alpha2
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Posts posted by alpha2
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I need to correct this, "When the "short timer" had two days remaining, they earned the nickname, "two digit midget". The term took effect when he had less than 100 days left, not two days! (Hey, it's been a LOOONG time).
When I got on the USCGC Rush, it had just returned from Nam. It was still a very new ship. A few years ago, I read it had been decommissioned and sold to a foreign power also. Renamed the "Mohammed" something or other. I hope it sinks. I'm too old to be nice.
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On 11/20/2022 at 12:47 PM, Brokenolmarine said:I spent most of my career as an aviation electronics tech, working on just about anything that had a wire running to it. The military figured out it was way cheaper to retain those with experience in technical jobs, than to train new people with no experience and wait for them to gain it. Hence, reenlistment bonuses. Some were higher than others based on additional certifications.
For example, an airframes tech might receive $xx to reenlist. The same tech with (NDI) non-destructive inspection certification might get double, add upper level welding, triple. I don't know about now, but in my day, NDI techs could write their own contracts in the civilian aviation community, so they were hard to retain once they gained experience.
Sorry, I haven't been on for a while. My Gunny brother wanted to stay in, and would have if they would've let him. He was a weighmaster on Herky-pigs and others, specializing in what I would describe as "touch and go deliveries", getting loads yanked out of the back of cargo planes at "zero altitude", mostly C-130's. To the extent that he was chosen to train the Air Force in the process. He had an injury to his knee that prevented him from passing the physical related to 100 yd dash, or some such thing. He asked me, "how far do think I'm required to "dash" in a C-130?". I know he still regrets not finishing out his career.
Not related to that, but I designed and installed the avionics suite in my IFR rated homebuilt aircraft, including building the marker beacon receiver and digital engine instrument stuff. I did have experience, long before, building a Heathkit oscilloscope for my Ham station. A faulty diode made that more difficult than it needed to be. (Mostly because I "assumed" it was a nightmare of a solder job on a multi-level rotary switch, it wasn't). Have you ever assumed the bug was something it wasn't? I didn't think so, nobody does. I do know that NONE of that would cut it for an avionics technician rate! I'm "not that guy". At the USCG AirStation San Francisco, the AT's were called "tweets", and there was badge the next to be discharged AT would wear that said, "Next Tweet Out The Gate". They also had to wear a ballchain that would have a ball cut off each day. When the "short timer" had two days remaining, they earned the nickname, "two digit midget". Radioman was the best I could do in the Coast Guard.
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Neatsfoot oil has totally different applications than Resolene. Be aware, Resolene is a waterproofing agent, and if used prior to other treatments, will seal the leather and will not allow other agents to penetrate to do their thing. I'd replace the back piece with the belt slots, (and what appears to be a belt tunnel also, not sure why you would need both!), as you will not be able to get that piece to look like the original again in any other way, short of somehow cutting the black layer off, smoothing what is left, and re-dying it or adding another thin layer of new leather, in which case it will be thicker, probably. And the rivets, you may have trouble finding something exactly like them. You can use "double cap rivets" well squeezed to simulate them. Most of us have tons of them sitting around, so don't go buying a gross of them if you only need 4 or 5. Send me a message if you decide to go that route, I will NEVER use what I have on hand. One good thing, the areas at the mouth of the holster, where the finish is worn down to the original leather and rough, can be re-burnished! Win! Google "leather burnishing" and check out youtube videos on the same. You mentioned "finishes/chemicals", so here's a hint, you don't need to buy anything like a tub of the popular Japanese "Tokonole" to burnish leather. Water, spit, (actually quite good), and other concoctions are sufficient. You don't need a burnisher, either. You have plenty around the house/shop. Ballpoint pen, back of a spoon, a wooden stick, which is what a "burnisher" is. In fact, if you run into a place where you "need" something special, jump back on here and ask "what is a substitute for xxxxx?" Prepare to be amazed.
Neatsfoot oil is a conditioner, and softens leather, too. If the leather has become quite stiff, it may help, but remember, it will soften the areas where the leather was formed, (boned) to the shape in the first place.
I'd wait just a bit and let others with more "restoration" experience chime in. Could save you a LOT of headaches further down this road! Sorry if this rambled on, but I've been "down this road", and a lot of this info would have been nice way back when.
Jeff
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Well, that's it then, Dwight's convinced me I don't need no steel in my holsters! If needed, Kydex seems the way to go.
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6 hours ago, HandyDave said:Thanks everyone for the kind words. As most of you holster makers know we do alot of tonal pieces blacks and browns. Cause most times there meant to be more low key. So its alot of fun when these fun custom pieces come along and get to work outside the normal box a little bit. This has been a blast to build and ive enjoyed every moment. Front and back are 7/8 oz vegtan dyed with a thinned down medium brown. Fully lined with 3/4 oz vegtan lightly oiled but left natural. Hand sewn in a dark brown then hand painted the python carving after wet molding dryed. Heres all finished except final topcoat and polish.
Did you do addl. tooling on the dark areas on the snakeskin, or just paint the contrasting colors on?
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Nice holster! I wish I could do that artistic carving stuff, but it just ain't in me. Believe me, I've tried. Didn't get that gene.
I prefer the type of holster shown in my avatar picture for wheelguns, but I've got a Galco pancake that is excellent for my 686+ Smith.
The Galco was before I got into leatherworking. So, here's the one I HAD to make to replace the pancake Galco...
