Dwight

I cut out . . . usually oversized . . . wet mold as needed Glue pieces together where needed . . . trim off excess . . . and sew Give a light coat of neatsfoot oil on the hair side only Dye and polish . . . polish . . . polish . . . and did I mention polish Add final finish May not work for everyone . . . but it does for me May God bless, Dwight

Use veggie tanned fake snake skin . . . End of that problem . . . Ain't enough folks out there who could tell the difference anyway . . . May God bless, Dwight

Of course the other thing is with the logo and making duplicates . . . It is an awful hard thing to do to prove a "copyright" case on the things we make. I've actually never heard of it . . . although I'm sure there are some cases out there somewhere. Personally . . . I have copied other's work . . . but when I do . . . it is with the idea that I am doing something that will make it a better fit for my customer than the other maker. But I do not "exactly" copy his / her work. Plus . . . I've got some things out there I know I personally designed . . . and I see copies of it . . . consider it a compliment that someone copied my work . . . even if they do get paid and credit for it . . . gives my old time ego a slight lift. May God bless, Dwight

I would (for my first project) use 7/8 oz leather . . . measured with a micrometer that would be in the .100 to .125 range of thickness. Tandy Leather Factory will sell you the leather . . . a "single shoulder" will give you plenty of leather to make that holster . . . and you'll have enough left over to re-do it if you mess up the first try. The back on that holster is basically flat . . . all the molding is done on the outside piece . . . and it is kinda hard to get it that well molded without some "work" . . . just be prepared. Don't allow the muzzle to come out like that . . . the design is seriously a stupid design . . . if the front sight gets hung up while you are trying to defend yourself . . . your next of kin will wind up with that holster after your funeral. Cut the holster longer to cover the muzzle. I personally like 346 size thread . . . it hand sews fairly well . . . not sure if your machine will take that thread . . . use a 25 or 26 needle if it will. Get Feibing Oil dye in the small bottle . . .and a small bottle of the reducer . . . dump em together and use that to dye your holster. DO NOT get USMC black . . . it is lousy with loose pigment and you will be buffing that thing till July 4th. Buff it real good . . . finish it with a couple coats of Resolene mixed 50/50 with water using a bristle brush. It'll be a good holster for you. I would personally not cut the bottom front slot . . . as that is a good position to carry . . . just the way it is pictured . . . it hugs the body well . . .using the bottom slot makes the butt of the gun stick out like you've got a third hand stuck under your shirt. But have fun . . . make sure to bring the finished product back here for all of us. May God bless, Dwight

Go into your Tee shirt drawer . . . find the two you like the least . . . take them out to your shop. On the next project . . . give it a light coat of neatsfoot oil before dying . . . use Feibings oil dye . . . dilute it 50/50 with their thinner . . . dye the project . . . Then take that white tee shirt that you cut up into about 8 pieces . . . and start "polishing" the project. When you quit getting rub off there . . . you wont' get any more rub off after your finish coats either. And you won't have to put on any more than 2 light finish coats of resolene unless you want to do more. AT LEAST . . . this works perfectly well for me. I do spend a bit of extra rubbing time though on all black projects. Resolene also works well to smooth the inside of belts . . . it is my preferred product. May God bless, Dwight

How about putting it in a vise and drilling 1/16 inch holes sideways thru it?? Then you could sew it on. I've only used the ones with a clasp . . . or thin leather pouch . . . they've worked great so far. May God bless, Dwight

From what I've seen of it . . . darn near a copy of the Tippmann Boss . . . and you can get the narrow presser foot for it. From what I've seen of it . . . I'd bet the Tippmann narrow foot will work. If Ryan does not have one . . . gimme a holler . . . I'll take mine off . . . you take yours off . . . we'll measure em both . . . see if it will work for you. You might also call Ben at Tippmann Boss . . . tell him what you have . . . he just might know . . . he is one of their best "Boss" mechanics. May God bless, Dwight

I prefer nylon . . . what I started with some 20 + years ago. Cannot find the thread I really liked that Tandy sold then. It was a "hard" nylon . . . when those stitches went into the leather . . . you didn't pull them out. Today's "bonded nylon" is flimsy and slick. Don't really like it . . . can't seem to find the hard nylon so I just use this stuff. May God bless, Dwight

