Dwight

Not meaning to slam anyone, . . . but Law Enforcement Targets have always done well for me, . . . went out of their way a time or two, . . . and their phone reps are knowledgeable, friendly people. Plus, . . . I've found no one, . . . zero, . . . who beats their prices. May God bless, Dwight

Good job, Lobo, . . . that's the way I do mine, . . . like you said, . . . a little practice and it doesn't take long to do one. May God bless, Dwight

Since you are treading in uncharted waters, . . . if I were you, . . . I'd look at one of the super special undershirts sold to the military in the sandbox. Most military suppliers (such as Quartermaster.com) would have them. You should have enough material there to make several, . . . couple for practice, . . . couple for production. Might even give someone like JoAn Fabric a shout, . . . if you get a knowledgeable sales person, you would probably make out. If not, . . . wellllll................. May God bless, Dwight

I suppose you could, . . . I've never done it, . . . But you cannot mold most of the harness type leather I've seen the way you can veg tan, . . . nor stamp it as well, . . . nor edge it as well, . . . nor burnish it as well. Plus, . . . if it is properly done in veg tan, . . . there is a better than even chance you will "outgrow" it one way or another, . . . long before you wear it out. Post pics of your rig if you decide to do it, . . . I'd be curious to see one. May God bless, Dwight

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If you are going to do a 2 layer holster, . . . why not leave the inside natural? Dip dye the outside pieces, . . . but leave the liner natural. I occasionally do a black cherry holster, . . . . and I think that would really look awesome. Leaving the inside natural, . . . with only a coat of neatsfoot oil, . . . there should be nothing to harm those grips. And if I may, . . . I'm a Vietnam vet, . . . and if I owned that handgun, . . . you can bet your last bippy that I would be darn seriously unhappy if anything happened to it that could have been avoided by someone taking a little extra care. May God bless, Dwight

Good looking work, . . . May God bless, Dwight

You didn't say what the project was, . . . which could make a huge difference in what is used for final finish. But in answer to your main question, . . . yes, . . . apply oil before the final finish. The only thing one should ever do after the final finish is perhaps apply a wax / polish, . . . but again, . . . that is only like polishing a pair of shoes, . . . something done long after construction is finished. My personal favorite is Resolene. It's a water based acrylic finish that is fairly hard, . . . has a good gloss, . . . and can be easily applied. I use a cheap 1 inch bristle (pig hair) brush, . . . stay away from the nylon ones, . . . mix up the Resolend 50/50 with water, . . . wet the brush and begin applying the finish, . . . brush up / down / left / right / all different directions, . . . you use enough to work up a foamy froth on the leather, . . . hair side and flesh side. Once you get the froth built up all over one side, . . . go to the other side, . . . (oh yeah, . . . wear a latex glove on the non-brushing hand, . . . and keep your fingerprints off the outside, . . . pretty part of the project, . . . hold it by the buckle, the inside, etc.). Froth up the second side (for holsters, . . . I always do the inside first, . . . then stick my fingers in there to hold it). The trick is to keep brushing that froth until it literally goes away. Then hang it up to dry. It takes a bit of practice, . . . but it gives a really nice finish, . . . and you can do more than one coat, . . . just don't get carried away with it. There is a level that gets too thick and it will crack and break. May God bless, Dwight

Your holster is called a "roughout", a style made famous by Clint Eastwood in his spaghetti western movies. I've made a few, and they are fun. I normally do not put a piece on the front in a roughout, but that is just my way. I normally do put them on the others, most of the time. It can be both a piece to stiffen the front of the holster, . . . and it can be a billboard for decoration, . . . tooling, . . . etc. Like chiefjason said, . . . I cut, . . . form, . . . and then dye my holsters, too. Just a little nugget for you, . . . if you are making a pancake, . . . do all the sewing for the leading edge of the holster, . . . wet form it around the weapon, . . . gently remove the weapon and let it dry. When it is fully dry (no less than 24 hours later), put the weapon back in the holster, clamp it tight with your left hand, and using your right hand, mark your sewing lines for the trailing edge of the holster (around the trigger guard, barrel bottom and rear slot). This will give you a good tight sew line if you do it right. Trying to guess where the stitches should go has about a 1 in 10 success factor. May God bless, Dwight

There are two schools on dye and the liner, . . . the A school dyes the whole belt (I'm there, . . . a "dip" dyer guy), . . . and the B school who leaves the liner natural. I personally like both ways, . . . but my process is easier for me & quicker, . . . otherwise, I too would be a B school guy. May God bless, Dwight

Look on Craigs list, . . . Ebay, . . . and used furniture stores, . . . don't forget yard sales. I've seen any number of super sewing machine tables given away to get rid of them, . . . in fact I have one in my living room that meets that criteria. You don't need castors, . . . you need 2 wheels about 3 inches in diameter. Put them on one end or the other only. Then tip up the other end and roll it where you want to leave it. If it is on 4 casters, you will have to buy the locking kind, . . . otherwise the thing will roll all over the place while you are trying to use it. The locking kind are in the neighborhood of 6 to 12 bucks EACH. With only two wheels, . . . the other end will hold it in place while you use it. May God bless, Dwight

