Dwight

Just remember the golden rule of thinning dyes and/or paints. MEASURE WHAT YOU ARE DOING ! If you "find" a pretty shade that you may want to duplicate at some later date, . . . you will do well to have made very accurate notes and very accurate measurements. Dying leather is tough enough, . . . don't hamper your efforts by just throwing in some thinner and hoping for the best. I worked in a refinish paint plant for 30 years, . . . and you CANNOT believe what the slightest little change to a color formula will make in the end product. May God bless, Dwight

Humperdingle said: "The only other finish i'd used was Tan-Kote, which is MUCH gloopier. The Resolene is almost a milk-like viscosity, so I didn't think it would need to be watered-down." I don't mean to sound harsh, . . . but you need to take some advice from some folks who have been there, . . . done that. Resolene NEEDS to be watered down. Attempting to use it full strength, . . . and not applying it correctly is what got the bubbles you left on the project, . . . that later broke, . . . giving you a product that looks very much like it had the measles. Again not meaning to hammer you, . . . but you asked what happened, . . . and that is most likely the culprit. There are probably a few bodies on the planet who successfully use it at full or near full strength, . . . but their numbers pale next to the rest of us who water it seriously. I also only use a cheap bristle brush, . . . and get very acceptable results. May God bless, Dwight

Arias, you said your dad has a drill press. That means he has some kind of a small shop. Have him help you build a simple lever press like the little drawing here. It should take a good half hour to make, . . . make it out of one 8 foot long 2 x 4 and a half dozen bolts and screws. The key to making it work right is the back post, . . . it has to be made so it will allow you to adjust for longer or shorter punches, . . . and/or you can make it for the longest and use scrap wood to lift up the punch surface for shorter punches. As soon as I get my new shop set up, . . . I'm making one of these especially for my maker's stamp. Anyway, may God bless, Dwight

The most comfortable I ever made/owned, . . . copy of a 50's pattern that hangs muzzle down under the old arm pit. Strap goes up over the carrying shoulder, . . . another strap goes around the off side arm. Muzzle sits on a sewed in muzzle piece, . . . strap holds the gun in just below the trigger guard, . . . releases with a thumb break. I believe it was a Safariland, . . . not sure, . . . but they are usually on Ebay for around 50 bucks, . . . I bought one of a different size to get the pattern, . . . made my own. Wound up making a double 1911 rig for one of my customers, . . . he absolutely loved it, . . . one under each arm. I've also made a few for horizontal carry, . . . I vacuum form them out of 4/5 oz leather, . . . pull the molding up very tight on the gun, . . . same with the stitching, . . . use a thumb break for extra retention, . . . but I just never got really comfy with them, . . . something about walking around with the muzzle pointing at people and things all the time. Much prefer the muzzle down rig. May God bless, Dwight

Since you didn't say, I'll assume you are hand stitching, . . . which is something I rarely do, . . . and abhor the thought from the gitgo. The first thing to do, . . . let it dry, . . . never think about sewing something that was dyed within the last 24 to 48 hours. That may be a bit long, . . . but it beats the heck out of the alternative: ripping out the dirty thread and re stitching it 2 or 3 times. That gets old in a quick hurry. BUT, . . . I have also learned, . . . for my own use, . . . to add about 30 inches to a holster, . . . on each needle, . . . before I sew. At the end, . . . I'll have thrown away an extra 5 feet of thread, . . . but all the trash, dye, oil, dirt, grime, and ugly on the thread, . . . will be in that "leader" thread. There are probably a dozen other ways, . . . but that is the way I do it, . . . whether saddle stitching or using a sail needle. Works for me. May God bless, Dwight

One thing for sure, . . . anyone sure enough of his weapon and himself to go armed with a hog leg, . . . best give them respect. May God bless, Dwight

Got a belt request once for one with 6 loops for .38's over the front right hand pocket. Made it, . . . sent it, . . . Proved to be too much hassle for him, . . . it's hanging in my closet now. Made him another one. May God bless, Dwight

Altogether, a good looking rig. I've always liked the white stitching as a decoration, . . . it's ugly when it gets dirty, but that's life. May God bless, Dwight

