Dwight

To use the vacuum bag, . . . cut out your pattern (vac 6 picture) Prepare your firearm properly, in this case I had to make sure the sight channel would be made, by taping a dowel onto the top of the revolver. Don't forget to do this !!! WET the leather, . . . like REALLY wet, . . . almost sopping, sloppy wet, . . . wrap it around the firearm in it's general final position. You do not have to be perfect with this part, . . . but the better you are, . . . the better the end product. I'll usually lay it down and thumb in a couple places to help keep it from moving.

There have been a few threads in the past little while about molding and forming. I started out doing the thumbs, fingers, dowels, etc, . . . made me tired. Went to a press, . . . worked great, . . . got scared that some day I would crunch someone's plastic fantastic shooter upper. Researched vacuum forming, . . . with a little help from a carpenter / cabinet / window / door maker buddy. This is the system I now use, . . . just thought I would share. It starts out with the 3 basic tools needed: a vacuum pump, . . . a bag, . . . and a way to seal the bag. The pump came from Harbor Freight, . . . $100 more or less, . . . it is the cheaper of the two they sell. The bag is a piece of clear vinyl from JoAnns, . . . doubled over, . . . 2 inches of the edges stuck together with Weldwood. The seal is two pieces of PVC plastic, . . . 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch, . . . cut the groove in the 3/4 with a table saw and a lot of care.

To use an old fashioned word, . . . gorgeous ! You have wayyyyyyyyy more patience than I have for such a detailed project, . . . but you did really well with it. May God bless, Dwight

You didn't say a thing about keeping that espresso hot by sitting it on the edge of the forge, . . . Welcome to the site. May God bless, Dwight

Tippmann Boss, . . . as I tell my students, . . . hands are for hamburgers, . . . machines are for stitching. BUT, . . . in the rare exceptions where I cannot complain, cry, bellyache, or grunt loud enough to get out of it, . . . awl, . . . (no pun intended) . . . always. May God bless, Dwight

If I can, . . . I make it "springy" enough that once it is released, . . . it scurries over out of the way. I've used steel, . . . kydex, . . . vinly, . . . never found the "perfect" springy material for every one. I just kinda go by the feel and what I have available. It is a hard thing to get, though, . . . too much scurry and it will come un-snapped all on its own, . . . not enough and you scrape the side of the weapon. May God bless, Dwight

Woo-hoo, . . . that's almost too pretty to use, . . . kinda like it should have it's own little shelf to sit on and be admired by passers by. Now make sure we all get a full in-depth report on it. May God bless, Dwight

The retail market is and always will be just like the Kentucky Derby. Some bet on sure things only. Some bet on long shots only. Some bet on stallions only. Some bet on "pretty horses" only. Personal choice makes a horse race, . . . and makes the retail market. Lobo for example, . . . seems to make a lot of pancakes, . . . I very seldom make one because my clients prefer IWB. The cowboy rigs I make are the holster and belt rigs where they are totally separate. I have not yet made a drop loop "fast draw" rig or a "bling, bling" Roy Rodgers, or Lone Ranger rig. Again, . . . the market determines what we make, . . . and if that 3% of the market is finnicky, . . . my personal approach is I will lean over to help them, . . . but I will not become a pretzel to their whims, . . . too many other makers out there who will. May God bless, Dwight

Not just for Ed in Tx, . . . and I know this is a leather forum, . . . but this is THE best cobbler recipe I ever had, . . . and it's "fallin' off the bridge" easy: 2 cups fruit (any kind you like, . . . in this case, 1 each of cut up strawberries, and cut up rhubarb 1/2 cup of sugar 1 cup of milk 1 cup self rising flour 1 cup of sugar 1 stick of butter (I've not tried it with margarine, . . . might work) 1 tablespoon of butter Preheat oven to 350 Melt stick of butter in 8 x 8 glass baking dish, a deep one Put fruit in small bowl, add the 1/2 cup of sugar and the 1 tablespoon of butter, heat in microwave for 1 full minute Mix together 1 cup self rising flour, 1 cup of sugar until blended Add to that mixture, 1 cup of milk and blend fairly smooth Take baking dish & butter (melted by now) out of the oven and pour the batter into the butter, . . . DO NOT STIR OR MIX Pour fruit into batter & butter in the baking dish, . . . DO NOT STIR OR MIX Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over the top, pop into the oven at 350 for 55 or so minutes, . . . or until golden. Cool, . . . add ice cream, . . . eat. ENJOY, .......... May God bless, Dwight

