Dwight

Hey, Folks, . . . looking for somewhere that I can buy a 24 inch by 24 inch piece of "nice" veggie tan leather. Cannot have any scars, holes, etc, . . . but does not have to be Queen Elizabeth perfect either. Must be at least 12 oz, . . . and I really have no need for any more than just that one piece. Ideas anyone??? May God bless, Dwight

Can't tell about the walleye, . . . if I need a few, . . . Kroger is still in business. Crappies and catfish are the local favorites. I haven't been fishing in years, . . . probably won't be for a while either. May God bless, Dwight

The mat on my table is available at Joann's Fabric, . . . get the coupon from their website, . . . can get up to half off, . . . I love mine. May God bless, Dwight

I'm sure if you shopped around enough, . . . somebody makes leather scented candles, . . . you could just light one every other day or so, . . . kind of make ya feel at home. Plus instead of hand sewing a holster, . . . you could take up fly tying, . . . ya gotta catch bait fish anyway if ya want them biggie muskies, . . . Seriously, . . . have fun, . . . my wife and I discussed selling out and moving, . . . decided to stay put, . . . we'll just hope and pray for the best for you and yours. May God bless, Dwight

I've made a somewhat of a copy cat version of the carjacker, . . . My version is it is a simple holster, . . . sewn at the bottom (along the trigger guard edge) and a flap that is attached to the sewn edge with Chicago screws. That flap just simply starts at the bottom and goes up and over, . . . till it snaps. It really is not complicated, . . . just 4 total pieces of leather, . . . little sewing, . . . one snap, . . . 2 Chicago screws. The key is to get it at the angle you want it on the belt, . . . and you sew a couple pieces of leather to the inside so when it is cinched down on the snap, the pieces of leather lay one above your belt and one below. They are 3/8 of an inch wide, . . . about 3 inches long, . . . and cut from 9/10 leather or slightly thicker. They sew to the flap. I don't have one now, . . . but I've had one, . . . and for certain applications, . . . it is sooooooooooooooo nice. And for clarification, this is not a picture of mine. Mine actually was much more crude than this one. This is an image of the actual "Carjacker" holster, . . . which I just happen to think is a masterful invention. May God bless, Dwight

Edges look real good, . . . stitches too. Overall design is excellent, . . . as well as the staining, . . . and the edge treatment of darker color and the tooling really adds to the overall effort. One "criticism" so to speak: put your female screw parts between the two layers of leather. The way you have them now, . . . they will rub the garment the wearer has and will in time harm the trousers. John Bianchi was very adamant in his teachings to hide the screws and rivets as much as possible, . . . and it is especially easy in a two layer rig, . . . makes it overall a tad cleaner looking, . . . and does not subject the owner to metal rubbing on the accompanying clothing. This is especially important to those who go cheap and use plated steel rivets / chicago screws. Two, three, or four good sweat soakings and the plating can peel, . . . rust follows, . . . and it can be real ugly. The only other critical thought may not be applicable, . . . but it looked as though the holes for the hammer thong were a bit large, . . . making the thong dependent on length. I like to make mine so the friction in the holes is the "holding factor" and can be adjusted for length if another weapon is inserted. BUT, . . . again, . . . let me emphasize that the overall holster is excellent. May God bless, Dwight

Thank you, . . . I navigate through the Caledonia area from time to time, my son lives up near New Winchester, . . . off 294. Again, . . . toying with the idea of making one for the leather shop, . . . it would showcase some of my work, . . . whereas my old Jumbo is just a fixture in there. Thanks again for the info, . . . gonna have to mull this for a while. I especially like your design as it is very near the Jumbo in design, . . . and IT IS a comfortable saddle. May God bless, Dwight

