Dwight

Thank you for the good words . . . No . . . there were plans to put that piece of leather there to protect the stock . . . but when we started putting the Chicago screws in . . . there simply was no room. It is a TIGHT fit . . . The back two pieces come together on the stock . . . two rivets hold them together . . . laid on a "anvil" piece on my work bench . . . and seriously flattened on both sides . . . no bump to get against the shoulder . . . no bump to rub against the buttstock. I have one very similar in .44 Mag . . . and it may wind up getting one like it. It's my deer rifle here in Ohio. May God bless, Dwight

Just depends on how talented you are in the wood shop. I've had success getting the dimensions of a gun off the internet . . . Gluing a couple pieces of yellow pine (my preferred) together . . . getting out the band saw, drill press, table saw, router, sander, grinder . . . etc . . . and coming up with a suitable copy for a holster. If you really want a serious model . . . holster training guns are available for around 75 . . . usually can sell them on Ebay for a tad over half price . . . just a thought May God bless, Dwight

Good lookin stuff . . . May God bless, Dwight

Try GoDaddy.com . . . I used them for my holster business until I found one a bit cheaper . . . and this one I can put anything I want on it. A friend is hosting it for me. GoDaddy is not "all that" expensive either. May God bless, Dwight

Actually it is a piece of polished steel . . . about 5/16 thick . . . ground, drilled, polished . . . and secured with two Chicago screws . . . about 1 hour to create from a piece of scrap steel laying on the floor . . . a drill press . . . and a 12 inch disc sander Thank you, Sir . . . Thank you Thank you It won't impress everyone . . . but it was what he wanted . . . and I am happy that it is somewhat unique. May God bless, Dwight

A friend needed a sling for his new rifle . . . had fun finding dye to match the stock . . . found one that I think worked fairly well . . . Its a cross between just a carry sling . . . and a typical military sling. Made so it can be adjusted to the shooter to be able to use it as a "hasty sling" device. Was a fun project . . . had to design the rear end though . . . he did not want to drill his stock to put in a ferrule to hold the rear part of the sling May God bless, Dwight

I've made belts for the last 20 years . . . have used Resolene on virtually all of them . . . mixed 50/50 with water . . . have never had a complaint from any customers. Am wearing a 20+ year old belt at this moment . . . finished with Resolene. May God bless, Dwight

It's a greaseball funky product made by vegans who think all animals should be taken off the planet. May God bless, Dwight

The 150 dollar one will work that wide . . . but it is really a chore getting anything 3 inches or bigger thru one. May God bless, Dwight

As one with foot issues . . . thank you for selecting them . . . look forward to seeing more here. May God bless, Dwight

Have you ever researched the way the Romans of Roman Empire days did their sandals for their troops? I have a full Roman centurion rig I use in church for plays . . . etc. They made their sandals out of a sole . . . then a piece that became the toe, heel, and side, . . . and then an inner sole above it. All together . . . 3 layers of leather . . . and I made mine to complete the uniform. Some day when I have nothing better to do . . . I'm going to make another pair which will be for me to actually wear . . . and I'll probably make them "high top" . . . as I have neuropathy in both feet . . . cannot stand a boot or anything that rubs my ankles . . . but I want something to keep the feet warmer than the Sketcher low cut athletic shoes. May God bless, Dwight https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligae

Harbor freight sells a half ton or one ton arbor press . . . a tad heavy . . . will need bolted to a table top or something . . . but with a larger flat surface . . . and a piece of 2 by 6 that you fashion to slip into the straps and lay flat along the top piece . . . you can put some serious "quiet" pressure on the thing. If you've never used one . . . that little round table comes off . . . giving you a place to lay a piece of 2 x 6 . . . add the sandal bottom . . . slip in the formed piece for the top . . . pull down on the handle . . . voila . . . done. https://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-arbor-press-59766.html?ccdenc=eyJjb2RlIjoiMTcyMDQ4MTIiLCJza3UiOiI1OTc2NiIsImlzIjoiNjIuOTkifQ%3D%3D&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20737678297&campaignid=20737678297&utm_content=156191151498&adsetid=156191151498&product=59766&store=3113&gclid=CjwKCAjw15eqBhBZEiwAbDomEobTEjJnQG46i4KEr6GpH-siVkskQNeWXaUPPHRZdlGB2RDMXPCI8RoCYrcQAvD_BwE May God bless, Dwight

Just be careful what leather you use. Veggie tan is the preferred leather . . . some of the chrome tans and others just might be a problem. I would not trust them. PLUS . . . it is a good idea to make sure the sheath is not damp or wet . . . THAT can be a problem as well. May God bless, Dwight

This is my "hot box" sits on the wall outside my leather shop . . . has a thermometer up near the top so I know what the temp is up there. I hang everything on strings . . . usually 1/4 or 1/3 of the way down. Never has hurt anything I've put in there . . . and IT DOES harden em up. May God bless, Dwight

140 deg F is the max temperature you want to go with hardening leather . . . and we're talking about veggie tanned leather. Wet it . . . form it . . . and hang it in the 140 deg hot box . . . When it is fully . . . fully dry . . . dunk it again . . . let it soak up the water pretty good . . . not sopping sloppy wet . . . just wet . . . put it back in. It WILL BE hard when you are done. Paint is an unknown to me . . . never put it in the heat. May God bless, Dwight

