Dwight

Todd, . . . google "Hobby Lobby" and go to their product web page. [/url] Heavy Duty Snap Fastener Pliersku# 733006Nickel$22.79 This is the best snap setting tool you will find for any where this money. Problem: it only does line 24 snaps. May God bless, Dwight

I was plagued early on making holsters with the same problem, . . . and still have it when I have a really unfamiliar handgun. My answer was to do the holster making a bit differently. First: I do the front stitch line, the one that will come down the barrel Second: I wet the holster, . . . and insert the hand gun, . . . and mold the leather with my thumbs and fingers (never use a press in this type) to the point that I am sure I have a good "shape" going. Third: remove the handgun, . . . close the holster up as close as possible to how it is supposed to work, . . . set it in the sun to dry. Once it dries, . . . open it up just enough to cement the edges, . . . glue it down, . . . mark it, . . . sew it, . . . finish it. THEN: MAKE A TEMPLATE FOR THAT STYLE HANDGUN SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS AGAIIN AND LABEL & FILE THE THING. It has never failed me when I do it this way. May God bless, Dwight

Well, . . . you just had to go and do it, Dirtclod, . . . now I have another project to add to the stack I already have. I had heard of them, . . . I'll own one before the first snowfall if all goes well. Seriously, . . . thanks for the pictures, . . . ummm, . . . I hear my metal shop calling, . . . gotta go. May God bless, Dwight

Let me add just one more suggestion, . . . I have found one of the best materials for making a really good knife strop is the grey, thick cardboard that is often on the backs of tablets, and sometimes is used in shipping containers for separators of different products. It is kind of porous, . . . will load up well with rouge, . . . and will sharpen a knife to a razor's edge super quick. I was taught this trick in a Tandy shop, . . . the teacher used it to keep his swivel knife blade sharp. Ummm, . . . yeah, . . . I use it for that too. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, Bobby, . . . looks like I'm going to go get a piece of glass I struggle mostly with interruptions that cannot be avoided, . . . and that plate glass trick sounds just like my answer. I'm also struggling to get my "impressions" just the way I want them, . . . but it is coming along. Again, many thanks, . . . may God bless, Dwight

A friend of mine, one with limited financial resources, brought me a saddle and asked me if I could "repair" it for him. He showed me a couple of places where the thread had broken on the sewing, and the saddle was coming apart (see blue arrows). It is on the edges of the skirts, front and rearl I've never taken a saddle apart, . . . but I'm wondering if the screw at the end of the red arrow is the key to getting the seat off and the skirts also off so I can sew them back together on my stitcher. The conchos were on a screw like post, . . . went into the tree, and came out fairly easily. There are also nails in the "accessory" carriers in the front of the saddle. The other reason I wanted to get it down to parts and pieces, is that it has lain in an old dusty barn for a while, and needs a real good cleaning. I was going to saddle soap the whole thing while I had it apart, . . . and if I can squeeze enough out of my charity budget, . . . maybe put new wool under it. Holsters I understand, . . . belts are fun to do, . . . this is the second saddle I've ever had in my house, . . . and the first was just plain junk. This one looks like it has the potential to be cleaned up and used, . . . which my friend wants to do. Any suggestions, . . . help, . . . would be greatly appreciated. The leather also seems to be quite dry, . . . not cracking yet, . . . but really dry. May God bless, Dwight

My design, similar to yours, is called a cactus, . . . and can be seen at www.dwightsgunleather.com No, the straps are not glued on, they are not sewn either. They rely on the male part of the snap to hold it to the holster. May God bless, Dwight

Vikefan, . . . the best tool for the money I have found can be had at Hobby Lobby (catch em on line too) for about $25. It is a blue handled tool, looks like a pair of pliers sort of, . . . and they only set line 24 snaps. I bought my set a few years ago at Wally World, . . . but they don't carry them now. May God bless, Dwight

First, follow Katsass' lead, get the Weldwood contact cement and give that Tandy stuff to someone you don't really like. It stinks to high heaven, is a lousy product, and is far too costly. Second, . . . as far as I can see, you may have just quit too soon. It looked on my monitor as though the center line was indented, and the two outer layers were still rounded. I use a flat belt sander, . . . it's a $50 cheapie from Harbor Freight, . . . and I sand the edges until they are FLAT. But the other thing, . . . both holsters were looking good. Edges are something very few customers ever seem to care about. They want (in my experience): 1) fit, 2) function, 3) color, 4) decoration or esthetics, . . . and somewhere farther down the line, . . . a seasoned old timer may run his thumb up or down an edge or a seam. Now that is no excuse for poor workmanship, . . . but it puts the whole thing in it's proper perspective. May God bless, Dwight

