Dwight

I know some folks have a dislike for Weaver's, . . . I am not one of them. In Ohio, you have to get a "Vendor's License" which allows you to collect sales tax on your sales, . . . then send it to the state twice a year. With that, . . . Weaver's is more than happy to do business with you. Other states probably call it differently by name, . . . but that is what you need. I have their catalog, . . . pick out the things I want, . . . pick up the phone, . . . call it in, . . . watch for the truck in the drive way, . . . simple as that. I have also been there, . . . if you go, they take you out back where you pick your hides you want, . . . and absolutely every one there was really nice to work with. True, . . . they have their rules, . . . but that is their business model, . . . get inside it, . . . you'll find they are good people to work with, . . . or at least that has been my experience. May God bless, Dwight

I don't do small lettering like that, . . . but I used to own a sign shop a number of years ago. One of the greatest tools for what you are doing is called a pantograph (sp??). It amounts to a mechanical arm setup that transfers the movement of a stylus to the cutting action at the blade or knife. The neat thing is you also get a reduction from the "master" to the finished product. Most pantographs are adjustable, . . . but if you built one with a 2:1 ratio, . . . that would be the best for easy use and scale figuring. A 2:1 reduction will take a letter, . . . for instance an "M", . . . and will make 4 little ones that take up the space of the first one, the pattern. What is also great, . . . you can make your own patterns, letters, scenes, etc, . . . and they don't have to be absolutely perfect. Get "most" of the defects out of an original that is say 8 inches square, . . . use it to reproduce a pattern that would then be 4 inches square, . . . from it make a pattern 2 inches square, . . . which makes a 1 inch square pattern that has just about lost every possible defect, . . . and makes a beautiful 1/2 inch design in your leather. For my "blade", . . . I would use a Dremel with a 1/16 inch drill mounted, . . . I would cut the leather dry for all my patterning, . . . then dampen it and tool it to the final product. I actually still have one, . . . it was purchased from Sears about 5 or 6 years ago, . . . it ran about a hundred bucks, . . . I used it for some sign work for our church, . . . and it works great. May God bless, Dwight

Bretta, . . . my favorite, hands down, product for final finishing of belts is Resolene. Dilute it to a 50/50 solution of Resolene and water, . . . brush it on with a cheap bristle brush, . . . (brush until you get a coat of bubbles, . . . then brush till the bubbles all disappear), . . . you may have to do a couple of coats. We buy it here in the states in a small 4 oz bottle, . . . it is worth the investment to try it on a scrap piece, . . . but if I were a gambler, . . . I'd bet you will like the results. It is a good, tough finish. May God bless, Dwight

Good job on the holsters, Steve, . . . I won't show you my first one. Your problem has been mostly addressed by marine mp, . . . it is the unground black pigment left over on the top of the leather when the solvent dries that is causing your grief. You can rub and burnish until you are blue in the face, . . . you'll not get it all, . . . and sometimes it is in the exacltly wrong place. My wife can attest that she lost a couple of (previously) beautiful wash cloths to my using them for that burnishing purpose, . . . it is the best "rag" I've found so far. Additionally, though, . . . I use Resolene as my final finish, . . . it gives a much better finish (I think) and is more forgiving of the left over pigment. Anyway, . . . good start, . . . keep at it. May God bless, Dwight

I punch 3/4 inch bag punch holes, . . . 5/8 inch apart on centers. I cut my 5/6 veggie tan leather with a strap cutter, . . . 13/16 wide, . . . and burnish both edges. I use a 56 inch piece to make 20 belt loops, . . . secure one end (sew or rivet), . . . feed the other end through the slot, . . . up and over, . . . back down through the same hole, . . . insert a cartridge of the appropriate size, . . . pull tight, . . . flatten the back side, . . . do it again, . . . until done. I leave the cartridges in the belt for about an hour or so, . . . then gently pull them out. From the side, . . . my belt looks something like the little drawing. I never have any issues with shrinkage, . . . and I don't use neatsfoot oil on my cartridge belts because I am sloppy, . . . and if it slop too much of it on my leather, . . . it becomes floppy and to me, . . . ugly. May God bless, Dwight

A wise old carpenter friend of mine explained one time the difference between a craftsman and a successful craftsman. A craftsman will know how to do 99% of what is required for his trade. A successful craftsman will also know how to do 99% of what is required for his trade, . . . PLUS, . . . he'll know how to get by on the other 1%. You, . . . are a successful craftsman. May God bless, Dwight

Send me the details to ciminod@midohio.net, . . . perhaps we can work something out. May God bless, Dwight

I have a copy of an old Heiser catalog, . . . it dates from the turn of the century (maybe a bit later, . . . ???). Let me know roughly what kind of style you are looking for, . . . I'll see what is in there. Here are a couple of sample pages, though. May God bless, Dwight

Law Enforcement Targets, . . . somewhere in Minnesota, . . . you can Google them easily. Their guns are usually in the $35 range, plus shipping puts them in your mailbox in 3 - 5 days for $45 or so. They have been absolutely wonderful to deal with, . . . they just don't show all the models they can get on their website. Do the phone call thing, . . . if you get Kathy, . . . she'll fix you right up. So wil lthe others, . . . but she did my last order, . . . and I don't know what could have been done to make the transaction any better. May God bless, Dwight

