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Everything posted by Dwight
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Metal Reinforcement
Dwight replied to Red Cent's topic in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
One clamshell, . . . as requested. This is actually not the holster I made, . . . but is very similar to it. The one piece of metal is under the top piece of leather on the left edge of the front, . . . and a corresponding piece on the back side. Notice the metal screw, . . . it goes through both pieces as a tension adjuster. This one is for a 6 shooter, . . . the one I made was for a 5 rounder. May God bless, Dwight -
Metal Reinforcement
Dwight replied to Red Cent's topic in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
Not really sure where you got your info, . . . the only ones I've seen and used since the late 60's had a thin piece of sheet metal sandwiched between two layers of leather, . . . and the purpose was to keep the holster shaped perfectly so the handgun simply laid in it, . . . virtually zero resistance to pulling it out. In order to have a leg guard for a full house .45 LC, . . . you would be talking about a 1/2 inch piece of plate steel, . . . and it could only be used to deflect into a different direction, . . . certainly not stop it. Add a 3 inch by 12 inch by 1/2 inch slab of steel to the back side of that holster, . . . it weighs 5 pounds. But, . . . back to the original question, . . . the metal has to be litterally hammered into it's final shape using a metal "dummy", . . . to get the cylinder and top strap shape, . . . cover it with leather, . . . cement the edges, . . . bend and fold along the barrel line, . . . shaping it around the "dummy", . . . glue and sew the edges together with appropriate welts, . . . Or, . . . I suppose if a person was a really good tinsmith, . . . cutting, soldering, folding, bending, . . . could produce a decent liner. Lots of work there though. The last one I had was for a Ruger SA .357 Mag, . . . with a 6 inch barrel. It was a good holster, . . . but I also have heard of guys being thrown from a horse or just falling, . . . if the pistol pops out, . . . the holster can collapse, . . . and it becomes a real job to get the thing re-shaped. Good luck, . . . anyone comes to me wanting one, . . . either gets talked out of it, . . . or they find another supplier, . . . they are too much aggravation for me. May God bless, Dwgiht -
Not So Fresh Off The Bench
Dwight replied to Frank's topic in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
I like em all, . . . good work. May God bless, Dwight -
Good Idea Or Blasphemy
Dwight replied to Red Cent's topic in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
Hey, . . . RC, . . . looks nice to me. But also, . . . if I'm carrying a SA revolver, . . . cartridge loops on the belt are more important than the buckle, . . . but then again, . . . thassss jus me. I also always sew in a one piece keeper for my belt, . . . looks like you riveted yours together. Ah, . . . different strokes for different folks. On the firing line, . . . you'll be noticed, . . . it'll stand out. May God bless, Dwight -
If you are having a time getting a straight line with a rotary cutter, . . . might I suggest it is not the cutter, . . . but the operator. Take your time, . . . lay the cutting edge (not the protected edge) against a good straight edge, . . . I cut up to 70 inches that way, . . . no problems, . . . and I'm a shaky old nearsighted geezer. It also helps if the straight edge is rubber or cork backed, . . . keeps it from slipping. May God bless, Dwight
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In two words, . . . "you're not". The shiny finish is the hair side of the animal skin, . . . devoid of hair of course, . . . and is just like your skin, . . . your forehead when you look in the mirror. The tanning processes developed down through the years have worked to emphasize and bring out the natural luster of the leather, . . . and quite frankly, the effect you are asking for would have to destroy or seriously alter the top layer of the leather, . . . seriously weakening and changing the material. If you do not want shine, . . . use suede leather. May God bless, Dwight
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I have a 50 foot front porch, . . . and occasionally have a special dye job needing special color on the thread. I tie a piece the length of the porch (or as needed), . . . using latex gloves, . . . I saturate a paper towel with the appropriate dye, . . . and simply walk down the thread, . . . squeezing the thread inside the saturated paper towel. I usually also go back the other way, . . . giving it a second coat. A few hours later, . . . it's dry, . . . and I've never had any serious problems with that thread, . . . but I don't use linen, . . . so I cannot speak for the material. But I would think it would be worth a try. And besides that, . . . vinegaroon works mainly because of a chemical reaction between it and the leather, . . . one which probably does not occur with the linen. May God bless, Dwight