Why the suicide strap on it . . . ?? Absolute PITB to release . . . especially when seconds or split seconds mean the difference between life and death. Unless of course it is an unloaded gun carried in a gun free zone . . . and only for show. May God bless, Dwight

They make beautiful buckskin jackets and vests . . . Think Davy Crockett and Dan'l Boone . . . May God bless, Dwight

OR . . . get in the designated "right turn only" lane . . . and use it so they can gun their engine and pull out ahead of you . . . cutting you off . . . In a town nearby . . . they have that mess up dead in front of city hall . . . and if you are in the thru lane . . . just be careful. May God bless, Dwight

Quite honestly . . . a hand piece that you strike with a mallet . . . works mostly for me. I did move up and get a hand press . . . but it does not look anything like what you have. And I only went up with the press because I'm having neuropathy problems with my hands . . . not bad yet . . . but getting there. This is the Tandy tool set . . . https://www.amazon.com/Tandy-Leather-Snap-All-Setter-8108-10/dp/B003A64ASE/ref=sr_1_1_mod_primary_new?keywords=tandy+leather+snap+setter&qid=1697940024&s=arts-crafts&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sr=1-1 May God bless, Dwight

I could not find my book . . . but this one would probably suffice . . . it's called loom beading . . . what I do . . . and what maggielj did. You make a loom of strings . . . had a place in Columbus a few years back . . . and when I went in to get info . . . first thing the first lady said to me . . . "never use string . . . always use dental floss for your beading" . . . and I have. You make a loom that holds the strings . . . I used a spring for a screen door on each end . . . and between each of the coils I stretched a string. For something that would be say 10 beads tall . . . you use 11 strings (11 pieces of dental floss. . . lol) . . . that is called the "warp". One string is above the top bead . . . one string is below the bottom bead. One string goes between each bead in the up and downUSMC_BEST.xls You start at the left end . . . tie a "woof" string to the top warp string . . . and put the colored beads of the left "up and down" then you weave the beads on there . . . put the next up and down string . . . and so forth. And you really have to make a pattern. Don't laugh . . . I use Microsoft Excel . . . and by changing the color of the square . . . I can set up what I want . . . how I want it. The USMC icon was woven left to right . . . the other two woven top to bottom. It's a bit more complicated than I've said . . . but this might help: Loom Beading Patterns & Techniques: Patterns, techniques, finishing, and more for the novice or accomplished loomer Paperback – April 26, 2021 Its a book on Amazon . . . May God bless, Dwight USMC_BEST.xls

Would love to see the whole thing stretched out flat . . . What kind of background material did you use ?? I use only dental floss. Here is my favorite piece I've ever done . . . for a USMC guy. May God bless, Dwight

We have a facebook marketplace here . . . Chris had 2 of them on there . . . his wife wanted to "go bigger and better" . . . and seeing as it is her hobby . . . he was all set. There are a bunch of them on the market here . . . so he was getting no movement . . . I came along and asked him for his best price . . . got it for 400. He still has another one there. May God bless, Dwight

If you really ONLY want the outline . . . and you are doing a bunch of stuff on and off . . . You may want to look into a laser engraver. I have two of them now . . . one is simply for putting "stuff" on leather . . . and the other one I'll be devoting mostly to cutting out patterns. There are units out there like my little one . . . will do a 14 inch square piece without moving the feet . . . (or you could decorate the whole side of a cow hide just by moving the unit on the taped down leather hide) . . . It will take any *.jpg I want to give it . . . thru LaserGRBL . . . and I can scale it up or down at my pleasure. You can make the lines as dark or as light as you want. Draw out what you want . . . take a picture of it . . . send it to your computer . . . move it to LaserGRBL . . . tell it to do it's thing. Depending on what you are wanting . . . I've had pieces take up to a half hour to duplicate . . . but when it is done . . . yahooo . . . it's what I wanted. This one is very similar to my little one . . . https://www.ebay.com/itm/305103253109?hash=item4709922e75%3Ag%3AfAcAAOSwiethOa4z&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4F2Kls0UH2Gr9qi8vzR9JYyij83n6Gk9FxlYGcYs56MuEMY9qlKfH8fY2im9ml5NHodhj0uHTtnVaw%2B8Ao25ZQUzZy06VJsp%2FEWIjP7w2iF016Gk78DFa%2BqZ6u1wsNUqVurN22kMCjoFvL%2FYDMRR6NFp%2BpAbZlJN4%2B9SgYc%2FBaEBUeDLYbkDu4yukKUj4MqX%2FFQRWJKn7AdQMJlv8dRv7NHkMxYABlLeifXb1Y%2FRITokYLB3DThmiTkgJO2GbL7IZc%2FvKNOQkHd%2FHY8PKy6mtkKpyTPBM%2F2inBBM%2FhH0D9WH|tkp%3ABk9SR5KBiujpYg&LH_BIN=1&LH_ItemCondition=3 May God bless, Dwight