Dwight

Thanks, Jack, . . . I knew the process, . . . couldn't remember the word. May God bless, Dwight

Wellllllllll, . . . you won't get a basic black that way. Finish is nothing more than personal preference, . . . and at least as far back as the Revolutionary war, . . . leather was dyed if for no other reason, . . . to identify the nation from which the soldier came. Mostly I dip dye, . . . because my customers do not like raw leather, . . . they like dark brown, black, black cherry, sunburst, and others. So do I. Oh, . . . and I do dip dye. May God bless, Dwight

There is a technical term for it, . . . but it amounts to making the water "wetter" so to speak. It absorbs deeper into the leather or something. Anyway, . . . it is about a heaping teaspoon of liquid soap into the "really good and warm" water, . . . and it is just like you said, . . . a vacuum forming process. I bought my vacuum pump at Harbor Freight, . . . $100, . . . bought the vinyl at JoAnn's, . . . got a vacuum bag valve off the internet for $15, . . . folded the vinyl in half, . . . sealed the side edgers with Weldwood contact cement, . . . it works super for holsters. I actually made one holster not too long ago for a 1911 Commander, . . . it was molded so tight that it would open both snaps and pull the holster out of my britches when I tried to draw the gun. Needless to say, . . . we modified the holster, . . . I'm wearing it right now, . . . and we don't get that carried away any more. May God bless, Dwight

FWIW, . . . I went to the Goodwill store some time back, . . . spent $10, . . . got a gently used crock pot. Put about a pint of water in the old thing, . . . plug it in, . . . put your wax in a quart jar, . . . put the quart jar in the water in the crock pot, . . . go get a cup of coffee and a small danish. By the time your danish is history and the coffee is down to one swaller, . . . the wax should be molten, . . . and "so far" at least, . . . it never has gotten hot enough to turn color on me. I won't mess with wax or parrafin any other way, . . . but then again, . . . I won't go sky diving either annnnnnnnnnndddd, . . . my wife doesn't care what I do with that old crock pot just so long as that ugly lookin' thang stays in my shop. Also keeps me from having to clean the white top of her glass top stove May God bless, Dwight

I am not a "Western Historian" but I have been led to believe that most gun belts of the old west were not lined. Many had sewn loops which of course would be on the outside of the belt. Many others used a system where a slot was made, . . . the loop came up through the slot, then back down through the same hole. All my gunbelts are made this way, . . . lined or unlined doesn't make any difference. I use a 3/4 inch long bag punch, . . . 5/6 oz leather, . . . 7/8 inch wide, . . . wet it, pull it through, form it, let it dry, dye & finish it, . . . have not had any customer complaints yet. Here's a couple of examples. The hog leg is lined, the other is a folded, rough out. May God bless, Dwight

mydarshan, . . . thank you. I have been kicking around making a wallet for about 2 years, . . . but could not find the "pattern" I wanted to use. I really do like that one, although I am at a loss to determine what the two straps are for on the back side of the wallet. Could you enlighten us about it? My poor old "dime store" wallet has just about had it, . . . this will be a fitting replacement. May God bless, Dwight

Looks good from this end, . . . hope she enjoys wearing them as much as you did making them. Those have to be a labor of love, . . . May God bless, Dwight PS: Do you have any links to "old time" or "antique" chap designs, pictures, images? I want to make myself a pair of authentic looking "old style" cowboy chaps, but most of the images I come up with don't quite give me the details I need.

To avoid metal, . . . and get it tight, . . . I'd use a loop and button system: like a 3/4 inch wide piece of 7 or 8 oz being anchored on the left chink at one end, . . . the other end having a button hole in it. Pass the strip through a loop on the right chink, . . . pull it tight and button it. May God bless, Dwight

One problem you will find with the wood or the hardboard, . . . making the connection to the edges of the other pieces. If it were me, . . . I'd go get a couple of pieces of 1/16" aluminum, . . . make the back and the front out of the exact same pattern, . . . use a serpentine piece for the sides. You can make the top and bottom about 1/2 inch wider and longer (all around), . . . notch it, . . . then bend it down with a pair of vice grips, . . . it makes a super edge to pop rivet the bottom to the edges, . . . then hinge the top. Just thinkin', . . . cause if I had that guitar, . . . you can bet your bootsies I'd have it in a super protective case. May God bless, Dwight

