Dwight

I have two groovers, both bought at Tandy's, . . . one has a little screw in the very end of the center post, . . . it locks the blade into position. That one is set for all of my belt grooving and about 95% of my holster grooving, . . . and only gets moved when the blade needs changing. The other groover has a knurled locking band beside the wooden handle, . . . it locks the blade at any depth you want (dimension from the edge). I use it for the "second" groove on holsters such as you showed in your post, . . . as well as the other 5% of holsters. Hope this helps. And by the way, . . . that is one good looking rig you did there. I personally don't like one quite that fancy, . . . but some guys do, . . . and I do enjoy admifing them. May God bless, Dwight

If you happen to be around a Hobby Lobby store, . . . go to their sewing section (should be on the farthest right hand wall after you enter the front door, . . . ). They sell two different snap setters, . . . hand held. One only does line 24 snaps, . . . the other one does snaps of at least 2 sizes, 24 and 20. I would not use anything else for snaps, . . . period, . . . if at all possible. The tool itself is right at $25, . . . and worth twice the price in my estimation. Looks like a pair of blue handled pliers. May God bless, Dwight

I use a spirit dye, British Tan, . . . that needs almost no buffing to remove the leftover pigment. At the other end of the spectrum is USMC Black, . . . that almost seems to spawn more pigment as you buff and rub. I know it doesn't, . . . but sometimes it just seems that way. When I get done with the project, . . . I am so pumped with the USMC Black, . . . but until I pronounce it done, . . . UGH, . . . that pigment gets all over me, my desk, my clothes, . . . I scratch my forehead and it looks like I just came up out of the coal bin. All you can do is rub and buff, . . . my personal choice is old, . . . key word, operative word, . . . OLD, . . . washcloths that you never want to use on your personal body again. The softness and broken fibers in them make them really good for the buffing, . . . other guys like lambswool. Anyway, . . . get off enough of it so that it shines, . . . and by rotating it under a light, . . . you can see there are no big pockets of pigment laying out there to ruin your finish. I like to then wipe it with a clean cloth or paper towel, . . . and apply the finish. Once that dries, . . . touch up the edges a bit. Done ! May God bless, Dwight

For an OWB for a 1911, . . . I prefer a pancake, . . . no strap, . . . no thumb-break. I mold it tight, . . . stitch it tight, . . . haven't lost one yet, . . . but I suppose there is a first time for everything. There are enough "edges" on the inside of a properly molded 1911 holster to keep it secure in my opinion. May God bless, Dwight

Jarrett, . . . very impressive, my friend. You have a talent I can only wish for, . . . I just simply do not have the patience to do as intricate a design as that on a belt. You are a credit to yourself and your craft. Curiosity, though, did you do the pattern yourself? May God bless, Dwight

Glockanator, . . . this may sound hard, tough, cruel, . . . don't take it as such, . . . just trying to help. Mistake # 1 was the design itself. Trying to use a 2 sided pancake for an IWB is almost like putting an innertube on a wheel and wondering why it won't hold up. Just not made for that. Mistake # 2 was that you built the handgun down too far into the holster. In the picture, the holster comes back over the rear of the cylinder, . . . which is all well and good if you are going to have an open carry holster, . . . hunting holster, . . . or LEO holster. Not good for IWB. Trip the top off so that the last 1/4 inch of the cylinder is outside the holster, . . . and roll that edge out and away from the gun, . . . making it sorta like a funnel. The 2 sided pancake is an OWB design, . . . unless you seriously add frontal support(s) and seriously mold them. A 1 sided pancake you can get away with as an IWB with only a good mouth support. What I mean by 1 side or 2 side, . . . it is the number of sides that are seriously molded. A 1 sided pancake is almost flat on the side touching the human, . . . all the molding goes away from the body, . . . the molding itself becomes the strength of the holster. Adding a 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 inch mouth re-inforcement across the front of that holster will seriously stabilize that puppy. A 2 sided pancake is where the front and back are both heavily molded, . . .and that dude will close up quicker than a tight-wad's change purse, . . . once the weapon is withdrawn. Usually it will not as an OWB, because there is no outside force pushing in the outside of the holster like the belt does on an IWB design. You would be much better off punching some belt loop holes in that one, . . . and building a better IWB rig. You also should buy some shoulder or double shoulder leather for your next holster. That belly stuff you used for this one, . . . it'll just never get the stiffness you need for a holster. I know it is cheaper, . . . but when you make it cheaper, . . . and it will not work, . . . did you actually save anything? May God bless, Dwight