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On 11/17/2022 at 8:04 AM, Brokenolmarine said:Back in the early 80s, I got a nice bonus to reenlist in the Corps due to my specialty. I bought a pair of Pythons, sequentially serial numbered. Miami Vice was all the rage, my dealer got me a Zero Halliburton aluminum briefcase with the pullout block liner for the two guns. A year later, my daughter was born. My ex (yup, ex) had to have Ginny Lind furniture for the kid's room. The quality stuff from the exchange wouldn't do. So, the two pythons and custom case went, as did the Ovation Custom Legend 12 String... Never got back to playing. I was just finger picking John Denver for myself anyway...
A friend gave me this shot... I took it.
BrokenolMarine is a specialty? I did not know that. I'll have to ask my broken old Marine Gunny brother about that. I'll bet he knows!
BTW, my ex...decided that I didn't need to keep flying. Well, I sure didn't need something, but she was wrong that it was the flying!
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Yep, that's PINK!!!
There's a construction company in town that paints their equipment that shade...ladders, extension cords, tools. Nothing has disappeared on a job site since they started painting them.
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11 hours ago, RockyAussie said:And this one which I am thinking of making a similar one up to go on my CB246 machine -
OOOhhh! That's nice!!!
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On 8/27/2022 at 5:19 PM, dikman said:To my un-tutored eye, and with nil experience in bag-making, they look excellent!
I LOVE people like you! Thanks!
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On 8/23/2022 at 7:52 PM, RockyAussie said:I bet she loves the ones you made more. Any pics to share?
She doesn't carry the D&B's anymore, she still uses mine. She specifically asked for something small she could put just a few essentials in trips when she didn't need or want to carry a big one. Brown is first attempt, based on that one, she made some requests for the second, blue one. They were a learning experience. Not something I would want to do a lot of. In fact, I believe two was enough. I believe I hand stitched the first one, machine stitched the second one.
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15 hours ago, RockyAussie said:What....that's that black duck mob is it not??? You should be making her some alpha2 better stuff that does not need repairing now.
I've made her a couple, not D&B level, though.
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Ah, you have discovered the secret, grasshopper!
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On 6/18/2022 at 5:07 AM, Dwight said:Welcome to the forum . . . good looking work you do.
And as stated . . . thank you for your PGR affiliation . . . it's good work.
Also . . . for a moment I tried to figure out when I posted this . . . so I came to look at it . . .
Turns out there are two of us on here . . .
May God bless,
Dwight
Me too, I thought, "I didn't know Dwight ever left!"
You know...a rod/flag case is just a really long dice cup!
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Well done! Looks comfy. I like the turquoise highlights.
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Good video, thanks! I don't have that machine or guide, but I can find a way to set up my CB4500 with some minor changes to my guide. I've had to feed my leather at an angle, as indicated by your ruler, to get it to sew without wandering away from the guide. I certainly cant do it without hands!
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Rocky,
Yes, it's counting up when the power is on. On the airplanes, there always a tach meter that counted when RPMs rose above above a certain point, but the rentals liked to have the timer start when the master switch was turned on, and off when shut down. Got to bill for taxi and run-up time, not just flight time.
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Sorry, but I'm a big fan of contrasting stitching. Western or otherwise. The exception being a black died edge on a lighter holster, but I've done them both ways and been totally satisfied with the results. There are some threads around here about a needle plate for the 4500 machines with a narrow slot. Solves the issue with the wider thicknesses angling a bit and losing the stitch line.
The welt can almost disappear towards the barrel end with a proper pattern. Keeping in mind that the front sight needs to have a place to go if the welt isn't there when the gun is drawn. Personally, I don't thing you have too much background. It's a personal preference, that can and will change with different holsters. Some flower patterns get too busy.
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You're going to need some of these!
I made them for my Browning B92 and Marlin 39A Original Golden.
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9 minutes ago, YinTx said:Very cool! I like the use of the shell stamp as a flower center too.
YinTx
You're right! That really works!
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8 hours ago, Dwight said:Beautiful belt . . . beautiful work . . .
But I did have to giggle . . . that pattern of buckle and hardware was hanging on a Tandy wall about 15 or so years ago. . . . and I became enamored with it . . . grabbed it and took it home.
Decided to create my gun holster and belt . . . and adorn it with that buckle group.
Being a pastor . . . my holster and belt were just plain . . . the buckle being the adornment to the whole piece.
Imagine my surprise when I found out the name of that group is "El Diablo" . . . The Devil.
But I wear it anyway.
May God bless,
Dwight
I see this as a victory over El Diablo!
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Those are top notch work for sure. It looks like a slight breeze could lift that leaf right off the background!
If y'all haven't checked out his link to his Bear Mauls, you're missing out on some real leathertool porn! If my old hands could still do tooling, I'd be all over that Coast Guard pair of mauls.
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No means to light an alarm at a given hour reached, but it can be located in a visible location to check daily. The price on this piece is suspiciously low. The brand we used in trainer aircraft and rentals was Hobbs, and it was commonly called...the Hobbs meter.
Koken barber chair what leather to buy
in How Do I Do That?
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Decades ago, when I started in the Dental Equipment repair business, there were still a lot of old dental chairs covered in leather, in older offices. The leather was fairly firm. Chromexcel is fantastic stuff, and is stretchier than many other leathers. Maybe too stretchy, I'm not sure, I've only used it for belts. Over the length of a belt, it can stretch a bit, not sure about a barber chair long term. Not likely though, that an old Koken chair will get used all day, every day like in "the olden days"!
In the old chairs, the upholstery isn't the only place they used leather. The seals in the hydraulics were leather cups, presoaked in oil before use. I could still get them new in the '70's!
Royal pain to replace though.