You're right . . . only glocks I have are blue . . . and don't shoot too well . . . plus they are not photogenic. It is a Taurus G3C . . . my chest rig pistol for the day I have to load up and head out. May God bless, Dwight

I have a plastic french curve thingy hanging with my other tools. Haven't ever needed or used it yet. Have always been fortunate enough to find a jar lid . . . coffee can . . . outlet cover . . . bean can . . . or something else round . . . that will always work. Plus I built strap end cutters for 3/4 inch, 1 inch, and 1 1/2 inch out of pipes I cut off half of them . . . sharpened the other half . . . one whack with the mallet . . . I have a perfect round end on my strap. May God bless, Dwight

It all looks good from here. I basically use 346 for everything . . . top and bottom . . . Been messing with some 277 . . . dropped down to a 25 needle . . . Forgot to change it when I went back to 346 . . . machine didn't seem to care. I just got my 4500 a few months ago . . . am seriously glad I did. Have fun, may God bless, Dwight

Had a customer wanted a chest holster for his Glocks Wanted it in black. Had to paint a couple of metal keepers . . . but found everything else. My son (Glock fan from getgo) was a bit jealous of it I think. May have to do one for him for Christmas. May God bless, Dwight

For years I had the best little hand press . . . bought at Hobby Lobby . . . and it finally broke. Have purchased 3 since then . . . they were all junk. Just whack em with the mallet and go on . . . May God bless, Dwight

I wish I could help you . . . but I've got something near 300 of them out there . . . finding "that one" would be a real trick. But I'm glad you saw it . . . did I have my hair combed that day??? (lol) May God bless, Dwight

BoxerMel . . . I don't have a tablet . . . and I won't be in Tx any where near soon . . . But I'd be honored to have one of those just for it's intrinsic good looks. Stash it on my desk and use it to remind me of the privilege we have of living here. Thanks for your effort . . . and thanks for posting. May God bless, Dwight

I used to work in a grey iron foundry . . . making mostly pump castings . . . lots of our big jobs were smoother than that . . . whatever it is. May God bless, Dwight

I can see from the picture . . . one of the things you did wrong with the metal one. The blade . . . For years I used razor blades from drywall knives . . . would take a pair of pliers . . . break them in half . . . use them till they got dull . . . get out a new one and break it. Because of the angle of the sharpening process they use . . . it could easily wander off left or right . . . I had to stay on it hard and fast. Saw a blade supposed to be made especially for these at Tandy's . . . wasn't much $$ so I bought it. Had to spend some time getting it SHARP sharp . . . but when I did . . . AND . . . installed it with it's little handle pointing down . . . I haven't had any trouble cutting straps since. The blade has the angle cut only on one side . . . not both sides . . . and because of that . . . the angle tends to push the leather over towards the handle on the cutter . . . making it stay put. It looks like your blade is either sharpened on both sides . . . or you have it in upside down if only sharpened on one side. May God bless, Dwight

A few years back my brother in law found out I did leather work . . . and while we were in his shop he told me to look in that "bottom drawer". There was an aluminum strap cutter . . . obviously old . . . often and well used . . . I had been using a razor knife and an aluminum ruler . . . and this new toy made my life so, so, so much easier cutting straps. This is not the one . . . but it is a very good replication of it. If you get one like this . . . get the blade that Tandy sells for it . . . it has a little handle on it that is always pointed down in the cutter . . . Keep that dude sharp . . . watch your fingers . . . and you will love the results. May God bless, Dwight https://www.ebay.com/itm/194196151453?hash=item2d36fe1c9d:g:i5IAAOSwpElgwDYe

Just a quick note . . . recalling that I have never made one . . . BUT . . . a dear friend . . . and a wonderful lady did make one for me when I was her pastor. It had the edges laced . . . a beautiful image and inscription on the front. BUT . . . somewhere in all the making, fitting, dying, finishing, etc . . . it turned out to apparently shrink almost to where it couldn't be seen . . . but it shrunk anyway. In doing so . . . it broke the spine of my Bible . . . SO . . . be careful and follow the directions . . . it may keep you from doing the same to someone else. She most certainly meant well . . . and tried her very best . . . she just didn't know. May God bless, Dwight

