Dwight

I'll get in here, . . . mine has been a "new" aluminum, . . . from 2005 or 2006, . . . somewhere back there. I use it for whatever I make out of leather, . . . if it needs sewn, . . . except vests, . . . different machine for that. Look on my website for examples, . . . page 3 to be specific, . . . it sews everything up to and including 3/4 inch of dry veggie tanned leather, . . . although not too well on the 3/4 inch stuff. I use it to punch the holes in those things, . . . then hand stitch it. I live 2 hours from the factory, . . . whenever I have a problem (happened twice so far), . . . that I cannot fix myself, . . . I load it up, . . . call em and give em a heads up, . . . one of the mechanics cleans off a bench, . . . fixes my machine, . . . 2 hours later I am back home sewing again (or taking a nap). The Tippmann people are great people to work with. The other day I finished a belt that was darn near 3/8 of an inch thick, . . . for a feller that is in the 44 in waist area, . . . all in about 20 minutes, . . . at almost 6 stitches per inch, . . . total sewing was something over 100 inches. I use everything from 207 thread to 415, . . . but 346 is my mainstay, . . . very seldom use anything else. A happy customer??? Yessir, . . . I am, . . . and if I could go back and buy a different machine, . . . I most likely would not do it, . . . this one does what I want, where I want it, and the way I want it, . . . electrics do not always do that. May God bless, Dwight

1. Yes, you can paint the dye on the other pieces, . . . but will that not allow those pieces to be of a different color? I would at least dab them in a corner somewhere out of the way, . . . to see if maybe dabbing them with a sponge will color them without dunking them (the felt pieces). 2. When you say "regular" Feibing black dye, . . . I'm not sure there is any such thing. There is oil dye, . . . USMC dye, . . . water based dye, . . . and probably one or two I forgot to mention. I only use the professional oil dye, . . . so you'll have to check yours against that, . . . maybe talk to someone at the store. BE SURE to thin the black down half and half with their reducer though, . . . or you will be forever getting off the extra pigment. May God bless, Dwight

From the appearance, . . . it looks like an oiled leather, . . . no hard finish on it, . . . should not be a big deal to dye it. The one thing you are going to want to do, . . . as much as is possible, . . . take it apart. Get as much of the hardware off as you can. Go to a Tandy leather store, . . . buy 4 of their 4 oz bottles of pro oil black dye, . . . and 4 of their 4 oz bottles of dye reducer. Stop at Walmart and buy an aluminum pan for cooking a turkey, . . . or if you have one to spare at home, . . . a 8 x 14 cake pan works fine, . . . that is what I use. Get a pair of rubber gloves and a roll of paper towels. Mix all the dye and all the reducer together well, . . . pour it in the pan, . . . and one at a time, . . . snake each piece into and through the dye, . . . you don't need to linger any great time, . . . if it is black colored, . . . it is dyed. Hold it up over the pan until the drip-drip-drip stops, . . . then lay it face up on a piece of cardboard. DO NOT HANG it up to dry. Give it 10 to 15 minutes or so and then with the gloves still on, . . . holding the leather by the sides of the straps, . . . take paper towels and wipe off any dye that got on the metal. Sometimes the dye will stain the metal, . . . sometimes it will not, . . . you don't really want to take that chance. Leaving it on there may stain it. Allow the harness to dry for at least 24 hours, . . . then with another paper towel, . . . give it a coat of neatsfoot oil (if you can find it in a small bottle), . . . or olive oil, . . . just enough that you can honestly see that some oil is trying to soak in. Some black pigment will rub off on the towel, . . . don't worry about it. Allow that to dry for a couple of days, . . . then get a white tee shirt you don't like, . . . and laying each strap down on a hard surface that won't move, . . . buff the heck out of the whole harness. When black quits coming off the piece you are buffing, . . . you are done. Once the buffing is done, . . . you should be done. The obvious alternative, . . . is to take it to a local saddle shop, holster shop, or belt shop, . . . have the folks there do it for you, . . . it'll be twice the cost of doing it yourself, . . . but you only have to spill black oil dye on something ONE TIME, to know you don't ever want to do that again. Good luck. May God bless, Dwight

You can also contact Weaver Leather in Berlin, Ohio, . . . they will sell you the leather and for a small fee will cut it pretty much to the width's you want. (at least they used to do it, . . . don't know for certain today's details, . . . but contact them, . . . they are absolutely wonderful people to work with) May God bless, Dwight

