Dwight

Actually, in today's leather goods market, . . . the propriety I place on the stitching, . . . is the look one wants to achieve. In years past, . . . not having some of the strong materials we have today, . . . size and strength sort of went hand in hand. Today, . . . some very small threads are as strong as yesteryear's large threads. I generally use 346 thread on all my holsters and belts, . . . even on one particular billfold application, . . . because of the "look" it gives. I tried 207 and 277 but was unhappy with the visual results, . . . although I am sure the physical strength was quite adequate. I even use some 415 occasionally, . . . as it is a bold look that adds to the "macho" flavor of some of the things I do. But again, . . . I really believe in today's market, . . . one could use most any size (relatively speaking) and if the pieces were properly bonded beforehand, . . . there should be no real fear in using whichever size looks the best. May God bless, Dwight

Tandy sells several different clips, . . . this being my favorite: http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/1239-24.aspx It will work for most holsters (especially on blue jeans) without actually going over the belt, . . . it grabs the seam underneath the belt. That way the belt is not scratched up by the clip, . . . AND, . . . the clip is not showing. I use this for my tuckable little holsters. May God bless, Dwight

I'd be happy with them, . . . good job. May God bless, Dwight

I have three groovers, . . . one is permanently set and cut off so it grooves at app 3/16 and is used for edges on almost anything and everything. The second is an easily adjustable one, . . . unscrew the hold down nut, . . . move in or out, . . . tighten, . . . and groove. Normally it is set for the second line, . . . and is appropriately spaced to give a parallel line to the first. NOW, . . . the free hand one, . . . used to mark and groove the trigger guard and barrel area on my holsters. I don't groove the back sides of my holsters. If I do anything, . . . it is to take a pair of dividers and make indented grooves in stead of gouges. For the trigger guard and barrel, . . . I don't do anything. May God bless, Dwight

Blueberries and / or black berries can be used for stain also, . . . if you want a blue or purple color. They work especially well if they are over-ripe. You can get a very pretty light tan, . . . just parking the leather in the sunlight for a while. 50/50 neatsfoot oil and virgin beeswax (by weight, not volume) heated together will form a paste near the consistency of Kiwi shoe polish, . . . put it on the same way. I suppose that formula is 150 or more years old from what was told me. May God bless, Dwight

Go get a piece of 3/8 inch steel, . . . a 4 inch square piece will do the job, . . . cover it with one layer of masking tape. Set it square over top of the leg on your table top, . . . and pound away. Also, . . . copper rivets, . . . for me, mind you, . . . respond much better to the soft, tap, tap, tap, tap touch than they do to the whack, whack touch. It also takes practice, . . . and maybe 5 bucks worth of copper rivets in a small piece of throw away leather. It actually is a good financial investment. Only screwing up one project with a really bum rivet job, . . . have to take it out, . . . then ruin the piece, . . . and you'll see why I said that. May God bless, Dwight

Take a look at this information, . . . it may help. http://www.saddlebackleather.com/Leather-101 May God bless, Dwight

Use contact cement to put the edges together first, . . . then sand the edges perfectly smooth, . . . then punch the holes, . . . then put in the rivets. Secondarily, . . . I find it always works best if the punch I use on rivets is just a tad smaller than the rivets. I like to put them in the hole, . . . turn the piece upside down, . . . and none of the rivets fall out. May God bless, Dwight

Chaps, . . . moccasins, . . . draw string bags, . . . floppy hats, . . . vests, . . . clutch purses, . . . shoes, . . . Think more about what you would like to have, . . . and make some thing(s) that YOU want, . . . in most cases, each of us is our own worst critic, . . . therefore if you are satisfied with the "possibility bag" that YOU made for YOU, . . . a customer may also be happy with it. May God bless, Dwight

TexasJack said it well, . . . My Western rig holster is very similar, . . . May God bless, Dwight

If you go here http://www.joann.com/coupon/?cm_mmc=Google-_-Brand+-+Coupons-_-Coupons+%28E%29-_-joann+fabrics+coupons_Exact&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=joann+fabrics+coupons&utm_campaign=Brand+-+Coupons&002=2365735&004=2391430203&005=519662829&006=9023000643&007=Search&008=&025=c&026=&gclid=CjgKEAjwkpacBRCNlprWw-u-nBwSJACwHiw-QjeattOCeT_cbTVsDQ4IqlW8u7jLI3rwDIhELEXlX_D_BwE you can print out a 40% off coupon, . . . if I remember correctly, . . . mine cost about 26 or 28 bucks. It is self healing, . . . has a 36 x 60 grid pattern, . . . overall is about 39 by 63, . . . and I just used double faced carpet tape to put it down on my table top. I love the thing. May God bless, Dwight

