Dwight

When I get done with a project . . . there will always be at least parts of it that need softened up a bit . . . Belts for example . . . get rolled over a dowel . . . and it usually only takes a couple of passes . . . the new owner always appreciates it being "pre" broken in. Straps on my shoulder holsters are another that get the same treatment . . . And no . . . I don't use chemicals . . . if I do, it is only neatsfoot oil . . . and that is in very very limited quantities. My holsters (pancakes) get the eyes worked over with a board I have that simulates an 1 1/2 belt . . . makes putting it on the first time and wearing it . . . make it feel more natural. It's fairly easy done . . . and works for me May God bless, Dwight

Ya did a good job on that billfold . . . and you took care of my only criticism . . . the corners. They'll get dog eared in a hurry. A number of years ago . . . fellow asked me to re-create a billfold he had had since his daughter was very small . . . and he could not find one anywhere like it. I told him the only way I could do that was if I had the old one to go by . . . he started pulling cards . . . cash . . . pictures . . . yanked it all . . . handed me the old one and asked how long. A short time later it was in the mail . . . and he loved it. This was my practice piece I did first . . .to see if I had it all "right" . . . before I made his and shipped it. I had asked him if he wanted any changes and I got a very quick "NO" . . . so I left the corners square like his original. May God bless, Dwight Dwight

I generally do the key fob thing with my scraps . . . If it's too small for a key fob . . . I don't have much else I can do with it . . . but thanks Bruce . . . the zipper pull thing I never thought of . . . basically because I don't use them. Never have big enough scrap for coasters . . . except for one job that I did 3 times last year . . . and hung on to the 1st two sets of pieces . . . they'll turn into something some day. Like every one else mentioned . . . thanks Bruce . . . we need your expertise. May God bless, Dwight

Forget the idea of only 2 pieces. Cut 3 pieces . . . front . . . back . . . and one piece which is the bottom and both sides. Stitch the edges . . . or lace the edges . . . makes a pretty bag. May God bless, Dwight

Not in my lifetime. May God bless, Dwight

Thank you Sir . . .

Thanks, Bruce . . . could not find anything on Ebay . . . and Amazon listed them but "out of stock" . . . Was just hoping someone here had em. Thanks again . . . Dwight

I'm looking for a set of DVD's (or VHS) on John Bianchi's "The Art of making Western Holsters" If you have them and would like to sell them . . . let me know. May God bless, Dwight

What he ^^^^^^ said May God bless, Dwight

If you are using Feibings oil dyes . . . 24 hrs before using the dye . . . a light coat of neatsfoot oil on the flesh side . . . and laid out flat to absorb the oil evenly . . . will just about guarantee a very very smooth and even dye job. Also cut the dye 50/50 with thinner . . . That is especially with some of the lighter tans . . . saddle tan being one for sure. Took a long time to catch on to that trick . . . but it is one that virtually every time works. May God bless, Dwight

Not sure who encouraged the hot water before dying . . . never heard of that idea before. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks maggie . . . it is as a matter of fact . . . . May God bless, Dwight

Since I only dip dye . . . I settled on 24 hours back years ago . . . and follow thru. Makes for easy planning on my work load. One thing you HAVE TO DO is make sure it is dry enough that you can buff off the excess dye pigment. And, . . . yes . . . there will always be some. That is what makes for a really nice looking piece of finished leather. Folks who do not buff off that pigment leave a grainy . . . ugly piece of leather work that will always feel like it has sand glued to the top of it. THAT is the dye. Buffing too soon can streak it . . . so wait until it is completely dry. May God bless, Dwight

Those are absolutely beautiful . . . and far beyond my capabilities . . . I'm using strips of the same leather used inside for the panels . . . using that as strips for my zipper. Yeah . . . brass zippers for sure . . . I plan on David's Bible cover most likely outliving his Bible. We do dumb things to books as people . . . and finally wind up wrecking them. But the other thing in that picture . . . the laced one !!! Never . . . and I mean never. I did a wallet one time . . . laced it around . . . decided then and there that if I ever . . . EVER . . . got that thing done . . . I would never . . . ever . . . do any more. I've kept that promise too. Got several pieces of that stuff hanging in the shop . . . I look at it and laugh at it from time to time. May God bless, Dwight

