Dwight

Here ya go: ebay......... (little pricey, . . . but might be justifiable in that it really looks like a good one). May God bless, Dwight http://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-Heavy-Duty-Steel-Hammer-Holder-Patent-US-D581-6575-/180733691752

This is the one I've got, . . . and it is fully every bit the pump one needs to use a bag. It "might be" a bit short for use on a big vacuum table, . . . but in my 24 inch square bag, . . . it'll pull it right down, . . . right quick. AND, . . . there are always 20% off coupons for Harbor Freight. My whole system came in at about $80, . . . bag, pump, hose, valve, . . . the whole magillicuddy, . . . May God bless, Dwight http://www.harborfreight.com/25-cfm-vacuum-pump-98076.html

Just some info from an old hillbilly that's been making belts now for over 10 years: yes, . . . stamp it first, . . . then glue it. If nothing else, . . . with a bad mistake you only have to toss one piece of otherwise good leather, . . . if it's glued together, . . . you lose two pieces. And as for stiffeners, . . . I personally think they are a waste of time. I've made 1 1/4 inch up to 3 inch wide belts, . . . and never felt the need for a stiffener. My present belt I've worn for 10 years carries a cell phone, . . . a 1911 pistol, . . . holster, . . . up to 3 magazines, . . . flashlight, . . . and a cell phone, . . . and still holds up my britches, . . . and carries the weight. My belts when they are finished, . . . measure out (with calipers) in the .180 to .220 range of thicknesses. May God bless, Dwight

I don't have any experience with nubuck as I always use suede for my "lining" projects. Nubuck is comparably priced from what I've seen, . . . so like MADMAX22 said, . . . kind of up to you. Either way, . . . I would contact cement it to the exterior leather, . . . and may not even bother stitching the sides, . . . unless you are putting in a zipper, . . . in which case the zipper flange goes between the two leathers, . . . and it makes a really nice looking package. I suppose if I were going to do it, . . . I would opt for the thicker of the two, . . . because you ARE MAKING a drop basket for a lap top computer, . . . and that drop basket needs to be able to take what ever punishment the basket gets when it is dropped. And if you have ever owned a laptop for any time, . . . you know they get dropped. Good luck, . . . be sure to post a picture or 10 when you get done, . . . I may have to do one of these for my son's laptop. May God bless, Dwight

Pardon the scruffy drawing, . . . but this is very similar to the two I used for 20 years, . . . still got em, . . . they still carry a 16 oz Estwing, . . . and a 28 oz Estwing, . . . with no complaints. 30 seconds with a ball peen hammer on an anvil making the flats for the ends, . . . 1 minute rounding out the ends, . . . 2 minutes drilling the holes for two copper rivets, . . . 4 easy 90 degree bends, . . . This is how I would do it, . . . May God bless, Dwight

You can buy a small metal bending tool from Harbor freight, . . . about $50, . . . buy your own 1/4 inch steel rod, . . . make em yourself. May God bless, Dwight

One thing I have found that helps, . . . "Made in America, by Americans". While I do not post that phrase on my website, . . . the ol' Red, White, and Blue is prominently displayed on each page, . . . implying it without saying it. I do my best to buy American when I can, . . . and there are a lot of others who do the same. But again . . . it is marketing, . . . and you just have to learn how to market your product. After a while, . . . if you are doing it right, . . . it'll work. May God bless, Dwight

Just from an engineering standpoint, . . . I'm going to say the wet formed will hold up longer. The reason?? There is more surface area closer to and touching the gun, . . . thereby reducing the friction coefficient of any one point in the holster, . . . and spreading the friction necessary for a certain amount of retention over a larger surface. By not forming the holster, . . . only certain areas will be doing the retaining, . . . and should wear down much quicker, . . . doing away with any retention that they provided. Actually, . . . some of the sloppiest holsters I've ever seen were pancakes, . . . that long long ago probably had a good retention factor, . . . but through use and maybe abuse, . . . they are now more of a carrying bag than they are a holster. May God bless, Dwight

Try here, . . . I've used them several times, . . . great people to deal with. I don't know about international shipping, etc, . . . but you will most likely be able to get just about anything you want from them. https://ohiotravelbag.com/ May God bless, Dwight

If you want to make water proof purses, . . . try vinyl, . . . PVC, . . . or other plastics. Leather can be made water resistant, . . . but you will be fooling yourself and your customers if you advertise "water proof" purses. Resolene is a very good product for that, . . . as well as a combination of beeswax and neatsfoot oil. May God bless, Dwight

The outside would be done first, . . . using an arbor press, . . . maybe 4 at a time, . . . at least two. The inside hole, . . . lay em all out flat, . . . touching each other, . . . hair side up, . . . mallet and small hand punch, . . . done in short order. Anyway, . . . that's how I'd do it. May God bless, Dwight

It cannot fall out of the holster when I hold it upside down and wiggle it a bit. May God bless, Dwight

