Dwight

I'm not a lot into the 200 years ago stuff, . . . but if I was, . . . I'd use the old fashioned 50/50 beeswax and neatsfoot oil (done by weight, not volume). Veggie tan takes this finish very well, . . . which would end your chrome worries. It makes a paste similar to Kiwi shoe polish, . . . put it on in a similar fashion, . . . would have been similar to what was actually used back then (I've been told, anyway), . . . and after a couple of skirmishes, some rain drops, maybe a snow squall, . . . your period piece actually looks period, . . . instead of New York Tiffany. May God bless, Dwight

Have you been to Tandy? They have some good looking "plain Jane" stuff, . . . and none of my customers has ever mentioned that it didn't serve them well. May God bless, Dwight

From what I could see, . . . it looks like a variation of a "clinch" knot or a "half blood" knot. In smaller line, they are used to tie off rings, eyes, and even fish hooks. I'd say google clinch knot first, . . . there are more than likely several youtube's on the subject. May God bless, Dwight

Shooter McGavin has the answer I would use, . . . and the first place I would look is http://www.brownells.com/ The old one should come off with a little elbow grease and a 1 inch wide wood chisel, . . . drill the thing, . . . epoxy in place, . . . May God bless, Dwight

I sharpened the outside edge of a piece of 1 1/4 inch EMT, . . . hammered it flat over a piece of steel, . . . have a really good oval punch that makes really nice holes, . . . 5/16 wide, . . . 1 9/16 long. Cost: about 20 minutes in my metal shop. May God bless, Dwight

Go into your kitchen, . . . look for one of those plastic cutting boards. Put it under your leather. Then, . . . pierce the front and go through the leather until you can feel it hit the plastic. Turn it over, . . . finish your awl hole punching from the back. Works for me. May God bless, Dwight

For holsters, I very seldom use any thing other than Resolene, . . . 50/50 mix with water, . . . brushed on, . . . sometimes 2 coats. First, it has a UV blocker, so I know my product will not be adversely affected by sunlight, . . . and secondly, it adds a bit to the rigidity of the holster. I have an IWB holster here made of 5/6 leather, . . . Resolene coated, . . . it is almost as hard as a Kydex holster. I do prefer Bag Kote for billfolds and purses. (Maybe that is why they called it "Bag" Kote) Matter of fact, I did a very different billfold a few weeks back for a new customer, . . . sent it to him, . . . he was absolutely thrilled with it, . . . and of course it had Bag Kote as it's finish. I don't use BK on holsters though, . . . because it is not as rigid, and does not have the UV, . . . but that is just me, . . . May God bless, Dwight

I just may have to look into that, Ken, . . . my local Lowes doesn't always carry the jell Weldwood (I like it the best), . . . and I suppose I would use less brushes. Thanks for the tip. May God bless, Dwight

Bluesman, . . . if you can stand it, . . . 2 more tips for you: 1. Don't buy it in any can except the pint size "Weldwood" that is sold in lumber stores, . . . can looks like a paint can, . . . lid comes off with a quarter or a flat blade scredriver, . . . and keep the stinkin' brush away from the mouth of the can. 2. Go to Harbor Freight store or crank up http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=acid+brushes and you can get these. Use em once (several times if you are doing several things on one project) and when they harden up, . . . pitch em in the trash. .pr-snippet {height:15px;} .price-box {height: 60px!important;} .related-products-name {height: 74px;} 1 MATCHES FOR ''ACID BRUSHES'' 36 Piece 1/2" Horsehair Bristle Acid Shop Brushes The little rascals are only 3 bucks a bag, . . . I love em.AND, . . . always let your contact cement get completely dry to the touch. Actually, I have forgotten about it, . . . next day remembered, . . . put em together, . . . rolled with the old rollin' pin, . . . worked out great. Generally a good 45 minutes works great, . . . but if you have this "hurry up" itch that needs scratched, . . . use a heat gun to dry the glue. Just be careful not to get too close to the leather, . . . and don't stay on one spot too long. May God bless, Dwight

The only rule or law you violated, . . . is one of pysics. The greater the angle you make your slots, . . . the longer they will have to be to allow a full size belt to go through both. That makes the outside edge also longer, . . . reduces the overall strength by changing the length/width/depth ratio, . . . which reduces overall strength and rigidity. Will it cause a problem? It can, . . . which means somewhere, someday, . . . it will. I tend to do more of the "straight up" slots, . . . but that's my way. May God bless, Dwight

