Dwight

JRC, . . . I'd be more than happy to help you out. I use a Tippmann Boss machine, . . . 346 white thread (too cheap to buy the colored stuff). Depending on the "complexity" it shouldn't be over $15 plus shipping. See my WWW address below for examples of my work. May God bless, Dwight

All of my students would have helped you out there: "Hands are for hamburgers, "Sewing machines are for stitching. May God bless, Dwight

You can also use a pair of dividers, . . . takes a while, . . . but they WILL BE evenly spaced if you do it correctly. May God bless, Dwight

Sitting here tonight, . . . right shoulder telling me I'm not going to sleep well tonight. Cranked up the old Tippmann today, . . . 40 inch gunbelt, . . . 40 inch dress belt, . . . and a 50 something dress belt. Went through 3 bobbins of thread in one sitting. Need to seriously think about an electric machine, . . . or a cheap laborer to pull the Boss handle Anyway, . . . thankful for living in a land where I can do that, . . . thankful for all you folks on this forum, . . . makes me glad I came this way a few years back. Happy Thanksgiving to you all, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Do a search: look for Cheap Holster Press It's mine, . . . it works, . . . plus I didn't have to do any welding. May God bless, Dwight

You can also use a vacuum bag and mold to achieve the same basic results, . . . in many cases. May God bless, Dwight

I've never used it on a watch band, . . . but I often use an old fashioned finish: 1/2 virgin beeswax and 1/2 neetsfoot oil (by weight, . . . not volume). Put them in a quart jar, . . . put it in a crock pot of water, . . . allow them to melt together, . . . pour out into little cakes. Rub it on like shoe polish, . . . add a little heat from a hair dryer or heat gun on low, . . . keep adding until you get the finish you want. It can be built up to a really nice shine or you can quit while it is semi gloss. It takes a little playing around with it to learn how to use it, . . . and it seems every piece takes it a little different way, . . . but mess with it a while, . . . you just may really come to like it. I know I did. I did my personal "retro look" wild west rig in it, . . . looks like it came right out of Dodge City about 1886 or so. May God bless, Dwight

I'm afraid I'm going to have to seriously disagree with the final comment. All sewing machines use a lock stitch, . . . and the vast majority of commercially produced holsters are done on sewing machines. In modern holster making, . . . in many cases, . . . the stitching can be just so much decoration on top of a properly molded holster that was cemented together and will only come apart under severe duress. Hand stitching, using a saddle stitch, has it's place, but to infer that it is vastly superior to machine stitching is simply not a valid comment. May God bless, Dwight

I cannot find the address right now, . . . but there is another source besides Weaver, . . . and a whole lot cheaper. Seems like they are a contributor here on this site, . . . I briefly chatted with them through a couple of emails a year or so ago. Their products are all laser cut plastic, . . . which has held up for me quite well. My maker's stamp is laser cut plastic, . . . works great. You may also try Brenda at info@lasergiftcreations.com "][mailto:info@lasergiftcreations.com] she did my maker's stamp. May God bless, Dwight

Actually, . . . if your Al Stohlman book is like mine, . . . that pattern is not correct. The proper military holster has the flap and the holster body being made from the same uncut piece of leather. The belt loop is sewn on the back, . . . with the wire hanger as well. There is another "piece" to the military holster, . . . a shim on the inside of the holster that causes the handgun to be canted away from the person carrying it. I have always assumed this was to make it easier to draw, as the handle was more "grabbable". Personally, . . . I don't mess with them, . . . they're $20 on the internet. May God bless, Dwight

I cannot speak for the Tandy glue, . . . but Elmer's works pretty good. Titebond wood glue also works pretty good. The problem with the glues, . . . they take so long to dry. You may also want to try some just plain old rubber cement, it will not hold up in the long run like contact cement does, . . . but to just hold it together while you are stitching it, . . . it'll work fine. Push come shove: use a heat gun, . . . warm your leather with it, . . . put on the contact cement out in the garage, . . . use the heat gun to dry the contact cement, . . . take it back into the house. I am forced to do that occasionally during the winter if I have a larger project. I haven't had any problems at all with doing it that way. It may make a difference if you are using something else, though, . . . because I only use Weldwood. It works this way. May God bless, Dwight

