Dwight

I use my wife's kitchen island (only place long enough to lay down a 52 inch belt all at once). The "face" side of the belt lays on the counter, face down, buckle end to my left. Cover the right 2/3 or so with newspaper. Lay the liner down and start, being very careful to get it started exactly where you want it. I then use my left hand to slide down the edges, feeling my way with my thumb and fingers, to make sure they are "aligned" correctly. My right hand removes the newspapers as I go, . . . and when I get done, . . . I trim the flap end and I have a double layer belt that is pretty much ready to bevel, edge, stain and finish. Sometimes there is a little bit of sanding, . . . but mostly not. A marble rolling pin from one end to the other is more than enough "press" to put the belt together if you use good cement. The key to this is to set your strap cutter, . . . cut both blanks at the same time, . . . both the face and the liner. Absolutely no one is capable of going back and re-setting a strap cutter to the exact place it was some time before. He may do it occasionally, . . . but on a regular basis, . . . the second cutting will be a few thousands over or under, . . . making you have to sand or trim the whole belt, . . . UGH! If you want to do "batches" of belts, . . . cut your blanks wide enough to make 6 or eight belts. Glue up that oversized hunk of cow hide, . . . when the glue dries, . . . take your strap cutter and cut the blanks out of the big piece, . . . the edges then should be no less perfect than the job you did cutting them. May God bless, Dwight

I may not have your problem, because a long time ago, . . . I found out that starting out with 6 or 8 inches of thread and bobbin thread, held in my left hand for the first few stitches gets me started right. I stop at about stitch 10 or so, . . . reach back with a very sharp knife or scissors and cut both threads flush at leather level. I then sew all the way around, . . . ending back up where I started, . . . so my locking stitches are the last stitches I make. I try to make any sewing I do, . . . end up in a circle if there is any way at all possible. It doesn't work on belts, . . . so sometimes I just start out, . . . double stitch the other side where I end up, . . . and take the 6 or 8 inches of starting thread and hand sew the lock stitches. Of course, . . . I don't cut it off as I said above, . . . because I know I'll need it later. I also gave up a long time ago on factory settings, . . . I tightened up both top adjustments, . . . until I pulled the thread to the top, . . . tightened the bobbin until I pulled it through to the bottom, . . . tightened the top ones again until I pulled it through to the top again, . . . and then tightened up the bobbin again until it pulled it through to the bottom again. I then tightened up the top until I had a good stitch, well centered in two pieces of 7 oz leather, . . . then I locked the top adjustments in place with lock washers and nuts. It allows me to sew just about any part of my holsters I make without adjusting the machine at all, which was what I wanted. It works good for my belts also this way. The back comes out better this way also. May God bless, Dwight

My contribution to the discussion had to be the one I made about 18 mos ago for a local squirrel hunter. He bought a brand new stainless Ruger .22 auto with a long fluted barrel and some kind of green glow front sight that probably stood up about 3/8 of an inch on the barrel. Plus: he wanted his initials on the side, . . . a retainer strap, . . . and he wanted it to allow him to put a scope on the gun. I did it, . . . but it wasn't easy. The front was open all the way down to the front sight, . . . you pointed the weapon back behind you about 45 degrees, . . . stuck the muzzle down into the bottom of the holster, . . . rotated it back to set on the trigger guard in the holster, . . . and snapped it in place with the retention strap that went over the grip. My stitcher would not sew the thing (too thick to sew), . . . but it did at least make the holes, . . . so hand stitching it wasn't too bad. No, . . . I didn't charge him enough May God bless, Dwight

Sorry, folks, it took so long to get back to you. First pic, . . . wet holster ready to fold & mold Second pic, . . . in the press (can you see it?) Third pic, . . . product after the big squeeze, . . . still a bit wet behind the safety. This is the first production holster to come out of it, . . . and quite frankly, . . . I'm pretty happy with it so far. May God bless, Dwight