For tooling, you need a surface that does not yield, bounce, move, and is solid. Kinda like a piece of steel, . . . but marble is better. Tandy sells tooling size pieces for about $30 to $50 if I remember correctly. That piece will do you good. You can also maybe get a broken piece of a marble counter top at some lumber yards, . . . small piece of marble at a grave marker place, . . . be resourceful and cheap, . . . most of the time it pays. Weaver will cut the pieces of leather you need, . . . sized correctly, . . . etc. if you want to buy a bunch. They also have pre punched key fob stuff, . . . other things like that, . . . you need to search their catalog. Cutting leather is best done in my shop with a very sharp drywall type razor knife. Scissors are for real thin leather only in my shop. May God bless, Dwight

One place you may try: Weaver Leather, in I think, Berlin, Ohio. There web address is: http://www.weaverleather.com/ I personally deal with them, find them to be really good people. Use their "Contact Us" info, . . . call em up, . . . tell em what you want to do. Only problem you will have, they only do wholesale, so you have to be set up at least in if you live in Ohio with a Vendor's license. May God bless, Dwight

If at all possible, I personally measure the belt they wear when they talk to me about the new one. I go from that "most used" hole to the buckle end, . . . that is my critical measurement. I always put 7 holes in my belts, instead of 5 like you find at most stores. The center hole is my critical measurement hole. So far, I've never had any dress gun belts come back with that formula. May God bless, Dwight

I'd probably start out with one of those foam pop can holders. Don't forget to insulate above, below and all sides, . . . as any temp change there can cause condensation, . . . which we all know is not good for leather products. I'd go so far as making a waterproof shield between the product and the inside also as a JIC measure. May God bless, Dwight

I've never done it, . . . but my gut tells me that if I wanted that "look" a piece of clear vinyl from JoAnn fabrics would be just right to get that effect. Some of their stuff is 60 wide, . . . and if you got 1/3 of a yard (abut $16 a yd) you'd be out 6 bucks or so. It cuts real easy with scissors or a razor knife, . . . will not shrink, expand, rot, rust, or deteriorate over time either. Sandwich that between a couple pieces of 4/5 veggie tan, . . . you would probably have one really neat looking belt. May God bless, Dwight

I made a beautiful little dog collar for a friend for his little 3 pound mutt. The collar holds Mutt's shock collar device. Mutt's buddy figured how to unbuckle the thing ( I used a brass 3/4 inch bridle buckle ) and of course they then were free to run where ever without interference by the shocking device. My friend needs a new collar made that won't be so easy to get off. Any one else ran into this problem? If so, . . . how did you solve it? If not, . . . how would YOU try to prevent it again? Thanks, folks, . . . this ain't my specialty, . . . out of my league. May God bless, Dwight

You don't say how heavy the "thick" leather is you are cutting, . . . but Sylvia gave you some good starters, . . . also STAND UP when you are cutting. I see a lot of people (in my leatherworking classes I teach) who try to cut projects out while sitting. It works about as well as standing on your head and eating, . . . it can be done, but it sure is messy. Personally, I don't use much of anything other than a razor knife, . . . and I have a very special strop that I use to keep my blades clean, . . . and SHARP. I have three knives I keep sharp and when I am working on a project, I'll usually strop all three before I start cutting. A sharp knive is an absolute MUST HAVE for doing leather working, . . . and please believe me when I say that a dull knife will get you cut. Beyond the cutting, though, most of the "good looking edge" will come from the sanding, beveling, and burnishing, . . . the cutting just facilitates that work. A really good little sander is another MUST HAVE if you want to turn out quality products without a bunch of hard hand labor. I use both a 30 inch by 1 inch belt sander and a Dremel tool for my sanding, . . . they both work great, and have their own personal strengths. I guess I don't have any other suggestions, . . . except maybe don't try cutting leather with a splint on your thumb May God bless, Dwight