Terry, . . . on the Ruger Redhawk, there is a little platform in front of the rear sight. You could cement and hand stitch an upside down "U"shaped piece of maybe 12 or 14 oz leather to the inside of the holster. It would rest against that little platform and force the top strap of the hand gun away from the holster fold, giving you what you desired. Make it long enough to go down about an inch and a half, . . . cut the "U" slot in it for the front sight to come out through the slot, . . . and make it just high enough that the rear sight does not touch it. It will keep the rear sight from gouging the holster, and will protect the rear sight as it is in the holster. I normally tape a wooden rod to the top of all my handguns and handgun models to get around your problem, but you figured out the problem in your post. You used one gun for the model, and put a different gun in the holster. There is enough size difference between the two models to allow what you experienced to happen. May God bless, Dwight

Out of the box, my machine sews 3 1/2 to 4 SPI depending on a few things. I've never had any issues with it, . . . though I only use 346 thread. A friend did a hand sewn pocket holster with something like 10 SPI, . . . and it just looked like the leather was waiting to be pulled apart at the perforation. I really think that the "norm" is what ever you are comfortable with. May God bless, Dwight

A customer brought me a similar problem a while back. I was fortunate in that there was a missing brass ball closure just below the lip of the front of it. I glued in a piece of raw hide, . . . set the brass ball closure, . . . and hand stitched the edge back together. It is very hard to see where he pulled his Puma from the sheath and ripped almost a 2 inch opening very much like this one. I really like raw hide for repairs if I can use it, . . . there just ain't much stuff out there that is tougher for the thickness. May God bless, Dwight

And what would we expect from Lobo but such a fine example of leatherworking? Good job, . . . I'd say he'll enjoy it, . . . maybe even do a bit of showboating with it. Heck, . . . I would. Actually, . . . come to think of it, . . . the whole thing strikes me as a BBQ rig. May God bless, Dwight

Skald, . . . your question is kinda like asking 5 fishermen what is the best bait on a given day. Likely as not, you'll get 6 answers:blush: But to your question: if you only want something that will protect, . . . be kinda generic, . . . and not too high tech, . . . mix up a 50/50 batch of bees wax and neatsfoot oil. You have to heat it in a double boiler, . . . (I put mine in a jar, . . . jar in a crock pot full of water), . . . let it set up, . . . it's kinda like a paste, . . . you rub it in and stroke it with a low setting heat gun, . . . keep going until you get the sheen you want. Buff it real good, . . . makes a "less than plastic" finish, . . . fairly durable, . . . easily repairable, . . . easy to make, . . . water repellent, . . . and looks good too. I'm doing a full leather load carrying gear set for myself, to carry several large high capacity magazines (I'll be carrying a total of 160 rounds of .308 ammo) and I plan on using the wax/oil for my gear. It is more flexible than Resolene, which I normally use on CCW holsters. When I use Resolene, . . . I brush on a 50/50 mixture, . . . bristle brush, . . . air dry and buff. May God bless, Dwight

Suggestions: (but first a word about the first time: really good for a first holster. I was doing a whole lot more before I was at your level of quality) Iimprove your edging and burnishing techniques, . . . Get the stitching closer to the weapon, . . . generally speaking, closer is better, . . . Avoid abrupt angles either outside or inside, . . . go more for rounded curving lines. They are much easier to sand and finish, . . . and at least IMHO are more esthetically pleasing. I may not have seen it right, but it also looked like you didn't do anything at all to the inside of the holster. Dye the whole thing, and whatever finish you use on the outside, . . . use it on the inside too unless you have created and want to maintain a soft inner lining like Katsass does. May God bless, Dwight

JC, . . . throw the paper away, . . . go to Office City and buy a box of 100 file folders. They are the perfect deal for patterns. John Bianchi showed us that tip making Western rigs. What I love about it is if you mark it, . . . cut it, . . . and then wish you didn't cut it there, . . . just take some 1 inch wide masking tape and tape the cut piece back into the pattern. Re-mark it where you want it and cut it again. With paper you have to start over. You can also just lay the file folder pattern down on your leather, . . . trace around it with a fine tipped ball point pen, . . . cut it out, . . . and you're good to go. Even if you cut a little off the line and leave ink on the piece, . . . when you edge the piece, . . . the ink goes bye-bye. Good job by the way. May God bless, Dwight