Yes, . . . a good alternative. Advantage: much quicker, and deeper detail, . . . disadvantage, you can ruin the gun if you get heavy with the press. Yes it works with flat backed holsters, . . . just put something solid under the back. And be careful of the medium you use. I tried some open cell foam, . . . wound up with a holster that looked like open cell foam instead of leather. The faces touching the holster need to be as smooth as the leather, no lines, no blemishes, etc. Lines, blemishes, marks, . . . they will all transfer. There is a learning curve in using a press. Bad decisions will gain you experience with a press, . . . experience you only learn from bad decisions. Good luck, . . . !!! May God bless, Dwight

After a lot of wasted time trying to produce a "line" I settled on one pattern, one mag, will work left or righty, pancake design. My customers love it, . . . that makes me happy. May God bless, Dwight

You will have to use some imagination with this drawing, . . . created with Windows paint, . . . BUT, . . . basically you create a standard pancake holster, . . . nothing extra on that. THEN, . . . you create a strap that would thread through the loops of the pancake, . . . and also hold on a swivel rivet, . . . a belt strap at each end, . . . converting it into an IWB holster with loops. That strap goes around back (looping around each end of the holster) and snapping on the back to keep it secure. Again, . . . crude drawing, . . . and it only shows one end. You do the drawing twice to get the full idea. May God bless, Dwight

I quit using a press, . . . use a vacuum system now that I like better, . . . But here is my old press that worked fine. I quit using it because I'm getting so many of these plastic guns, . . . and I figured that some day I'd smash one, . . . takes a bite out of the old profit margin. The press is made of 2 x 4's bolted together, . . . and an 8 ton jack, . . . was way more than necessary for the job. The key is the two brown layers, . . . gum rubber, 1 inch thick, 40 durometer hardness, . . . cost me about a hundred bucks from McMaster-Carr (goggle em). All in all, . . . I had something like $130 in the first holster I pressed out with it. If you are only using steel guns or "blue" guns, it is OK, . . . but if you are doing Glocks or XD's or some of the other plastic fantastic shooters, . . . just be careful. May God bless, Dwight

BSA, . . . I have never used the Balsam wax, . . . I'm one of these "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" type people, . . . I found out how to use Resolene, and it has served all the purposes I needed for my holster, knife sheath, belt, and mag holder business. It leaves something to be desired on others, . . . BUT, . . . you have to look at where you are, . . . you have a project that is worthless as it is, . . . putting on the resolene might just cure the problem. I would first take a cloth (not a paper towel) and put some feibings thinner on it and rub the pouch, . . . not too hard, . . . just go over it and see if it will take off the wax. Whether it does or doesn't, . . . mix up 50/50 resolene and water, . . . take a cheap pig bristle paint brush (it's the 50cent one at the hardware store probably), . . . and start brushing it on. It will lather up almost like a low grade shampoo, . . . and that is OK, . . . get that going all over the bag, . . . do it a second time, . . . but after the second application, . . . start brushing out the bubbles, . . . left / right / up / down / diagonal right / diagonal left / just keep brushing until there are no more bubbles. I usuall find a way to hold my piece by the inside so no fingerprints will show in the wet resolene. Set it somewhere to dry, . . . give it 24 hours plus unless you are having this nice 95 degree dryer temp out on your porch, . . . then it is only about 4 hours. Good luck, may God bless, Dwight

I use Feibings professional oil dye, . . . and have generally good success. I am in the process of evaluating Eco Flow Professional Waterstain, . . . black. My co-conspirator in this project is the local Tandy manager. He promised me I would never have any rub off, . . . under any circumstances, . . . ever. So far, his word has been true, . . . I'm getting ready to do the final test, . . . an "X-cross" shoulder holster using 1 inch wide shoulder straps. When I get it done, . . . I'll wear it a few days under my regular shirt, . . . with only a Tee shirt on. If it don't bleed there, or rub off, . . . it'll be good. You also need to seal that black dye you are using, . . . and while I am unfamiliar with the product you said you use, . . . i am familiar with Resolene, . . . and have had very little rub off problems with it. You apply it in a 50/50 mixture with water, . . . air brush / sponge / bristle brush, . . . you'll need to practice. But it WILL lock in the black dye. By the way, . . . if you think that dye has rub off problems, . . . try USMC black. It makes a beautiful project, . . . but it is really tough to get all the pigment off. May God bless, Dwight