The easiest to make is a simple pancake that uses 3 belt holes (slots). The rear slot is always used, . . . the top front slot is situated for an approximate 15 degree forward cant, . . . the bottom front slot puts the weapon on a 30 degree rear cant, . . . the rear cant is used for the cross draw carry. If you start out with two circles of 7 oz veggie tan, about 12 inches in diameter, . . . put a 1/4 in dowel on the sight track of the weapon, . . . sew a straight line from top to bottom about 3 inches in from the right side (sew both pieces together), . . . you can then mold the rest of the pieces together around the weapon, . . . after absolutely soaking it in 130 degree or so hot water (put a few drops of liquid dish washing liquid in the water, . . . helps wet the leather wetter). Let it dry, . . . then cut out the parts you don't want, . . . leaving a rear sweat shield, . . . space for belt slots on both sides, . . . sew up the side around the bottom of the gun, . . . punch the slots, . . . sew up the edges, . . . trim the edges, . . . burnish the edges, . . . finish the holster. Do the thing in cardboard (the type you have on the back of a tablet, . . . about 1/16" thick) first. Surprisingly, . . . you can sew it, . . . mold it, . . . and do all the stuff to that kind of cardboard first, . . . then go back and do it in leather, . . . it'll work. May God bless, Dwight

You can also buy a good set of large (key word, . . . large, . . . about 8 or 10 inches overall length), . . . dividers. Grind down both ends, . . . getting rid of the points. Round them smooth, . . . and sand them, . . . then work out any small grooves with a piece of 10 oz leather (or thicker) with a good coating of jeweler's rough, . . . and polish em good. When you grind em off, . . . leave one end about 3/16" longer than the other. Case your project, . . . maybe just a tad wetter than you would if stamping. Set your dividers to the distance you want from the edge, . . . force the shorter one into the leather, . . . drag it along the edge with the longer one on the outside of the piece, . . . acting as the gauge to keep it the right distance. Do the outside line first. Reset your dividers to the inside distance, . . . have at it again. Practice a bit on scrap leather, . . . especially the turns, . . . works great I think. May God bless, Dwight

We've kicked around the idea of using a drill press to make holes in leather for stitching. How about using it for the stitcher? I got the idea from my Tippmann Boss machine. ___________________ If you want to have some fun, . . . learn a new trick, . . . yeah, use the drill press. First, though, find a nice, clean, flat board, . . . drill a 1/4" or so hole in it, . . . before you drill it, . . . anchor it to your drill table. Cover the board with a small towel or some other clean, dry, cloth that you don't need any more. Use the stitch groover, . . . and groove your item. Use the little stitching spacer wheel to mark where you want the stitches in the project. Get a large, regular sewing needle, with a hole big enough for your thread. Get a regular, flat ended, leather needle used on machines like the Tippmann Boss. Chuck the leather needle into your drill press just like it was a drill bit, . . . UNPLUG YOUR DRILL PRESS. Thread the needle in the drill press and pull the thread through until it is at the half way point. Put your leather project on the drill press table, on top of the cloth that covers the board that has the hole drilled in it. Force the needle down through the leather with the drill press DO NOT PLUG THE DRILL PRESS IN, . . . DO NOT TURN IT ON !! Lift up the project and slowly pull the needle up through the leather until you have a loop big enough to grab on one side of the leather needle. Grab that loop and pull it through the hole. Now pull the needle up and out of your project. You should now have a project with one hole punched through it, . . . and a string through that hole, . . . half the string above the hole and half below the hole, . . . the top half also still threaded through the needle in the drill press. Thread the regular needle with the bottom half of the thread. Move your project to the next hole, . . . punch it with the drill press, . . . pull it back up just a little, . . . thread the bottom needle through the loop of thread, . . . pull the needle up out of the leather with the drill press, . . . pull the two pieces of thread until you have pulled the place they join up half way into your leather project. You have completed your first stitch. Move the project to the next hole, . . . punch down, . . . pull up making a small loop, . . . thread the sewing needle through that loop again, . . . you finished the second loop. REMEMBER WHICH SIDE OF THE DRILL PRESS NEEDLE HAS THE THREAD THAT GOES BACK TO THE PREVIOUS HOLE, . . . THAT IS THE LOOP YOU WANT TO ALWAYS USE. Just repeat the process until you are done down at the end, . . . then turn your project around, . . . and do 4 or 5 stitches a second time (so you have double thread in those 4 or 5 stitches). Pull your project off the drill press, . . . cut the thread very close to your project with a sharp razor. You just used a cheap and effective stitcher that is a lot slower than a machine, . . . but is so much better for the fingers. May God bless, Dwight

