Dwight

I use molds for my magazine carriers, . . . and I have a hydraulic press for some holsters. Neither one gets more than 1 full minute of mold time or press time. If the leather isn't stretched where I want it by then, . . . it ain't gonna stretch. But after molding, . . . I look for flaws, . . . maybe a piece of exterrranious junk made an erronious impression, . . . I'll smooth that out. They come out easy while the piece is still wet. Then I hang up to dry, . . . when they get rock hard, desert dry, . . . I go back to work on them. That is usually no less than 24 hours, . . . May God bless, Dwight

For what little white leather I have done, . . . I just buy white leather. Saves the mess and what little hair I still have. May God bless, Dwight

Like the answer to most questions: It depends. I'll look at any project I sew, . . . I really do like the look of stitches being down level in the groove, . . . not up on top of the leather. If it is a "doable" piece, . . . I'll stitch groove both sides, . . . as I use a Boss also, . . . and no matter what you do, . . . the back side never will look as "pretty" as the front, but having the groove there, . . . AND, . . . working the stitches after sewing, . . . makes to me a better looking product. Particle is very much correct though, there are sometimes when it just is not worth the gamble of ruining a project. Grooving on the backside can only work, . . . AFTER, . . . the edges have been very meticulously done. And it would do you well to save scraps of leather and practice edging and grooving and stitching. Whole lot easier to throw away two scraps than an otherwise nice product you messed up sewing. EDITED: Another thing that will definitely help though, . . . buy or make yourself a little table for the Boss. Mine is nothing more than a 12 in square of high density poly plastic, screwed to some 3/4 in plywood slab legs, with a hole drilled in the end to accept the bobbin area of the machine. It gives me a perfectly flat area to manipulat the piece being sewn, . . . and makes a world of difference in the ease of sewing. It'll also help out if you grooved the back side. May God bless, Dwight

I just wanted to say thank you all three for your comments, . . . artistic "stuff" has never been a long suit for me. I can cut, sand, drill, turn, burn, weld, with all sorts of confidence and capability, . . . but the "sweet touch" I never was able to cultivate. I'm just now beginning to try and get into more of the decorative touches in my leather work, photography, etc., . . . so it really helps when I can get this kind of help. The design is almost a direct copy off a Tandy leatherworking book. May God bless, Dwight

If I were doing this, . . . I would use a heavier string, . . . nylon for sure, . . . and would tie it off in the middle. Cut the ends with a very sharp pair of scissors, . . . hit the ends with a propane lighter or fire stick, . . . should work like a champ. See the little drawing. May God bless, Dwight PS: If you get over to the Gold Coast, south of Brisbane, . . . just wave at it for me, . . . no one there will remember me, . . . but I'll never forget Australia.

I don't make that style holster, . . . but thanks for the heads up, . . . never know when the request will come in with the next email. May God bless, Dwight

I know this will sound silly, . . . but believe me, . . . it works. Stand up and cut. Sitting down and cutting leather with a razor knife is a sure fire way (for me at least) to get a whole hand full of angled cuts. Standing up, . . . for some reason, . . . my cuts are virtually all 90 degree dudes. And, yeah, . . . use those punches for the tight cuts. I use a punch almost every time I have to make a hard turn, . . . including all 90 degree intersections, . . . I just do not do a square cut inside corner unless it is some kind of something special. May God bless, Dwight

JLSleather, . . . when you use your air brush for dye, . . . do you first thin it down, or do you just go it straight? I'm currently using Feibing's oil dyes for just about everything, . . . and I bought an inexpensive air brush package mainly for my finish coating. I ask the dye question as I have seen some really imaginative dye jobs done, and thought I might add some of that to my line, . . . but it'll be pretty basic stuff. Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

I have friends and customers who would do a "So what?" and go on down the road with it, . . . gladly wearing it. In that case, . . . I would do a price adjustment, . . . and all would be happy. A new customer, . . . especially an out of state customer: do over, . . . keep the other one for the flea market table, . . . no sense in pitching perfectly good items that someone can use. But then, . . . most people know me more for my practical side. Good work, . . . keep it up. May God bless, Dwight

Paul, It depends on what you define as a "dome". If it is a little cap kind of like an old fashioned "beaney", . . . it can probably be done. If you want a full fledged half a sphere, like cutting a basketball in two, . . . that is going to be pretty tough. You will need a mold for certain, . . . of the size and shape you want the thing to finish out as, . . . stretch it over the mold, . . . fasten it to a board under the mold, as close as you can to the mold, . . . let it dry... When you wet the thing, . . . soak it in hot water that has had just a few drops of dish washing liquid mixed into it. Don't get it too hot to handle, . . . but as hot as you can handle, . . . it'll stretch a bit more that way. Look straight above these posts, . . . there is a pinned article on "wet formed bag tutorial",........... you need to see that. Best wishes. May God bless, Dwight

