Dwight

I got sick and tired of having to count mine every time I did something, . . . it's in the drawer, . . . don't recollect which one, . . . don't care which one. Love them old drywall knives with the replaceable razor blades. May God bless, Dwight

Bagsy, I use the professional oil dye in just about all I do, . . . which is mostly belts and holsters. It is all reduced 50 / 50. I also dip dye, . . . none of this dauber or sponge routine, . . . down into the dye, . . . check to see it is thoroughly covered (takes about 3 seconds), . . . pull it out, . . . pat off puddles or streams of dye, . . . holsters I lay on their backs for 20 minutes, . . . go on top edge for 5 minutes, . . . then flipped to bottom edge for next 15 minutes, . . . hang em up to dry. Item 1 to remember: buff it, . . . then buff it again, . . . if it is black, . . . yeah, again, . . . and don't be passive on the buff, . . . put some elbow grease into it, . . . and if you are not getting unused pigment, . . . you are not buffing hard enough. Item 2 I am not a user of tan coat, . . . much prefer Resolene, . . . I have only had one problem with dye coming off, . . . a shoulder holster that i used USMC black and Bag Kote on. Haven't used that combination since. May God bless, Dwight

The one thing I WILL NOT DO is done in that picture: heavily model inside the trigger guard. A striker fired weapon "could" fire if that hunk of leather gets in there far enough, . . . and there was a somewhat interesting story about a guy a couple years ago, . . . cheap holster folded up into his trigger guard, . . . guy was rasslin' with the seat belt, . . . moved his CCW, . . . "BOOM", . . . shot him in his butt cheek, down thru the car seat, . . . thru the floor board of the car, . . . and into the blacktop. I just leave the tunnel for the trigger and guard, . . . make it tight on the rim of the trigger guard, . . . but nothing protruding into the guard as in this photograph. Safety is always paramount for me. May God bless, Dwight

Sounds like you are on the right track. I always take a measurement from a belt lately worn by the customer, . . . measure from the front of the buckle to the most used hole. I then make that measurement the center hole of 7 that I punch in the belt. I punch em 1 inch apart and use an oval punch. It gives the owner 3 full inches of pizza to gain, . . . or fat to lose, . . . So far this has been a good way to process my customer's belts. Only had one guy who thought the spacing was a bit long, . . . but he is the kind of guy that would have wanted you to polish the solid gold car you just gave him for free. Wish I could help you with the thread, . . . that is why I always use white for all the belts, . . . then when the belt is dyed, . . . the thread will be too, . . . and i don't have to stock umpteen different spools of thread. Don't forget to post pics when they are all done. May God bless, Dwight

I think what the OP is referring to may be similar to this Galco holster. In reality, . . . the forming probably does show up on the inside also, . . . but no where to the extent it shows up on this outside image. This is simply a different form of leaves and petals, . . . vines and cacti decorating the outside of the holster. It is molded, yes, to a certain extent with the outlines of the gun involved, . . . but it is not a perfect 3D exterior of the weapon. If we were talking Western movies, . . . we would call this the "hollywood" effect, . . . of molding. Don't get me wrong, . . . lots of folks like this look, . . . I just don't happen to share their passion. I'm a bit more subdued in my work. May God bless, Dwight

To me it's kinda like the argument: are they frankfurters or are they hot dogs? Put mustard, ketchup, relish, onions, and garlic powder on em, . . . hard to tell. Same way I understand stain and dye, . . . once the Resolene is on it and a .45 auto is being carried in it, . . . not sure it makes a difference. But I may be wrong, . . . have been before, . . . will be again. May God bless, Dwight

Hey, chief, . . . what is saddlers oil? Always looking to maybe take my work up a notch, . . . and that sounds a bit intriguing, . . . Sometimes my wax/oil doesn't quite come out the way I want it to, . . . maybe that is what I need to add to it. Appreciate added info if you have time. May God bless, Dwight

Good job, . . . enjoy it, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Old towels and old wash cloths work real good, . . . My tee shirts work real good, . . . don't have that lint thing you were talking about. But all of mine are white, . . . colored tee's are grease rags for me. May God bless, Dwight