Go to my website, . . . the belt page will give you pictures and the information. www.dwightsgunleather.com You have to make the belt, . . . let him wear it in the pants he wears most often, . . . window the name between the loops is the best, . . . I think. May God bless, Dwight

Dip dyeing is one sure way to get rid of streaks, . . . and do the dying right after you cut out the blank pieces. In this case, you would have dyed both pieces, . . . then after a couple days drying, . . . come back and very gently do the flesh side of the holster with a dauber to get the black interior. OR, . . . you can do the Katsass process, . . . glue two thinner pieces of leather flesh to flesh, . . . after you dye them, . . . for a lined holster that is bi-color. I fought back and forth with all sorts of "better ideas" on dying, . . . one day as I was reading an email I got years ago from Lou Alessi, . . . (he dip dyed all his parts and pieces as soon as they came off the cutting table), . . . I just asked myself who the expert was and who wasn't. Lou won. May God bless, Dwight

TwinOaks is right about the clamshell being easy. I usually introduce all my students to a flat backed pancake, . . . easy to make, . . . easy to adapt, . . . very comfortable when finished. May God bless, Dwight

/\ /\ /\ I'm with you, Shooter, . . . no SOB holsters come out of my shop. May God bless, Dwight

Personally, . . . I think everyone should have a "Duke" rig. I researched mine as best I could, . . . from what I was told, he liked a closed bottom, . . . and that the belt was also a money belt. Hence, . . . my version: May God bless, Dwight

I have had 1911's since 1966, and know for a fact that it would take several concurrent problems working together to make a 1911 unsafe in a holster just because it's trigger was not covered. BUT, . . . I also know that there are many folks out there who jam all their guns into any holster they can find. That can produce an unsafe condition, . . . especially if the customer is carrying a Glock or Springfield XD or another similar weapon that uses a striker firing mechanism and does not have a manual safety. The 1911 is without a doubt the safest semi auto on the market, . . . but you have to allow for the others. Glocks tout their "internal" trigger safety system, . . . but it has a well documented pattern of failure, . . . anything entering the trigger guard can easily snatch the trigger back, . . . and it is disasterville from there out. Having said all that, . . . I wouldn't make any holster that leaves the trigger exposed, . . . unless it is for a revolver. May God bless, Dwight

For the most part, . . . Sixer has it nailed for me too, . . . the major exception is belts, . . . especially black ones. I use a 1 HP motor, . . . it burnishes for all my belt edge burnishing. I burnish, . . dye, . . . then re-touch the burnishing before final finishing. For me it goes quicker before the dying process, . . . and even going over it a second time, . . . I save a bit of time. AND,................... the double burnishing gives my belts a better job I think. But you can do it the other way, . . . just remember to ALWAYS dye before any finishing process. Finish application is inclusive of that word, . . . FINSH, . . . meaning end or last. May God bless, Dwight

I guess I get to be the "other" voice. 1st power tool to buy: Harbor Freight, 1inch wide belt sander, . . . costs less than $50, . . . does all the edges on holsters, belts, purses, and does a good & quick job. A tubular sander can do a better job sometimes, . . . but it takes a lot more practice and a lot steadier hand. 2nd power tool to buy: Tippmann Boss Stitcher, . . . somewhere between $1000 (used) and $1500 (new with warranty, etc), . . . and if given reasonable care, . . . it should last you a lifetime of hobby leather work. If you get bored and want to unload it, . . . put it on Ebay with a $1100 reserve price, . . . it may have to stay there through a couple of cycles, . . . but they most generally sell quickly. You could even buy a new one, . . . sell it on Ebay a year later, . . . lose $300 in the process, . . . but you will have saved your fingers and wrists an untold amount of pricks, jabs, wrenching, pulling and twisting. AND, . . . you will have to practice for some kinda time, . . . and be a perfectionist type, . . . to hand stitch a 52 inch belt more evenly and better than my "Boss" will do it. That is not even counting that I will stitch that 52 inch belt in about 20 minutes, . . . while hand stitching will be at least several hours, . . . if not days. Anyway, . . . welcome to the wonderful world of leather work, . . . it's fun, exciting, nerve-wracking, expensive, and rewarding: sorta like getting married or buying a motor cycle. May God bless, Dwight