It's all vegetable tanned, . . . depending on what is going on, . . . I either go and hand select the better grade stuff from Tandy, . . . or Weaver's. I'm fortunate enough to be an hour's drive from either, . . . and have occasion to be in their areas often. I have also used ST leather in St. Louis, . . . and have never been disappointed in their leather. May God bless, Dwight

An elderly lady needed a cover for her Bible, and I decided to do a bit of decorating. I'm kinda happy with this, but I know there are things that would have made the end product even better. Please share your thoughts on it. Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

I use double shoulders exclusively, . . . except when I get a request for a Western Gun Belt that has to be upwards of 56 inches long, . . . then we head for a side of beef leather. May God bless, Dwight

Your experience may vary, . . . but I have the privilege of having two really knowledgeable people working at the local Tandy Leather Factory store in Columbus, Ohio. I have successfully stumped them one time, . . . and it was only on a preference thing, . . . which product to use for a certain application, . . . If you have one available, . . . I would go there first, . . . get a kit of something you would like to have for yourself, . . . do it, . . . using their advice. May God bless, Dwight

I use Weldwood contact cement, . . . never, . . . never, . . . never needs thinning, . . . at least in my applications, . . . belts & holsters mostly. I try to only buy the "Gel" formula, . . . it works the best, . . . I leave it in it's original can, . . . pop up the paint can type lid with a metal opener, . . . use what I want with a disposable acid brush, . . . pitch the brush, . . . close the can, . . . no fuss, no muss, . . . May God bless, Dwight

JC, . . . from what I have read, many of them were a two layer belt, . . . folded, . . . stitched on the edge. I would use 4/5 oz, . . . veggie tan. May God bless, Dwight

If I remember correctly, John also made a line along the top of the loops, . . . one at the bottom of the loops, . . . and he used them to reference his stopping and starting. You don't have to worry about the line either, if you use a stylus to make it, . . . the area in question will all be covered or something when the project is in use. May God bless, Dwight

I have a high density polyethylene cutting surface on my work bench, . . . 1/4 in thick, . . . $40 out the door and it is great. I punch on it, . . . cut on it, . . . no problems with my tools. It is not perfectly self healing, . . . but it comes fairly close. May God bless, Dwight

It'll be hard to beat Frank's idea, . . . especially if you use a clamp on each end. You can then mosey down the full length at your leisure with a razor knife, pocket knive, round knife, or any other cutting instrument you desire to use. Clamping it down will make your edge straight. May God bless, Dwight

A lady on here some time back gave a tip on wax etc. that I have used and I like it's effect on certain items. Take an old crock pot you don't use for food, . . . fill it half way with water. Put a jar in it that you don't need, . . . put several ounces of pure, virgin bees wax in the jar, . . . and the exact same weight of pure virgin neatsfoot oil also in the jar. Turn on the crock pot, . . . and let them melt together (takes about an hour at my place), . . . remove the jar. Pour the liquid into some sort of mold, to harden. You can then use the cake of wax/oil to rub over your project, . . . then using a soft cloth, or just your fingers, . . . rub it in deep to the project. I won't use it on a holster, but on some of my other projects I have found it works really well, . . . I like the look and the feel of it. It can take several coats to get the effect you desire. She made a ver strong point about it, . . . if something happens, . . . it is real easy to restore the original. May God bless, Dwight

Mike, . . . you didn't say what type tools you are using, . . . or at least I didn't see it. If you are using (what I call a sail needle) the needle kit that has a wooden handle and the little spool of thread, ........ that is the culprit was my experience. I pitched the spool, . . . use a cut piece of thread that I measure out at least 3 times the length of my stitching, . . . put it through my awl hole, . . . pull half to the other side, . . . and go from there. With the spool in place, I was keeping the working piece of thread short, . . . and it got dirty quick. I figured it out when the back side was really clean, . . . and the front looked groady and grubby. Anyway, . . . hope this helps. May God bless, Dwight

S-T has always been good to me too, . . . but since I found Weaver's in Ohio, . . . they are my source of leather I can't pick out myself. And of course, . . . sometimes I can pick it out as I drive there (over an hour away) twice a year or so. But the others are right, . . . most kit leather is truly less than optimal has been my experience too. May God bless, Dwight