Dwight

Like most, . . . I too had a time with these problems, . . . but the biggest part of my problem was solved by a friend who showed me a slick trick for keeping your knife sharp. Take a piece of the grey colored porous cardboard that is like the inside of a cereal box. Cut it to a piece 8 or 10 inches long and 1 or 2 inches wide. Rub it hard with several wide strokes of jeweler's rouge. Then just draw your knife blade along it from time to time (about every 4 or 5 minutes for me), . . . watching to be sure you keep the blade angle flat against the cardboard. It keeps a nice sharp edge on your blade as you cut. Be sure to draw away from the sharp edge and look for the black streak behind you as you go. It tells you that metal is being removed from the blade, . . . sharpening it. I usually do 4 or 5 pulls on each side, . . . then go back to carving. May God bless, Dwight

Adding to what has already been said (only for emphasis), . . . a friend of mine wanted to get into the laser engraving business. He and his wife sunk $25,000 into the equipment, training, and a small pile of sample blanks. IT DID DO FANTASTIC WORK !!!!! He also hinted that it was somewhat expensive to operate (no figures just complaints) as it used some kind of containerized CO2 and some other stuff. Anyway, may God bless, Dwight

FWIW, . . . I know not everyone has the funds to experiment with this process, . . . and if one needs a quick and useable vaccuum source, . . . try your local pick up truck. For a few bucks you can buy vaccuum hose at your local NAPA store, . . . pull a line off your local pick up truck, . . . attach the hose to the bag, . . . start the truck, . . . VOILA, . . . I watched a guy one day pump out my septic tank using this method, . . . he just had a coiled roll of 3/8 inch hose hanging on the side of the big tank, . . . lifted up the hood, . . . started her up, . . . about 10 minutes later the big "HISSSSS" from the pit said it was empty. Paid him $85.00 for the lesson and the cleaning. May God bless, Dwight

If I were doing it, . . . I would probably make that section into 3 pieces: a) above the padded section, the padded section, and c) below the padded section. I would then begin lacing in the center of the "join" between sections b & c, . . . and use the lacing to join them together, . . . transitioning to just an edge lacing up and around to the top, . . . where I would use the lacing to join b & a, . . . then lace on down the other side and into where I started. Just a thought, may God bless, Dwight

Mike, . . . this may not be what you were looking for, . . . but it works to cover a handle with braided or just stranded leather. After you wrap it loosely on the handle, . . . wet it down and start in the middle, . . . tightening up the loops very tight against the handle. Make sure both the straight strands are on the bottom side of the handle and laying side by side in the center of the handle. Pull it up real tight and razor cut off the ends next to the last wrap, . . . May God bless, Dwight handlewrap.bmp handlewrap.bmp

I kicked around a couple different things, including the burnisher John Bianchi shows on his holster making video, . . . but my Dremel tool burnisher seems the best for me. Plus, . . . I don't have to go to the shop, . . . I can burnish on the front porch watching the birds, . . . catching up on the news, . . . and if I had a horse and a plug in on the saddle, . . . while getting my morning ride Mine is made from an oak dowel, . . . using a 1/8" drill bit for the shaft, . . . made both of them in less than a couple of hours. May God bless, Dwight

A: Your temperature is too hot, . . . use water that is nuetral feeling to your hand, . . . which should be somewhere around 100 deg F. B: Just get the leather wet, . . . it does not need to be like a dishrag in order to properly mold. I also tend to let it air dry for a little while, then when I mold it, . . . I don't have to go over it and do it again because it was too wet and the shape slumped out of the way I wanted it. C: Also, if you are using a liner, . . . don't just glue the edges, . . . do both pieces front to back, left to right, top to bottom. I also buy my contact cement at a hardware store, as it is far cheaper there per oz. Tell them you DO NOT WANT water based cement, . . . you want solvent based contact cement used for putting down formica on kitchen cabinets. That's the good stuff, . . . but is extremely flammable and has to have a good ventilation system if you are using very much of it. D: I also stitch all my holsters pretty much at 3/16" and at the most 1/4" from the edge. Much farther away and the layers can open up. May God bless, Dwight

Hey, . . . thanks, Lobo, . . . I normally use regular old carpenter's contact cement, . . . (it does wonders for a stuffy head early in the morning ), . . but I did make one holster one time with Elmer's white carpenter glue. It didn't do to suit me so I ripped it apart, . . . literally pulling the glue off the leather, . . . and that was when I decided that contact cement was my friend and I was "sticking" to it. If I understand you correct, . . . this is the yellowish glue that you used, . . . not the white stuff. I just may give that a try, . . . but the white stuff is reserved for the wood shop and/or paper. May God bless, Dwight

