Dwight

A couple of years ago, I made a holster for a Bersa Thunder .380, . . . an IWB style with loops on each side of the weapon to attach to the belt. I glued the sides together with Tandy's contact cement, . . . edged and finished it, . . . and it looked so nice without the stitches, . . . I just did not sew it. I wore the thing until one day a friend was talking about needing one for his gun, . . . I gave it to him and told him to let me know if it ever came apart. Haven't heard from him about the holster, . . . although we see each other regularly for other things. Glue it!! May God bless, Dwight

I have had very good results with a cheap, throw away camel hair brush (that I wash out with hand soap after each use) and it works super well. The secret is twofold: a) dilute the resolene to a 50/50 solution of resolene and water AND apply two wet coats together, starting with the inside of the holster, then the back side, soaking into the flesh side of the leather. Once the first coat has been applied, . . . brush it until you have an almost foam like appearance that will then disappear with a bit more brushing. Continue to the smooth side of the leather pieces, . . . again soaking, working up the foam, and brushing until the foam bubbles are basically gone. It is not as important on the flesh side, . . . but on the smooth side, . . . brush untill the bubbles are gone. Now, . . . go back, . . . right now, . . . and do it again. I like to hang my project up in the window, . . . let the sun's heat dry it, . . . or I hang it up about 7 feet above the furnace register, . . . it gets heat, . . . just not all at once. I only had one problem with this method, . . . I got in a hurry on a black OWB I did for a .40 Glock, . . . and some of the bubbles were not gone, . . . when they dried, . . . it looked like water spots on a finely waxed wooden table. Dye some scrap leather pieces, . . . and practice, . . . I think you will like it. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, Tim, Kate, . . . I had thought about spraying, . . . but I can't do that year round because both the house and the shop are heated with "live flames" so to speak (wood burner in the house, . . . propane burner in the shop). I really have a yen for heaven, . . . but not on the leading edge of an explosion. John Bianchi showed using a larger tank for his oil bath he gave his Western rigs, . . . and I thought maybe some of you folks did something similar, . . . just wanted to get it as close to right the first time as I could. I'm planning on ramping up my holster business, but there will only be a few colors, . . . I just cannot do the rainbow thing. Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

I was not as well pleased with the dye job on a large Western gun belt or the two holsters as I could have been. I've been thinking of setting up some sort of container for large object dying using Feibing's solvent based dyes (mostly). Just wanted to hear from others, . . . maybe not make the same mistakes, . . . and I am concerned about how to store 4 to 6 qts of dye once it is opened and being used. If you do this, . . . what type of containers do you use, . . . are there any special clean up tips, . . . any special pit falls, . . . ???? Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

I have a Tippmann Boss that has serviced me very well in the work I have done on it. Touchy? Yes, . . . Sometimes obstinate? Yes, . . . Trade it? Probably, . . . but it would only be if I could do a whole big bunch better. There was one on Ebay a few days ago, . . . looked like it would go for less than a thousand, . . . at that price it would have been a pretty good deal. May God bless, Dwight

I do most of my leather work in my living room (20 x 35) on a desk I built myself. The desk has a top that is 36 inches wide, 96 inches long and has a 48 x 36 piece of poly plastic in the center for a cutting board. When I need to sew something, . . . I pull the Tippmann from under the desk, . . . along with the 4 inch "C" clamp, . . . clamp the dude on the table edge, . . . turn on my sewing light, . . . stitch until I quit, . . . unclamp it, . . . store it on the floor under the desk, . . . and go on with life. While it is not the ideal setup for everyone, . . . my desk is also, . . . well, . . . my desk. I write, pay bills, study, sleep, and read there as well as make all my leather goods. May God bless, Dwight

I don't do any more hand stitching than I absolutely have too because of the arthritis in both hands, . . . but when I do, . . . I use a lap pony (sit on it between your knees, under your thighs), . . . and a pair of small electricians needle nosed pliers. A friend at work busted the tip off of them a few years back, . . . my boss said I could have them, . . . so I ground off the tips even, . . . just had em laying around till one day I needed em. They work wonders. But I do use the gloves for dyeing and finishing. The only thing I don't like about Resolene is getting the stuff on my hands. May God bless, Dwight

Deadeye, . . . I saw one some time back and copied it, . . . materials would be less than $10, . . . and to use it, . . . it actually sits under your thighs, . . . near the knees, . . . in whatever comfy chair you care to occupy. I don't do a lot of lacing, . . . so I don't use it much, . . . but it is the cat's meow for those few projects. If you are interested in one like that, . . . let me know, . . . I'll try to get a picture of it to you. It can be built in all of an hour if you have access to a wood shop or a few tools. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, esantoro, for an old laugh. Reading your question reminded me of an old farm house we lived in when I was a child all too many years ago. An earlier owner had installed a new medicine cabinet in the bath room, and in the center of the cabinet was a little slot about an 1/8 of an inch wide and maybe 1 1/2 inches long. There was a corresponding hole in the plaster behind the cabinet. It was made to allow the discarding of razor blades, . . . then and there, . . . no muss, no fuss. I always wondered how many were in that wall. The house was torn down 6 or 8 years ago, so I guess I'll never know, . . . May God bless, Dwight

