Dwight

May God bless, Dwight

A strong belt is the first thing I would look at, . . . mine are 1 7/16 wide, . . . and anywhere between .180 and .250 thick, . . . depending on several factors I take into account in the belt process. Secondly though, . . . will be a serious critique of the holster design. Quite frankly, I would consider it a bad, poorly thought out design. Your holster should come up (on the top of the slide) to the front of the rear sight at least. For a VERY secure holster, . . . cover the rear sight also. It should also come up almost to the grip, . . . covering the trigger guard. I realize that you are trying to stay clear of the mag release, . . . and that can be handily done with some interior work. Personally, . . . I would not carry a pistol in a holster of that design. The center of gravity for the weapon is way too high, . . . it WILL flop back and forth, . . . and it will come out, . . . and if Murphy gets in there, it will come out when you least need it to do that. Making that style for a full size all steel weapon would be in my opinion, and exercise in futility. And the reason I feel confident in my opinion, . . . I envisioned a similar style holster some years back, . . . and after some wasted leather and effort, . . . I said to heck with it, . . . went back to what works. May God bless, Dwight

It's a lot better than my first IWB, . . . Keep up the good work. May God bless, Dwight

I used a press for some time, . . . then got to getting a lot of plastic fantastic shooters, . . . got afraid I'd over press one, . . . bust it, . . . so I went to a vacuum system. I made my own bag from some vinyl bought at JoAn's fabric shop, . . . and it works great. Actually, I like it better than what I got with the press. May God bless, Dwight

Two things will limit this, . . . but I have never found anything to totally prevent this: As paperhangr said, . . . use Feibings pro oil dye Get an older (really soft, . . . like almost worn out) wash cloth, . . . and buff the piece until no more pigment comes off. What is happening in reality is there are little gidget sized pieces of pigment laying on the surface of your product. Buffing can remove "most" of them. Finishing will sometimes also remove some, . . . and they wind up in your brush, . . . and are transferred into your beaker containing the finish. I keep a beaker of "black" resolene, . . . and one for "browns". It is the answer that works for me. But I also buff until the product shines before I top coat it. May God bless, Dwight

If something has to be an "exact" duplicate of another, . . . generally I follow Matt T's idea, especially on the straight pieces part. I also use a strap cutter for a lot more than just straps. But the key to "my" achieving exact duplication is my belt sander. I overcut the size just a bit, . . . maybe 1/16 to 1/8 sometimes, . . . glue the rascal together, . . . then go to the sander. It takes just enough off by careful maniuplation, . . . that I can darn near make them identical, . . . or at least visually so. May God bless, Dwight

Good looking rig, . . . but we expected that from Lobo, . . . Most of my guys are all too happy to just get a holster, . . . not too picky on the style. May God bless, Dwight

You can also get a quart of dye and a quart of thinner, . . . when you pour them together, . . . you have a half gallon. Get a darker brown, as it will lighten up because of the diluted state of the dye, . . . but if you lay it out flat, . . . get some gloves and a big piece of sheeps hide, . . . it should come out pretty even. And like dirtclod said, . . . I'd cut em out and then dye them. I'm going to have to do the same thing for my chaps next spring, . . . my hide is a biggin, . . . but the price was right, . . . even if I don't like the color. Using an air sprayer will do it, . . . but that big means a spray booth, . . . or outdoors, . . . and a lot of wasted dye with overspray, . . . to say nothing about sprayed on dye not penetrating as well as mopped on dye. Making chaps, . . . I'd want the mopped on myself. Good luck, may God bless, Dwight

I certainly am no an expert on the various tanning processes, . . . but from experience at Tandy's, . . . I can tell you that they sell many options for a motorcycle jacket besides veggie tan, . . . and I for one would probably take a much different tack on it. Lamb skin for one will make you one super jacket (my wife owns a jacket, . . . myself a vest), . . . deer, . . . elk, . . . and even the fake deer or elk would be superior in my opinion. But then again, . . . just an opinion. May God bless, Dwight

^ ^ ^ ^ What electrathon said works really good for me too,........... May God bless, Dwight