I used 277 on the last one I did, . . . there are some pictures of it on the other thread we were talking on. I have started using 346 on some things I'm doing now, . . . and I really like the way it looks and works, . . . I just may be switching. I've seen where a number of folks use 277 on top and 207 in the bobbin, . . . but that is just too technical for me, . . . gotta keep it simple, . . . one number. May God bless, Dwight

I had a pair of boots I was near to crying about, . . . I had mistakenly used the wrong polish on them, . . . and they had turned a super dark brown, . . . from a nice saddle tan. Finally one day, . . . I decided to either get em fixed, . . . or pitch em, . . . couldn't stand looking at them any more. I took paper towels and Tandy's dye solvent, . . . and scrubbed and rubbed all the old polish off. In the process, . . . it cleaned em up real good, . . . but they were seriously dry looking and kinda scruffy. As a final touch, . . . I brushed them with a 50/50 mixture of Resolene and water, . . . and I have practically a new pair of boots. They actually look like something worth wearing for the first time in several months. Hope this helps, . . . may God bless, Dwight

You wrote: "Let me know what you feel needs improving and what you would have done differently." First, . . . that's a pretty good job for the first one, . . . mine was no where as good. But: already been said, . . . get the stitch lines closer to the weapon, especially the trigger side, and don't be too concerned about making it too small. I've had to do some shoving, tugging, and pushing on some that wanted to be too small, . . . but in the end, . . . leather does stretch, . . . Secondly, . . . get rid of the points on the outside edges, . . . and add smooth curved flowing lines to it. The straight cut across the front has little appeal. Thirdly, . . . also been said, . . . tighten up the belt slots a bit, . . . they may not be big, but in the picture they have that appearance. You want the belt to go in with just enough clearance that it goes in without shoving. The holster will then adjust to the belt as you wear it. A big "Yessir" to the sight channel, . . . I mold mine with a 3/16 inch dowel taped to the top of the handgun so I get a good sight channel. You might also take the time to learn to mold more of the weapon to the outside, . . . leaving the back (inside) flatter, . . . it makes it MUCH, MUCH more comfortable. Finally, . . . face the flesh side into the inside (next to the human body) on the back piece on a pancake holster, . . . it makes a better looking rig, . . . and it doesn't move around any where as much. Last point, . . . you did one of my favorite tricks that others do not do, . . . that is to mold in the safety to the back tang. I think it is very important as it will keep the safety on and not slide off, . . . which is very important for me in anything but a 1911. May God bless, Dwight

Scott, . . . take those Tandy snap setters, . . . give them to your Uncle Bill to use for fishing weights, . . . go to Walmart and get one of their snap pliers. Mine have kinda dark blue handles, a red ring to hold the male part of the snaps in place while being set, . . . and I found them in the sewing section, . . . next to the needles, snaps, thread, etc. When I bought mine, they came with a half dozen size 24 snaps that said .45 Colt on them, . . . and it is one super tool. It has a realy easy learning curve to it, . . . just remember that the flaring point needs to be in contact with the snap as you begin to squeeze the tool. I think they cost about 8 bucks, . . . great investment, . . . I average ruining about one snap in 30 or 40 with them, . . . maybe 1 in 10 with the Tandy tools, . . . and the doing of the snaps is about 1/10th of the time. Additionally, . . . they have a rounded smooth piece that protects the top of your snap. Sometimes my Tandy done snaps looked like I had beat them on both sides. May God bless, Dwight

I'm probably out of the ordinary on this, . . . but I always plan on sanding the edges smooth, . . . and when they happen to line up right, . . . it's a pleasant surprize. I used to try, . . . and fail regularly, to get it all to line up, . . . finally figured it wasn't worth all the hassle & worry when I've got at least 7 different sanding tools and a trash bin. Now I just sand it 'till it's right, . . . or pitch it and start over. May God bless, Dwight

Thasssss a good job, Freedom. May God bless, Dwight

That's a big CONGRATULATIONS, . . . glad it is working out for you. May God bless, Dwight

I did this one last year, Jordan, . . . using techniques garnered from Gormley and John Bianchi. If you see or get a chance to see John's 3 tape series on making Western gun rigs, . . . absolutely and positively well worth the 6 hours watching. Take MANY notes. Both the holster and the belt are 5/6 oz double shoulder leather, . . . two layer, . . . contact cemented and stitched together. I sold the cross draw holster, . . . but am keeping the right hand holster and belt (unless someone makes me an offer I cannot refuse, . . . Don't forget to post pictures when you get done, . . . May God bless, Dwight