As a soldier, I always carried my bayonet or kabar on my left suspender, . . . upside down, . . . Still carry my hunting knife that way, . . . I like the way you tucked it into the sheath with two straps, . . . if one fails, the other should catch it. May God bless, Dwight

Leather is no different from any other business. Go where your talents and interests lay. Above all, consider leather work as a custom business, . . . not a retail business. For now, . . . I would look to your buds from the renfair, . . . what would they need? What would they like? Also, you may put your work on Ebay, . . . I've sold several pieces through them, . . . all satisfied customers, . . . and, . . . uhhhh, . . . yeah, . . . I spent all the profit. Look for renfair forums, . . . showcase your work on them, . . . make sure folks know you are available to do work for them. You are already one leg up on most of us here, as we have other pursuits, . . . mine is holsters and gun belts for the concealed carry crowd. May God bless, Dwight

My alter ego is as the Centurion of Capernaum and I had to make armor for "him". I used 12 oz vegetable tanned leather from Tandy's for the breast plate, back plate, cuffs, skirt, and shin guards. Vegetable tanned leather can be wetted and formed to just about any shape you would like (within reason) and armor works out real well with it. I first made a full sized replica of my upper body, . . . using a 6 foot 2 x 4 on a stand, . . . several pieces of 2 x 12 for the chest pieces, . . . took a smaller tee shirt, put it on the frame, . . . stuffed it full of old rags to get the "body shape" needed to make my armor fit me. You will need to be careful with the temperature, but in holster making, . . . you can make the leather "hard" by force drying it under heat. BUT, . . . remember that the MAXIMUM temperature is 130 degrees farenheight. An old fashioned trick that also works is to dip it in liquid parrafin or beeswax. Tricky, . . . but again it makes it very hard. I was fortunate when I was doing my armor to have a pretty good coach, . . . be sure to "round out" the neck and arm holes like the lip on a bowl, . . . it seriously prevents chafing, . . . and make sure the holes are big enough. Personally, . . . I go to Jo Ann's fabric and buy their naugahyde for patterns like this. Works really good I think. May God bless, Dwight

I would suggest you simply stitch it up both sides (I'd do machine stitching as there is a LOT of sewing there) and burnish the edges just like it was a belt. That is how I did a rig for a friend of mine. He loved it, . . . still uses it in competition shooting. It had suspenders, a duty belt, pouches & sheathes, . . . all sewn and burnished where there were two layers or more. Non burnished edges look raggedy, unprofessional, . . . and as though they were imported by Walmart from west of Honolulu. May God bless, Dwight

Use the searhc function built in to this site, . . . This is one result: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=49413&hl=snap#entry314544 May God bless, Dwight

Here is how I did mine. If your motor is going too fast, there are speed controllers that would probably be a lot cheaper than a new motor. May God bless, Dwight

Laugh if you will, . . . good old welders soap stone works pretty good too, . . . just have to have a piece of fine grit sandpaper close by to keep it sharp. May God bless, Dwight

Beautiful is the only word I know, . . . Both the gun and the holster. May God bless, Dwight

Ahhh, . . . uniformity, . . . "the lost chalice of leathermaking". Your problem is really a simple one and can be "fixed" rather easily if you have a real "craftsperson" among your friends and or acquaintances. Take a look at the drawing, this is what you will need. May God bless, Dwight

Vaalpens, . . . most of us have patterns that over time we have adjusted in such a manner that we can predict with serious accuracy where the stitch line needs to go. When we don't have that pattern, . . . we are forced to "form first - then stitch". I also do that to every gun holster that I don't have a really good pattern for. Stitching first is a shot in the dark, . . . that usually is not to my standards. Try forming it first, . . . letting it dry, . . . testing the fit, . . . then stitching. May God bless, Dwight

It is easy to make anything "two sided" exactly the same: cut off either the left half, the right half, the top half or the bottom half (depending on the pattern) and decide which one is the best. Turn it over on it's back, . . . and outline the other half with it. I learned this trick making sewn leather suspenders, . . . one side fit and looked "right" the other didn't. Pitched the bad side and re-traced it with the good side, . . . works every time now. The other "secret" to good patterns is using a rigid pattern material. The best I have found so far, is called "bag stiffener" and is sold by Tandy. Cuts easy, . . . almost impossible to tear it, . . . edges don't fray, . . . and you can lay it down and trace it with a pencil, scribe, ball point pen, . . . whatever you want to use. May God bless, Dwight

Although I would never have one in my personal stable, . . . Glock 19 and Glock 21 are both fairly popular in Central Ohio. May God bless, Dwight

Now that's some good looking work. Just goes to show the old adage, . . . practice makes perfect. Are you doing any good with your "business plan" now that Wisconsin came around to being a concealed carry state? May God bless, Dwight

I was thinking I saw a post from him a week or two ago, . . . probably down in the holster section, . . . can't find it though. May God bless, Dwight