Here is one idea, got it from an old chink maker. May God bless, Dwight

I do the same, . . . no different from many other tools we use in many other applications. If you want a good "set" on your copper rivets, . . . a small ball peen does a fantastic job (IMHO). May God bless, Dwight

goldenstone, . . . best I can tell you, . . . never have had a problem with dye rub off using it. BUT, . . . most of the rigs that I use this on, . . . are cowboy rigs that most of the guys and gals have on once a month or twice a month for a couple hours at the most. The one piece of leather that I can attest to is my phone case, . . . had it in use about 5 years or so, . . . didn't dye it, . . . but also never have seen any oily residue or wax where it didn't belong. It's easy to make, . . . best to satisfy yourself with a little back yard testing. Use some scraps, . . . especially use some USMC black, . . . if THAT doesn't rub through, . . . nothing will I would imagine. May God bless, Dwight

It's a simple case to make, . . . for my Motorola phone it took the following: 1 piece 5/6 leather, 4 x 6 inches, . . . the main body 1 piece 5/6 leather, 1 3/4 x 7 inches, the belt loop 5 pieces of scrap leather, 3/4 x about 2 inches, . . . forms the plug for the body of the case. First cement the scrap leather together to make a plug, . . . one piece on top of another, . . . stack em up, cement em together, . . . one solid plug, about 2 inches by 3/4 inch by 3/4 inch. Take it to a sander and even up your pieces, . . . round the corners a bit. Pop the holes in the bottom of the main body and the bottom of the belt strap for the snaps and glue the snap stud to the main body. Contact cement the main body to the plug, . . . with the snap studs pointing up. Contact cement the belt piece to the back of the main body, . . . aligning holes for the snap studs, . . . put the male pieces on the snaps and set the snaps. I used a center punch and an ice pick to slowly and gingerly get the snaps set, . . . it was the hardest part of the whole job. If you pull the main body tight around the plug, . . . (cutting it so it really fits good first is a really good idea too), . . . the plug will withstand the "tap-tap" beating you do to set the snaps. After that, . . . pop and set the four rivets, . . . then the female portion of the snaps, . . . finish, . . . VOILA, . . . you are done. I also made one using basically the same pattern for a Galaxy phone some time back for a customer. He all but danced out the door he was so happy. I have another case, leather, got it for 50cents at a yard sale, . . . it's my "Sunday go to meeting" case, . . . but I don't like it any where as much as I like this one. The only finish it has ever seen is a neatsfoot oil / beeswax mixture. May God bless, Dwight

I can't speak for your results using NFO / beeswax, . . . I assume it is probably a commercial product. I make my own using virgin beeswax, and neatsfoot oil, . . . 50/50 by weight, . . . heated together in a glass jar, . . . sitting in a crock pot with just enough water to make the larger jar float up off the bottom a bit. It gives a medium sheen, . . . and while not "waterproof", . . . it is seriously water resistant. I put it on rubbing the cake of material liberally on the leather, . . . go over it with a heat gun, . . . usually 3 or 4 coats, . . . come back in a couple of hours and buff it a bit. Back off a bit maybe 55/45, . . . more oil than wax, . . . you might really like the results. It is also easily restored when you fall down in a gravel pile and scratch up the surface finish. May God bless, Dwight

It would help if we had some idea of the project you have in mind, . . . also how thick is the leather you are using? May God bless, Dwight

I have never built a saddle before, . . . this would be my first. It would be for a 15 hands high quarter horse gelding, . . . 5 years old. The horse may change, . . . but I'll keep the saddle, . . . probably passing it on to either a niece or nephew in a few years. I really like the look of the one Tippmann has on their website, and I copied that picture for here, . . . although there are some cosmetic changes I would make. Anyone here have an idea where I could get a reasonably priced tree like this? I'm particularly fond of the high, straighter upward swept back of the saddle seat. Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

Just in case you are haveing a bad day, . . . take heart, . . . it could be worse. Customer came in today, . . . we chatted, . . . he ordered, . . . left, . . . I started. I had 2 belts, 2 holsters, and one mag holder to make. I made the right hand holster for a lefty, . . . the left hand holster for a right hand, . . . the mag carrier should be for a lefty, . . . yep, reversed it too. I'm anxiously awaiting the belts, . . . Said to heck with it all, . . . got a piece of strawberry rhubarb cobbler, . . . cup of coffee, . . . kicked back, . . . tomorrow is another day. May God bless, Dwight

Make this little tool, . . . use it for your corners, . . . it will not only help your corners look better, . . . it will choke down some of the frustration. May God bless, Dwight

Yeah, . . . pictures would help, . . . don't quite understand what you are trying to accomplish. May God bless, Dwight