Dwight

I'm not sure I can explain this well enough, . . . but if it were mine, . . . for my bike, . . . I'd do a little bit more braiding (see middle photo) on the inside of the lever where your hands do not touch, . . . bringing that out past the knob. I would then very carefully pull all the strands together with the lever in a padded vise, . . . taking care to see that the strands aren't just a gob, . . . but pulled together in a logical sequence, . . . and I would then use black waxed linen or black waxed polyester thread, . . . and use a "Whipping" technique that is usually used to secure the ends of ropes. I would "whip" it for about an inch or so, . . . then get on the internet and learn how to do a turk's head type knot. You can do a small turk's head over the whipping to cover it, . . . and another at the other end of the lever. Do them with a spool of black leather lace from Tandy's. That will let the rest of the strands hang down from your handlebars and look cool parked, . . . and beat the heck out of your bare arms as you tool down the asphalt at 60 By the way, . . . get a 1/2 or 5/8 inch dowel and practice your turk's head, . . . and don't scream/cuss/cry about the first one, . . . it'll be ugly, lopsided, and a few other things. But a little practice and you will like it. May God bless, Dwight

I years gone by, . . . reel covers were more like reel boxes. We just sold one at our church yard sale over the weekend, with a 50 year old Shakespeare bait casting reel. It was about 5 inches long, 3 inches high, and 3 inches wide. It was shaped like an unside down "U", . . . and the bottom 2 inches of the walls were perfectly straight up and down. There were only three pieces to the whole project, . . . one piece was the top and the walls, . . . the second piece made up both ends and the bottom, . . . the third piece was a strap which went to a brass ball button to keep the open end closed. The ends were formed to the shape of the "U" with extra so the one end could be sewn to the top and sides, and the other end would be the cap that opened and closed. The bottom of the sides were sewn to the second piece of leather. It looked like about 8 or 9 oz leather, . . . wish I had taken a picture of it now, . . . didn't think of it at the time. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, skippy, . . . I guess I need to find a book on braiding or something like that. I do appreciate the return post, though, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Is it IWB or OWB, . . . "behind the hip" or Cross Draw, . . . all of that makes a huge difference in how to make that puppy. May God bless, Dwight

You may want to re think spending your money for their bone folder. The tools you need are easily made or "liberated" from other sources. One of the most used is the rounded end of a "sharpie" pen, . . . it will bone areas around the trigger guard, barrel, shroud, etc. . . . a flat bladed scredriver that has the corners VERY SMOOTHLY SANDED OFF to make a rounded spoon, then bent over at about a 30 degree angle, . . . a 1/8 and a 1/4 inch ball bearing brazed onto opposite ends of a rod. Mold the weapon as best you can with your fingers and thumbs (cut them fingernails off close) then go to the boning with the tools. There are no books, no broshures, no videos that I know of, . . . but practice and trial and error will soon educate you. One of the guys that I met on another site swears by his butter knife for boning out the ejection ports on 1911's, . . . use what you got. The key, . . . most important point about the tool: it must be smoother than old Kruschev's bald head, . . . no scratches, dinks, etc. May God bless, Dwight

I'm not sure where you got the "spring steel needed" information, . . . 'taint necessary. Properly molded, . . . properly finished, . . . properly sewn, . . . it'll hold open. The "best method of actually molding the front of the holster to where it shows the slide line.........." comes from a pile of scrap leather you form into holsters and practice boning and molding them. They're also good for giving to your friends and shooting buddies, . . . they'll sometimes trade for a box of shells or something. May God bless, Dwight

1) If you have another person to help you, . . . they turn the crank handle, . . . you feed the leather. 2) Make sure it is bolted down securely to a surface that will not move. Any slight movement is aggravated over the length of your strap. 3) Be careful not to try to make too deep an impression, . . . I just about ruined a verrrrrrrrry expensive belt I was making for a customer by wanting a "full and deep" impression. I got away with it that time, . . . won't try it again. May God bless, Dwight

You didn't say how thick the leather is, . . . if it is less than 10 oz, . . . use it for the liner, . . . cut another piece (correct this time) for the outside, and it will look like you intended to make a fully lined holster, . . . just like John Bianchi used to make Seriously, . . . the two pieces will need to be contact cemented together, . . . the edges sanded, . . . burnished, . . . then sew all the edges together except for the bottom edge, . . . then finish it out just like it was only one piece of leather. You and I will be the only ones who knows what happened, . . . and I promise not to tell. For what it is worth, . . . that is the way I make all my western holsters, . . . no single layers for me. May God bless, Dwight