I cracked up when I read this, . . . figured at least a few other folks on here may enjoy a good laugh: http://glossynews.com/society/201001070305/activists-missing-after-declaring-war-on-leather-at-motorcycle-rally/ May God bless, Dwight

Google up Law Enforcement Targets, . . . someplace in Minnesota. Their guns generally are $36 plus shipping, . . . super people to deal with, . . . Kathy did my last order, . . . super job. May God bless, Dwight

You want to call McMaster Carr, . . . and ask for gum rubber, . . . mine is 1 inch thick, . . . hardness is 40. It looks kinda funky, . . . lots of people I know wouldn't have it on their place, . . . works like a champ, . . . less than $125 in it. May God bless, Dwight

Good job, wolfeyes, . . . Like you, . . . I enjoy also doing pieces that are modeled after "old timey" things. This is the only rifle bag I have made, . . . did it for a young USMC guy to carry his rolling block 45/70 in. He has the heritage and the looks to carry it, . . . both as a Native American and a Marine. And, . . . yeah, . . . there are 2400 individual beads in that emblem. May God bless, Dwight

Those are both good looking holsters, . . . will probably last a long time. My only critical comment is the allowing of the head of the snap to lay against the wearer. Over time, the snap head will begin to discolor the wearer's clothing. I fix that by first using a male post for the male snap part and the female snap part. I affix it to a smaller piece of leather, . . . along with a small piece of aluminum similar to the piece on the black holster. That whole thing is sewn to the thumb strap in such a manner that the only thing that shows is the female portion of the snap. The stiffener is there, . . . it works, . . . and the metal is removed from contacting the wearer. May God bless, Dwight

There is an old quote from an equally old movie: "Stupid is as stupid does". In the first place, . . . he had a Glock, . . . one of the singularly most dangerous firearms ever developed. Secondly, . . . he did not buy a holster, . . . he bought a generic piece of leather goods designed to carry anything the owner deigned to force into it. Thirdly, . . . he did not take care of his firearm or his "holster". I make holsters, . . . not junk like he was carrying, . . . I don't have a "profit" motive that would lure me into making inherently dangerous products. May God bless, Dwight

Personally, . . . I like the fuller look of the 346, . . . use it top and bottom, . . . belts too. YMMV May God bless, Dwight

I'll put another plug in there for the dip dyeing routine. I tried brushing, . . . swabbing, . . . foam brushing, . . . finally listened to an old pro who has made literally thousands of holsters, . . . his first step is to cut out the shapes, . . . step 2 was to dip dye the pieces in 5 gallon vats. I tried the dip dye routine, . . . it is "almost" exclusive for me now. I use two cake pans, . . . one for black, . . . one for browns, . . . don't do pink or blue May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, AZ, . . . now that is neat!!! May God bless, Dwight

My situation is a bit different than what you want, . . . but just to let you know it can be done: My little Bersa Thunder has plastic grips, . . . and I was forever losing MY grip on the thing, . . . and afraid I might just drop it some day at the really wrong time. Kept looking for something other than rubber or skate tape, . . . hit on the idea of suede, . . . Front is laced with synthetic, . . . back is regular lacing, . . . whole thing was contact cemented in place first. It is not everyone's cup of tea, . . . but then it is my firearm, . . . May God bless, Dwight

I don't have a picture, . . . but we ran across this same problem in my last class. The student wanted a pancake for his Glock with a laser light, . . . looked a lot like this one. We wound up doing an Avenger style instead, . . . and he was delighted. It looked a lot like the Don Hume in the post above, . . . just without the retention strap. Since both are OWB style, . . . it worked out well for him. May God bless, Dwight

You ARE a brave man Luke Hatley,................... May God bless, Dwight

Head out to a Walmart of JoAnns Sewing place, . . . They have books and books of patterns, . . . each can be "adjusted" if you are willing and competent. AND, . . . they are fairly cheap May God bless, Dwight

I don't do a lot of what you are asking, . . . but when I do, . . . I make a "half moon" shaped piece of manila folder and lay it on the blank, . . . lightly outline it, . . . sew over the outline and finish the job. May God bless, Dwight

I've used a number of different finishes, . . . I have 3 I really like. 50/50 by weight, . . . virgin bees wax and neetsfoot oil, . . . melted together in a crock pot of water (wax & oil in a jar), . . . applied like paste shoe polish, . . . takes a lot of work, . . . makes a very beautiful, soft, durable finish, . . . if scratched, . . . is easily repaired. Bagkote, . . . it is a good finish, . . . use it for a softer finish on holsters and sheaths. Applied with a brush, . . . watered down to the max, . . . I think it is 40% water. Resolene, . . . prime choice for a high gloss, hard finish. Applied with a bristle brush, . . . liberally brushed on, . . . 50/50 cut with tap water. Has a UV blocker, water repellent, scratch resistant, my favorite. May God bless, Dwight

I am no expert on this stuff, for sure, . . . but I haven't yet found a holster that needed 3 coats of resolene. I use 1 coat, . . . hand brushed, . . . 50/50 cut with tap water, . . . never had a problem with any of them. I'm tempted to say you put in on too thick and too quickly. The stuff needs something in the neighborhood of 36 hours drying time before it is even close to being fully cured (unless you use some kind of drying oven, .............). May God bless, Dwight