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

Yep, . . . what he ^^^^^ said, . . . a lot of things they might be, . . . but the ain't the same. Double down on that if you are wearing it. May God bless, Dwight

Yep, . . . what ^^^^^ he said. Having been an electrician for the best part of the last 53 years, . . . I can make a guess that you will burn up the dimmer switch trying to slow that motor. Now you MIGHT GET LUCKY in that the motor is smaller than I imagine, . . . and the switch is larger than I would think, . . . but for all tense and purposes, . . . you are probably looking to find a blown breaker, house full of smoke, and an attitude that will make you wish you did not do that. May God bless, Dwight

The first cut for a belt (or anything for that matter) out of a hide almost has to be done against a straight edge. I have two: one has cork backing and the other does not. I use the cork backed one on that first cut, . . . then use a strap cutter to make the next number of cuts. A cousin of mine gave me the strap cutter, . . . and at first I was not too keen on it, . . . but I really love it now. May God bless, Dwight

My shop has a "vault" for the bigger pieces of leather, . . . I punch a hole in the edge of it, . . . hang it so it hangs straight down. Box is 8 ft tall, 4 ft wide, 1 foot deep, . . . the door opens the full height & width. Smaller pieces all go in one of several plastic totes I have, . . . depending on what it is, . . . how big it is, . . . determines which tote gets it. No mold, no mildew, NO MICE, and no bugs. Works good for me. May God bless, Dwight

I make mine upwards of .200 depending on the leather I have available. Most of the time that is two pieces of 6/7 flesh to flesh, . . . contact cemented together. If I were making a single layer, . . . it would have to be 14 oz or better, . . . but I have never had anyone insist on a single layer belt. Once they see, try on, and feel the fit of the double layer, . . . they seem to be happy with it. May God bless, Dwight

And another welcome from an old US Navy sailor who had the privilege almost 50 years ago of spending almost a week on the Gold Coast, . . . ship tied up in Brisbane. As AussieMade said, . . . lots of info on here and on youtube, . . . go for it. I would comment on a couple of earlier posts though, . . . be careful of the head knife, . . . it is a wonderful tool if used properly and carefully, . . . and it can cut you or a loved one in a heartbeat, . . . in a way you never want to be cut. I used one for a couple of years, . . . finally just quit having to count all my extremities every time I used it, . . .made a case for it and threw it in the bottom drawer where it resides today. A razor knife (utility knife / drywall knife) is adequate for just about any leather you will use in the things you mentioned. BUT, . . . one extra tool you might invest in is a strap cutter. It will cut really good, straight, same sized straps for you with minimal effort. It does also have a bit of a danger factor like the head knife, but if you and she are careful, . . . it'll save you a ton of time, . . . and is very accurate on the cuts. Best wishes, . . . please show us what you are doing. We all love pictures. May God bless, Dwight

It would magnificently help if in fact we knew what you were doing. Dual leather for a curve that has a radius of 20mm (about 3/4 inch) is one thing, . . . a curve that has a radius of 200mm (almost 8 inches) is a totally different subject. Personally, . . . I have made it pretty much a standard that I do as much as I can by gluing first, . . . forming later. Most of my "work" is holsters, belts, and knife sheaths: meaning any forming is close radius type work and I virtually never have any problems. I do not use glue, however, . . . never really got the hang of that sticky stuff, . . . prefer solvent based contact cement, . . . when it goes together, . . . the leather rips if it comes apart. The mfg I use is Weldwood. May God bless, Dwight

OK, . . . (260) 441-9603 is the number, . . . ask for Jamie (if I remember correctly). Dude knows his machine, . . . I live 3 hours away, . . . twice I've taken my machine up there, . . . both time fixed "el quicko" and both times it was no cost other than the supplies I bought. **** Had to come back, . . . thought of something, . . . when you drop your bobbin full of thread in, . . . is the thread coming off clockwise or counter-clockwise. It only works the right way, . . . going off counter clockwise. May God bless, Dwight

'50/50' or curved, I form them both, then stitch them, . . . funny thing is, . . . both ways work.