Leather, . . . you got the button, . . . McMaster-Carr is where the rubber sheets came from. So did the high density poly that you so deftly picked out between the steel sheet and the bottom rubber sheet. It is the same stuff that Wally world sells for cutting boards, . . . white, . . . kinda slick, . . . wipes clean, . . . knives cut it & won't get dull if you use it for a cutting board. I have a couple 12 in squares of the stuff, . . . use it just to give height to the stack, . . . don't have to pump so many strokes. I put off welding one together for over a year, . . . then one day the light bulb came on, . . . why not just make out of 2 x 4's, . . . bolted together with carriage bolts, . . . voila, . . . project done. I've got some "changes" to make, . . . but it'll stay pretty much as it is. May God bless, Dwight

Ross, . . . just a couple of comments. If you wet molded the handgun and got even some half baked impressions, . . . that will in just about all cases be plenty enough to aid the "human body pressure" friction to keep the handgun in the holster when it is in the IWB position. Secondly, . . . and seriously more importantly, . . . if you ever make this holster for either a 1911 or a Glock, . . . lose those buttons you talked about, . . . You seriously do not want anything that can trip the trigger on a Glock or a 1911 (or any other semi auto that is not a DA/SA type weapon). The opportunity to send a round out the front of the holster while in your pants can ruin your whole day. May God bless, Dwight

In a couple of recent threads, . . . the subject of a holster press has come up a couple of times. Being the king of cheap, . . . I have one that suffices for all the things I need it to do, . . . and the most expensive part of it is simply the 40 durometer gum rubber I bought for it. Don't laugh, . . . it's paid for, . . . and it runs works. I haven't yet figured out all I can use it for, . . . or even for sure how I want to use it, . . . but the holster that you can see only the edges of in the picture is SOME KINDA MOLDED. May God bless, Dwight

In a word, . . . no. I have given that enough thought to bust a blood vessel, . . . and never have come up with a system I would use except for one (and I don't do it). The reason I don't, . . . I'm much more worried about the thread being worn in two on the perimeter than I am the thread in the inside of the holsters I make. But if there was a holster that I really did need that done, . . . I would simply pull the threads from the needle and bobbin, . . . punch the holes with the machine, . . . gouge the lines made by the holes, . . . put the thread back in, . . . and sew the thing up. It would definitely add some time to the project, . . . but it would get it done. May God bless, Dwight

You need to be a bit more specific, . . . IWB, . . . OWB, . . . clamshell, . . . the type of holster makes a world of difference. Let us know what you are looking for, . . . I'm sure someone here can help. Have you ever made a holster for a handgun before? May God bless, Dwight

Sixer, . . . your process is the one I follow. If I wanted a super contrast like that, . . . I would sew it after it was dyed, . . . before the final Resolene treatment. I use contractor grade contact cement on all my holsters and belts, . . . so I can do anything I want to them, . . . including stitching, . . . anytime after the final molding/boning. May God bless, Dwight

If you call the Tandy store in Columbus, Ohio, . . . ask for Scott, . . . he can give you some good advice. I just happened to overhear him and a customer talking about it the other day. Their phone number is 614-781-1700, . . . he'll laugh when you tell him Dwight gave you the number. May God bless, Dwight