And if it turns out that your order was for the color, . . . have fun is all I can say. I did a really beautiful OWB pancake for a 1911 some months back and since it was a piece just for stock, . . . I bought a bottle of Fiebings "Cordovan" to do one to match a pair of favorite shoes I owned many years back (I was kinda feeling nostalgic,.............). It turned out a really dark orchid, . . . and at the last gun show it made, . . . well, . . . let's just say that it was picked up several times, . . . laid back down, . . . and the folks kinda walked off snickering. I donated it to a local gun related charity auction. May God bless, Dwight

Another fine job, . . . but then we didn't expect any thing else. Looks like your apprentice is coming along fine, too, . . . at least thinking about jobs, . . . getting the right mind set. May God bless, Dwight

I'm looking for some kind of pattern, . . . a friend asked me to make him a 6 footer, . . . but I've never braided anything other than my wife's hair a time or two. Where do I start? May God bless, Dwight

Yep, . . . got that one right, . . . When I read the post, . . . I envisioned gregintenn sewing each loop together as it came through the hole, . . . just goes to prove that even without glasses it sometimes isn't easy to read what is written. Stitching on each end could be most appropriate, . . . depending on what look was desired. May God bless, Dwight

I would not have the faintest idea of why you would do that, . . . unless you fear the whole thing unraveling or something. If it is properly done, . . . the nearest a stitch should come to the loops would be the stitching along the top of the belt. I also make my gunbelts double layer, usually 7/8 leather, contact cemented together, and the loops only go through the outside piece, . . . leaving the liner completely smooth and clean. The loops are also cemented, . . . and don't move, . . . period. May God bless, Dwight

I much prefer Will Ghormley's suggestion: you use a bag punch to make an oblong oval shaped hole, the loop comes up through that hole, then back down through that same hole, . . . making a loop that holds a cartridge. Make another bag punch hole, . . . pull the strap up through it and back down again through the same hole, . . . you now have two cartridge loops. Use 4/5 oz leather for your loops, . . . cut all your holes first, . . . they are spaced at the diameter of the cartridge plus two thicknesses of leather. When you start looping, you need a half box of the ammo it will carry. Put the first loop in, pull it tight around the cartridge, . . . put in the second loop, . . . pull it tight around the cartridge. Don't start this process until you have fully soaked that piece of strap leather in very warm water. Leave the cartridges in the loops until you have finished all the looping. I usually leave them in for another half hour or so, as I am in no hurry when we have gotten this far. It makes a really tight cartridge belt, . . . and the owner can flex it to suit his own taste of how easy he wants his cartridges to come out by simply twisting the cartridge in the loop a bit until it gets where HE wants the flexibility to be. Anchor each end of the strap with a rivet. Oh, . . . yeah, . . . in case you haven't figured it out, . . . not one stitch in this whole process. May God bless, Dwight

DMR, . . . sorry it took so long, . . . but here is the information you wanted. Holler back if you have any questions. I also will not let a ranger belt out that is not stitched 360 (just my way of doing things), and I stitch em at about 3/16" from the edge, . . . using a stitch grover on both sides. Dan, . . . billets are only one layer, . . . but I am careful to select it away from the hard edges of a hide as well as away from the soft underbelly. Have fun guys, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Must be something in the air, . . . looking for another "pattern" help. Got a call from a customer who wants a 6 foot "Lash Larue" type bull whip. I've never made such an animal, and while I could probably muddle through it, just wondering if anyone has a "pattern" for it. Sure would appreciate it if you have one you would care to share. I'm thinking of about a 12 inch long, 1 inch diameter wooden dowel handle, with the leather laced together around it, . . . all one piece going out to the whip part, . . . split, tapered, and woven (6 braid), with a 1 by 6 "cracker" on the end. I'd finish it out with woven rosettes around the base and top of the handle, with a 12 inch pair of thongs hanging down. Any help would be greatly appreciated, . . . just one thing more, . . . this will be more decorative than anything else, . . . but should be useable if needed. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, guys, . . . I had envisioned doing both things, . . . but with the price of 13-15 oz leather, . . . I kinda thought it best to get an opinion from someone who has "been there, . . . done that". I really like the idea of doing Kevin's idea, I'm just wondering how many times I'll have to change the blade in my strap cutter before I get done with the thing Anyway, . . . haven't gotten the call, . . . but I'm ready if she does. May God bless, Dwight

