Dwight

One of these days, . . . I'm going to make a pair of saddle bags, . . . just to hang up in the shop, . . . and to say I've got em. All the old westerns we used to watch, . . . they always intrigued me as the cowboy would pull them off the horse, . . . throw them across his shoulder and head off to the local hotel or saloon. I know it sounds corny, . . . but I always thought that looked super cool to tote your stuff around in just those two saddle bags. May God bless, Dwight

I do know of one military group, . . . a veterans "Honor Guard" organization that used to use canvas ones what had a wool like lining. I don't know if it was real wool or synthetic, . . . but the main reason they used them was for the "bump" factor, . . . you could throw 10 of em in the back of the pickup truck, . . . drive 50 miles on back gravel roads, . . . and they wouldn't bump together and scratch each other up. They went into the bags . . . . to the ceremony, . . . out of the bags for performance, . . . back in the bags for the trip home, . . . and out of the bags ASAP once arrival back at the Amvets post. NEVER were left in the bags even overnight. The wool would be good for the bump protection, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, RockyAussie, . . . This is one of those "pro-bono" jobs we sometimes do for folks. No great salary to be had here. But it would be good to get the experience in case I needed it later on for something else. I'll clean one of em up early next week and see where we have to go from there. May God bless, Dwight

If I used sheepskin, . . . I would make sure never to leave the gun in there. It would be for travel only, . . . and even then, . . . not across country. Any moisture at all in there is not going away, . . . except after it turns to rust on your gun. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, appreciate the info. He said he had another pair done some time back, . . . barge was used there, . . . but I think that was the shoe guy who passed away last year. Mr. Martin was a fixture in the community as far back as I can recall, . . . and I'm 73. I miss him. Is there any special prep needed on the insole before "barging" the soles on??? Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

A friend has a pair of Rocky boots that are in wonderful shape except that the soles are junk, . . . falling apart like the white hard insulation that just breaks off in little white balls. Only thing is this is black rubber, . . . and they are wasted. He wants me to clean off the old rubber soles, . . . and put new ones on, . . . Somebody out there give me a real good shot at how to clean the bottom of the boots, . . . the insole, . . . what do I use to get it where the contact cement will work???? And should I use weldwood or Barges, . . . is there an appreciable difference for shoes??? Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

Looks good, . . . you have a talent I've never been able to acquire, . . . doing a basket weave and making it look right. Mine usually resembles a shredded radial tire after a blowout. Gave up trying, . . . long time ago. May God bless, Dwight

I can do that............. May God bless, Dwight

Cannot say about holsters, . . . But I've got a "Jumbo" saddle I bought out of a pawn shop in Denver, . . . looks like some old cowboy bought or made some stamps, . . . and attempted to "dress up" his saddle, and I really like the thing. None of the stampings are very deep at all, . . . Bought it as a decoration for my leather shop, . . . but will be putting it back out to pasture later this summer, . . . a friend in Az wants it, . . . so it's going back on the trail. I just wish I could get it to talk to me for a couple hours before it leaves, . . . just know it could tell some stories I'd love to hear. May God bless, Dwight

Go for it my friend, . . . I don't have anything copyrighted except a book I wrote some 15 years ago. Everything else is fair game........... May God bless, Dwight

Looking good, . . . I'm thinking I could enjoy having a knife like that, . . . May God bless, Dwight

You're right, . . . it didn't. May God bless, Dwight

Don't know that I've ever eaten fresh trout, . . . I'm gun shy of fish to a certain extent for all the junk we have in our waterways here in Ohio. Hope you all enjoyed it though. The best we have here are bluegill and crappie. But I digress, . . . if you give me an email address, . . . I'll send you a pattern for the pieces. That holster is easy to put together, . . . and is pretty comfortable. When I put it on, . . . I sometimes forget to take it off until I go to bed at night, . . . then it's "ohhh, . . . ". May God bless, Dwight

You need an awl to make the hole, . . . then a blunt leather sewing needle will work fine. May God bless, Dwight