My vacuum pump is primarily designed for HVAC work, . . . before charging a system. In holster work, . . . it doesn't really pull out much moisture, . . . it is never on there long enough, . . . 60 seconds is one I had trouble with, . . . usually a 20 to 30 second ordeal. That said, . . . I love the way it gets the slightest details involved. I just pull it out of the bag, . . . hang it up to dry, . . . come back tomorrow and brag on myself about how wonderful I am at forming leather over a mold. May God bless, Dwight

Good luck, . . . my buds kinda gave me the raspberries about my "pink" eye patch (I was in the Navy, . . . was going ashore at Hong Kong). I took a black permanent marker, . . . and when I got done, . . . I had a black eye patch that even Cap'n Hook would have been proud of. I still laugh about it, . . . one of them goody goody memories. May God bless, Dwight

I got a bad case of the pink eye in the Navy, . . . ol chief corpsman gave me a "pink" eye patch. It was plastic, . . . had a elastic band to keep it on my head. If you make your friend one, . . . first form the center of it over some oval shaped something probably near 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Otherwise his eyelashes will bounce off a flat one, . . . really aggravating. Once you got the center all dry and popped out for him, . . . dampen it, . . . let him lay down, . . . and mold it directly to his face & head. Then trim it so it fits and looks good. I'd probably use something like 3/4 oz. I had to "customize" the one ol doc gave me . . . hope I never have to wear another one. May God bless, Dwight

I'd not be a bit surprised if you could not hear me giggling all the way from here. You are ever so right, . . . and there are a whole passel of folks that want to argue with you, . . . so I'll get out of their way. May God bless, Dwight

If all you want is an Alien gear type holster, . . . piece of cake. 1. Cut a rectangle of leather, . . . 8 oz or so, . . . about 6 inches long and 4 inches wide. 2. Cut a second one to match the first. Wet it right real good, . . . and hand form it over your gun, . . . everything forward of the rear sight. Angle it somewhat so you don't form it over the grip. 3. Let it dry, . . . 4. Use a drywall knife to cut out the basic outline of the weapon, . . . look at pictures on the internet so see that you are cutting yours like others have done. Be sure to leave about 1 good inch on either side. 5. Rivet the two pieces together. 6. Add Tandy belt holster clips, one at each end. 7. Dye and finish, . . . wear. May God bless, Dwight

My customer market is just the opposite. I'm quoting out a holster plus cross draw plus knife sheath, . . . and he wants 24 loops on the belt. Different markets........... tnhomestead said: That is due to their special guns that never needed reloading! LOL Yep, . . . that's a good giggle........... May God bless, Dwight

Uhhh, . . . no, . . . see the post about measuring your belt. A 1/4 inch belt is a lot of leather, . . . especially after it has been dyed, . . . then finished, . . . they become stiffer than rawhide in Idaho in February, . . . You want it to measure in the .200 to .230 range, . . . and I only go all the way up to .230 if my customer is on the large side. Never if he is under a 40 waist. May God bless, Dwight

Good job, . . . really nice looking rig. Whenever I see a Western gun rig like this or similar, . . . and there are no bullet loops on the back, . . . I always think of Bonanza. Hoss, Adam, Little Joe, and their "father" all had belts without ammo. When I started to make my first western rig, . . . I couldn't wait to see an old Gunsmoke, or Bonanza rerun, . . . I wanted to see how many they had. To my great disappointment, . . . Bonanza didn't, . . . Thanks for the pleasant memory. May God bless, Dwight

Lots of us offer 1 1/2 or 1 1/4 inch gun belts, . . . and while I don't do many of the 1 1/4, . . . I also haven't had but one complaint. But, . . . HE, . . . didn't measure it right so I got away with that one. One thing to think of though, . . . make it as wide as you can to accomodate those slots you cut in the holster. Personally, . . . I hate, detest, and am aggravated to no end by a holster that wants to wiggle forward, backward, etc, . . . and pancakes are to me, notorious for that. I'm probably in a small minority there, . . . but I also don't wear one mostly for that reason. My one pancake that I like does not have slots, . . . but rather tunnels in the back for the belt to go through, . . . it does NOT tip fwd or back. But if you can get through that, . . . go for the 1 1/4. Also get a caliper, . . . and for what I've found to be the most comfortable, . . . you want your two layers laminated to something in the .200 to .230 range. Getting less than .200 they sometimes seem flimsy, . . . and up around .250 or more, . . . they get to be pretty stiff to use. May God bless, Dwight