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Gun Belts I Have Made
Dwight replied to Jess Jones's topic in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
Sewing across a strap or belt, . . . literally perforates it like a tear off piece of a sporting ticket. And, . . . unfortunately, . . . it can have the same result: the perforation becomes the weakest piece of the belt or strap, . . . and after a little time, . . . some wear, . . . and a full load placed upon it, . . . that is the place where it will tear just like a ticket stub. Tomt is straight on in his remarks, . . . but other than that, they look good. May God bless, Dwight- 8 replies
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- ccw gun belts
- best gun belts
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First off, . . . I cannot take personal credit for this really neat idea. Some time ago, . . . and at a suggestion of another , . . . I made a rig for cutting fringe, . . . and does it ever work well. I've done 2 pairs of mens chaps, one pair of girl's chaps, and one pair of ladies' chinks, . . . and am thoroughly sold that for me at least, . . . this is the way. It is piece of plexiglass with several lines made by scribe or scratch with a sharp pointed something or another. I would use the gusset piece at the knife edge, . . . leaving it long enough to fringe, . . . having it overlapped on both sides by the front/back piece, . . . but that is just my way of doing things. I have also used the front, . . . fringed it, . . . especially for a "native American" look. May God bless, Dwight
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Actually, the answer I would have to give you is "NO", . . . simply because I use either some brisk rubbing or a heat gun on low setting when I apply the wax (especially for touch ups later on), . . . and the heat or friction just "makes' it work. The fact that it is totally repairable at some later date, . . . for some reasonable need, . . . was what drew me to it in the first place. May God bless, Dwight
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I will not make a belt for anyone based upon the size of his/her pants. I almost did that once, . . . guy wore 36 Wranglers. Just for kicks and giggles, . . . we measured his belt he was wearing. I made him a 39 or 40 belt, . . . the Wranglers had "grown" as he did. I just won't invest the time and effort until I have told the customer in absolute unmitigated terms, . . . "we gotta know" the size. If they lie to me or are too lazy to check for sure, . . . then the "problem" with it belongs to them if it don't fit. But I don't make them off the Levis or Wrangler waist sizes. May God bless, Dwight
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BDAZ, . . . that is the same size as my new work table. I couldn't put shelves under it, . . . because at both ends and one side, . . . I sit down and slide my poor old tired legs under it. Not being critical, . . . but I also cannot use your arrangement as I have a ton of sunlight pouring in my south window and door. The leather would be right in the sunlight in my shop. BUT, . . . FYI, . . . if you have a JoAnn fabric place near you, . . . they have a white poly-something plastic cutting template that is all laid out in 1 inch squares, . . . 36 X 60. The actual piece is a couple inches bigger each way for a border, . . . but if you ever do things needing some kind of quick measuring, . . . it is great. Plus it is made to be used with rotary cutters, . . . and works fine with a razor knife too. You can go on line get a 40 or 50% off coupon, . . . makes the thing about 25 bucks or so, . . . I cannot buy a better work top for that kind of money. I cleaned up the plywood I had for the top, . . . laid down several strips and a border of 2 inch double sided carpet tape, . . . woo-hoo, . . . works like a champ. May God bless, Dwight
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Take a look at this thread: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=53478&hl=vault#entry342100 Here is the final product, . . . and I love the way it works. Only takes up a small amount of floor space, . . . I could probably hang 200 sq feet of leather in it. May God bless, Dwight
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If you make it right, . . . it comes out looking and feeling a lot like Kiwi shoe polish, . . . just a tad harder. Use it just like you would the shoe polish. I start with pouring the mixture into muffin papers in a muffin tin, . . . makes little cakes of the stuff. I rub a cake on the project, . . . "lightly" hit it with low setting on a heat gun, . . . oil sinks in / wax flattens out, . . . play with it a while, . . . you'll get the hang of it. You can also up the ante with a tad more nfo, . . . I lucked out once on a batch, . . . it was softer and easier to use, . . . but would melt if it got very warm. I keep bees too, . . . but mine haven't done anything for the last couple of years, . . . hoping it changes this year, . . . I love honey, . . . and it is just too expensive to buy all I want. May God bless, Dwight