I'll second the motion by shorts, . . . resolene. If you don't have the equipment for spraying, . . . put some in a pint jar, mix it with an equal amount of luke warm water, . . . shake it well, . . . get a small, cheap, horsehair brush and go for it. You want to be sure there is no more "leatherwork" to be done, . . . but keep buckles, and stuff off for now. Saturate the whole project, . . . front, back, left, right, top, bottom, inside, outside, straps, . . . the whole 11 yards. Then go back immediately with a lighter layer, . . . brushing right and left & up and down. You want to make almost a froth on the project, . . . then keep brushing till the froth is basically gone. Hang it in the sun, . . . or another "warm" place. YOU DO NOT WANT A HOT PLACE, . . . just "warm" if available. If you aren't satisfied with the first coat, . . . do it again, . . . same process. May God bless, Dwight

Nahh, Lobo, . . . artist is something I don't aspire to, . . . just another leather worker. This is one of my favorites I have ever done, . . . cross draw rig for a Ruger Super Blackhawk, 44 mag. Working on a native American style fringed gun bag, will have USMC beaded patch on top corner. Really enjoy different things in leather, . . . May God bless, Dwight

So far, I have never had a customer who demanded a lining for his/her holster, . . . not saying there never will be one, . . . but if there is, . . . I would probably do it the way the Bianchi way: two layers of veggie tanned leather glued flesh side to flesh side. I've made several holsters this way, . . . and I like the effect, . . . I haven't yet used them for a two tone effect (dye one one way, . . . and the other another color before the gluing process), . . . but it is something I've given a bit of thought to, . . . just haven't gotten there yet. May God bless, Dwight

I played with some kydex a few years ago, . . . made an IWB, tuckable, for a 1911. After much aggravation, . . . I found that the $19.95 heat gun kit from Harbor Freight was just exactly the right tool for heating it up to bend and not hurt anything (there was a really neat "wrinkle" finish on the one side, . . . slick on the other"). As soon as I saw the bend was where I wanted it, . . . I applied a paper towel that had been soaking in cold water, . . . it chilled the bend and kept it right there. The whole process was about an hour or so, . . . May God bless, Dwight

If you are using veggy tan leather, . . . the best message I know: you don't, . . . period. If you oil up a project made from veg tan leather, . . . you will wind up with some limp piece of animal skin that probably will never function like you wanted it to. The dyes and treatments are made to do the things you want them to, . . . and not to ruin the leather. Adding additional oil will undo many of the things they are made to do. May God bless, Dwight

Justin, . . . thank you for the good words, . . . the one just like it for a Bersa Thunder is smaller, and does all the same good things. There are actually 4 pieces of leather there on that particular holster(other than the loops), . . . but it rides high and flat, . . . so even all the sewing and skiving makes it worth it when it is done. I have tried several other holsters, . . . but this is the design that is THE most comfortable for me, . . . worn mostly dead on 3:00. May God bless, Dwight

I guess I don't follow you, Josh, on getting the screw back, . . . but I guess that would work, . . . moving the billet with Chicago screws. I tried to pull up a copy of the belt that had the conchos, . . . but it wouldn't come up for me. And, . . . thanks everyone, . . . I've got enough ideas that I can make one of them work for sure now. I was kinda stuck on "sewing" on the billet, . . . sometimes ya have to "think outside the box" so to speak. May God bless, Dwight

I don't want to rain on your parade or anything, . . . but that particular design looks very much like a Sparks VMII, . . . and I believe the design is patented/copyrighted. That said, . . . the front "wing" is sewn first, . . . then the two pieces are laid down with the wing standing up like an airplane tail fin, . . . and the third piece sewn onto the front and back by starting in the back, . . . rolling across the seam, . . . sewing the front, . . . coming back again on the seam, . . . and finishing up in the back. I know this because just for kicks and giggles, . . . I made one for myself. They earn their money on that particular style, . . . and will never have any competition from me. And, yes, if you do carry a concealed handgun, . . . you will find that the holsters that do not have the re-inforcement tend to close up, . . . and that can be a sticky situation as you try to put away a sidearm, . . . and there ain't no place to put it. My main two designs I make have the reinforcement even if it is for a mouse gun. May God bless, Dwight