Obviously, . . . we must be doing something different. First, . . . I only use Feibings black oil dye, . . . I gave up on the USMC black several years ago for the reason you mentioned, . . . the rub off. Secondly, . . . I always thin the black down, . . . 50/50 dye and thinner. Third, . . . I dip dye, . . . a quick dunk, . . . no more than a couple of seconds in the liquid. Fourth, . . . I .....LET IT DRY, . . . DRY, . . . DRY. Black sometimes takes longer, . . . so I give it the time to dry really good and dry. Fifth, . . . I buff it hard, . . . using a terry cloth wash cloth (salvaged from my wife's rag bin), . . . and I buff it like I'm trying to rub the black color off the leather, . . . hard, . . . using some real force. Sixth, . . . a 50/50 single coating of Resolene, . . . brushed on with a bristle hair brush. Let it dry, . . . lightly buff, . . . and I have zero, rub off using that formula. May God bless, Dwight

I bought some thread here, . . . some there, . . . some other places. Results also were "here and there". The thread I buy from Tandy, . . . have never had any problems with it at all. Thus, . . . my thread comes from Tandy. All my sewing is either my Tippmann or hand sewing, . . . and I use the same thread for both. May God bless, Dwight

Right now I live in Marion County, . . . our mail box is in Delaware County, . . . across the street. Another "curious" question, . . . if you had to put a number on the hours you spent on that particular saddle, . . . got any idea how many would be there? I'm toying with the idea of making a new one for my shop. I'll use it in a parade or two, . . . but it'll be more of a shop decoration than anything else if I make it. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, cowboycolonel, . . . that is one pretty saddle you have there. The old cowboy that had mine used a bunch of little stamps on it, . . . trying to dress it up some I guess, . . . but it never was as good lookin as yours. I also really like the back of the seat, . . . sitting straight up, . . . my kind of saddle. Nosey question: where did you get the tree? May God bless, Dwight

I would make sure first by doing a test area on another piece of leather. But my first attempt would be a sprayed on 50/50 solution of Resolene and water. Second thought would be 50/50 Mop and Glo and water, . . . but you dip this one. May God bless, Dwight

The saddle you describe sounds like the old Jumbo saddle I have on display in my shop. If this is similar, . . . PM me and I'll get whatever pics you need off of it. I bought it out of a pawn shop in Denver, . . . just wish I could sit down with it some day and let it tell me some of the stories it knows. May God bless, Dwight

I struggled with the same problem Michelle, . . . until one day I really watched what I did, . . . I was not carefully placing my stamp under the arbor press, . . . I was just "putting" it there. Once I really began to make sure it was straight up and down, . . . straight right and left, . . . straight forward and backward: VOILA, . . . the impressions began to be really good. Long and short??? Take your time, make sure your stamp is correctly centered in that arbor press, . . . make sure it is straight, . . . and I mean STRAIGHT, up and down, . . . make sure your leather is properly cased / wetted, . . . go down easy on the press until you get bottomed out, . . . and then hold it for a good 10 to 15 seconds. Make all the difference in the world on my stamps. May God bless, Dwight

There are some smaller ones than I use, . . . I think the terminology is "Line 20" snaps, . . . I use only line 24 snaps, . . . they're kinda beefy, . . . work well for all I do. Just do not use the snap setting tools that Tandy sells, . . . they are hard to use, . . . and don't set as well as the tool I have, . . . bought it at Hobby Lobby. http://www.hobbylobby.com/Fabric-Sewing/Sewing-Quilting-Notions/Fasteners/5-8-Heavy-Duty-Fastener-Plier-Kit/p/109268 You have to get your first bag of line 24 snaps, . . . and some scrap leather, . . . and practice setting them. This tool does a great job, . . . but you cannot "hog" the thing, . . . just squeeze it and let it do it's thing. You'll waste $10 or $15 worth of snaps, . . . but it'll be worth it when you "learn how to do it". May God bless, Dwight