I work pt at a local farm store, and a lady as I was ringing her out the other day asked if we had any 25 feet long leather lead straps. She was adamant about it being made of leather. The store doesn't carry them, . . . so I gave her my card and told her to call me when she got a chance. Now, . . . how do you put together a 25 foot long lead strap, . . . and NO, I'm not skinning Paul Bunyon's blue ox, Babe. Seriously, . . . do any of you make such an item, . . . and if so, do you rivet it, . . . skive it and sew it, . . . huhhhhhh???? Thanks, . . . I got a suspicion I'm gonna get a call from her. May God bless, Dwight

A friend gave me a book on traditional and old style leather projects. That style knife sheath was very popular with the Native Americans, as it allowed them to carry the knife on their sash (no belt, . . . more of a sash thingy) for use when needed, . . . and when they sat down (no chairs, on the ground) they could just tip it one way or the other, . . . out of the way so they didn't cut themselves. I made one for a customer, its on my website, page two, . . . was a fun project. Both items are a credit to you Kman, . . . good work. May God bless, Dwight

You can try Brenda at www.lasergiftcreations.com She made mine and I'm very happy with it. May God bless, Dwight

Thank you Ed (BearMan) for the insight. I knew what would happen, . . . but you opened the door to how to use a potentially "bad" outcome in such a way that it becomes good. I really appreciate it when someone shares those neat little tidbits. May God bless, Dwight

DMR, . . . here is a pic of the one I made for myself, especially to carry an all steel full size 1911, 24/7 or thereabouts, with 1 or 2 mags. It is two layers of thick 5/6 (much closer to 6 than 5), contact cemented together, neatsfoot oiled, dyed, sewn together, and the billets are 7/8 leather. The 7/8 is a bit overkill, . . . but my other one that I used for a pattern was only 38 years old, was a full 6 oz and it had stretched some I didn't want that happening again.. I used a Tandy buckle package, and love it. Since I started wearing double layer belts several years ago, . . . that is my standard now, . . . love em. If you are interested, there are a couple more tricks I use, . . . let me know, . . . I'll get em to you. May God bless, Dwight

Skyblast, . . . couple of things: 1) get on Tippmann's website, . . . grab the number, . . . call em up, . . . talk to Jim, . . . he'll walk you through almost any problem you can imagine. Don't have to ship it back there. 2) Just a few little things you can do that will help out (it did me anyway). The wire arm that the thread goes through off the spool, . . . bend the rascal down so that the thread comes off the spool at a 90 degree angle, instead of being pulled up and off the spool. Also make a wooden dowel to go inside the plastic spool your thread comes on, . . . fill that big void so your spool turns around freely. Get a solid metal ring for the thread to flow through instead of the hook in the end of the wire (again, first place the thread goes when it leaves the spool). Put 1/4 inch nuts on top of your top string tensioners, tighten em down with a small crescent to keep the adjustments from moving. The thread comes off the spool, through the wire thingy, then through a post with two holes at the right of your machine. Next it goes past a post and around the first tensioner. Bring it back and loop it around the little post it slides in front of, then allow it to go to the next tensioner. Start out with enough top tension to pull the string up through two layers of 8 oz veggie tan leather. Tighten the bobbin tension until you pull it back through. Re tighten the top tension to pull it to the top again. Re tighten the bobbin tension till it pulls to the bottom again. Your final tension adjustment should now pull the thread up halfway, . . . make that adjustment on the top thread tensioners. You will now have a machine that will work well for a pretty wide range of leather thicknesses as long as you are making fairly long stitches and using 346 thread. Anyway, . . . it works for mine. May God bless, Dwight

About the only thing I couldn't see was the S-1 stamp on the face, ID'ing you as the maker (just kidding of course, ............) good job ! But you should get a "maker's stamp" to put your "mark" on your work, . . . that would be my only honest suggestion. May God bless, Dwight (11B40)

FWIW, I own an aluminum Tippmann Boss, . . . had it now for several years, . . . had to have some personal time with Jim at Tippmann over the phone to correct some of my errors. Perhaps some day, I may move up to an electric machine, . . . but for now, . . . I take it with me to classes I teach, . . . will go to fairs, etc., and never have to worry about power, . . . just need a strong table to clamp it on. I just finished doing 9 belts with it (one was for a 54 inch waist), . . . and had virtually no trouble with it. They have a sale going now I believe, . . . brand new for $1195 or so, . . . Take a look on my website, . . . all the stitching you can see was either hand stitched (verrrrrrrry little of it) or the boss. May God bless, Dwight