Dwight

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

Try a Google search on Weaver Leather, . . . they're in Amish country, Ohio, . . . Berlin or New Berlin, . . . don't remember which for sure. They'll do your lace for you, . . . and they do great work from my experiences with them. May God bless, Dwight

THAT is one fine looking saddle. You certainly have much more patience and skill in tooling than I have. If I may ask, . . . when you ordered your tree, . . . what specifically did you ask for. I was looking on their website, and couldn't figure out which tree you ordered. I especially like the upswept and high rear seat. Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

A few years ago, one of my church's elders was in a nasty accident, . . . van VS trees, . . . trees won. His Bible got slammed around real good, broke the spline cover and messed up the front & back covers real bad too. They were really thin vinyl like leather over cardboard. He was going to toss it when I offered to try & fix it. I contact cemented the pieces of the cover back together so at least the cover was all one piece. I then covered the outside of the book cover with contact cement. I also covered a piece of 3 oz veggie tan with contact cement. It was cut so that it was substantially bigger than the outside of the Bible. I laid one side of the Bible down on the leather and rolled it (while it was closed up) across the back onto the other side. I then used a rolling pin to make sure the contact cement all held good. I then took some really painful long time as I went around the outside of it with a super sharp razor knife and cut the leather just to the edge of the old cover. After stamping a rose petal billfold pattern and his name onto the front cover, I presented it to him, and he still carries it. If I do say so myself, it turned out really good. May God bless, Dwight

There is another little trick I sometimes use on a special holster for a special gun. In your case, it is especially relevant for pancakes. Cut out a piece of leather for the front and one for the back, making sure the back has enough extra for a sweat shield if you are so inclined. Cut the leading edge on both pieces, mark the angle you want for any cant you are adding to it. Make that line for the angle, about 2 inches back from the back side of the front belt slot. Cement the front of the holster together from that cant line to the front of it, . . . cut it out, . . . shape it, . . . punch the belt loop, . . . and sew the front of it together. Wet both pieces real good, . . . form them around the weapon. Lay some where to dry, . . . after it is dry, . . . trim the excess of the back and the front, . . . mark your rear belt slot, . . . glue and sew the rear part of the holster, . . . edge, burnish, and finish. Any customer wanting a pancake and who is willing to leave me their weapon can get their pancake in about 72 hours this way. May God bless, Dwight

Long gun bags are pretty much a piece of cake, Steve, as long as it is just a simple bag. a gun bag.doc

Some folks may have good results with water based dye (Eco flo among others), . . . but I gave away the first and last bottle I owned. The first project I did, . . . ruined one of my shirts from the dye bleeding out, . . . it was black dye at that, on a white shirt. I have done "who knows how many" leather products with Feibings oil dye and Resolene, . . . have never had one bleed dye yet. FWIW May God bless, Dwight

The US military used to do the "spit polish" thing too, . . . I think that it has pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur with all the new digicamo, . . . rough out boots, . . . etc. But if you want that polish, . . . want it quick and dirty, . . . clean up your leather real good, get all the dirt, dust, mud, hairballs, etc. ALL OFF the leather to be done. Mix up a 50/50 solution of Resolene and tap water, . . . apply with a real "bristle" brush ( a 1 inch or 1 1/2 inch wide one ) in a slathering motion of left-right-up-down, repeat, repeat and build up a thin lather of bubbles on the surface. Once you get the thin lather, . . . quit applying liquid, . . . keep brushing until ALL the bubbles are gone. Hang in the sun to dry. Let it dry for about 48 to 72 hours. THEN, . . . get out your KIWI shoe polish (it is THE shoe polish) for this job, . . . follow the Aussie DI's instructions. The Resolene will super significantly reduce your polishing time, . . . it will be easier to "fix" when you scuff it up, . . . and the DI and his water bottle won't bust you May God bless, Dwight

The "trick" is that the pouch is sewn like you said, inside out, . . . then the liner is slipped into it (probably by a machine that forces it seriously back into the recesses of the bag and fills in the voids, . . . the liner also probably swabbed with a quick drying glue, . . . and last but not least, . . . it is stitched around the mouth. I don't understand why you want to turn yours inside out, . . . but if you do, . . . the liner is smaller than the outside, . . . so the outside will krinkle when you do. Otherwise you would need to cut the stitches at the mouth and fish the liner out, . . . then turn the bag inside out to get to the stitches. May God bless, Dwight

Hey, Steveh, thanks for the information. I've got a buddy who has several horses & saddles, . . . I never really thought of him, . . . but I think I'll mosey over his way, . . . take my measuring stick, . . . and put his info together with yours, . . . may get something really promising going that way. Next question: does anyone out there have any "how to" videos or books for sale? May God bless, Dwight