USMC, . . . Here is THE pattern that I like the best, . . . it can be made out of one piece of leather, . . . fold it on the dotted line after you have installed the snaps, . . . sew the edges, . . . voila you have it done. There should be zero concern for "scratching the mags" as the piece holding the male part of the snap, . . . if it is installed correctly, . . . will be imbedded far enough into the leather that it should never scratch. To relieve your mind, . . . when you apply the finish, . . . put a couple coats of Resolene 50/50 down inside the mag carrier, . . . it will not scratch them. But if you are still worried, . . . after you put on the snaps, . . . line the inside with 2 or 3 oz pigskin, . . . but that is overkill in my estimation. Cut the pigskin large, . . . contact cement it in place, . . . trim it to fit your veggie tan leather. The first picture shows the placement of the snap parts. The second picture shows dimensions, . . . you should be able to cut it from them. NOW, . . . that is a mag carrier for a 1911, .45 ACP, . . .you may have to adjust it for any other magazine. The third picture shows a variation I like. Instead of folding on the dotted line, . . . you cut the dotted line. Then sew it so that the opening for the mags is up at the end where the straps snap. This works especially well if the mag holder has to be taken on and off during the day. The reason for two straps, . . . it can then straddle a belt loop, . . . making sure it does not slide around on you. May God bless, Dwight

He's within 50 miles, . . . sent him PM, . . . waiting for answer......... May God bless, Dwight

Just a couple of quick comments: 1. By only putting in 5 holes, you force your customer to not be a weight gainer / loser. Many people will gain or lose enough in the seasonal change that they will need another hole punched in one end or the other. I personally build mine so there are 7 holes, . . . it makes the overall belt 2 inches longer, . . . but gives them 3 inches of adjustment in or out, . . . 5 holes only gives them 2 inches. 2. The belt keeper is too narrow. In a relatively short time, it will become a floppy, loose, useless addition to the belt. 3. The belt keeper was not burnished properly if at all. 4. The burnishing technique you used on the brown belt was hit/miss. Above the tongue end in the picture, there are dark spots on the burnishing, caused by erratic pressure on the edge during burnishing. Either be very light and do not get any discoloration, . . . or pour the pressure to it, . . . darken it uniformly from one end to the other. BUT, . . . overall you have a good start, . . . and think about putting a liner on your belt. Even a thin liner adds to the attractiveness and overall utility of the belt. May God bless, Dwight

I never knew to search "line art", . . . did the wolf and eagle, . . . did not get what I wanted, . . . "line art" had it on second try. Thanks, my friend.............may God bless, Dwight

AND, . . . the most important part is that your colors are 95% of the time absolutely repeatable. Sometimes a piece of leather will take the dye different that another piece did, . . . but generally stated, . . . using the same process time after time, . . . standardized, . . . makes for better results whether it is cutting, stitching, or dying. May God bless, Dwight

If I felt confident enough to use a SAA for my CCW, . . . I'd borrow the design and all, . . . and do one for me. The only thing I would change, . . . is I would make my belt tunnel between the two sets of Tee nuts, . . . As it is, . . . I barely feel confident with my 1911, . . . so I don't think I'll rock this boat for now, . . . But I am gonna think on it. I'm thinking shades of McCloud's, . . . cloud, . . . are wisping over me right about now May God bless, Dwight

I have a special job to do, . . . and I need three patterns for it: I need a wolf's head, . . . as though he is looking right at you, . . . plain, . . . not menacing, . . . just looking. Also need an eagle's head, . . . quartering from the left and one quartering from the right. Could probably use the same one and just reverse it. I have to make the wolf's head about 5 inches in diameter, . . . the eagles will be slightly smaller. The eagles will be placed to the right and left of the wolf, . . . as though they were behind him and looking at him. Any help y'all can give will be appreciated. This is for the decorations on a piece of Romanesque armor. Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

Another thing you can do, . . . put on a dye with a dauber, . . . and then wipe it back off. It will stay in the low spots, . . . but you can wipe most of it off if you are quick enough with the wiper hand. It's great for darkening the background and adding some depth to your work. AND, . . . practice a bit, . . . you can do two or three tones, . . . daub in on the outside of the holster or sheath, . . . wipe less off as you near the edge, . . . it can look pretty neat. The most important way for you to learn these "tricks" is to take that scrap leather you have been hoarding for a rainy day, . . . tool some stuff on it, . . . then mess with your dyes, . . . paints, . . . you'll be surprised what you can teach yourself. Just remember to write down how you did it if you are far enough along to be "memory affected". . . . lol May God bless, Dwight