I like 4/5 for my shoulder straps. If you are going to do many belts, . . . straps, . . . etc. might want to think about a leather splitter. Sides, shoulders, all of em run differently, . . . sometimes one end of the hide or side will be thicker than the other end. I got sick of messing with it, . . . got a splitter, . . . now I don't have to try to keep so many different weights of leather. Don't have a 54 inch piece of 4/5 but do have a piece in 8/9, . . . ??? The splitter will handle that right quickly. AND, . . . if you do much in knife sheaths, . . . the cast off can be used as a welt. Milled vegetable tan makes really soft and "easy on the body" shoulder straps, . . . make em a bit wider to spread the weight on the shoulders. All of mine are kinda "long pear" shaped, . . . and are comfortable. Sold two in the last couple months, . . . both customers super happy so far. May God bless, Dwight

Hey, Seabee, . . . the loops on the holster are actually all one piece of leather. The two loops make it so it will not rock back and forth seriously on you while you wear it, . . . and if somehow one does become unsnapped, . . . there is no probability that you will lose holster and gun. Again it is a cabbage from Sparks gun leather, . . . first place I saw that arrangement, . . . liked it. Tell me more about the type holster you want to make, . . . maybe some kind of sketch, . . . I just may have your pattern here, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Hmmm, . . . weldwood contact cement has never let me down. I even used it to make my vacuum bag. May God bless, Dwight

Don't let your wife shoot it, . . . ha-ha, . . . cause if you like it yourself, . . . you'll have to buy you a new one, . . . lol. Seriously, . . . it is the 3rd one I've owned, . . . the first one I could not get to shoot straight, . . . shot 3 inches to the left and 1 inch high at 20 feet, . . . Nobody, including the LGS could move the front sight, . . . so I traded it, . . . Later tried a Shield .45, . . . a buddy of mine talked me out of it. I don't like the .40, . . . and really do need something smaller than a 1911 at times, . . . so I tried one more time (they were on sale for $279, including 4 magazines) and am happy to report this one is good. What pattern IWB are you going to make? These are my favorites for the shield. May God bless, Dwight

Yep, . . . I'm about to lose it though, . . . I'm thinking just as soon as the weather breaks, . . . my wife gets another chance at it, . . . I'll be gun shopping again. I made a kinda-sorta copy of a Sparks Executive for it, . . . with some changes to make it fit me better. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, everyone for the good words, . . . and yes Jake, and JD62 that is a cross draw chest rig. I "created" it from several others I'd looked at, . . . and from the shoulder holster I made mimiking Doc Holiday's rig from the movie, Tombstone. That is a GP100, 6 inch in the holster. I basically just made the holster, . . . a pancake style with almost a completely flat back, . . . left ears on the sides to attach the straps, . . . it has a strap around the back and one to go up and over the right shoulder. I fastened the whole thing together with a couple of brass stud fasteners, . . . makes it quick and easy to change the dimensions. Take a look at the pics, . . . the straps are 1 inch wide 4/5 oz, . . . holster is 8/9 oz. I tried my best to get a fellow I know to let me build him one like this for the same model gun. Nothing would have him but a regular shoulder holster, so that is what he got. I would really rather have this for a cannon this big. Its the one being hand delivered, . . . my son doesn't know it yet though, . . . it is his reward for allowing me to use the pistol to mold the shoulder holster. May God bless, Dwight

Finished these three up today, . . . one to be mailed out, one to be delivered, one to be picked up. For a change, I really had fun doing these three. Each was a change in the way I normally do things, . . . kinda liked the change in pace. May God bless, Dwight

That is pretty much the look I want. Mind sharing the brand name and the "where I got it"? The Roman Centurion belt I need for a costume is $200 from India and really doesn't have the images I want. This opens the door to a really good looking belt. Thanks, Jeff, . . . may God bless, Dwight

I've got a special project I need to do, . . . make several 2 1/2 inch square pieces of carved leather look like brass. The pieces will have ancient Roman symbols, . . . nothing really intricate. It doesn't have to pass a tight inspection, . . . just have a brass appearance from out at about 5 feet or more. Anybody got a real good suggestion? Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

I have a box for "bad cuts" and they go in there when I make a "wrong" cut. Some day, . . . I'll use them, . . . or when I'm worm food, . . . my son will wonder why I cut out all those pieces ahead of time and didn't use them. May God bless, Dwight

You are a credit to the leather industry, . . . thank you. I do basically the same, . . . keeps my customers happy, . . . makes for a good reputation, which cannot be bought, . . . only earned. May God bless, Dwight (not a seabee, . . . shipboard EM2)