If you are using beeswax and neatsfoot oil, . . . use it on the inside too. Wrap a cloth tight to a 3/8 dowel, . . . smear the wax/oil on the rag, . . . rub it in, . . . let it dry, . . . buff it. It'll work on the inside as well as it does on the outside. You can also clean up the flesh side a bit with sandpaper stapled to a small piece of 2 x 4, . . . and literally "sand" the back side of the leather. That should be your very first step. May God bless, Dwight

Good job from what I see. How long does it take you to do a set similar to those? Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

Newfie, . . . dye it first. Oil it later on. In fact, . . . is there some deepseated overpowering desire rooted from your childhood experiences that force you to oil? (Just kidding of course) If you use Feibings Oil dye, . . . you don't need to oil it afterward, . . . many do, . . . but I have never seen where it does anything tangible beyond adding 2 steps and an extra expense to the finished product in many cases. May God bless, Dwight

Hey, Mike, . . . sorry to hear about the hospital stint, . . . but glad to see you are "back up and running" so to speak. Holster looks good, . . . I've never used vinegaroon, . . . stay with the canned dyes, . . . but that one looks great. May God bless, Dwight

I use a Boss for just about everything I sew, . . . but occasionally I have to hand sew something (got a wallet to do tomorrow :-( ) I do the awl trick first, . . . then use what we called a sail needle in the Navy, . . . a needle, handle, and a small bobbin of thread. I do a lock stitch instead of saddle stitch, . . . and use the 346 thread that is sold by Tandy's. It has always worked for me, . . . though just every now and again I drop down to the 277 for a special project. Both have a wax like coating on them. May God bless, Dwight

You can also buy the sheet plastic transparency stuff, . . . I used to use it all the time when we used overhead projectors (before PowerPoint), . . . wasn't that expensive as I recall. Saves going to Kinko. May God bless, Dwight

Now I know this may sound silly, . . . but if you take a 3/8 inch dowell, . . . run a slot up in it, . . . put a paper clip up in the slot so that the smaller curved section is at the end, . . . like the drawing. It makes a neat stylus, . . . takes a bit of getting used to as you have to turn it, . . . but you can use it on almost any surface and not worry about snagging or tearing anything. May God bless, Dwight

This particular product is very, very easy to use. AND, . . . you use it after you have done any dyeing, . . . but it takes the place of Sheen, Resolene, Atom Wax, Mop & Glo, . . . all the other "finishes". One minor caution, . . . it does darken the leather a bit, . . . something on the order of the darkening you would expect from a dose of just neatsfoot oil. I apply it kinda like the old Kiwi shoe polish, . . . with a rag or with my fingertips. DO NOT use water with it. On raw leather, . . . I'll rub it in, . . . using 3 or 4 applications, . . . then just touch, . . . and I mean gently touch it with a heat gun set on low, . . . watching only for the wax to liquify, . . . then pull the heat off. Let it cool for a couple of minutes and buff it out with a soft cloth. For example, . . . I'll start applying it at one end of a belt, . . . turn it over and apply to the back side, . . . turn it back, . . . give it another coat, . . . turn it over again, . . . etc. until I have 3 full coats on it. On with the heat gun, . . . buff, . . . inspect, . . . go from there. I do have one advantage over most folks, . . . my beeswax is free from my beehive, . . . but even if I had to buy the wax, . . . it is something near about 1/4th or 1/5th of the cost of some of the packaged finishes. The added benefit is that some of the package finishes can be a bear to "re-do" if the product gets a real good scuff or scrape. This just re-finishes almost as good as new. If you are willing to take the time, . . . you can bring it up to a spit polish like we swabbies used to do for our inspection shoes, . . . or you can drop off somewhere in between "spit polish" and "flat". I did the gun holster in the pics with it, . . . and I was very, very satisfied with the end result, . . . which was to make it look "old westerny" and "old" but yet not look distressed. I think I accomplished my goal, . . . and it is my personal "Let's dress up like cowboys" rig. May God bless, Dwight

Just a suggestion, . . . try the 50/50 beeswax/neatsfoot oil combination first. It is a really good finish just like that, . . . but also you could then see if there is something missing from what you want. You can then begin to add lanolin to it a little bit at a time, . . . and since we are talking of a mixture here, . . . not a compound, . . . it should mix in easily, . . . until you get the product you are looking for. May God bless, Dwight

