an acrylic finish, . . . similar to the clear coat finish on your new car, . . . only not quite as sophisticated, . . . and not as hard. Resolene will lock out UV rays, most moisture, most sweat, most other liquids, . . . and will seal in the dye. I have never had a "rub off" problem with Resolene. Most people I have found who dislike it, . . . simply have never taken the time to learn how to apply it properly. There are many ways, . . . but if it is done in a sloppy manner, . . . not cut with water, . . . "messed with" too soon, . . . or a few other things, . . . you will not like the finish. Practice with it, . . . play with it, . . . learn to use it, . . . and you will like it. It is not THE "do all" or "finish all" product we would all like, . . . it is lousy for purses in my estimation, . . . but it does have many uses, . . . I use it exclusively for the belts and holsters I sell. May God bless, Dwight

Just agreeing with Ray. May God bless, Dwight

Pitch the super sheen, . . . go to Resolene, . . . mix it 50/50 with water, . . . play with it enough and you can use it for a mirror practically. It is a far superior finish in just about every way. May God bless, Dwight

My philosophy on life has always been pretty much the same that Bill Gates used as Microsoft CEO. When asked if he "could" do something, . . . he virtually always said "Yes", . . . then went back to his team and said, . . . "OK, . . . now HOW do we do it?" I've lived almost 70 years following what he put into those few words, . . . has always worked for me. May God bless, Dwight

If you wanted it to be certain never to move, . . . a series of drilled holes in each corner, . . . making an "L" shape, . . . say 1 inch long each way, . . . then saddle stitching through those holes, . . . that should hold it. Because of the price of my Ipad, . . . I simply made a leather case for it to slip into and out of, . . . rather than a book, . . . plus it was easier and quicker. May God bless, Dwight

It is a little pricey, . . . but at Office Depot you can get this: http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/617993/Apollo-Plain-Paper-Copier-Transparency-Film/ You can draw on it, . . . print on it with a computer printer, . . . and you will never make enough leather goods to wear out the plastic. It's good for tooling patterns and for actual "outline" patterns for holsters, purses, etc. May God bless, Dwight

Just one little note, . . . I had the same thought about a shoulder rig many years ago, . . . and built it, . . . veggie tan holster, . . . suede straps. It is the singularly most uncomfortable shoulder rig I've ever had on my body. I cannot tell you why, or how it works, . . . but the doggone thing just hangs and weighs like a sand bag. The same gun in my veggie tan rig is much more comfortable for me. Might just be my skinny body and frame, . . . but I've never made one since, . . . don't plan on it either. I have not tried milled veggie tan, . . . it can be bought plain, no dye on it, . . . and it is nice and soft, . . . but does not have the stretch that some suede has. May God bless, Dwight