Personally, . . . I would put the pieces together like Electrathon said, . . . making em a little bigger than the finished pruduct I wanted. I would then put them together on the knife shaft with Weldwood contact cement, . . . but first be sure to scuff up each piece on the hair side so the cement has something to bond to real good. Once all the pieces are in place, . . . I'd take it to my little belt sander and rough out the shape, . . . put the blade in a vice and finsh sanding the shape with long strips of plumbers sandpaper (it comes in a 1 inch wide or so strip). I would be very careful and sponge on or daub on any dye I wanted using Feibings oil dye, . . . followed with two or three light coats of neatsfoot oil, . . . and end up by rubbing the outside with beeswax and going over it very lightly with a low setting heat gun to melt the beeswax into the fibers. You need the oil in there first to protect and help waterproof it, . . . then the wax to add another layer of waterproof plus add some rigidity to the exterior layers of the leather and make it a bit more solid. Don't forgt to post pictures when it is done, . . . those are really good looking when done right. May God bless, Dwight

Ray alluded to getting your mind out of the daily grind and the worries associated with it. That's good stuff !!!! One of my ways of doing that is just having many interests, . . . and being willing to add new ones to your repertoire. A few years ago, . . . I made a knife sheath for a hand made knife, . . . outside was suede, . . . inside was rawhide, . . . added some bling spots, . . . researched how native Americans wore theirs, . . . found they only used one slot and the sheath went inside their sash/belt/string, whatever they were wearing. It is one of my display pictures on my website. Learned a lot from it, . . . and did it in my "spare" time, . . . as a break from the day-to-day. Also did a gun bag out of suede for the same customer, . . . added a 2400 bead USMC beaded patch on the top, . . . learned how to bead, . . . had a lot of fun, . . . found out that those who want beads from me better have deep pockets. I made a copy of Duke's western rig he wore for the last 10 westerns or so, including the money belt, . . . along with Clint Eastwoods spaghetti western rough-out rig. These all cost me $$$ to produce, . . . easily got my money back on Ebay, . . . but here is the key: it opened my horizons to techniques I experimented with on each, . . . some things I found I liked, . . . some I found that I ain't doin' no more, . . . and it was a learning experience. My first IWB holster was done that way, . . . found out I liked doing them, . . . and belts, . . . and mag carriers, . . . plus I make a $$$ or two on them, . . . so I have stayed there. But at the same time, . . . I have a "Dwight" version of Lash Larue's whip, . . . been working on it for over 2 years, . . . didn't ask anyone how or anything, . . . I'm inventing it as I go, . . . it's fun to learn that way, . . . a buddy has ponied up the "I'll buy it" as soon as it's finished. I'll get my leather money back, . . . plus have the experience, . . . and who knows, . . . may add that to the line. It's all a learning process. Plus it is an adaptation process. Where would Ford be if they were still producing only the Model T?? Where would Chrysler be if they still were pushing the Plymouth and the Desoto? Gotta try new things, . . . experience new techniques, . . . and never be satiisfied with "I've arrived", . . . May God bless, Dwight

Cheifjason, . . . what kind of difficulties is it giving you? May God bless, Dwight

I bought some brown material from JoAnn fabric a couple of years ago to extend a set of shotgun chaps for a young lady. It did not stretch a lot, . . . but there was some give to it. Most of the time, . . . they are pretty helpful around here, . . . might give them a try. I added a 1 1/2 inch strip the full length, . . . and she was pleased as punch. May God bless, Dwight

My technique takes a while, . . . but "usually" works. I use a round object for my "rounds" and place either the top or bottom of my stamp against it (depending on whether the curves go up or down). For straight lines, . . . I place a straight edge on my leather and place the bottom of the stamp against it. I then tap the stamp to get the impression, . . . and leave the stamp head in the leather, . . . removing the handle. The handle then goes into the next stamp, . . . which I snug up against the edge of the first one. I stamp the second one, . . . remove the handle, . . . and pick up the first stamp, . . . leaving the second stamp again in the leather impression it made. You just continue that process until all the stamping is done. Sometimes on a long stamping project (long name for instance) I'll start in the middle of the name, . . . and work my way both ways, . . . that works for centering it pretty good, usually. May God bless, Dwight

Sometimes using the "search" function of the forum will get your results much quicker. In this case, . . . the discussion was fairly recent, . . . and can be found at: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=25656&hl= rounded corner&st=0 May God bless, Dwight