I use an old fashioned recipe: 50/50 by weight, . . . beeswax and neatsfoot oil. Use a scale, . . . equal weights of each. I put em both in a jar, . . . jar goes into the $10 used crockpot I bought just for this, . . . just enough water to float the jar, . . . put on the lid, . . . come back in a little while, . . . all is melted, mixed, and ready to be put in molds. Pour it out in muffin cups if you like, . . . works great. I put it on with my fingers, . . . kinda like I used to do with Kiwi shoe polish when I was in the Navy, . . . rub it in, . . . on new leather, . . . add a LITTLE heat to kinda melt it in, . . . it works beautifully in my opinion, . . . but then again, . . . I'm kinda opinionated. May God bless, Dwight

If you have access to that specific quiver, simply measure it with a set of calipers. You'll have to convert the decimal fraction into 1/64ths of an inch, . . . each 1/64 is equal to 1 oz of leather. For example: .250 inches is equal to 16 oz, . . . and .125 is equal to 8 oz leather. I would be surprized if the quiver in the picture were any thicker than 8 oz. May God bless, Dwight

Unless I am mistaken, . . . suet and tallow are pretty much the same product. You can buy suet any place you can get bird feed seed. When you do the melting thing, . . . put them all in a jar, . . . put the jar in a crock pot with just enough water to float the jar off the bottom, . . . put on the lid, . . . doesn't take too long, . . . I make a finishing product using equal weights of beeswax and neatsfoot oil, . . . May God bless, Dwight

2007 Bareback Riding Champion This is "Bazooka" font from Microsoft Word, . . . one of my favorites for signs, . . . handouts, . . . etc. It's not perfect, . . . but pretty close I think. May God bless, Dwight

Can you post a picture of it? We're always open to looking, . . . probing, . . . delving, . . . and just every now and then, . . . fixing. A picture often times is the only reason it can happen though. May God bless, Dwight

If you will show us a drawing or picture of your dilemma, . . . it will be easier to address that way. May God bless, Dwight

If I'm doing a stitching line such as the outside line on your holster, . . . I will always use a stitch groover, . . . because I want my stitches to lay down in the groove and be protected from abrasion,etc. If I'm just putting a second "decorative" line, . . . mostly I use a pair of dividers that I took to a piece of sand paper and permanently dulled the ends so I get a rounded groove instead of a pointed slash/groove that a sharp divider end will do. But in your case, . . . and please don't take offense, . . . from what I could see, . . . it just looked like you got in a hurry, . . . especially up over the top outside piece of the holster where the cylinder is. Whenever you are grooving or putting in decorative lines, . . . always, . . . always, . . . make sure your leather is fully flat, . . . and the surface under it is flat. Pull in only one direction, . . . pull with the same hand, . . . and take your time. Again, . . . take your time. Also, . . . I learned a long time ago that sometimes looking at the raw leather, . . . it looks kinda bad, . . . but after all the finishing touches are done, . . . and it is finished, . . . it looks a whole lot better. Those double lines at the holster mouth will disappear during sewing, molding, dyeing, and finishing. Another thing, though, . . . you should have put your holster together, . . . sanded the edges, . . . edged it, . . . before you grooved the seam side. Sometimes it doesn't quite line up perfectly, . . . when you sand it smooth, . . . if the groove lines are already there, . . . they can then be "off" because of removed material. Now!!! After all the criticism, . . . let me say good job on the carving. I envy you guys who have the dexterity and patience for that, . . . it just doesn't happen with me. Too old, . . . too shakey, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Here is the one I made, . . . Needs a lot in the looks department, . . . but it is fully functional. (It actually is better than this picture, . . . I've since added springs to auto-return it when I release the jack) It also has one other layer of gum rummer not needed in this picture, . . . but sometimes used above the weapon. May God bless, Dwight

That is exactly the same way I make mine. I do always line the belt back, . . . and when the lining goes on, . . . I contact cement it to the other belt piece, including the cartridge straps. Here is a little drawing that may also help. May God bless, Dwight

Go down to the local Salvation Army store, . . . part with $10 for a used crock pot. Also get a wide mouth pint jar if they have one, . . . or something similar. Put your parrafin and beeswax into the pint jar, . . . put it into the crock pot, . . . add enough water to the crock pot to float the jar about 1/2 inch off the bottom, . . . put on the lid, . . . turn it on high, . . . go get a doughnut and a cup of coffee, . . . sit on the front porch and eat the doughnut, . . . drink the coffee, . . . comment on how lovely the birds are singing today. By then your beeswax and parrafin should be SAFELY melted, . . . just pour them into any container that is tapered out from the bottom, . . . after it cools, . . . you can usually shake it out. This also works for mixing wax and neatsfoot oil, . . . 50/50 by weight with beeswax, . . . makes a cake of some of the lovliest leather finishing product you have ever used. May God bless, Dwight