You can shop where you like for sure, . . . but I use Law Enforcement Target for all of my blue guns I need. Law Enforcement Targets, Inc. - Shooting Targets, Paper Targets ... www.letargets.com/Cached - SimilarYou +1'd this publicly. UndoLaw Enforcement Targets provides a full catalog of targets, including ... Paper & Cardboard Targets - Steel Targets & Stands - Zombie Targets - Contact Us8802 W 35w Service Dr NE Minneapolis, MN 55449 (651) 645-5246 Most of their guns are in the $33 to $36 price range, . . . and if they do not have it, they will arrange to have it directly shipped to you. Most of the time, I am lucky enough to reach Cathy, . . . she does a great job. I don't normally have any issues with the blue color coming off, . . . did once because of my own stupidity, . . . , and I have used a press, never broke one yet. May God bless, Dwight

The problem is that you are trying to use the wrong image. That image is of a bullet hole that has gone through a piece of sheet metal that has both a final coating and a primer coating. The square like frame around the hole is designed to look like the primer, . . . Typically, . . . that is the image of a bullet hole in a car body. Enclosed is a 240 grain, jacketed hollow point, +/- 700 feet per second, .45 caliber, at about 8 feet, . . . going through a 9 oz piece of veggie tan. The quarter is to help you determine the relative size. May God bless, Dwight

You may use any product you wish on the outside of the holster, . . . but for all the holsters I have done, . . . I totally, 100%, without any reservation, . . . prefer to use Resolene on the inside of the holster. Except for the time a guy tried to force another model into a formed holster, . . . I've never had any bad problems on the inside of those that were Resolene coated, . . . it forms a protective layer that is tops in my book. May God bless, Dwight

When I'm making a guitar strap (or a belt) I either use two pieces of material that I just now cut with the same strap cutter, at the same setting, . . . or try to match up previous pairs. Cover both pieces with contact cement, . . . let em dry, . . . put them together. I usually take a strap that is not as wide as my product, . . . lay it under the project, . . . and use my fingers to guide the pieces together, . . . without looking. I find my fingers do a better job of this than my eyes do Then I take the same rolling pin I use for apple pies, . . . roll the pieces together, . . . take it to my belt sander (its a Harbor Freight 20 x 1) and do any necessary dressing of the edges. Tooling, . . . edging, . . . sewing, . . . final finish, . . . in that order. This works the best for me. May God bless, Dwight

Depending on how handy you are, . . . you may make one yourself. I make most of mine I need out of electrical conduit (EMT). Cut off a piece about 9 inches long to start. Take it to the sander first, . . . sharpen it all the way around by rolling the edge against the sander, . . . and every now and then put it in a can of water so it don't get over heated. Then take a piece of 3/8" steel you cut into a long triangle, . . . and rounded both of the long edges real smooth, . . . lay it down on your anvil and start whacking it with a ball peen hammer until you get the slot punch made in the sharpened end of the EMT tubing. Use the 3/8 inch steel to keep the tubing from collapsing and to get the sides straight. If you start out with a piece of 1 1/4 inch EMT, . . . it should come awful close to finishing out the size you want. May God bless, Dwight

I think if I did that, . . . I'd use "Amazing Grace". Not that one song is better than another, . . . but it is much shorter, . . . and I would think it would be easier to do for the first one. Then if I liked it well enough, . . . go back and do another one with longer lines, . . . such as the song you pictured. Mine has a simple cross, . . . with the sun behind it, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Markush made an excellent observation on the mag release, . . . I had one lose a mag for me once, . . . really not a good thing. My other comment would be to suggest that the next one you make, . . . put a sweat shield on it. I personally will not wear a holster without one, . . . as the weapon is forever digging in my side, . . . especially when belted in and driving. You're doing good, . . . I was a whole bunch further up the number scale before I produced one that looked as good as this one. May God bless, Dwight

If you live near a Goodwill or Salvation Army store, . . . they usually have a supply of vests there, . . . buy the one that fits you, . . . take it apart at the seams, . . . you have the pattern. OR, . . . I personally don't like them, . . . but Tandy does have vest patterns. Go to leather shop (find it in the yellow pages) and let them show you appropriate garment leather. Yes, . . . many sewing machines can sew this type of leather, . . . but probably an equal number will not be able. You need to go to Jo Ann fabrics, . . . buy the appropriate leather needle for your sewing machine, . . . get some scrap leather pieces, . . . and try it. Personally, . . . I would hand sew the thing if I didn't already have a machine, . . . the tools and thread for that are available at Tandys. May God bless, Dwight