IWB holsters for mainly 1911 style guns, . . . plus belts for them, . . . and mag carriers. I do other stuff, . . . but that is my "main squeeze". I stayed with it from a zero start, . . . and am looking for it to expand a bit as soon as I get my new shop open (in process of building it right now). I think you do better when you heart is in what you do, . . . for example, . . . I've done two wallets, . . . and could not care less if I ever do another one. Lacing is not my thing. I mess around a bit with chaps, . . . saddles, . . . but that is only for friends, . . . or for fun. A friend has two adorable girls in horses, . . . so whatever I can do to help them is kicks and giggles for me. May God bless, Dwight

As usual, . . . excellent job, . . . would not have expected anything else. I did a double a year or so ago for 1911's, . . . muzzle down, . . . it was fun too. May God bless, Dwight

I will not burnish the interior of any holster I line, . . . nor will I put anything other than neatsfoot oil on the lining. Anything you put on the lining will make the lining harder, . . . physically harder, . . . which in turn defeats the purpose of the liner, . . . to be a soft place for the weapon to lay. Gum trag in my opinion is one of the worst offenders. To try it, . . . take a piece of 8/9 oz leather, . . . burnish the flesh side with GT, . . . let it dry, . . . then rub it hard against your face. Feels like sandpaper. I'm not putting that abrasive against my customers weapon, . . . even if it is a "plastic fantastic". May God bless, Dwight

If I understand you correctly, . . . it is a small tablet, . . . but yet a big phone. I make my "I phone / android phone" cases with a solid bottom, . . . several layers of leather sandwiched together about 3/4 inch wide and the thickness of the phone plus maybe 1/16 of an inch. I then make a board the height, width, and thickness of the phone, again plus 1/16 of an inch. I wrap 6/7 oz veggie tan around the form, . . . wet it, . . . and let it dry. I don't overlap, . . . I make the joint in the back, . . . riveting the belt loop to the back. I have never put a flap across the top with velcro on the front, . . . but as security is important to you, . . . you may want to. The enclosed pics are a much smaller phone, . . . but the basic idea of the case. It's several years old, . . . is my "work" phone carrier, . . . and just allows the top 3/4 inch to peek out to grab when it rings or I have to make a call. It goes up on the roof when I'm shingling, . . . on the mower or tractor, . . . in the car or jeep, . . . haven't lost it yet. May God bless, Dwight

Chiefjason, . . . next time you make a batch, . . . get some real beeswax, . . . The toilet seat ring is only partially beeswax, . . . and the rest of the ingredients are very probably some sort of polar bear grease or some similar goo. The recipe for the beeswax / neatsfoot oil combo requires virgin beeswax which is impossible to use for a toilet ring in its true state. Using only beeswax and neatsfoot oil, . . . it always comes out just a bit harder than Kiwi shoe polish, . . . but still a firm paste that has no lumps or bumps. Your batch that is thin like vaseline is because of the "extra" ingredient you got in the wax ring. May God bless, Dwight

In a one word answer, . . . no, . . . but your results will not be as good. There actually is a chemical process that takes place when you wet a piece of veggie tan leather and then allow it to dry. I cannot describe it because I don't know all the "terms" that make it up. But I do know for certain, . . . the first time you wet it and it dries, . . . if it is done with water only (maybe just a few drops of Dawn dishwashing liquid), . . . that is when and how you will get the best results. If you dye it first and allow it to dry, . . . when you then wet it with water to mold it, . . . it just does not come out as good. Personally I mold many of mine, . . . then finish the gluing / sewing / edging / burnishing before I dye it, . . . and then use the wetting of the dye to allow me to "touch up" some of the molding that didn't work to suit me the first go around. That process is the best I have found for me. May God bless, Dwight

Bruce is very much on the money, . . . unless you have some serious vision problems, . . . the pricking wheel will mark the back of the leather plenty well enough to see it. I even use it on suede, . . . and have no problems seeing it, . . . with 68 year old eyes and no glasses. You can also use a pair of calipers, . . . dragging one tip against the edge if you don't want to gouge the leather, . . . it will give you a defined line on the skin. May God bless, Dwight

When you have tried unsucessfully to keep someone from doing something stupid, . . . best thing is to leave em alone. He obviously knows more than you do , or at least he thinks so.May God bless, Dwight