No . . . have enough trouble making holsters and sheaths . . . knives are above and beyond my pay grade . . . (see my website) . . . I do have one I'm going to try to make some day . . . but I don't have my forge finished . . . and it will be a "next fall" at the earliest project. I see in your description that you make knives . . . May God bless, Dwight

I don't have a Cowboy outlaw . . . got a Tippmann Boss that was cloned and called an outlaw from what I could see. Your problem is that your top thread tension is just a tad too tight . . . OR . . . your bobbin needs adjusted. There should be a screw on your bobbin . . . and if it is the same as the Boss . . . a counterclockwise turn loosens it . . . a clockwise turn tightens it. BUT . . . you will probably then have to re adjust your top tensions. Just get a couple of pieces of the same leather you use most of the time . . . glue em together . . . and use it as a place to sample the stitches it is doing. Play with it till you get it right. You also probably need to put 1/4 x 20 nuts on the top of the studs coming up from the top adjusters. Otherwise they will turn as you use the machine. AND . . . once you get it where you need / want it for the most of the sewing you are doing . . . don't mess with it. Have fun . . . May God bless, Dwight

All in all it looks good . . . Just a few quick tips though . . . After you glue the edges together . . . take a sander (I have a little 30 inch belt sander . . . even out the edges . . . then mark your stitch line. Finish your stitching . . . and then bevel the edges. Your finished product will be better that way. AND . . . you said you installed the snap. That is something I only half way do. I'll figure out where I want that male part of the snap . . . and I'll in stall it . . . But I never install the female part until everything else is done . . . and the reason is . . . it is all too easy to put the female part on just a little off kilter . . . and there is no way hardly of fixing that. When you are ready to install the female part . . . fold the leather over onto the male part and with your thumb . . . press down on the leather covering the male piece . . . keeping it where it should be when it is done. When you lift up the top piece . . . look at the bottom side . . . you'll see a small circle imprint of the male piece. Pop your hole for the female piece . . . and unless you really missed it somehow . . . it will always be right where it should be. This is most important on gun holsters and knife sheaths. May God bless, Dwight

I have a habit of kinda ordering and keeping what I have experienced that I needed. Now I do have a couple small drawers full of "stuff" . . . but by experience . . . I know what I sell . . . so I know what to buy. And that way . . . I'm never in any kind of "inventory" problem for the most part. Works for me anyway. May God bless, Dwight

In not all . . . but many . . . and they usually are not top quality knives . . . the rivets were placed there to keep the knife blade from cutting thru the threads as the knife is drawn from or inserted back into the sheath. And by dragging against the rivet . . . it hopelessly dulls the knife blade. They did this to keep from having to put a welt between the top and bottom pieces . . . simply a cheap process. I would not have a sheath with them . . . but that is my personal attitude. This one may or may not have a welt . . . I cannot tell from the picture . . . and if you want to keep the original rivets in there . . . what you may do is start out with a thinner thread . . . start in the middle between the rivets . . . sew up to a rivet . . . then sew backwards to the other rivet . . . then come back to where you started. Finish your stitching in the same hole you started . . . all the stitches will then look to be the same. And if you pull each one tight (waxing the thread with true beeswax will help this) very few people will notice you double stitched it all . . . it will look uniform . . . and you will not have to remove and replace the rivets . . . or the end cap. Truthfully . . . that is exactly what I would do. Go to a Joann fabric shop . . . tell them you want to look at carpet thread . . . it will be very close to what you will want. I've used it on any number of leather projects . . . it's never failed me yet. May God bless, Dwight

What can we say??? Really good . . . no . . . great work. Awesome talent. Take the time some day to pick up some younger person . . . get them interested . . . pass on the talent to them. It's a joy to see your own personal talents / attitudes / work ethic . . . etc . . . being displayed in the next generation. May God bless, Dwight