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Metal Reinforcement
Dwight replied to Red Cent's topic in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
I just finished a clamshell for a friend, . . . it needed two pieces of metal reinforcement. I used 16 ga aluminum, . . . band saw cut to shape, . . . contact cemented in place, . . . works fine. If you need something that will be covered completely, . . . I have made some out of the 3/32 or so white plastic that is used for post sleeves. I think it is PVC, though it may be a different plastic. One thing for sure, . . . if you rough it up a bit on a sander, . . . it takes to contact cement like a duck does to water. Just remember that if you want to bend it, . . . bend it before you put it in the leather, . . . metal you can bend later, . . . the PVC has to be done first. But boy does it work well when you do it that way !!! May God bless, Dwight -
If you can imagine the scene where the bad guy and the sheriff face off in the middle of Main Street, . . . The bad guy wears a regular belt, . . . the sheriff wears a curved one. When a dust devil stirs up, . . . they both begin coughing, . . . but the sheriff's gun belt stays up, . . . the bad guy's is now down around his ankles. If you didn't laugh, . . . you should have, . . . because that is the type scenario the curved belt is supposed to prevent. Most of us who live long enough to grow old either wind up with way too much derrier, . . . or as in my case, . . . it went away. I keep mine cinched up pretty tight to keep it on, . . . and the curve does really help. May God bless, Dwight
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Whats The Hardest Area Of Leather Construction To You?
Dwight replied to DavidL's topic in How Do I Do That?
I work with leather between 3/4 and what would amount to 48 oz (3/4 of an inch) thick. My Harbor Freight belt sander and my Menards oscillating drum sander are my chosen sanding tools. I have on occasion made both pieces bigger, . . . deliberately, . . . so when they were glued together, I could trim the excess with a knife, . . . but only on some special pieces do I do that. I prefer the belt sander. Air brushing the dye does a "pretty" job, . . . but the dye is only on the surface. Any real good scratch and you are down to bare leather. I prefer to dip dye, . . . will only airbrush for special effects. May God bless, Dwight -
Whats The Hardest Area Of Leather Construction To You?
Dwight replied to DavidL's topic in How Do I Do That?
The part that aggravates me the most is cutting out the pieces. The rest is kinda, sorta, almost maybe fun, . . . but cutting out the pieces (along with determining which old dead cow to cut up) is the one part that aggravates my gizzard. I don't do enough of the same identical thing to warrant a clicker cutter, . . . mostly custom stuff, . . . so it is cut, whack, chop till ya get a piece of it to work with. I also generally follow: cut out, . . . glue together, . . . sand edges, . . . bevel the edges, . . . stitch gouge, . . . sew, . . . burnish edges, . . . mold, . . . dye, . . . re-burnish edges, . . . finish, . . . add bling as needed. Sometimes sewing goes after dye, . . . if customer wants white stitches. May God bless, Dwight -
New Guy From Texas
Dwight replied to lobo leathers's topic in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
That is some pretty good looking work, . . . and I don't mean to rain on the parade, . . . but: There is another "lobo" who has been around for a bunch of years, . . . www.lobogunleather.com Might be bad to get confused with each other. May God bless, Dwight -
Well, . . . first report is in, . . . he liked some of it, . . . some of it needed work. I had to go back and chop the ears off it above the clips, . . . and put a sweat shield on it. Thought of ripping it apart and re-doing the whole thing, . . . knew I'd never hit the same holes in the kydex, . . . so I just, . . . uhhh, . . . modified it. It's a prototype anyway, . . . having fun, . . . thanks to you. Thanks again, . . . and I probably mentioned it before, . . . but if I didn't, . . . you do beautiful work. May God bless, Dwight
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#2 Of 2 Charity Rigs
Dwight replied to Eaglestroker's topic in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
I will not be a critic, . . . course then again, . . . could not find anything to be critical of. Great job, . . . and as a fellow vet, . . . thank you, . . . thank you very much. Words are not able to convey the appreciation. May God bless, Dwight -
Is This A Thread Tension Issue? Tippmann Boss
Dwight replied to RoosterShooter's topic in Leather Sewing Machines
And here is how I have mine set up, . . . it causes me less problems. May God bless, Dwight