Dwight

When I first bought my Tippmann Boss from Tandy . . . I bought and used a waxed 346 white thread that I loved . . . One day they did not supply it any more . . . new stuff was not waxed. Since bought a Cowboy 4500 . . . and while it sews OK . . . no problems there . . . would like to get back to that waxed thread look I used to make. Tried every search angle I can find . . . Ebay . . . Amazon . . . Google . . . Hoping someone on here can point me to some. Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

Last bout with popcorn cost me 382 bucks . . . and a solid hour in one of them there dentist chairs. And it was the soft stuff . . . no kernals. Sticking to Doritos Nachos . . . May God bless, Dwight

The newer drywall knife . . . utility knife . . . is the greatest tool I've ever used. Round knives simply scare me . . . Fixed blades need to be sharpened too often This does exactly what is needed . . . pretty darn safe to use . . . flip the blade when the first half gets dull . . . and not that expensive. I just don't hardly ever use anything else . . . been that way for over 20 years . . . May God bless, Dwight

No argument with much of what you said . . . just one to mention . . . I bought the jacket from Pakistan . . . simply because it was the only place I could find that had the style jacket I wanted . . . AND . . . would make the alterations I wanted. I happen to be one of those long legged, long armed hillbillys that's hard to fit in anything mass produced. I simply could not find one here in the states . . . at any price point. So in that case it is you do what ya gotta do to get what you want. My main gripe was the advertisement of "leather goods" in the stores I visited . . . and a huge bunch of it was vinyl/cloth leather look alike. The leather jackets they were offering did not have an origin tag . . . but they were sloppy made . . . positively ugly . . . and there was no one there to say "how can we get you what you want" . . . it was more "thats what we got . . . buy it or leave" . . . The belts were imitation hand made . . . I would not have worn one to a dog fight . . . and like I said . . . there were many of the ones made from glued and pressed leather remnants . . . started at 26 bucks and they went up from there. I think they were trying to interest the "wanna be" cowboy / cowgirl crowd . . . as some of them were just audacious in their design . . . And I am . . . halfway between a hobbyist and making a living . . . it's a part time job where I make custom holsters, belts, knife sheaths, ax sheaths, and other stuff. I've repaired saddles, made halters, made chinks and chaps, even made a USMC style hat from leather. It is a one man operation . . . but if I had started this a number of years back . . . I can see myself with 2 or 3 or 4 trusted employees . . . earning a living with leather . . . together. And you are totally correct in the description you gave of that gambit . . . tough sledding for sure. But in the end . . . big company or small . . . one man or many . . . giving the customer a product that could possibly go down to his grandchildren . . .because it was well designed . . .. well made . . . etc. . . . that's my goal in leatherwork. Two holsters went out of here Saturday . . . I have no doubt that at least children will inherit them . . . and they could easily be passed on to the grandchildren. Another one and a belt to match will go out sometime this week . . . with the same perceived destination. May God bless, Dwight

I won't give the location . . . but I was in two different "leather" shops last week . . . Much of it was vinyl glued to fabric to stiffen it . . . Leather coats were absolute junk . . . my Pakistan cafe racer jacket I paid a hundred and a half for . . . was three times the quality of that junk . . . and they wanted twice my Pakistan price. Belts looked like that pressed together and glued stuff from China . . . single layer . . . with buckle . . . no design . . . 26 bucks each and up I was almost ashamed to mention in that company I work in leather . . . afraid someone would mistake me for them . . . May God bless, Dwight

Weaver's and others will make them. Maybe try Tipmann in Ft. Wayne . . . they make some . . . IIRC Ching chong chinamen will also make it . . . look on Ebay for them . . . May God bless, Dwight

Or over the phone the customer repeats the name of his son Ephan . . . E P H A N You confirm . . . yes . . . E P H A N Customer comes to pick up order . . . That name is misspelled . . . its E T HAN Still have a little black belt . . . about a 28 inch . . . waiting for EPHAN to show up needing a belt. May God bless, Dwight

Go back to Etsy . . . these are crafters here . . . not puddle monkeys. May God bless, Dwight

I have a Boss and a Cowboy 4500 . . . will one day in the near future sell the Boss as I've just about learned all the old tricks I did with the Boss . . . now on the Cowboy. Belts with a Boss. . . you betcha . . . about 10 minutes each side . . . vs 2 1/2 hours per side hand stitching. Boss was the best 1K I've spent in all my money making ventures of 78 years . . . not as much fun as some of my toys . . . but my toys are not money makers . . . the Boss is. To top it off . . . Tippmann has been great to work with as far as problems are concerned. Great people to work with. Toledo sales did my Cowboy . . . have nothing bad to say about them either. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks Simplejack1985 . . . May God bless, Dwight

Wood putty you can use for a gouge . . . an inadvertent saw cut . . . a hole drilled in the wrong place . . . a corner broken off . . . It would be nice if leather workers had such a product . . . Been almost in tears at times over a stupid mistake . . . did one the other day . . . but I'll get by on this one. Was stamping serial number on a piece . . . doggone stamp bounced . . . got a lighter second stamp above and sligtly to the right of the original. If this was wood . . . open the can . . . get out the putty knife . . . smear it down flat . . . sand it smooth . . . dye it . . . re stamp it . . . Ain't nothing in the leather goods you can do that with. May God bless, Dwight

