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

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