I cannot tell you which one is better as I have only owned and used the aluminum one I have. I like it. Yes, . . . it has it's finniky attitude times, . . . but I worked production maintenance for a fortune 500 manufacturer for 30 years, . . . and there is not one machine produced that will not in one way or another be that way. I have used mine mostly for knife scabbards, gun belts, dress belts, and holsters (by far the most of the stitches) and it adequately fulfills my needs. Yes, . . . I have in exasperation ripped out the stitches, . . . and used the holes made by the needle to hand sew a project when I could not get the machine to cooperate, . . . but not very often. A very dedicated and helpful staff also is there to help you if you need the help. They are top notch in my book. They have gone over the top to help me, . . . and deserve all the praise they get. May God bless, Dwight

Like Bruce said, the Tippmann Boss is a bit of a quirky machine. Mine does not like suede leather, . . . nor anything under a quarter of an inch in thickness. And sometimes, . . . well, . . . it just has a mind of it's own, . . . and that's all there is to it. You might also try Craigslist, . . . or Ebay, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Just wanted to say "Thanks" to all who responded to my question. I still haven't made the decision to buy it, . . . as I still have a few holsters to make/sell before I'll have the cash. I did get a commitment from the HF salesman, . . . it's mine for up to 30 days, . . . any time before that I can bring it back for a full refund, . . . no questions asked. It would only be used for at most 5 holsters or belts or some combination thereof per week, . . . and at 63, . . . I really doubt that I will wear it out. (No, . . . I haven't quite gotten to the point that I don't buy green bananas due to my age, . . . but I really do look at other purchases) Again, . . . many thanks, . . . if you hear of anyone who actually has one, . . . sure would like to hear from their experiences. May God bless, Dwight

I've never had that as a problem with my Tippmann machine, . . . but one of the first things I did was make a wooden dowel to fill in the huge hole in the middle of the commercial thread spools, . . . and drill it to just fit over the metal post on my machine. Maybe I cured the problem before it became a problem May God bless, Dwight

I use a home made tool for odd ball holsters, which I try to make only using a wrap around pattern (as opposed to a pancake type). For this, I have several wooden disks, about 3/4 inch thick, each having a hole in the center that just allows a lead pencil to pass through it. I lay the handgun down on a piece of manila folder, . . . place my wooden disk down flat next to the trigger guard up close to the handle of the handgun. I put a pencil in the hole and push the disk along the contour of the gun towards the barrel, . . . when I get to the front sight, . . . I stop. Being very careful to not lose contact with the manila folder, . . . I roll the handgun over on its other side and continue with the process of pushing the disk around the coutour of the gun. This gives me the "shape" and "size" of the gun: plus half the diameter of the wooden disk for stitches, molding, etc. My 1 inch disk (giving 1/2 inch of working room) is my favorite, and works for pretty much all I have tried, although I have larger and smaller disks available. You then add space for a trailing belt loop, . . . sweat shield, . . . extra leather for a closed muzzle, . . . etc. and you have a fairly reliable first pattern from which to start. Nice thing I have found is that usually it is just a smidgen too big, . . . and that is a whole lot better than too small. May God bless, Dwight

When I make a similar holster, . . . I do two things to help the stitches: 1) all of the "parts" are first put together with contact cement, and 2) all of the stitches are gone over with a tool I made that flattens them down into the dampened leather (John Bianchi has a name for that technique that I disremember right now). Additionally, . . . I use my thumb to "roll" the upper edge of the holster away from the weapon, making sort of a funnel effect that greatly assists in one hand re-holstering. It is not enough to "show" under a cover garment, just enough to move that top row of stitches on the outside edge where most wear would occur anyway. Anyway, . . . works for me. May God bless, Dwight

For what it is worth, . . . Resolene works fine without an air brush if you first thin it 50% with water. I use a 1 inch camel hair brush (el cheapo at that) and I keep working on the piece until the bubbles are very small. Normally, I can do an IWB holster (inside and out) in about 10 minutes. I do my finishing just off my wife's kitchen, . . . so spraying is not an option for me, . . . and I am very happy with the results I have gotten using this system. I only have had one bad experience with Resolene, . . . it was on an oil based stain I was trying, . . . and the project turned very dark for some reason. It was my only unexpected result, . . . but the customer was OK with the color so it worked. Normally, I use a solvent based dye, vs. oil base, . . . and the colors are rendered true under the brushing of the 50/50 Resolene mixture. May God bless, Dwight

I need some hopefully expert advice: Harbor Freight Tool Co. advertises a pretty good looking walking foot leather sewing machine for I believe $599, with an optional table for another couple hundred bucks. I was just wondering if someone out there has already bought one of them, . . . and of course, . . . is it a good machine. I rarely sew anything over 3/8" and if I do, . . . I have a Tippmann Boss that is awesome in the heavy stuff. Thanks for your assistance, may God bless, Dwight