Dwight

Although we all love leather, . . . (obviously ), . . . and other natural materials, . . . it is a given that pretty much all natural materials will soak up oil from any source, . . . and any metal firearm will have oil on it in varying proportions. Since you will not be able to see in this thing, . . . it could become a trap for oil, . . . then dust, . . . creating a bad environment for really fine weaponry. If it were mine, . . . I'd make sure the lining was one of the plastic fantastic man made thingys that does not absorb oil or other liquids. That should be a very positive protector for the contents of the bag. The alternative would be a leather only bag, . . . and hand wrap the contents with a clean rag / cover / whatever. May God bless, Dwight

An inexpensive, yet useable tool I sometimes use: take a piece of steel tubing about 3 inches long (in this case, 1/8 inch tubing). Lay it against a sanding wheel, . . . sharpen the outside edges of it like you would do sharpening a pencil. Put it in your 1/4 in electric drill, . . . drill your holes. I usually do 5 or 6 holes, . . . take it out of the drill, . . . use a wire to push out the pieces, . . . Every other hole or every 3rd hole, . . . touch the tip to a block of beeswax or parrafin, . . . makes the going through a bit easier. May God bless, Dwight

Hey, . . . there's one just like that one over on CASCity........... Still good looking though, . . . even on the second go around. May God bless, Dwight

Your only concern really, should be sunlight, . . . and/or salt spray, . . . seeing as where you are. If your booth is out in the sunlight, you may want to use a finish with a UV blocker (Resolene is one of them), . . . and salt spray will definitely put the hurt to leather goods. Those would be my secondary concerns, . . . pilferage at outside booths / fairs / shows is my usual first concern. May God bless, Dwight

I have a piece of a broom handle, . . . about 10 inches long with a round piece of wood on it's end, . . . and a piece of rubber floor mat tacked onto the round piece. I can take both hands on this baby, . . . lean my 180 or so pounds into it, . . . and it is very seldom that I do not get it to come off. I always use this first, . . . and in some cases, . . . I'll nudge the concho with a whack or two from a small rubber mallet. As a last resort, . . . I have a special pair of pump pliers that I just barely catch the outside edge with the flat lip and break them loose, . . . then to the broom handle tool. I hate seeing bent up conchos where some hooligan took them off without using any real care. May God bless, Dwight

For just about any chain made, . . . they also make what is known as a repair link. You basically put it in where it is needed, then bend or peen or snap it into the desired shape or place, . . . they work many different ways. But, . . . they work. There are many motorcycles zipping up and down the streets with multiple repair links in their chains, . . . as well as chains on trucks, cars, etc. A really good hardware store will have them, . . . or maybe google them on line. Depending on "the" chain you are using, . . . you may opt to use a different style repair link, . . . but it will look uniform if you have one on each side, . . . matching so to speak. May God bless, Dwight

Actually, . . . he always wears a shirt or a tee shirt under his holster, . . . just like I do. I had thought of not stitching through it, . . . but my Tippmann pulls a pretty tight stitch, . . . and I got a bit concerned about the thread laying across the back of the kydex, . . . going in and out of the adjacent holes, . . . and was a bit worried about any movement causing the kydex to sever the thread. That was the precipitating thought that made me decide to stitch it all the way through. Kydex in my slim experience with it, . . . doesn't do well with contact cement, . . . and I was afraid that slight movement could cause it to fail. I see Jim at least once a week (one of my church elders), . . . so I'll be able to update as needed. Again, thanks for the design idea. May God bless, Dwight

I've never heard of any issues with silicone, . . . (other than the initial stink while drying out), . . . and I've used it for 40 years on every conceiveable project I've been involved in. Never one issue. Paint does not stick to it, . . . so I would doubt you would have any issues with stain and stuff, . . . finishes, . . . waxes, . . . and I've molded it to fit where ever needed with my right index finger so many times it isn't funny. It is a pain to get off the finger, . . . but it was always worth it. May God bless, Dwight