Just listen to papaw, . . . Oh, . . . yeah, . . . and practice, . . . practice, . . . practice. Seriously, . . . take some scrap leather, . . . cut some lines in it, . . . and go at it. I also found that if you go to an auto parts store, . . . take a couple of the most used tools you have (bevelers and shaders come to mind), . . . buy some thick, black, rubber tubing that will slip over the shaft of your tools (maybe put on some masking tape first to build it up a bit). Cover the whole shaft down to about 1 inch above the stamp itself. The rubber is easier to grip, . . . turns easier as you walk around the curves, . . . and is 10 gazillion % easier on your fingers. May God bless, Dwight

The backsides of all my IWB holsters get a double coating of Resolene as a deterrent to the sweat migration. I've never had a problem myself, . . . nor had a customer complain. I did toy one time with the idea of gluing and sewing a 10mil plastic sheet between two thin backside pieces, . . . it would protect the weapon from sweat migration, . . . but I never followed through on the idea, . . . so I don't know how or even if it would work. May God bless, Dwight

Yessir, . . . good looking work, . . . always like to see something different for the 1911, . . . and that one is one. May God bless, Dwight

Just for the record: Birthdate, . . . US Navy, . . . October 13, 1775 Birthdate, . . . USMC, . . . November 10, 1775 May God bless, Dwight

What is the model number, . . . name of it. I think they carry more than one. May God bless, Dwight

This will sound silly, . . . but it works, . . . that is what is important. For your grid, . . . make a piece of paper or cardboard with the size of squares you want on your grid (1 inch, . . . 1/2 inch, . . . 3/4 inch, . . . whatever) and make that grid paper at least 2 or 3 inches bigger on all 4 sides. Take a couple of blocks of wood, . . . drive nails in them, . . . stretch a string across the leather, . . . just above the leather, . . . and you have a line. When you are done with that line, . . . pull the blocks down to the next line and start again. If you need the other line, . . . make one the other way also. What I do when i need something like that, . . . is set up say the "horizontal" line, . . . then for vertical spacing, . . . use a set of dividers to make a light mark along the horizontal line, . . . one that will be stamped out of existence in the stamping process. Works for me. May God bless, Dwight

Some folks only bevel on cased leather, . . . it saves them from re-sharpening so often. I'm not one of them, . . . as I have scratched up a couple of pieces that way. If I do it dry, . . . the scratches don't show, . . . or not as much. Sometimes I qualify for a Dr. Klutz award, . . . so I gotta be careful how I do, . . . what I do. And, personally, . . . I'd never groove anything cased, . . . for the same reason. May God bless, Dwight

If you happen to know anyone who does excellent body work on cars, . . . he is familiar with paint and colors. I spent 30+ years in a paint factory, . . . we had guys and gals who could look at one sample, . . . and the desired sample, . . . and just babble off "add 1 x amount of blue, 3 x amounts of yellow, 1 x amount of black, . . . that'll do it",...........and it was so uncanny that they were right. Take your shoes to one of them and the closest dye you can find, . . . let them advise you, . . . color is color, . . . whether it is on shoes, firetrucks, or women's hair. May God bless, Dwight

The one word answer is "NO". In fact, . . . in the last few years, . . . virtually all of my weldwood stuff gets a "hot foot" treatment, . . . i dry the weldwood with a heat gun in about 10% of the time it used to take waiting for it to air dry. AND, . . . it may all be in my mind, . . . but it seems to stick better. Belts, holsters, mag carriers, purses, wallets, . . . all get the same treatment, . . . and it works for me. Putting the holster in an oven will not do anything but make it harder, . . . quicker. Unless, of course, . . . you put it in a microwave for 45 seconds, . . . and you really don't want to know how I am absolutely certain that one should never do that (a line from the short movie "Younger and Dumber"). May God bless, Dwight

A couple of 100 watt light bulbs with a line control thermostat set at 130 degrees, . . . in a large cardboard box should do the trick. May God bless, Dwight

The suggestion I would make: don't do what you said you were going to do. Plan out a project, . . . wallet, . . . bag, . . . sheath, . . . and buy the hardware you will need for THAT project and others like it. For instance, . . . line 24 snaps are useful on sheaths, dress belts, some holsters, . . . but get the project in mind that needs it before you order them. By ordering what you need, . . . you should always have on hand those things necessary to complete any order that comes your way. If you don't, . . . you will wind up like many leatherworkers, . . . they quit, die, or move on, . . . and a thousand dollars or more of "inventory" gets thrown into a couple of boxes by the auctioneer, . . . sold for a couple of bucks. May God bless, Dwight

Getting my post in here to get any new updates, . . . fascinating subject. May God bless, Dwight

For both squaring and cutting a straight line, . . . I have my work table covered in a 36 inch by 60 inch plastic top that was designed for ladies who sew a lot. It is marked off in 1 inch squares, . . . with 1/8 inch gradations, . . . and it makes cutting a straight, square, or even angled cuts "piece of cake" easy. I also have the aforementioned large aluminum ruler, . . . together they make big cuts, . . . long cuts easy. The cutting surface came from JoAnn fabrics, . . . with their 40% off coupon it was only like $25, . . . which to me was a super bargain. It is "attached" to my table top by double faced carpet tape, . . . so if it becomes damaged, . . . it is easily replaced. May God bless, Dwight