Dwight

Necessity may be the mother of invention, . . . but laziness was Invention's father. First, get some chisel point leather needles (Tandy sells them), get a spool of thread for this also. I like size 346, personally. Buy needles that will allow the thread through the hole, . . . and then if you hold the thread taught between your hands, . . . the needle will slide down the string using only its own weight. Put the needle in a cheap $39.95 Harbor Freight drill press, . . . then unplug the thing. Drill a 1/4 in hole in the center of a flat sanded 1 x 10 about 24 inches long, . . . screw it down to the drill press table so the hole is directly below the needle and the needle can go through it. Cut a piece of thread about 4 times as long as your stitching plus 24 inches. On the first hole, . . . pull the thread through the leather piece, . . . now you have half the thread above and half below the object you are stitching. Move the needle back up and out of the leather, . . . then force it down at the next hole, . . . then pull up slightly, . . . creating a small loop under the leather piece, . . . thread the other end through that loop, . . . then pull the needle up and out of the leather. Pull both ends until you have the place that the threads cross up in the center of your project, . . . you have made your first stitch. Keep up doing that and you can sew anything in about 2/3 the time it takes to hand sew with an awl (at least for me it seems that way). You'll have a bit of aggravation at first until you figure out how to hit the correct loop underneath your project, . . . but once you figure that out, . . . happy stitching. May God bless, Dwight

I believe Hidepounder was the one who had a really neat post a few months ago on a book cover. Check what he did, . . . it may be your answer. May God bless, Dwight

Will Ghormley has a package of patterns you can pick up on the internet or at Tandys. It is the way I do all of mine, and I have had no complaints at all on them. Basically, the liner of the belt is 5/6 oz, . . . outside is 7/8 oz, . . . loops are 4/5 oz, . . . you punch slots directly behind the cartridge, and thread the loop up through the slot, . . . around the cartridge, . . . and back down through the same hole again. Your fingers will be sore, and your hands raw when you finish up a 24 cartridge belt, . . . and you do it with the loop leather dampened, . . . pulling it TIGHT on the cartridge. I usually use about 8 cartridges, . . . the first one stays in its loop until I need one for loop # 9, then I move it, . . . # 2 to 10, etc. Rivet the first end down before you start, . . . bevel and slick both edges, . . . then cement the whole thing together. Be sure to get cement on the back of the loops, . . . that way they won't come loose later. PM if you have any more questions. May God bless, Dwight

I make mine somewhat different, . . . 1) The placement of the front loop on the "front" of the holster instead of the leading edge, will allow the butt of the weapon to swing away from the wearer's body. This could make for a faster draw, . . . but it also will print badly under a lighter garment. 2) I would lose the nut on the backside of the rear of the holster. Place the male piece of your snap between the two pieces of leather before you glue and sew, . . . they you can sew around it and add the strap later, . . . or as I do, . . . put the strap on with the snap before glueing and sewing. It gives the back a more professional appearance. Just my $.02 May God bless, Dwight

Unless I missed it in the literature, . . . Resolene has a UV blocker built into it's formula that Sheen does not have. That should make your projects that will get a lot of outdoor activity, . . . a little less susceptible to harm from direct sunlight. It is the reason I use Resolene instead of Sheen, . . . other than the fact that I can get THE finish I want with a paint brush and Resolene, . . . and not necessarily so with Sheen. May God bless, Dwight

I guess the basic shape should be just a little longer than suit coat length, but not as long as the one you pictured. Fringe on sleeves, across back and front. I will do some bead work for each front shoulder area, . . . maybe one in the center of the back shoulder area. It will be a button up the front, . . . I absolutely detest a pullover jacket, . . . sweaters OK, . . . jacket, nahhhhhhhhh! I still haven't decided on the inside vs outside for the shiny side of the skins, . . . I haven't decided if I want to line it. It will definitely have a couple of inside breast pockets. I don't know the pros and cons of the lining thing and the "shiny in" vs "shiny out" thing, . . . need to get that settled first. Thanks, Luke for the pic, . . . that is one good looking coat, for sure. May God bless, Dwight

I'll trade you the secret for a pup from your poster picture (just kidding, . . . beautiful dog !!!!!). I do mostly CCW, IWB holsters and belts, . . . and I use Resolene on 99% of them. The best way I have found that leaves no streaks, puddles, whatsoever, . . . : a) thin it down using the 1 part Resolene to 1 part water formula, and get a small (1 inch or 1 1/2 inch at the largest) paint brush, . . . make sure it is a natural bristle brush, . . . and it can be the cheapo, they work just as well. I start with the back (flesh side) of my holster, . . . and brush it on liberally. Go to the front, . . . brush it on liberally also, . . . go back and forth, up and down, crossways, . . . brush till their are very few big bubbles. Go back to the back again, . . . and add another liberal coat, . . . this time brushing (and adding liquid) until you get a good foam, . . . then brush out until the foam is gone, . . . even the little bubbles are busted up, . . . you will see brush marks in a real good light, . . . but as it dries, . . . they disappear. Do the same to the front of your project. I get absloutely beautiful results when I hang it up and let it dry like that in the direct sunlight, . . . second best is over a register in the winter time. On some, . . . I come back and do another coat, . . . same identical sequence, . . . and it really puts the shine to it with the second coat. Don't forget to finish up with the edges. A buddy uses it full strength for the edges, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, Smalltown, . . . I've been looking for a pattern that I could literally do in a blue color, . . . for a special project. Your picture was just exactly what I needed to see. May God bless, Dwight

Now, don't take offense, . . . and don't laugh. The answer to your question is very simple, . . . you ain't lazy enough ! I don't remember who it was, . . . but some years ago I heard a comment that went something to the effect that it was lazy people who saw improvements because they were not going to bust their backs doing things the hard way, . . . just 'cause that was the way it was done. I'm not perfect at it, . . . but I always ask myself if there is an easier way. Oh, . . . and "Get a wife", . . . no that is not the answer to that question above. May God bless, Dwight

Frank, . . . do you have any kind of drawing, . . . sketch, . . . dimensions, . . . etc. I cannot personally understand what you meant by a "tan bound edge all the way around". Do you mean laced? Do you mean another piece of leather sewn around the outside like women used to use bias tape on their aprons? Holler back, . . . we'll help as best we can. May God bless, Dwight

Several years ago, my most important mentor passed on, . . . leaving me among other things, . . . several beautiful medium brown buckskins. I put them away, . . . but want to get them out and make them into my own fringed buckskin jacket. I went out on the web, . . . looked at 3 hours worth of patterns, . . . and came up with the following questions: What is the advantage / disadvantage of the flesh side being out verses the flesh side being the inside of the garment? If the garment is lined, is that lining glued to the leather, or just sewn in? Did in fact the native american buckskin jackets have a collar similar to a man's shirt collar of today? Thanks, may God bless, 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