Ladyface, Cut, sew, punch, lace, mold, . . . including beveling of all edges: these are the first steps, and can be done in what ever order works best for you. I like to do a "first" burnish on all edges as I put the thing together, . . . I use only water. You talked about "casing" the leather, . . . does not need to be done unless you are molding something into it, . . . or if you are stamping, tooling, etc. If you use USMC black, . . . and you want a really good dye job, . . . forget the little 4 oz bottle, . . . get a quart. Also buy a cheap 9 x 13 non stick baking pan that's 2 inches or so deep. Pour the USMC black into the pan, . . . put on rubber gloves, . . . and dip the belt in, . . . making sure to just kind move it through the product, . . . making sure it is in the dye for a good 3 or 4 seconds anyway. I start at the buckle end, . . . and slither it through the dye like a snake, . . . sorta. Then lay the item down flat on newspapers, . . . flesh side down, . . . and leave it for about an hour. Take it up, . . . hang it up where air can get to it, . . . if you have a south facing door, . . . hang it between the door and the storm door, . . . let the sun bake it dry, . . . won't hurt it at all. Go get a pair of canvas gloves (or other kind you don't ever want to be seen in public again with), . . . get a couple of old worn out wash cloths, . . . and begin the bufffing / burnishing process. You want to buff that leather, . . . all sides, . . . all edges, . . . until you take a white paper towel and have to rub really hard to get any more residue off the item. This is especially necessary for the hair side of the leather (smooth side). When you get done, . . . your wrists and fingers should be a bit sore. Burnish the edges, . . . again with water only, . . . burnish them REAL smooth, . . . that is the difference between a leather butcher and a crafts person, . . . Take a CHEAP one inch bristle brush, . . . NOT nylon, . . . pig bristle works real well, . . . mix up the Resolene, . . . 50/50 with water, . . . shake well, . . . start on the flesh side, . . . and slobber the Resolene on. Brush it until you get a "lather" looking foam come up, . . . all along the flesh side, . . . turn it over, . . . do the same for the hair side. When I do belts, . . . I start out with them laying down, . . . after a good coat on both sides, . . . I hang em by the buckle to finish. You might want to take a scrap of leather, . . . dye and buff it (maybe 6 inches square) and practice your Resolene on it. The key is in the finishing strokes. You will put 2, or 3 wet coats, on, . . . one over the other, . . . getting a lather each time, . . . then quit applying, . . . start brushing out the bubbles, . . . left to right, . . . right to left, .. . up, . . . down,. . . sideways, . . . just keep lightly brushing until you have gotten all bubbles and the bluish tint of the Resolene gone. After you have let this dry for at least 24 hours, . . . get a dauber, . . . come back and re-burnish the edges with pure Resolene, . . . you might not notice a great improvement, . . . but that extra coating helps keep the water out of the edges. You can then do the shoe polish if you want, . . . but it will be darn near un-necessary. If I did use shoe polish, . . . I'd use the liquid "scuff kote". Anyway, . . . good luck, . . . happy Easter, . . . and may God bless, Dwight

It'll wind up being one of those things you do want to do, . . . or you don't want to do, . . . and only you can decide. I've made them where there was nothing at all done to the outside, . . . and I've made them where I finish the inside and outside with Resolene just like a regular holster. The Resolene makes for a much firmer holster, . . . but a little slicker in the pocket. It's a trade off, . . . and you alone can determine which way is best for you. May God bless, Dwight

Glad you got that figured out, . . . May God bless, Dwight

It won't work on every one, . . . but on most you can get away with making a piece for the billet end like Kevin said. I do it by opening my original belt up, . . . and adding a horseshoe shaped piece of leather to the belt body, like the little drawing shows. Opening it up will add an automatic inch or more depending on how you do your belts, . . . adding the horseshoe piece can give you however much you want. You can extend the horseshoe back to cover all the holes, . . . camoflage it by adding conchos or decorative studs, . . . you might get away with it. The other suggestion would be to cut it dead center in the back, . . . add the length needed, . . . and lace it back together with some fancy lacing. That is how I would do a cowboy action rig. Oh, . . . by the way, . . . I know you have figured this out by now, . . . but the unwritten rule # 1 on making belts: the people you are selling to have absolutely no idea at all as to what size belt they wear. They think that because that pair of jeans they bought 4 years ago (size 36 waist) means that they are still a 36. About half the time, . . . their fat little ( ? ) bodies have stretched those jeans out to 39 or 40 and they have to hold their breath to get em buttoned. And yes, . . . it goes for the gals as well as the guys. Long and short: take the belt they are wearing TODAY and measure it from outside of buckle to the most used hole. Make that measurement the center hole of your new belt you make for them. May God bless, Dwight

Really good looking, . . . thanks for the pics. May God bless, Dwight

You do fine work my friend. I really like the one on the bottom, . . . the big one. May God bless, Dwight

I'm not a fan of gum trag, . . . use it sometimes, . . . ruined a project one time when it got where it shouldn't be ( MY fault !!! ) and it blocked out the dye, . . . threw the project away. Just be careful with it, . . . Sometimes I like to dye the edges real dark if not black, . . . then go to the straight bees wax & polish the edges real good. That gives it an aura all it's own I think. May God bless, Dwight