The folks who made wood putty in a squeeze tube made a fortune . . . Somebody making leather putty in a squeeze tube could follow suit . . . maybe they could golf together in Miami beach May God bless, Dwight

Glue it together . . . put a string in the back . . . tie it on your head . . . Grab a 30 inch broadsword . . . Buy into that mounted warrior play acting stuff . . . May God bless, Dwight

My 20+ yr old double layer belt that is roughly .200 inches thick . . . was grooved on both sides . . . with a "then new" groover . . . and the 346 thread that went into those grooves is basically flat against the leather. I wear a large cell phone . . . and a 3 pound firearm . . . have never had a problem. Cannot tell you how many belts I've made and sold . . . have never had a "groover" complaint. May God bless, Dwight

You did a good job there . . . just add a few comments on those I do. Between the holster and the shoulder holding strap . . . slip a folded piece of thin leather with a 1 inch wide rectangular metal ring. That allows you to attach and detach a belt holder . . . which will stabilize the holster much better . . . especially for drawing. Elastic bothers me . . . so I use a 1 inch by 7 oz by about 48 inch leather strap . . . chicago screws . . . and one folded keeper . . . works out real well for me. May God bless, Dwight

Well . . . I'm going to be the outsider here . . . I use resolene on most everything I do . . . 50/50 with water . . . applied with a cheap 1 inch pig bristle brush. I slop it on with the brush . . . then brush it left right up down and both ways of the X . . . and will make sure that there is enough on there that as I start the brushing sequence . . . I get a little foam bubble stuff going on. If I don't . . . add more liquid until I do. Take this to the bank . . . I have NEVER . . . EVER ONCE . . . AT ALL had any bleed off from any belt, sheath, holster, shield, armor, spur strap . . . or ANYTHING else I've made. And the vast vast majority of my stuff is all dyed with Feibings Pro dye or in some rare cases USMC black. A sponge will not put on a level coat . . . neither will a piece of wool . . . that's a pipe dream to think it will. May God bless, Dwight

Good lookin stuff . . . May God bless, Dwight

You're on the right track . . . just need a pocket container for mint chocolate chip ice cream . . . and a Bible. I traded fishing for ice cream and church. May God bless, Dwight

Weldwood contact cement is all I have used for 20+ years . . . never had a problem with it. Just know that it is a little "airy" . . . I usually coat both pieces and then take them to the garage or something to let the glue dry and leave the fumes out there. Buy the quart can . . . have your wife save you a glass jelly jar . . . put some in the jelly jar . . . seal up the quart can . . . use it out of the jar . . . when it gets half empty . . . fill it again. That's my procedure . . . holsters, belts, sheaths, mag carriers . . . works for all them things. May God bless, Dwight

That's beautiful . . . Reminds me of a friend . . . his 80+ yr old father went out in the shop one day . . . came back with a full size one made of wood . . . His daughter in law commented "It's really large" . . . couple days later ne came in with one about 1/4 that size. She laughed at it and called it tiny . . . Few days later he came in with another one smaller yet. Her comment was that was really small. His last one was about 2 inches square . . . and rather than take a chance on a smaller one she just praised that last one greatly. His glasses were really thick . . . shaky hands . . . but he was a craftsman . . . and this truly reminds me of his work. Thanks for posting. May God bless, Dwight

Not sure of the needle number (if it slides nice and threads easily . . . I use it) My thread I've used for 20+ years has been 346. Makes a bold and satisifying look on the belt as far as I'm concerned. Typically use about 6 stitches per inch. Never have had a customer comment badly about the stiching. May God bless, Dwight

No . . . fredk . . . that is nothing near what is needed for an American one star general . . . it's got way too much whoop-te-do around it . . . and the interior of that star is all wrong . . . needs to be just plain flat. Military folks are pretty picky on making sure what they have conforms to "protocol" and uniformity. May God bless, Dwight

Buddy of mine I've known for over 70 years . . . looking for a holster for his P 365 LX . . . I made several of these slip cakes for S&W Shields . . . it works for the Sig maybe even better. Anyway . . . just hope he likes it. May God bless, Dwight

Yes . . . beautiful work . . . and it is good to see that level of expertise being applied. I noticed your location . . . found out a few years back that Mom was wrong . . . my pedigree is not German, Dutch, English, and Irish . . . rather it is Scotch, English French, and Welsh . . . with Welsh being the surprise. Guess that and YOUR grandfather's teaching (my grandfather taught the same line as an old fashioned Baptist minister) . . . kinda makes us cousins or something. Anyway . . . have fun . . . and remember there is room for both lines of products. I do two lines myself . . . the double layer belts and western gun belts . . . with associated holster . . . AND . . . the single layer that is not as long lasting durable . . . not as good looking overall . . . but is quicker to produce . . . thereby making for a less expensive product. I do both . . . and my customer base is happy . . . life is good. May God bless, Dwight

Depending on your "budget" . . . you have a lot of options . . . I started out with a Tippmann Boss . . . which I still have . . . and if I was buying another machine of the similar line . . . it would be the one I'd buy again. A 42 inch belt takes me 20 minutes . . . about 8 or 9 minutes per side . . . with a coffee and arm stretch break when I hit the tip of it. I've got a Cowboy now . . . and we're down to something like 6 or 8 minutes on them now . . . just taking my time . . . I hate "do-over" jobs. May God bless, Dwight