Stitch Dex, . . . OK, . . . you got my curiosity up, . . . a friend came to me a couple weeks back, . . . needed an IWB for a Bersa Thunder 380. I had to scrounge, . . . found my one and only piece of Kydex, . . . and remembered this thread. Mine is not as good looking as yours, . . . but just for kicks and giggles, . . . I made him an IWB using your technique, . . . and I have to admit that I am far more impressed with hybrid holsters now than I was before I made that one. It is comfortable, . . . and for now we are awaiting the "show and tell" after a couple months of use. Again, thanks for sharing. May God bless, Dwight

Jimbob, . . . I picked up my cowboy making from John Bianchi, . . . off his videos. Using his ideas, . . . I set the buckle so that the inside edge (where the face of the belt rubs) is even with the end of the belt (see picture). I set the tongue of the belt so it is also at the end of the belt (see picture). With a 2 3/4 to 3 inch setback to the first hole, . . . it makes the thing come together well, . . . rides good, . . . and I've never had but one complaint. I made a 55 inch gun belt some years back (it took several weeks), . . . customer took it home, . . . called and said it was too small. I adjusted it for him, . . . but always wondered how many doughnuts it took to add 2 inches to a 55 inch waist. Anyway, . . . those pictures are from the very first one I ever did (for an old uncle who as since passed on and it was returned to me as a gift after his passing) and the only thing I have added is that I use 7 holes in the belt now instead of 6 as in that one. May God bless, Dwight

The question is do you want to be Neimus Marcum or Walmart? It's your decision, . . . you have to make it. But I will tell you this, . . . if you are turning out higher numbers, . . . you are turning out more flaws. The more time you spend on an item, . . . the less chance the customer will be dissatisfied, . . . and generally he'll be more "proud" of the product. I am personally a craft guy, . . . making one at a time, . . . for one person at a time. YMMV May God bless, Dwight

That actually was one of the patterns that didn't pan out, . . . least not for me, . . . but thanks anyway. Still hoping for someone with a tracing that they will share. May God bless, Dwight

Sometimes, . . . a guy has to know when to hold em, . . . when to fold em. I'm looking for something similar to trail boss Gil Favor's chaps in the Rawhide show, . . . pattern, . . . tracing, . . . picture, . . . anything you have to help will be much greatly appreciated. I've done a lot of leatherworking, . . . this has just about beaten me up, . . . I've tried a couple of times, wasted some precious material, . . . just can't get em to fit, hang, and feel right. Again, thanks folks, may God bless, Dwight

Skald, . . . I think you very probably have the process down well enough. Your product is what is causing the problem. Put the Barges up on the shelf for making waders or something like that. Get some Weldwood Contact Cement, . . . and follow the directions fully. Coat each piece, but not "liberally", . . . just a thin but fully uniform coat. Allow it to dry. Make sure it is DRY. Next put the pieces together, . . . use a rolling pin (belts) or a small wallpaper roller for holsters and the like. Sand it flush (I use both a round and a belt sander, . . . far prefer the belt). Edge it, . . . and burnish it. May God bless, Dwight

Tree Reaper has the right idea. I would first mold the pocket, half circle, pouch, . . . whatever you call it. Add the fastener and all the snaps, . . . glue and sew it to it's base, . . . making the thing all done except for the final cutting. Then I would stain the thing and get at least one good coat of resolene on it, . . . making sure it is dry as can be. Then I would cut out the lid, . . . but I would use a coping saw, . . . but that is me, . . . band saws are too fast for my reflexes. You could then touch up the edges of the cut pieces with dye and more resolene. Good luck, . . . looks like an interesting project. May God bless, Dwight

You may also want to contact someone like Weaver Leather who make the cutters used on clickers. I am sure they could make one for you. If you are somewhat handy with tools, . . . buying punch ends from Tandy, . . . drilling and tapping a piece of 1/4 steel, . . . you could make your own clicker plate. Doing it that way, you could take out some or add some, . . . depending on today, . . . what you wanted to make, . . . size wise. May God bless, Dwight

Most of the time when I have a dye job that went south, . . . blotchy, . . . spotty, . . . uneven, . . . etc. It can usually be traced at least suggestively to moisture. I have since made it policy that water is used in some parts of my process, . . . but never around the dying, . . . as I do not use water based dyes. Think about this: putting alcohol or oil in a jar, . . . then adding water, . . . what do you get? A stinking mess that is good for nothing. I apply that same reasoning to alcohol or oil going on my leather and adding water. May God bless, Dwight