JR . . . from making holsters . . . I learned early on that a pattern of what you want to put in leather . . . makes making the leather a whole BIG bunch easier. I have a wooden "model" of David's Bible . . . with the added amount it will take to allow the Bible to rest in there without the edges becoming cramped or bent. A lady ruined my personal Bible when she made one for me and it was too small. Ignorantly at the time . . . I tried to use it anyway . . . ruined the spline. Long story short . . . I'm not familiar with Stohlmans book cover stuff . . . other things yes . . . that . . . no. But this fellow here on Leather Makers Supply . . . makes it so it is almost impossible to screw it up. Once you have the zipper on the interior (pulled around your pattern and "taped" together . . . you can open and close the zipper . . . telling you how hard or easy you will have it later. You then just add the outside cover . . . unzip it . . . turn it so the outside is facing up . . . start on one end of the open end of the zipper . . . sew up around it . . . come back on the other side of the zipper . . . do some lock stitches . . . cut the thread . . . you are done. I'm also going to add a couple card pockets . . . and a small triangular pocket like the fellow did on his sample he showed us. Looks like with the covid doing it's thing against me . . . probably be at least a few days . . . but I'll pop up pictures as I go . . . unless I forget. May God bless, Dwight

That's cool . . . quick . . . simple . . . and tastefully done . . . Make the next one green . . . looks better in a fly fishing setting . . . May God bless, Dwight

Not quite the same . . . but for years this did all my sewing . . . still have it set up like this . . . can remove the little flat table just by taking off a C clamp . . . but rarely found a need to do that. May God bless, Dwight

Have a Tippmann Boss I've had for 20+ years . . . replaced it's work with a Cowboy 4500 . . . Looked at the Outlaw . . . and it looks like a cheap chinese copy of the Boss. Mind you that is an opinion . . . based on observation . . . The Boss is tried and true . . . the Outlaw . . . well . . . there is it's name. May God bless, Dwight

I was up ahead of the idea in that I made a solid wood block the size of Dave's Bible . . . I tried hand sewing it though . . . with seriously bad results . . . and then I found his idea . . . will use it next . . . May God bless, Dwight

Thats it

Thanks, Frodo . . . but the other day I found a video . . . he shows how he does zippers on notebooks . . . all I gotta do is scale it up for the Bible. He also shows me where I went wrong on my first try . . . and how to beat it. It's actually a very informative video . . . Again . . . thanks, may God bless, Dwight

Dip dying is best for belts . . . they get a lot of abuse . . . from the belt loops . . . the rubbing against chairs . . . your automobile seat (or truck, etc) . . . holsters . . . other stuff you put on the belt like a tape measure . . . canteen . . . Endless examples . . . tells us belts get abused. Dip dying uses the most dye . . . because it penetrates the deepest. Airbrush does not penetrate . . . it lays on the surface . . . and most of it can be scraped off with a soft fingernail. Brush and wool applications depend on the guy doing the work. But dip dying will give you one thing the rest can't do . . . and that is MUCH better uniformity. It won't be perfect . . . but nothing beats it. If you are seriously concerned about dye use . . . only dye the outside layer . . . leave the liner un-dyed . . . it'll cut about 15 tp 25 percent of your dye use . . . but you will have to color the edges . . Been doing belts for over 20 yrs now . . . wearing one that is 20+ yrs old . . . it's a bit darker than original . . . but the color has never scraped off or faded. OH . . . and yes . . . I always cut my dye . . . 50 / 50 with Feibings thinner . . . and I always give my leather a light coat of neatsfoot oil 24 hrs before dying . . . and I don't hardly ever have any real problems with it all. May God bless, Dwight

If you buy the self adhesive 1 inch squares . . . you can put a small rivet in the middle of both pieces . . . should be plenty of enough velcro to hold them together . . . and the snaps will keep the velcro from pulling away from the leather. The only thing about velcro . . . I've had it get clogged with dust, lint, dirt, and stuff . . . so it doesn't hold as well . . . needs to be cleaned every now and then. May God bless, Dwight

It's called veggie tan . . . WET . . . and . . . PERSEVERANCE . . . LOL . . . may God bless, Dwight

Looks darn good from here . . . May God bless, Dwight