I am 6 ft 1 inch, weigh in at about 195, and I would like to make myself a saddle. Having said that, . . . I have read until I am OD'd on words, . . . trying to figure out what it is that I am looking for, . . . so I just decided to put it to the experts. I don't know anything at all about "sizes" of saddles, . . . but I know what I like, . . . and it would be an older style where the horn is bare metal, . . . and the seat back is more straight up than most saddles found in the saddle shops these days. The stirrups are also leather covered. This would be for a 15 hand quarter mare. Question 1: What do I call that type of saddle? Question 2: Where can I get "plans" for such a saddle? Any help would be appreciated. May God bless, Dwight

Brinyar, . . . thanks for posting your new holster. I really like that design, . . . as it is both esthetically pleasing and functional. I''ve got a small holster to make that will really look good in that style, . . . and had been "brainstorming" how I was going to make it. Your pattern solved my dilemma, . . . if you don't mind my using it. May God bless, Dwight

Simon, . . . I had an older #4 edger that was so dull it would just simply not cut. I bought a new one. Then I got the idea that I could probably sharpen it if I tried, . . . and I am thoroughly pleased with the outcome. I took a 3/16 inch dowel, . . . about 18 inches long, . . . cut the heads off some paneling nails, . . . drilled holes in the dowel for the nails, . . . and nailed the dowel to a board that had a small groove (to keep the dowel straight), . . . and then countersunk the nails so they didn't stick out. I then covered the dowel in valve grinding compound, . . . medium grit, . . . and began stroking my edger BACKWARDS along the dowel for about 75 strokes, . . . beign careful to gently rock the tool in about a 30 degree arc, counterclockwise as I pulled it toward me with my right hand. Afterwards, . . . I put a piece of 8 oz leather that had been edged with my sharp #4 edger on both sides, . . . into another grooved board, . . . leaving it stick up about 1/8 inch and loaded it up with jeweler's rouge, . . . and about 25 strokes later, . . . I have one SHARP edger that actually does a ROUND edging that is really nice for the CCW belts I make in my shop. May God bless, Dwight

Keep an eye on Ebay, . . . very occasionally one will go for less than 900. Take a look on Craigslist, too, . . . stuff pops up there that you wouldn't normally expect. May God bless, Dwight

I have used Velcro on a couple projects, . . . always use Weldwood contact cement to get it in place and keep it there while I sew it. I use my Tippmann Boss, sew it about 1/8 inch in from the edge, all the way around. If it is a big piece (more than 2 inches wide, . . . I also do a corner to corner type "X" to secure the center also. You might try a sewing awl, for just one piece of Velcro, I would probably do that myself. May God bless, Dwight

I did a couple of production runs this spring and summer to get ahead of my anticipated sales, . . . it has not panned out as well as I wanted it to do so far, . . . but that is just a product of the market, . . . and why so many bigger outfits can and do employ "market research" people. I'm getting ready for another small production run, . . . more as samples than as actuall sellable products, . . . and will use them as examples on displays at some local gun shops. But for the majority of my customers: custom, one at a time. That reminds me, . . . got to get to work on the OWB for the Keltec .32 ordered yesterday, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Most of the folks I've talked to here on the internet (myself included) use Durometer 40, gum rubber, . . . it can be purchased from McMaster-Carr industrial sales. It is sold in 1 inch thick x 12 inch wide pieces, . . . cut off a roll. Enough to do most handguns will cost you close to $150. You do NOT use the real gun with this rubber, . . . you use only dummy guns. Foam rubber simply is not stiff enough to give you the impression you are looking for. May God bless, Dwight

Bronson, . . . there are some really authentic looking "would be" guns out there on the market. They used to run in the 60 - 80 $ range, . . . folks used them for display, parades, etc. I saw one once where they put the gun, a sheriff's badge, and an old pair of handcuffs in a frame, mounted over black velvet, . . . honestly I could not distinctivly point out that the gun was a fake, . . . it was that good a replica. I found one place for you: http://www.cowboyprops.com/ but you would do well to get measurements of their wares and compare them to the real thing. Course, . . . there is also a Uberti Cattleman .45 LC on Gunbroker for $255, . . . you would have a perfect mold, . . . plus something to have fun with when you aren't working May God bless, Dwight

One thing you could do, . . . go to a local building supply, . . . try one of the "bargain" outlets, . . . buy the cheapest of their "click together" flooring they have, . . . enough to cover the room. You have to leave 1/4 inch or so all around it, . . . you cover that crack with the blue tape used by painters for edging, . . . and you duct tape the doorway edge to the door threshold. You also need to get the foam for putting under it, . . . don't skimp on this. Here in central Ohio, . . . you could get it for less than $200, . . . and it will not only protect the carpet, . . . but it is super easy to clean up, . . . chairs roll easy on it, . . . and you can put it down in an afternoon. Spills shouldn't go through it if you get to wiping it up quickly, . . . Then, when you get ready to leave, . . . pull it up, . . . put it in your truck, . . . take it to the next place. My leather work shop is my desk in our great room. We have linoleum floors (that'll change in the not too distant future too, to most likely the above mentioned click flooring). I do my sanding in the mud room (with a small vacuum on the sander), . . . my staining and finishing is also done in the mud room, . . . and my only inconvenience is the "grab and hide" when unexpected company starts down our 600 foot driveway. May God bless, 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