It would surely help if there were pictures, drawings, or dimensions: but absent from those, . . . your best bet as you have outlined it so far would probably be a copper rivet. Copper rivets can come with a large flat head, . . . goes through the hole in each piece of leather, . . . has a washer affixed on the bottom side, . . . cut very closely with a pair of side cutters, . . . and expertly flattened by a small ball peen hammer on a wide steel surface. You attain the rotating effect, . . . place a thin sheet metal spacer between the two pieces of leather, . . . after the rivet is set, . . . pull out the spacer and it should rotate freely. May God bless, Dwight

The dye will not overly effect the molding, . . . just keep your fingers and thumbs away from the areas molded and/or stamped and/or carved. Messing with it while it is damp or wet is what will effect it. If you want white stitching, . . . on a two tone holster, . . . I would first create the holster in it's final form except for dying and sewing. That means also that ALL gluing, edging, etc. is also done. I would then dip dye the main color, . . . and air brush the second. I'd give it 24 hours between the colors, . . . and I'd have it where it is being "assisted" in the drying process. I'd then give it a coat of 50/50 resolene & water. Let it dry for 36 hours. I'd then stitch it up. Then I'd give it another coat of resolene & water, . . . especially over the thread to protect it and keep it pretty white longer. There are many other ways to do this holster thing we do, . . . but that is the process I would use. May God bless, Dwight

In a nutshell, . . . you can't. Smokecigars laid it out for you. I have never ceased to be amazed at how many guys wear 36 jeans with a 42 belt. You can also look at my belt page on my website, . . . tells a similar story on how to measure properly for a belt. May God bless, Dwight

Eaglestroker, I started getting leery of using a press on my holsters, . . . afraid that one day I would pull that handle one time too many, . . . and be buying a broken gun or something to that effect. I investigated the vacuum bag idea, . . . and I am sold. My whole setup cost just under $150 and these pics show the first one I did with it. It is a modified Rhodesian style IWB, . . . and the detail is exactly what the vacuum bag did, . . . nothing added. And, yes, . . . the retention is really great. It actually was too great when I first did it, . . . had to loosen it up a bit. This one has some flaws in it, . . . so overlook them, . . . it was a "practice" piece to begin with, . . . testing the vacuum and the Rhodesian design. May God bless, Dwight

Good looking work, . . . but can the next pictures be on the kitchen table? We've got plenty enough snow to go around here, . . . woke up this morning to another 2 inches or so, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Jay, . . . do you have your firearm? If so, . . . which one, . . . I might be able to find a pattern if you are interested. May God bless, Dwight

Sorry, Zooker, . . . the only videos I've seen were the Bianchi ones, . . . which were three VHS tapes, . . . probably not 2 hours each, . . . but VERY thorough. You have to kind of overlook the obvious plugs for Tandy, . . . they certainly had some $$$ invested somewhere in the videos, . . . but all in all, . . . really good. He sewed his cartridge loops on, . . , I punch and lace mine, . . . he used a set of calipers for his stitch lines, . . . I use a gouge, . . . and when he was all done with the rig, . . . he dunked it in a bath of neatsfoot oil, . . . which I just don't do. All of the cowboy rigs on my website were created using his techniques. But he shows you how to make the proper curve in the belt that will keep you from coughing and your gunbelt winding up around your ankles, . . . he goes through the pattern process for both the belt and the holster, . . . honestly, I cannot imagine anyone being any more thorough. May God bless, Dwight

Several folks on here do holsters with a two tone effect, . . . or even three tone. If I were doing that, . . . the base color, . . . the main color, . . . I would dip dye it, . . . then use the other for accents. As a matter of fact, . . . I have a project to do later this year, . . . and that is the process I plan on using on it. It will be a light saddle brown with black highlights. May God bless, Dwight

John Bianchi, . . . of Bianchi Holster fame, . . . made a three tape VHS demo on how to make the rig you want to do. It is probably out there on DVD, . . . It is an awesome teaching exercise, . . . may be available on Ebay, . . . well worth a 40, 50, or 60 dollar price tag, . . . just in the leather you might save by using his process. I only disagree in a couple of areas, . . . nothing that makes any major difference, . . . I just do a few things a bit different, myself. From what I could see, . . . your patterns look OK. May God bless, Dwight