Looks good from here, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Bluntly, nstarleather is wrong. Two pieces of leather bonded with Weldwood contact cement will not come apart and is seriously much stronger than any single layer of leather. The other side of the single layer is that the flesh side will abrade and wear off much faster and easier than the hair side, . . . so bonding flesh to flesh, only leaves the strong side to weather whatever comes at it, . . . making the overall product a much better product. I've been using Weldwood contact cement since the late 60's or early 70's and the only time I've ever seen two pieces come apart that were bonded with it is when one of the pieces gives away, . . . whether it is fibers of wood, leahther, formica, or whatever you use. May God bless, Dwight

Quick answer, . . . 30 seconds will probably be too long. Seriously, I use a vacuum pump, . . . but vacuum is vacuum, . . . you will probably be amazed at how fast the leather will form. May God bless, Dwight

Ain't gonna happen, . . . y'all need a side. Cut that gunbelt along the spine. Remember, if you are making a gunbelt for a 56 inch waist, . . . you gotta add 4 inches to that just for starters, . . . then the extra for the overlap, . . . i don't have my gizmo in here that lays that out for me, . . . but I'm thinking that your blank will be in the 66 inch neighborhood anyway. Good luck on that, too. Last time I made one that long, . . . it was for a 53, . . . when he came to pick it up, . . . he had gained 3 inches, . . . think that wasn't fun, I was blessed that there was enough extra up front that I could re-config a bit and it worked out. May God bless, Dwight

I do the same thing, . . . without the parrafin. Weigh out equal weights of neatsfoot oil (not the compound, . . . use the oil), . . . and pure beeswax. I pour mine in muffin papers, . . . it's a little stiffer than Max's concoction, . . . I rub it on, . . . hit it with a heat gun, . . . melt the wax, . . . rub some more on, . . . and so forth until I get a good buildup, . . . let it cool and the oil slip down into the leather, . . . buff the next day. . . . love the effect of it. Got the recipe from the niece (?) of an old saddler from up Oregon way, . . . number of years ago, . . . May God bless, Dwight

http://www.harborfreight.com/36-pc-12-in-horsehair-bristle-acid-shop-brushes-61880.html I buy these little bristle brushes at Harbor Freight, . . . on line you can get 20% or more discount coupons, . . . makes em even cheaper. I will use one "today" and though it dries out over night, . . . going back into the cement tomorrow, . . . I can loosen it up to use it tomorrow, . . . maybe even the next day if I use it two or three times each day. Ultimately it will go for a couple or three days, . . . then it is so hard I pitch it, . . . but at the price, . . . it's a "who cares" item. I make mostly belts and holsters, . . . so these are perfect for me. May God bless, Dwight

My sanders are both hooked up to a small shop vac (hose goes thru the wall so I don't have to listen to the whine) and it is turned on first. I then turn on the lights so I can see what I'm cutting with the sander. I then turn on the sander and go to work. Reverse the process to shut down. I long ago, . . . while working in a very large industrial paint production facility, . . . was told and still believe, . . . that the real key is not as much the protective stuff as it is the amount of exposure. YES, . . . by all means use the equipment, . . . but also do not allow the work to get to where you are sanding for 3 hours, . . . or applying contact cement for hours on end, . . . or spraying dye or finish without a paint booth. ALL of our spraying was done in a booth, . . . and I have not begun serious spraying simply because I don't have a paint booth set up yet. I will, . . . but until it is finished, my lungs are more important to me. Open air spraying leaves mists in the air in all the shop, . . . when you take off the mask, . . . you will breathe whatever you were spraying a few minutes ago. At 72, I'm still in reasonably good health, . . . but my lungs need a bit of help, . . . I do the 2 puffs of inhalant twice a day, . . . y'all protect them lungs you got, . . . you only get one set. I believe my problem stems from agent Orange, . . . but the VA doesn't, . . . so I just go on, protecting what I have, . . . hope y'all do the same. May God bless, Dwight