Dwight

Thanks for the update . . . and the heads up that it can happen. May God bless, Dwight

At 79 yrs . . . I've kinda given up on basket weave and it's associated brethren . . . just cannot get the knack. I do beat on leather occasionally . . . (some call it stamping . . . lol ) . . . and I've never really acquired that knack either . . . but so far I haven't had any super complaints. But then again . . . I'm kind of dressing for an audience of simple expectations. Anyway . . . braver than I am . . . for sure . . . the originator. May God bless, Dwight

I'd love to see your journal covers when they are done . . .

Now of course you will have to show off the new sandals . . . I have some serious neuropathy in my feet and hands . . . and one of these days . . . when the weather gets a lot warmer . . . I'll be either making or investing in a pair I'm pretty sure. Looking forward to seeing your work. May God bless, Dwight

Considering the size . . . I would most likely go to the back . . . right behind the fold . . . place two loops of leather with D rings . . . and a 1 inch strap for carrying. I never liked (just a personal preference) 3/4 inch straps . . . they just don't carry well . . . 1 inch is my minimum. And I would probably use a brass ball fitting like used on holsters . . . to adjust the length of the strap for the wearer. She could make it a long shoulder strap so she could take it over her head . . . or a shorter one to use slipping up and over the shoulder. And I do like the color . . . May God bless, Dwight

Thank you . . . May God bless, Dwight

I'll bite . . . who is it and what's the address?? May God bless, Dwight

The 3 ton looks like with the longer handle . . . it might put a lot more pressure down in one stroke . . . As for glue . . . I use Weldwood contact cement . . . have for 20+ years . . . never had anything come apart yet at the glue joint. If it is properly applied . . . you can pull it apart . . . but generally speaking what you are doing is tearing the leather . . . not breaking the glue bond. That is not necessarily true on the hair side of some veg tan leather . . . you have to take a wire brush an scuff it up a big first . . . THEN it will hold. For my 3 layer Roman sandals . . . I use the Weldwood. May God bless, Dwight

I was up in "Amish Country" with my wife . . . we stopped for lunch . . . was a combination restaurant and fabric shop. I saw these hanging on the wall . . . they looked good . . . decided to give em a chance. The pliers themselves were like 35 bucks . . . the pieces that match your snaps were another 18 or so. One of the best buys I've ever made . . . they work super great. The only catch is you have to put on one set of dies to set the male part of the snap . . . then change them for the female part. On the next trip up . . . I popped another 35 . . . have the males on one set . . . females on the other set . . . They also have a setup where you can drill a hole thru your work bench . . . mount this . . . a wire goes down to your foot pedal . . . and you can do them with your foot. I didn't go there. Anyway . . . just my choice. May God bless, Dwight

What he said ^^^^^ I make my own gun molds sometimes . . . have a box of all sorts of little molds I've made down thru the years . . . and besides that . . . you do not want to even think about molding it so close that you pick up the molding on the buttons. May God bless, Dwight

AHHHHHhhhhhhh . . . part of the problem surfaces . . . Fraulein . . . find a piece of leather that is not good for one of your projects . . . but is still a really good looking piece of scrap . . . and get one at least the size of both of your hands laying down on the table. Oil the hair side of it . . . neatsfoot oil . . . one coat . . . not serious . . . just a coating of oil over the whole thing . . . give it 24 hours to dissipate within the leather. THEN . . . take 3 or 4 oz of your dye . . . pour it in a container . . . add the exact same amount of Feibiings reducer . . . you will have a 50/50 concoction when you are done. Drag that piece of leather thru the diluted dye . . . lay it on a paper towel . . . flesh side down . . . for about 20 minutes . . . then hang it up to finish drying. Come back tomorrow and I'll be dismayed if you do not have a darn near perfectly well dyed product . . . and it will be the color of the dye . . . same as you have had with the full strength. Try it . . . you'll like it. May God bless, Dwight

I had the same problem a few years back with the Saddle Tan dye . . . Found out if I give the leather a quick dose of neatsfoot oil . . . . FIRST . . . let it sit for 24 hours . . . ohhhhhhh, iti turns out so, so, so beautiful. No streaks . . . no funky . . . just beautiful, even, and great. You might try that. I use a little 50 cent bristle brush I buy in bulk from Harbor Freight . . . slop it on the hair side only . . . Works for me. May God bless, Dwight

