badger

Tony, It's a chopped Rossi 92, Winchester clone. It has a saddle ring on the left side of the receiver block. The ring slips over a hook at the top of the 'slab' section and the spring clip retains the fore end. If you walk around with it, you need to tie it into the clip with a thong, just to be sure. Gina Torres wore the rubber stunt version in the rig more often than not. Much lighter Cheers, Badger

Lovely work, congratulations, Badger

David, Zoe's gun and holster rig are a deliberate homage to Josh Randall's. Joss Whedon says it's his favourite gun, ever. Cheers, Badger

Just finished this commission for a fellow Firefly fan. This is a replica of Zoe's rig from Joss Whedon's Firefly. The gun is the original hero Mare's Leg used in the show. It's a substantial rig, about 7mm thick all over. The fore end clip was interesting to figure out. The inert cartridges are 45 Long Colt, the originals were 44/40 cal. The buckle was cast from the original and I copied all the dimensions over. It's as close as I can make to an exact copy. What do you think Tasha? Badger

I'll add that I use a drop of thinned PVA white glue, run down a toothpick into the hole after the thread. Badger

Interesting. Did you design the holsters and belt yourself? Cheers, Badger

I know a holster maker, the guy I bought my first Pearson from, who uses nothing but breakfast cereal packets for his pattern material. He draws around them with a pencil and cuts the leather out. Some of his older patterns are 30 years old and still going strong. Badger

Mark, The edging tool number gets bigger with the amount of material it removes from an edge. Number 1 removes the least, 2 a bit more, etc. I can't speak for anyone else, but I use a number 1 and 2 more often than any other. I make belts, holsters and bags mostly. I started out with Tandy edgers and had a hard time with them. That is until I learned how to sharpen them and keep them sharp. Meantime I spent a lot of money on Joseph Dixon edgers, trying to get it right. The long and the short of it is this; These days I reach for the Tandy more often than the Dixon. Good quality tools are always worth the investment as they're better made, but do they do the job better? I don't know. It's a matter of personal taste. I would start out with the Tandy and learn to maintain the edges properly. If you don't like them after a while, maybe pick up high quality edgers one at a time as they come up. Just an opinion mind. Badger

Dog bowls are good for holding casing liquid on the bench. They're designed so our furry mates can't knock them over, even when they're in a hurry for dinner. Just the thing for a leatherworking fool like me, with a sponge in his hand and other things on his mind For patterns, I use whatever's handy. Kitchen's full of round stuff. I use 'Girly' things . There, I said it! Badger

Centre to centre, the loops are spaced slightly over one round-width apart. I usually measure one and them step off the lengths with wing dividers along the looping, then do the same with the slots. Another advantage of this system is that looping can be skived and joined invisibly in the bits between the slots under the leather, glued and then secures with the rivet, if you run out on a 30 loop belt. I usually skive the tail end and glue it to the underside of the leather and secure it with a final rivet. All you see from the outside is a single rivet, then a row of neat loops and then another rivet, nothing else. Neat and tidy. Cheers, Badger

Tabacco's pretty horrble stuff. I think it would eat a natural latex liner. Rot it away in no time. Maybe try patent leather or something else with a factory plastic finish? Cheers, Badger

Here you go, looks like this. Can't see any rivets when the loops are loaded, they're hidden. Cheers, Badger

Josh, I use a similar method if the customer hasn't specified sewn loops. The difference is I use a single slot directly under each round. The looping comes up the slot, around the casing and back down the same slot. It gives a much tighter row and you can't see the slots when the rounds are in the loops. I set a rivet through the belt and the looping between each slot to keep it all in order and then fully line the belt so the inside is blind. No visible fixings. It's neat and tidy. Cheers, Badger

Look here: http://cgi.ebay.com/BIANCHI-VINTAGE-50-CHA...93%3A7|294%3A50 Cheers, Karl

Great story Bob. I don't have a good story for my little leatherworking company name. It's called 'Skin-Job because I'm a big Sci-Fi fan and the name is referenced by Blade Runner and Battlestar Galactica both. That and the fact that it sounds a bit rude However my nickname, 'Badger', came about when I was a Fireman in London many years ago. I had a dark Van Dyke beard which had a grey stripe each side, at the corners of my mouth. At change of Watch one day, a new guy walked into the Watchroom, gestured at me with his thumb and said 'Hey, is that guy eating a Badger?' Much hilarity ensued. It stuck. Cheers, Karl

Chapman high rides come up fairly frequently on Ebay. Search in 'Bianchi' Buy one cheap and dissect it....... They did this for human beings to find out we worked, too Cheers, Karl

Chuck Burrows' work is a continual inspiration to me. I keep nagging him to make more instructional DVDs........ Cheers, Karl

I have a 'signature' colour which I'm known for. It's a mix which gives a really rich, warm, chestnut reddish brown. Horse Chestnut, 'Conker', colour. Cheers, Karl

Enjoy it while it lasts Steve. You got me good. But, as DeeAnna says, there won't be a next time. Good will is a finite resource . Karl

You need to deglaze the leather surface before dyeing in most cases. It picks up waxes and oils for the processing machinery and from handling. If the leather is very clean, it may not need it. I think it's good policy to deglaze anyway. Wear gloves. Karl

The 'gut feeling' or 'little voice' telling you no is your subconcious. You know more than you're aware of. If it doesn't feel right then it probably isn't. Personally I've never regretted listening to it and refusing work when I felt I had to. Alarm bells on this one. Run away! Cheers, Karl edit: Second thought...... Send him to Ray

You can use either, both, or Naptha (Lighter fluid). Doesn't make any difference. Wear gloves. They can all cause liver and kidney damage by through-skin absorption. Personally I prefer my liver-damaging alcohol applied internally......, Cheers, Karl

Nice bag! I really like the design, simple and clean. The moulding really gives it an unfussy look which is very attractive. Cheers, Karl

All the very best, Jordan. I echo Ray's sentiments. Let us know if we can help. Cheers, Karl

Nice job Warren! I really like it. Karl