I guess I must be doing something wrong, . . . I use the "flick your bic" type lighter, . . . have never burned a piece of leather yet. I leave about a 1/8 of an inch of thread when I cut it, . . . hit it with the edge of the yellow flame, . . . it melts / burns away, . . . I give it a little thumb rub, . . . done. May God bless, Dwight

Ya did good, . . . Springfield came to mind, . . . but when I saw Weaver had em, . . . I left Springfield off. I've actually been on the Weaver location, . . . wonderful people to deal with, . . . that's why I sent you there. Sorry it wasn't exactly what you wanted. Come to think of it, . . . it's about time to arrange another expedition to that area. May God bless, Dwight

Try Weaver Leather, . . . in I think Berlin, Ohio. http://products.weaverleathersupply.com/search?w=horse hide belt They should be able to help you. May God bless, Dwight

Hopefully they don't sit down in the dirt. A muzzle full of .45ACP dirt can get someone hurt bad. The reason I recognize it, . . . I'm only 72 and haven't completely grown up, . . . I still play in the dirt quite a bit. Just finished fixing a 10 inch field tile buried about 48 inches in the ground, . . . it blew out, . . . created a 6 foot diameter hole. Had to play in the dirt big time that day. Playing in the garden will get one dirty too, . . . and sometimes, . . . just sitting down next to a camp fire, . . . making memories or smores, . . . checkin' out my cast iron dutch oven, . . . and whatever is cookin in it. Seriously, . . . I would not own a slide, . . . and refuse to make em. They could be a cash item, . . . but I like my customers better than that. But, . . . anyway, . . . I still like your work, . . . keep it up. May God bless, Dwight

I would say personally, that if you sent it to me, . . . I'd be more than willing to test wear it for you for a couple of years. Seriously, . . . really good looking, . . . the only thing I don't do for sure with my pancakes, . . . I never allow the muzzle to go below the holster, . . . sitting down on the ground "could" get a muzzle full of dirt, . . . which could be very dangerous. Other than that, . . . it's a good job. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks DJole, . . . wouldn't you love to sit down and have a conversation with the person that made that shoe?? May God bless, Dwight

Those pictures were the last one I did, . . . and it was indeed fun. If I had to choose making them or a regular Duke rig, . . . the money belt is probably a bit easier to do, . . . and because it is a bit "different" folks will pay a bit more for it than a normal Duke rig. May God bless, Dwight

Honestly, I don't know plinkercases, . . . snaps are probably not "period correct", . . . but then again, not much more than the leather is, . . . and even it has undergone many changes in the way it is created / finished, etc. I tend to go by the overall look, . . . Western?, . . . OK, . . . and I kind of drop it there. But that's just me, . . . and how I approach this stuff. May God bless, Dwight

I'm not the worlds best artist, . . . but here's a little drawing that may clear up some of the mud. May God bless, Dwight

Well, . . . I went out to the shop, . . . and I just could not get the wire to bend like I really wanted it to do. If the scorpion were 2, 2 1/2, or 3 inches long, . . . it would work really well I think. You can unbend a small paper clip, . . . put it on a dampened piece of veggie tan, . . . put it under the arbor press, . . . you'll see it makes a really nice impression. My 72 year old eyes and fingers just are not quite up to bending that wire in that intricate a pattern for the 1 inch size. I'd probably opt for one of the Hong Kong options, . . . sure looks like the right price to me. May God bless, Dwight

Yes, . . . you are correct that the mouth of the belt is only deep enough for the bills to go back in and be secure. The snaps hold the buckle tab, . . . it folds back under the bottom of the buckle, . . . threads down through both layers, . . . doubles back under the belt keeper, . . . and snaps. I tried it, . . . and using that arrangement, I could even put larger coins in the money part of it, . . . and they would not come out. I don't know what happened to the pictures, . . . so I'll post it again so you can see it. I don't have the belt here, or I'd get a better pic of it, . . . long ago went to it's new owner. May God bless, Dwight

I make it with the suede folded, . . . best side out, It is a fun one to make in my opinion. I only leave the money belt part of it open far enough to get in a folded confederate bill, . . . the rest is not only sewn, but also contact cemented together. This is the last one I did. And, . . . no, I didn't oil the suede, . . . just a light coat of Resolene 50/50 with water, . . . my customer and I both really liked the end result. May God bless, Dwight

Definitely, yes, . . . just a bit more intricate, . . . probably have to do it under a magnifying glass, . . . The big key is to make the exact shape you want on the computer first, . . . print it out, . . . use it for the template / pattern. Again, . . . solder the connections, . . . file and sand the solder joints smooth, . . . should work really well for you. May God bless, Dwight