I've never quite gotten far enough up the food chain to use a head knife. I'm still doing all of mine with the standard old razor knife that drywall people use. BUT, . . . I take it to the old rosin strop and sharpen it first , . . . brand new razor blades are too dull for smoothly cutting leather. The key is not to cut the leather too small, . . . cut it a little big, . . . sand off and smooth out the outlines with a power sander. I got a $39.95 belt sander from Harbor Freight that I just love for leather work. The method Katsass uses is probably more exacting, . . . but I just don't have the patience it takes to cut it twice. Like him, though, . . . I also use file folders for all my patterns. And I cut them with the razor knife too. Hope this helps. May God bless, Dwight

I use the same as Katsass, . . . Weldwood. They have a new product, . . . a gel version. I've used it for a couple of months now, . . . it's good. But even it won't hold velcro, . . . just gotta sew that stuff, . . . or put some camoflaged or covered rivets in it. May God bless, Dwight

You did a great job on that one Lobo, . . . thanks for sharing, . . . it's always a treat to see your leather work. May God bless, Dwight

There may be a better way, Lurker2, . . . but so far I have not found it. I've tried just about the best contact cement I've ever seen and even it would not hold it like I wanted it to. I made a couple of special cell phone (I phone type) holders for a unique situation, . . . needed flap over the top, . . . velcro to keep flap closed, . . . that was the order. I wound up contact cementing the things on there, . . . then stitching them. If I was doing the belt you mentioned, . . . contact cement first, . . . then sew the edges, making it appear decorative. May God bless, Dwight

This is a personal experience, . . . based on one incident, . . . I used Eco Flow Black on a rough out shoulder holster some years ago. I decided to forgo the usual Resolene treatment, . . . wanted to keep it really soft and pliable. Rubbed it down really good to get rid of the powdered residue after it dried. Wore it a few days later to a funeral. It ruined my tee shirt, got black dye all over me. Yeah, I was unhappy. Gave away the bottle of dye, use only oil based dyes now. Have not had any other similar incident. May God bless, Dwight

You may have some luck if you wet it down again with very hot water, . . . and heat/force dry. Stay below 130 or so degrees though. Sometimes it is just enough shrinking to make the project work again. Sometimes it don't work. Sometimes it ruins the project beyond salvaging. May God bless, Dwight

Sorry, Ann, . . . I should have mentioned that you lay the ruler down on the table on it's edge, . . . that gives you the first curve which will become the top edge of the belt. The pencil compass/dividers then scribes around the ruler line to give you the proper curve for the bottom. Take a look at the enclosed sketch. May God bless, Dwight belt pattern.bmp

Take a flexible aluminum 48 inch rule, . . . bend it so it flexes about 6 inches in the middle (looks like a 48 inch Robin Hood bow). Tape a string to it at each end so you can keep the bow in it. Trace that bow on a large piece of brown wrapping paper or something similar. Set your pencil divider/compass at the width of the belt and trace outside of the first line the width of the belt, . . . cut this out and see how it fits for your pattern. You may have to flex it deeper than 6 inches or less, . . . to get the effect you want. This is the John Bianchi technique for getting the right cut on one of his Western gun belts. May God bless, Dwight

Take a piece of 3/4 inch EMT (that's thinwall electical metallic tubing, . . . pipe) about 8 inches long. Take it to a sander and very carefully roll it around against the sander (keep dipping it in water to keep it cool) until you have a fairly sharp edge made on the inside circumference of the pipe. You should have a long, slow taper to the sharp edge. When you are done it should look like figure 1. Next, . . . place it in a vise, . . . sharpened end straight up, . . . and cut directly across the full diameter with a hack saw. Make this cut about the depth of the width of the hacksaw blade. Decide which of the two halves has the better looking edge, . . . cut the other half off at about the depth of the width of the hacksaw blade. Looks like figure 2. Now comes the fun, . . . you have 180 degrees or a half circle of cutting edge left over. (This makes a wonderful punch for round ends for straps, etc, . . . so you may want to make another one.) I digress, ................... NOW, . . . very gently and very carefully measure and mark off 3/8" on each side where you will cut the pipe twice, once on each side. These cuts will give you a couple of wings on your 90 degree corner cutter. Fold out the wings so they look like figure 3, but also have the basic shape of the little circle (unlabeled figure 4) above figure 3. Lay those wings against the leather corner on the outside at a slight angle, . . . rock it back, . . . mallet the rascal, . . . perfectly formed corner, . . . every time. May God bless, Dwight cornercutter.bmp