Hey, Ramrod, . . . thanks, . . . come to think of it, . . . MANY thanks. That doesn't look like it would be too difficult to build, . . . and since he is going to use it for his own three horses only, . . . it should work well. Now, . . . just got to secure the order,............................. May God bless, Dwight

I have a fellow who wants a farrier's apron made, . . . and I have no idea of what one looks like. If someone has a picture of one, . . . or better yet, . . . a pattern, . . . or can point me to a pattern, . . . I would surely be grateful. May God bless, Dwight

Chris, . . . welcome to retail sales,.......... You now have been initiated into the brotherhood of conscientious craftsmen who serve a NON conscientious buying public. Of all my "problems" I encounter with products, . . . it is the belts that seem to cause the most quandries. The reason for it is that people in general do not "think" about the belt. They think that because they bought size 36 jeans 8 years ago, . . . they still wear a 36 belt. I had one good friend insist he had not gained any weight at all, . . . yet the 2 belts I made him were now 3 inches too small. Funny, . . . they both fit the day he picked them up. I "fixed" both problems, . . . but it just spotlights the problem that belts make. I really don't know of any foolproof way to fix the belt problem, . . . just have to roll with those punches, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Tree Reaper has the science of that project. If you also want to make the letters come out more "even" as far as how they look in depth, darkness, etc. you may want to look at a $35 to $50 arbor press you can get from Harbor Freight. It only takes a few scraps and you can master that machine and the Tandy stamps to the point that it REALLY looks good. May God bless, Dwight

FWIW, . . . I have an aluminum Boss, . . . got it in '06 or '07, . . . not sure which. Like you, . . . belts, holsters, knife sheaths, a couple of purses (ugh!!), guitar straps, and the occasional "fix" for a saddle, halter, etc. My Boss has served me quite well, . . . and the Tippmann service has been the best. I love the idea that I can take it to someone's barn if I need to, . . . all I need is one flat board and a "C" clamp, . . . I'm in businness. When not being used, . . . it is off my desk and on the floor under it. My desk also is my cutting table, . . . stamping table, . . . etc. My favorite part is that I can dictate to the machine the exact point I want that needle to insert the stitch, . . . a sometimes near impossibility with other type machines. I've been sewing for roughly 50 years, . . . and if I could only own one leather sewing machine, . . . it would be the Boss. The only "downside" is I really have to brew a good pot of coffee and get really psyched up whenever I start sewing on of those 50+ inch belts or cowboy rigs. The old arm gets a bit tired from all that, . . . just wish I had a Krispy Creme store next door, . . . that would make those long belts go easier. May God bless, Dwight

In a class I teach, . . . all of my students can answer your question: "Hands are for hamburgers, . . . machines are for stitching" That is what I teach them, . . . then I introduce them to my Tippmann, . . . and the race is on. May God bless, Dwight

I wanted to "test" a press before I bought one, . . . made this one out of 2 x 4 lumber & bolts in all of about an hour, . . . it has done everything I have asked out of it. May God bless, Dwight

The tag says it is a 2.5 CFM. At the store, they sell two models, . . . I decided to take a chance on the smaller, . . . not knowing one way or another, . . . and it is more than enough for my holsters. May God bless, Dwight

Two things: 1, the very best medium for producing patterns is the old manila file folder. Cheap, . . . rugged, . . . once "finalized" the patterns last indefinitely and if you screw one up, it is not a major investment to make another one. 2. go to JoAnn fabrics, . . . get one of their 40% off coupons first (good for 40% off retail price for one item), . . . go to the back of the store where their odds and ends are, their out dated stuff, . . . etc. You may find a bolt of vinyl like is used for seat upholstery. It is not a perfect substitute for leather, . . . but it is a world cheaper than leather, . . . makes good patterns, . . . can be sewn to see how the holster would "look" and "work". Even if you have to pay full price of $16 a yard, . . . that is usually a piece that is 36 by 45, which is almost 12 square feet, . . . makes the price about $1.33 per sq ft, . . . verses $5 to $8 a sq foot at the leather store. I got me a piece some time back, . . . will be making a pair of vinyl chaps before I take the razor to my chap leather. May God bless, 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