While it would not be period correct, . . . you could lace it. Using a round punch, . . . and a single line, lazy stitch, . . . it should look pretty good, especially if you used round leather lace. Just make sure if you do that, . . . your welts are plenty wide enough to have the hole punched through them and still hold, . . . I'd suggest a 1/2 in wide welt all the way around. Personally, . . . I'd just go ahead and stitch it, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Do a double 6, . . . inside and out. Makes a great holster, . . . been there, . . . done that, . . . Makes a great belt too. My Western parade rig is made exactly that way, . . . 6/7 oz veggie tan. Doing a Mexican loop is a bit more challenging that the ones I do, . . . as it involves more stitching, . . . but it's still cool. May God bless, Dwight

Yes, . . . welts are leather as well, . . . contact cement "glues" the whole thing together so it does not move while you sew it. That is an ambitious project, . . . and personally I love doing knife sheaths and sword scabbards, . . . it is a real fun break from other things I do. Good luck, . . . there are probably some good videos out there, . . . just be sure to put in a welt all the way around that sword, . . . if you don't, eventually you will cut the stitching, . . . and it will fall apart. May God bless, Dwight

Dwane, . . . here is a pattern idea for you, . . . this is for a Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 mag, . . . It is very similar in construction to the one pictured by Wayner, except the skirt comes all the way down. The holes in the skirt are where Chicago screws hold the two narrow straps that keep the holster tight to the skirt. The way you drop the holster is really simple, . . . look at the numbers on the edge of the picture, . . . you simply lengthen the leather piece between 45 and 46. For every two inches longer you make that part, . . . it drops the holster down 1 inch from your waist. You could easily make that a Western drop leg holster if you wanted to do that. PM me with your mailing address, . . . I'll put a paper copy of that in the mail to you if you want it. May God bless, Dwight

Gotta like the concho, . . . But I'm thinking that Dwane said he wanted it to hand down a bit lower, . . . have to wait till he hollers back to see for sure. It is a pretty decent looking holster. I made one for a nephew, . . . little lower drop, . . . sat down in the holster a bit more, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Dwane, . . . what style holster are you looking for? May God bless, Dwight

I use 346 in 95% of the stuff you can see on my website: belts, holsters, mag carriers, phone carriers, etc. I have 415, . . . and I cannot swear that something on my site may not be done in 415. If I need anything smaller, . . . I use carpet thread and a plastic, Walmart, sewing machine. What little saddle stuff I do, . . . again, . . . 346. Part of that is that my Tippmann Boss likes it best, . . . and I've learned how to use it, . . . May God bless, Dwight

I don't know how you are doing the Resolene, . . . but I've done some extensive testing on my leather goods I produce, . . . have never been able to get any dye transfer from my belts and holsters, . . . using Feibings oil dye and Resolene. One of us obviously is doing something the other one is not doing. My resolene goes on with a brush, . . . and I seriously saturate the leather with it, . . . and it is reduced 50/50 with water. I brush and brush it on, . . . working up a good bubble type lather, . . . then once I've got that good bubble lather, . . . I brush out the bubbles, . . . let it dry, . . . It most certainly is not water proof, . . . but is seriously water resistant, . . . and I've never had a customer complain about dye rub off, . . . and most of my holsters I make are IWB, . . . gets all kinds of sweaty and wet, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Been using weldwood for nigh on to 50 years, . . . only things that ever came apart were things I RIPPED apart. I've heard good things about Barge, . . . but this weldwood pony has never let me down, . . . why change now??? May God bless, Dwight

I never do, . . . the stitch line that works for an 8 oz will work for a 5 + 3 or a 4 + 4, . . . or at least has so far. May God bless, Dwight

Actually, . . . if you have never done one of these, . . . you will be pleasantly surprised at the rigidity of it. The 5 and 3 makes 8 in normal math, . . . but in rigidity, . . . it will become more like a 10 or 12 oz, . . . which is always good for retention. Personally, I use suede on some of my holsters, . . . the thing about the chrome tanning rusting the gun is an old wives tale far as I'm concerned, . . . even had a guy wrap a piece of 1 inch round stock in suede, . . . stuck it in a safe, . . . months later, unwrapped it, . . . no rust whatsoever. Suede will however, . . . as mentioned, . . . pick up dust and dirt if given an chance, . . . THAT can be hard on a gun's finish. The key is to not over oil the gun, . . . most of the time that will take care of the dirt problem. It can also get wet, . . . and not be noticed, . . . and THAT will cause that beautiful blued S&W or Colt to rust up and make a grown man cry. Suede also makes a little better retention on these plastic fantastic guns that are all the rage nowadays, . . . in some cases. The nice thing is that it will compress a tad, where veggie tan won't, . . . and if it does it stretches. May God bless, Dwight

I have to buy some, . . . but these are better made than bought, . . . I can then "make" them to suit my purpose better. May God bless, Dwight