You might also want to put an extra coat of Resolene on that inside face. I'm a person given to very heavy perspiration, . . . and while my Cactus holster only has one layer between me and the 1911, . . . I don't find any evidence of moisture, . . . most of the time. When I do, . . . it's on the dust cover, . . . up near the rear sight, . . . and equally spread around, . . . I've always considered it condensation. Good luck with your project, . . . keep us updated. May God bless, Dwight

If you want to take on the aggravation of trying to dye the front without touching the edges, . . . have a wonderful time. When you perfect the technique, . . . you can make big money selling a book on how to do it. If you dye the front, . . . and the edges, . . . any bleeding dye that would come from the back, . . . will also come from the edges. Long and short, . . . dye the whole thing, . . . save yourself some grief. I have yet to have a customer who even mentioned it, . . . much less wanted it dyed just on one side. May God bless, Dwight

Probably told to you by some tree hugger trying to sell you on the water based stuff. No, . . . it does not bleed if it is properly applied, . . . properly sealed. The single, one, and only bleeder I ever had was from a bottle of the old Tandy water base stuff. I made myself a shoulder holster for a .380, . . . wore it to a funeral, . . . came home and threw away the tee shirt it bled all over. It was their black dye from 5 or 6 years ago. May God bless, Dwight

PM sent May God bless, Dwight

My teacher, . . . John Bianchi, . . . taught me to do it that way. Glue em together (actually use Weldwood contact cement for best results), . . . then treat it as one piece of leather. And, . . . here is one example, . . . my own personal rig. May God bless, Dwight

Actually, Tony, . . . the ending attitude of the handle is more important than the starting. Think of the handle as the minute hand on a big clock. If you were to turn the press to the left, 90 degrees so the handle is out front, . . . you want to wind up with the handle pointing to about 8 o'clock. And that is 8 o'clock as the press contacts the handle holding the stamp, . . . and the stamp laying on the leather. This gives you your best pressure leverage, . . . and the best control. You can take the front bolts off your press and adjust the mesh of the teeth to obtain that result. Takes a few minutes of playing with it, . . . but once it is set, you are all set. There are also youtubes out there showing how to manipulate the press by removing teeth from the bar. I decided not to do that, . . . but you may want to. Just google up youtube: arbor press. May God bless, Dwight

Take a look at these letters, . . . done with the half ton Harbor Freight press, . . . a couple of them actually went deep enough that you could see the impression of the material around the actual stamp. The trick to using the press (for me, . . . this is how I do it) is to first go through the whole line to see how big it will be. You do that by positioning the letters, and measuring how long it is. I then start in the middle and work both ways. Say I wanted to stamp "NORTH", . . . and it measures out 3 inches long. I make a mark at 1 1/2 inches, . . . position the center of the R at that mark, . . . and press the R into the leather. I then remove the R from the handle, . . . and lay it loosely back into the impression. I would then take the T, . . . position it so the edge of the letter touches the edge of the R, . . . and press it. Next I take the O and lay it next to the R so the letters touch and press it. Then I would do the N and the H, . . . again leaving the O and the T to maintain my proper spacing between letters. Be careful to make sure your handle is perpendicular, . . . gives an even stamp, . . . slanted will look uneven on one side or the other. May God bless, Dwight

David, . . . if you want to do simple, . . . point and shoot video's for on-line, . . . get an Ipad or an Ipad mini. You can literally take it home, . . . download two apps, . . . and have a 5 minute Youtube on line in less than an hour, . . . total. Surely you have a friend with an Ipad mini, . . . the only app he will need is named "Capture". I do not know if it is possible to edit those in any way, . . . have never been interested in finding out. OTOH, . . . Cyberlink Power Director 12 is what I use every week to edit our Church service on Sunday morning. I take a raw dvd, burned by a 3 camera / switcher network, . . . load it into CPD 12, . . . add titles, music, edit out certain segments, . . . edit in others, . . . all in about an hour to hour and a half, . . . for a finished product of a DVD about 75 minutes long. I've been doing video for over 20 years, . . . these are the two easiest to learn, . . . and use, . . . I've ever messed with. Just for reference, . . . my first was a Sony 110, 8mm video tape, . . . and I edited in titles with a Commodore 64 computer. May God bless, Dwight