Lots of "western" women love and enjoy the 1 1/2 inch belt. It allows the maker to stamp it with the same full size as used on the men's belts . . . the stamping and tooling really does look better . . . especially if there is any painting or antiquing. Doesn't make any difference about the size . . . still got to remove the space used for stitches . . . and that seriously narrows the belt area left for stamping and tooling. I would have to be directed by the lady to do anything less than the 1 1/2 and I'd seriously try to change her mind. Almost all their jeans have belt loops that will accommodate the 1 1/2 . . . but it might be wise . . . just in case . . . to see if she does wear a line of britches that do have smaller loops. THAT would be the final deciding factor. May God bless, Dwight

If I was doing it . . . same piece of leather . . . just pull it around and snap it. Things like that . . . patterns are a piece of cake to make . . . buy a stack of manila file folders . . . cut em off square all the way around . . . 1 1/2 inch masking tape on both sides of all seams . . . fold that dude over the gun . . . mark it with a pencil . . . cut it with scissors . . . leave an extra inch all the way around . . . the cut and trim the leather to fit. May God bless, Dwight

Mablung . . . the hardware came off Ebay . . . simply ask for "brass sling frog" . . . that's your clue. AND . . . I've never seen a sling with oval punched holes. All I've ever seen, used, or made . . . were with round holes. When I make one . . . I use the round hole size that the frogs will just go thru . . . not tight . . . but not at all loose . . . never had a complaint yet. Made several of them. May God bless, Dwight

Beautiful work . . .

Thank you for the good words . . . No . . . there were plans to put that piece of leather there to protect the stock . . . but when we started putting the Chicago screws in . . . there simply was no room. It is a TIGHT fit . . . The back two pieces come together on the stock . . . two rivets hold them together . . . laid on a "anvil" piece on my work bench . . . and seriously flattened on both sides . . . no bump to get against the shoulder . . . no bump to rub against the buttstock. I have one very similar in .44 Mag . . . and it may wind up getting one like it. It's my deer rifle here in Ohio. May God bless, Dwight

Just depends on how talented you are in the wood shop. I've had success getting the dimensions of a gun off the internet . . . Gluing a couple pieces of yellow pine (my preferred) together . . . getting out the band saw, drill press, table saw, router, sander, grinder . . . etc . . . and coming up with a suitable copy for a holster. If you really want a serious model . . . holster training guns are available for around 75 . . . usually can sell them on Ebay for a tad over half price . . . just a thought May God bless, Dwight

Good lookin stuff . . . May God bless, Dwight

Try GoDaddy.com . . . I used them for my holster business until I found one a bit cheaper . . . and this one I can put anything I want on it. A friend is hosting it for me. GoDaddy is not "all that" expensive either. May God bless, Dwight

Actually it is a piece of polished steel . . . about 5/16 thick . . . ground, drilled, polished . . . and secured with two Chicago screws . . . about 1 hour to create from a piece of scrap steel laying on the floor . . . a drill press . . . and a 12 inch disc sander Thank you, Sir . . . Thank you Thank you It won't impress everyone . . . but it was what he wanted . . . and I am happy that it is somewhat unique. May God bless, Dwight

A friend needed a sling for his new rifle . . . had fun finding dye to match the stock . . . found one that I think worked fairly well . . . Its a cross between just a carry sling . . . and a typical military sling. Made so it can be adjusted to the shooter to be able to use it as a "hasty sling" device. Was a fun project . . . had to design the rear end though . . . he did not want to drill his stock to put in a ferrule to hold the rear part of the sling May God bless, Dwight

I've made belts for the last 20 years . . . have used Resolene on virtually all of them . . . mixed 50/50 with water . . . have never had a complaint from any customers. Am wearing a 20+ year old belt at this moment . . . finished with Resolene. May God bless, Dwight

It's a greaseball funky product made by vegans who think all animals should be taken off the planet. May God bless, Dwight

The 150 dollar one will work that wide . . . but it is really a chore getting anything 3 inches or bigger thru one. May God bless, Dwight