Frank

Hey all, I know there have been post before about how troublesome it is to set the standard spots by hand. I also went through the same frustrating dilemma. Recently I went to a flea market and found a bunch of spots so I picked up a container of 100-200 spots for $1.00. To my surprise they were 5 prong spots, not the standard 2 prong spots. My dilemma was fixed!! These set great without any mishaps but there is one problem....where do I get more?? I am going to take another run down there on the weekend and see if I can get a bunch more if the guy still has them. Has anyone else seen the 5 prong spots, or know where to get them? Any info would be much appreciated.

I have a nice concealed holster for my single action. I didn't make it though, I bought it a while ago. Not much of a concealed holster maker here. If you want photos of it, I can email some to you. It might give you a better perspective.

You might want to try streichers.com. They sell law enforcement gear including blue guns. There are certain things that they will not sell to civilians but I believe that they will sell the blue guns. I hope this helps.

Just remember one important thing about vinegar. It needs to be neutralized after using it on leather. Vinegar by itself will remove bluing from a gun in about 5-10 minutes and it's not a good thing to use on gun leather without neutralizing.

Hey All, I am in the midst of upgrading my tools. I am selling a SaddleMaster 360 draw down stand with strap and spreader. It is in decent condition. Anyone wanting pics or further info can email me at: frank@rockingksaddlery.com Thanks much.

I really never thought about it but I'm wondering if the amount of salt in the blood might dry rot the leather? I don't have a problem with the other aspects at all, just the amount of salt.

After doing a couple of saddle and some odds and ends things, I have really come to like the U-82 saddlers oil from Weaver. It's very light and absorbs instantly. The stuff seems to penetrate the leather exceptionally well. I then finish with tan-kote like a lot of you all do. My instructor and I did some mixing of oils while I was out there and tested them on leather. The straight U-82 did the best job as far as penetration. We just rubbed it on quickly with a small piece of shearling.

Thanks for the info. I'll have to look into all possibilities. My instructor went out and bought all the Neat Lac in South Dakota, Alaska, and a few other states. I don't use quite as much as him so I bought out all of Wisconsin. I've tried having my dealer look for more but it seems that it's pretty much all gone. Hopefully I can figure out a good replacement for it.

Thanks Ed. I used neat lac since it was super easy to apply with a brush and it dried almost instantly. My saddle making instructor got me started with using it. I'll see how the fiebings edge kote works. I use the tuff kote for the finishing coat on the leather itself but never used it on the edges. I appreciate the headds up. Frank

Hey All, I'm not sure how many of you use Tandy's Neat Lac but if you have a chance to grab any you might want to do it today! They are going to stop manufacturing it again. I bought the last of it in my area and the dealer said he cannot find it at the main warehouse or any other store that he checked. I used it strictly for finishing my edges but now I have to find something new to use. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Just a suggestion but I know that Brownells and Midway USA carry "easy to apply" chemicals that darken/antique brass, copper, aluminum, etc. Gun guys use them when they have a brass or aluminum grip frame on their guns but do not want to pay the extra cash to buy a steel grip frame. From what I hear, they work relatively well.

Thanks much! I will have to go and grab the book this week and get started on the holster. I appreciate all of your comments and suggestions.

Thanks for the photo. It is somewhat similar to what I had in mind. I have a couple of months yet so hopefully I can come up with something.

Thanks again. I'll take a look at the book and see what I can come up with. I doubt I'll purchase the video since I'm fairly certain I wont be building many holsters for others, but I appreciate the advice.

Thanks for the info. Evidently El Paso quit making them a while back. I really do not have the time to hit the gun shops around my area at all. I did find a guy that makes the holster similar to what I was talking about. The link is: Auto Holster I'd still like the trigger guard cut out a little more than the one in the photo, but you kinda get the idea of what I am looking for. I was going to make my Chief a holster similar and a matching belt. Thanks in advance for any info you might have. Frank

Hey All, I'm definitely new to the forum but been around leather work for a while. I've made some saddles and some single action holsters and the like. I just got out of the service and my Chief is getting set to retire. I'm trying to get my hands on a Pike holster type pattern for a GI 1911 kinda like the one that El Paso Saddlery carries. Chief just bought the 1911 last year and I figured a nice retirement gift would be for me to make him a personalized holster for it. Any and all help would be much appreciated. Thanks again. Frank