For that, . . . it would depend upon the size, . . . whether this is 1 inch long or 6 inches long, . . . For discussion sake, . . . say it is 3 inches long. I would go to Lowes and buy a couple feet of 12/3 or 12/4 Romex cable. You want solid copper wire, . . . not stranded. Using needle nosed pliers I would then bend the wire to match the shape of the scorpion. (You need to strip the plastic covering off the wire) It can be spot soldered together, . . . then spot soldered onto a piece of galvanized sheet metal. The sheet metal I would then contact cement to a nice looking 3/4 inch thick pine board. You could then dampen your leather, . . . place this stamping tool on the leather, . . . and roll it with a rolling pin or even probably a wall paper seam roller, . . . it will give you a nice impression. May God bless, Dwight

The first thing you want to do is lay the belt down flat on a table, . . . roll up your sleeves, . . . grab a white or light colored wash cloth that your wife will not miss out of the cupboard, . . . And buff the belt like you are trying to erase the blackness off the leather, . . . be serious, . . . be personal, . . . and be rough about it. A half hour later, when you have worked up a minor sweat, . . . your wrists and forearms are telling you that they've exercised enough today, . . . AND no more black is coming off the belt, . . . then you're good to go. Give it a couple of light coats of resolene, . . . mixed 50/50 with tap water, . . .let it dry, . . . you should be good to go. My belts and holsters I sell are 99% done with resolene/water, . . . and I get zero complaints. May God bless, Dwight

I used to use USMC black myself, . . . and it does give a rich and deep black. But you will buff it till the cows that haven't been born, . . . die of old age. I prefer Feibings pro oil dye, . . . use it for just about everything. Bikermutt gave you the good directions, . . . the only thing I would add is in the neatsfoot oil, . . . it is really easy to get too much on the project. Put some on an old tee shirt piece, . . . and just kinda rub it on until you get an overall color change in the leather. If the color change is even, . . . the oil is even. If the color change is splotchy, . . . your oil is the same, . . . you will have to practice that, . . . there is no perfect way to learn that other than practice. And when you do the Resolene, . . . apply it with a cheap, . . . 1 inch wide, bristle brush. Apply some of it and swish it around with the brush, . . . up, down. left, right, oblique angles, . . . brush it on until you get a bit of a "little bubble" lather built up, . . . then brush out the bubbles. For a bill fold, I might do two coats, . . . most likely I would only do one. After it has dried for several hours, . . . go to a real good light, . . . like a window, . . . hold it up at an angle, . . . look for dull spots in the shiny finish. Dull spots means you didn't get a good coat on. Add another coat, . . . and make sure you get the dull spots this time. May God bless, Dwight

Most every thing I do uses size 346 thread, . . . will this machine handle that heavy thread? May God bless, Dwight

Beautiful work, . . . as a pastor, . . . I really enjoyed the cowboy church scene. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, Jim Timber, . . . I have not the slightest inkling of the reason for the Tippmann Boss bashing I run across every now and then. My machine is one of their aluminum machines, . . . been running it over 10 years, . . . and like any thing else, . . . I've had a couple of issues. Nothing that could not be fixed, . . . and fixed darn quick, . . . by very competent people. Tippmann is in my opinion, . . . based on 10 years of service, . . . one of the VERY BEST companies I've ever had to deal with. The equipment is excellent, . . . warranty is good, . . . service is great, . . . and they have bent over backwards to help me the few times I've needed it. My personal opinion is most likely the biggest detractors of the Boss, . . . probably would find fault with a ten pound brick of gold, . . . have very little mechanical ability, . . . and just like to gripe to hear their heads roar. Rant off. May God bless, Dwight

I would cut a small tapered channel across the bottom of the belt, . . . and be very careful but very firm, . . . bending the bottom of the tip up into that groove kind of like the little drawing I've enclosed here. I would first put several coats of trag on the tip of the leather though, . . . to harden it up. Then the very last thing to do is put on the metal tip, . . . gently peen down the edge, . . . it should hold till the cows come home. May God bless, Dwight

Actually the suede liner or the wool liner are not that bad to sew. I use my Tippmann Boss, . . . so I can see exactly where, . . . and put it exactly where I want it, . . . AND when sewing the outer shell to the liner, . . . in between the two, . . . is the zipper, which has to be sewn in anyway, . . . Kills two birds with one stone, . . . sews in liner, . . . adds the zipper. May God bless, Dwight