Jeff, . . . in his videos, John Bianchi advocated using a set of dividers to make an impressed groove into which the stitches fell. As I recall, he only did one side. He then sewed, . . . moistened the stitches and surrounding leather, . . . and used a tool that was about an inch wide, 3/8" thick, and long enough to hold in his hand. It was rounded at the end on all four edges and highly polished. He used it to force the stitches to lay even with the leather (so the thread was better protected?????). Anyway, . . . my technique is to replace the dividers with a stitch groover, . . . front and back, . . . if the edges are properly done, the needle will come down square center of the stitch groove. I then use my tool similar to John's to flatten out my stitches too. I do sometimes use his "divider" technique, . . . but only in certain applications, . . . and I use it front and back. May God bless, Dwight

Depending on the holster itself, . . . 5 to 7 oz, . . . but mostly, . . . whatever I made the holster from, . . . and I try to make it with a piece of leather that was cut very closely (physically) to where I cut the other pieces. I have made IWB from thicker leather, . . . but I try not to as it adds too much bulk IMHO. I never go above 7 for the straps though. May God bless, Dwight

I had a lot of problems getting the sewing to look how I wanted it to, . . . and a fellow (whose name escapes me) from here gave me his phone number, . . . we talked for about an hour on my nickel, . . . and he walked me through a couple of answers that made most of the difference in my stitches. First, . . . lose the round needles, . . . use them for vinyl or fabric or hat pins, . . . but don't try to sew holsters with them. Second, . . . as you round the corners, slowly turn the leather as you are doing the stitch, . . . and plan your route so that you don't have issues with the holster being all bunched up in the middle of the machine. I use only 340 thread, top and bottom, as well as for the CCW belts I make also. Makes it easy to figure which one to put on next, . . . and what is in the bobbin. I set my top tension so it will pull the thread all the way to the top of two scraps of leather I am sewing, . . . then slowly tighten up the bobbin tension (usually a half turn at a time) until it pulls it halfway down in the piece. I like my stitching to be tight, and I very often use a stitch gouging tool on both sides, . . . then use a special rubbing tool I made when it is finished, . . . dampen the leather at the stitches and rub the thread down even with or below the surface. Don't use a stitching wheel with your Boss, . . . adjust the stitch length with the adjuster in the front of the machine, . . . once you get it where you want it, . . . remove the adjuster and put cardboard spacers behind it so you can lock it down from vibrating loose. Then just let the machine make the stitch lengths for you. Hope this helps. May God bless, Dwight

If you have a faster internet connection, . . . go to YouTube, . . . get a large iced tea (lemon and sugar for sure ), . . . sit back, . . . and enjoy. There is so much there, . . . you will think died and went to some kind of leatherworker's Valhalla. May God bless, Dwight

The belts I make are for concealed carry or for commercial work belts. They are double layer, cemented together. flesh to flesh, and machine stitched around the edges. All are finished with a light coat of neatsfoot oil followed by one or more coats of 50/50 Resolene/water solution. On the rare occasion a customer wants only a single layer, . . . he gets one that has everything else done the same way. Resolene effectively blocks any dye transfer from what I have seen, . . . and protects the belt from other liquids that would mess with it. Just my $.02 May God bless, Dwight

Another trick I use, . . . the stylus needs to be sharp. Not sharp enough to go through the plastic, . . . but sharp enough to make a good indentation in the plastic. Take your time the first time you trace the project, . . . being careful to get some really good pressure all over the lines. Next time you want to use that pattern, . . . simply lay it on the leather, . . . take a flat plastic scraper, . . . rub the pattern, . . . voila, you have it transfered to your dampened leather. It will not be very deep, . . . but it beats having to trace it all over again, . . . especially on bigger stuff. May God bless, Dwight