Just another way to do it, . . . do all the tooling, . . . then dye it with Feibings black oil stain, . . . not USMC black. The USMC is a great dye, . . . but it leaves so much extra pigment on the product, . . . it takes forever for me to buff it off, . . . and I can never get it all buffed out (like it want it) from any carvings or stampings. I would then burnish the edges, . . . coat it with a 50/50 Resolene finish, . . . and buff that out. IMPORTANT: let the Resolene dry 36 hours or so. Then I would get a full pot of coffee, . . . a couple of doughnuts, . . . some small brushes, . . . and Eco Flo paint the right colors, . . . and commit myself to painting the other colors on, . . . very painstaking, . . . very slowly, . . . but it comes out nice, . . . This is a painting I did that way on a holster for a friend. May God bless, Dwight

Good job, George, . . . It's been a couple years, . . . but I made one "back when" for a fellow I think in Colorado. It actually was one of the easier ones I've done for a revolver, . . . I used my single six to mold it, . . . he seemed very satisfied, . . . and kept the thumb break. One thing for sure, . . . if someone ever pulled out a single six as his CCW, . . . I'd be right good and careful of him. All the folks I know who have em, . . . they can use em, . . . forget that spray and pray stuff. May God bless, Dwight

Part of the reason I dip dye is to make sure I don't get blotchy spots. BUT, . . . having said that, . . . I have found in some cases, . . . not all by any means, . . . but in some cases, . . . applying the Resolene finish that I use will take care of the problem. I cannot answer why, . . . just know that it happens sometimes. May God bless, Dwight

I use three factors to determine my price: what I HAVE TO HAVE in order to survive, . . . what the customer is comfortable with, . . . and the prevailing price of a similar product produced by someone else. The first two make up 90% of the decision, . . . the last one is simply a flag, denoting which way the wind is blowing. I never allow a third party to enter that judgment, simply because they DO NOT know my situation, . . . or my customer's situation, albeit they may know prevailing similar prices. Taking advice is good, . . . especially getting started, . . . but don't be overly influenced, especially by well meaning friends or acquaintances who really do not know what they are saying. The final judge of your prices will be your return business. If your customers never come back, . . . something went astray. Generally price will be the culprit. May God bless, Dwight

The absolute first and most important foundation point for beginning ANY business: you already have, . . . the head orientation that your customer must be first. Companies or individuals who do not get their heads oriented that way, . . . fold up, die out, go bankrupt, . . . or worse, produce an inferior product that gets someone hurt or sick, . . . and legal action nails their business' coffin shut. Being up front with your customer, . . . AND being willing to adjust as required, . . . will go a super long way toward making you successful. And like others have said, . . . the pictures look good, . . . but you need to develop your product as you go along, . . . the Edsel is proof you can go too far, . . . the Yugo is proof that some junk is sold, . . . but personally I like what I saw. One final point, . . . accept limitations. For instance, . . . I will not build a "small of the back" holster, . . . nor to I sell horizontal shoulder holsters. To me they pose a serious liability that I am all to happy to allow someone else to assume. Again, . . . you have a good start, . . . good attitude, . . . that is most important. As an aside, . . . I also teach basic Microsoft Office applications, . . . one of the things I teach is how to use Excel to produce a one piece document that is your production order, . . . packing slip, . . . and shipping label, . . . by typing the order once, on one piece of paper, and the rest is done automatically. Anyone can learn that little computer skill, . . . but having a desire to be partners with your customer and friends with your customer base, . . . is FAR, FAR more important. May God bless, Dwight

I'm going to disagree with Particle on this one, . . . for 100% of my belts, . . . and about 75% of the stitching on my holsters, . . . I groove on both sides. I figure if I use the same groover, . . . groove from the same edge, . . . it will be the same. Guess what ! It works. There are two serious helpers here though: one) the edges are done all but the final burnishing, . . . so they are good as a guide, . . . and 2) I manufactured a little 12 inch table out of some scrap 3/4 inch plywood and a 1/2 inch thick plastic cutting board. It lays perfectly flat with the sewing level of the Boss, . . . making the needle go 90 degrees straight down, . . . and hits the groove on the other side. May God bless, Dwight

I do not know the proper terminology, . . . as I don't get into a lot of fancy, multicolored leather items, . . . but the folks at Tandy do that sort of stuff in their classes and teach others to do so of course. Might just want to mosey over and ask them for a "how to" idea. My local Tandy shop is super helpful on things like that. May God bless, Dwight

Excellent work, and you choice of stamp is also one of my favorites. I also like the color choices, . . . as well as the contrasting stitching on the holster. May God bless, Dwight