I'll watch this, . . . as I have nothing to trade, . . . but I'm just north of Columbus, Ohio, . . . about 5 hours away. Keep us updated. May God bless, Dwight

Good job, Mike, . . . I made one similar a few years back, . . . your's is a lot prettier than mine was, . . . but the old boy smiled and was happy with it. Guess that is what counts. Also glad to see you back up and running, . . . take good care of yourself, now, . . .y'hear???? May God bless, Dwight

That's neat, . . . I like reproducing "antique" stuff, . . . you did a good job on yours, . . . May God bless, Dwight

I might be interested dsteffen, . . . where are you located? May God bless, Dwight

I don't know the needle you spoke of, . . . But try this, . . . take a similar needle and your 415 thread, . . . put the thread in the needle on a piece stretched tightly between your hands about 30 inches long. Now lift one hand up about 15 inches above the other one. The needle should easily slide down the string, . . . if it does not, . . . the needle hole is too small, . . . which will not allow the string to get picked up like it is supposed to. Or at least that is what I've seemed to find with my Boss. Another thing you might want to try, . . . drop down to 346 thread, . . . the one sold at Tandy's. I use it almost exclusively, . . . it is very strong, . . . looks really good, . . . and of all the thread I've used in the last 10 years or so, . . . it has been the one that gave me the least headaches. May God bless, Dwight

There will be some "fussing" you will have to do to get the cant to turn out right, . . . and if you have never done it, . . . it can be a bit tricky. But then again, . . . if you really eyeball the El Dorado movie, . . . you will see there is a slight forward cant to the holster. I've made several of them. But other than that, . . . it should be a piece of cake, . . . on a scale of difficulty 1 to 10, 10 being the most difficult, . . . I'd rate an El Dorado at about a 3 at the worst. Make your pattern from manila file folders, . . . and you can cut and tape to your heart's content, . . . getting the piece over the belt in the right attitude so the cant works out. PM me with a email address, . . . I'll help you with the pattern if you need it. May God bless, Dwight

OK, . . . thanks, Madmax, . . . I had visions of my hands holding this thing, . . . slipping, . . . crying, . . . bleeding, . . . you know the drill. Now I see it can be done rather safely, . . . may just up and get me one of them there toys. May God bless, Dwight

OK, . . . not meaning to sound funny, . . . but how do you strop the blade out of a splitter? I'm thinking there should be some way other than pulling that blade out and handling it with my hands that can cut and bleed profusely should I make a mistake with a razor sharp splitter blade. I bleed easy and profusely, . . . May God bless, Dwight

I was told that polishing a cutting blade will make it MUCH better as a cutter, . . . What is the process for polishing a blade? Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

Hey, my friend, . . . glad to see you back up and participating, . . . cool looking rig. I made one similar once, . . . never did regret it, . . . never did go out and try to create more customers for that though. May God bless, Dwight

You'd be surprised at how many people you will pass with your concealed carry holster who will never see it and get to comment on the bad stitches, bad leather, bad dye job, extra holes, . . . or whatever. Ugly, . . . like beautiful, . . . is only in the eye of the beholder. AND in the case of CCW, . . . what they cannot see, . . . they cannot critique. May God bless, Dwight

The one thing for sure you want to do with pop rivets also, . . . drill the proper sized hole. You want a hole that the rivet will go in, . . . but nothing extra. And there are short, small diameter pop rivets that will do your job nicely. Like CaptQuirk said though, . . . the cheap guns really are that, . . . cheap, and don't last long. Consider investing in a good one, . . . if you anticipate surviving another 20 or so years, . . . you will find many, many times where you said, . . . "Man am I glad I have this tool". I cannot tell you how many rivets I've gone through, . . . but I now own two rivet guns, . . . the old one I bought back in the 70's is all but worn out. May God bless, Dwight

Just make sure you post it so we can see the fruit of your labors.........lol May God bless, Dwight

Very good looking, . . . I had it in the back of my mind that I'm the only one getting those kind of orders. Mine order was a Buckmark with a scope, . . . basically the same as you did, . . . altogether the welts and the holster were 3/4 of an inch thick. Had to make the stitching holes with my Boss, . . . then hand stitch the thing. BTW, . . . I DO like the color, . . . May God bless, Dwight

The tool you want to use is a pop rivet gun. It will go thru the leather, . . . then thru one side of the cartridge, . . . when you pull the handle on the pop rivet, . . . it will put the two together and it WILL be a pain to separate them later. You can also use 2 rivets, . . . one at the top and one at the bottom so that the bullets don't cock on you. Should be an easy project. Lowes, Home Depot, or Menards carry them, . . . May God bless, Dwight