Ganonymous, . . . if you want to use the hole saw, . . . use a grinder first to take off the teeth, being careful to just take them off. Don't grind any farther once you have a cylinder with no teeth on it. Put it in a drill press at a fairly fast speed, . . . use a file (wear gloves and safety glasses) against the outside edge, . . . and take your time. Once you have it down to a rough sharp edge, . . . staple a piece of plumbers cloth, 120 grit, to a board, . . . use it to finish making a really nice cutting edge. When you use it, . . . rub the cutting edge first with beeswax, . . . makes life a bit easier. Slow the drill press down real slow, . . . it will then cut your circles for you, . . . quickie too. A cheaper route is to use different sizes of electrical conduit, . . . they are good quality galvanized steel, . . . I make all my punches out of it (it doesn't cost me anything for the conduit ). It helps that I also have a 12" round sander to do my rough sharpening, . . . but I refuse to pay the high price when I can produce one myself that works every bit as well, . . . for about 20 minutes labor. May God bless, Dwight

I had never given any of my work for Christmas, . . . changed that this year. Julie (daughter in law studying to be a nurse practitioner ) needed a book bag. I saw the "pattern" done on a smaller purse at Tandy's and just could not resist. The bag itself is about 10 high and 16 inches wide. Sandi got the little purse to take back to Hungary with her (she's a missionary). It's about 9 inches wide and is a copy of my wife's purse I bought for her back in about 1972. Sandi's husband got the ranger belt. He, likewise is a missionary in Hungary. May God bless, Dwight

Katie, . . . tell your husband to give you a big hug, . . . you deserve it!!!! Your handbag is great, . . . I had seen one similar on the internet, . . . was looking for the pattern of the tooling, . . . may make one for my daughter in law for Christmas. I couldn't really copy the other one as well as I wanted to, . . . and here you are with just EXACTLY what I was looking for. Thank yuh, . . . thank yuh, . . . thank yuh vurry much. FWIW, . . . go to YouTube, . . . Fort Worth Leather--The Making of a Leather Purse, . . . it's the same purse. May God bless, Dwight

Like Lobo, . . . I like Feibings dyes also, . . . and usually dip dye, . . . after the piece is more or less completely made, . . . stitched, . . . formed, . . . etc. But I have been known to grab a wool dauber and just daub the thing until it fairly well drips dye, . . . I do that mostly on one custom color I like, . . . I call it sunburst. My finish is Resolene, . . . mixed 50/50 with tap water. I brush it on with a camel hair brush or a foam brush, . . . and usually let it dry in the sun or near the wood stove (it all depends on the season). I really like the finish it gives when it is brushed on. I worked in a paint plant for 30 years, . . . could not care less if I ever saw another spray gun of any kind, . . . plus I do most of my work inside my house, . . . and my wife would not be happy with some kind of overspray leaking out of my work area into her kitchen. That is why I have developed ways around spraying anything. May God bless, Dwight

Some in the cheering section will definitely boo my idea, . . . but I absolutely detest hand stitching with a passion. On the few occasions when I do any, . . . I first use my Tippmann Boss to punch the holes, . . . and they go where they need to go. Not having a Boss, . . . I would go out to my shop, . . . get my handy dandy little $49.95 drill press, . . . put the awl needle in the chuck, . . . and use it to make the holes. If your leather projecte is laying flat on the drill press table, . . . the holes will be perfectly perpendicular to the leather, . . . and will be much easier to keep in a nice row on both sides. Oh, . . . and no, . . . you don't turn on the drill press, . . . you use it for the leverage and the perfect angle you get by making it make the hole. AND, ..................... if you want to get fancy with it, . . . use a sewing machine needle, . . . so the eye is at the bottom, . . . thread the thing up, . . . use a second, regular needle below, . . . and you can get a stitch that is for all tense and purposes, . . . just like a sewing machine stitch job, . . . it will just take you a bit longer than it would with a stitcher or sewing machine. May God bless, Dwight