AzShooter

Zuludog: Thanks. That sounds like the way I need to do it. I wondered what to do when I'm using leather too thick for my chisel. Now I know. Your comments will really help me.

I normally just make holsters but I'm getting into wallets and bags for a few friends. I normally cut out both sides of my project and do the normal preparations then I glue then I punch the stitch holes on each piece, glue them together and hope the holes match up. I don't have a problem with this but was watching a video where the person glued the pieces together first, then punched the holes. It does look like this would be more consistent. Especially with the wallet I watch him make. Which technique do you use and why?

Nicely done. I can see you put a lot of effort into it.

What a magnificent scabbard. Taking your time really paid off on this project and everyone that sees it will be impressed. I've played with a lot of Sharps rifles over the years. Yours looks great. It deserves the quality of leather your produced.

In Phoenix only 2 of their 4 stores are open. They restrict customers to only 5 in the store at one time. For the sale their hours have been extended so you need to call your store and see if they have changed hours. You can also order your leather and accessories on line with the same sales prices. I'm the touchy feely kind of shopper so I like to see in person what I'm buying. Last leather I ordered was supposed to be red but turned out to be burgundy. Customer likes the color so there was no loss. Tandy would have taken it back if I wanted them to. One of the reasons I like doing business with them.

I got the e-mail tonight that Tandy is hosting their Black Friday Sale starting tomorrow and it looks like I'll be heading to my local store in the morning to pick my way through the leather. I may as well stock up. Some choices are 40% off so I'll save enough. I wish they would send flyers in the mail like they use to but I can see how times have changed. I'm going to play with some already dyed Veg Tan leather instead of dying it myself. I'm also going to pick up some tools so that I can start learning to carve leather. All I do now for my holsters is basket weaving.

Excellent work. Stitching looks great and I'd be proud to wear a holster like that.

Most Excellent work! I'm sure the shooter will get lots of compliments from the other SAA competitors. Everything looks great as all have mentioned.

Very nice work.

I must have been lucky. I bought the Tandy Head Knife and have had no problems keeping the edge sharp. I use a diamond stone and strop to keep it that way. I just ordered a sharpening fixture from Weaver with an medium and fine stone. The demo looked interesting and I'm going to see if I can get it sharper still but it now cuts through 8-9 ounce leather very well.

Excellent work on both the knife and sheath. Your second try truly hit the mark.

Excellent work. I wish I had your talent.

Most of Tandy's tooling diagrams are now on their Library page. The patterns now give you the drawings but no illustrations on how to put their product together.

Nice looking rig. I like the dye job.

Awesome holsters. I need to cover the trigger guard for most of the holsters I make. I like the look of yours. Nice basket weave also.

She's buying the leather from Tandy and the won't split it for me. I got on line and found a number of other sources but she really like the bolt from Tandy. I could buy just the right size I need for her project but she wants to go with the one she likes. I guess you are right. She does a lot for my girlfriend and I don't need the money. I'll probably do it for free.

I've never made a bag like this so I'm treating it as a learning experience. I get all the leftovers including about 5 yards of suede. It's a purple and I already know what I can use it for. I have nothing out of pocket on my part. The woman is a caregiver for my girlfriend and she does a lot of work for me for free so I don't want to charge her a lot. After figuring out the costs, she went to Tandy with me to pick out leather and everything needed, I think she is going to back out. Heck it's going to cost her well almost $100 just for the leather. It will run her over $150 by the time we are done. I think that's too much for a bag for her laptop but it's her money. I do have a pattern already from one of the books I've picked up in the past, so there is no expense in making one. If it comes out great next time I'll charge more for my work. She'll be my advertisement.

Most Excellent looking bag.

I do my leather work for fun but recently I've been asked to make some holsters and some totes. I charge $60 for the holster that don't take a special design and $90 for something I have to make a special design for. Recently one of my workers asked me to make her a carrying bag for her laptop. I was able to find a pattern in "Making Leather Bags,, Wallets, and Cases by Tsuchihira. I think it will take me about 5 hours of steady work to finish everything not counting dyeing time and drying. I took her to Tandy to pick out the leather she wants and found a bolt of Italian Suede that she liked. It was $90. The other tools and accessories run about $40. I'm thinking of having her pay for all the leather, and accessories needed...She will come to the store with me to pick out the items she wants. After that I think I'll charge $10 an hour to put it together. I also get to keep the remainder of the leather for projects I will make. Am I close to what I should charge?

It's 1/2 inch. It's about 6 inches long. I need to cut it down to 4. It's a little long. Steel Challenge is shot from the draw, Surrender Start. I'm shooting rimfire and you do not need to draw it. All starts are from a low ready position. Arizona is an Open Carry state.

Got it finished faster than I thought. I used a dowel for the mount because that's all I could get at the time to make it work. I'm going to change that out for conduit. I think that would be stronger.

Sunday I shot a Steel Challenge Match from my wheelchair. I like having my gun in a holster instead of bagging it between stages. Before we got started three people asked me why I didn't mount it to the wheelchair. I started to think about it and came up with an idea. I take off the right side elbow rest so that it doesn't interfere with my draw. So, I wanted to set up something using a piece of pipe in the mounting hole for the rest. I went to Lowes and didn't find anything or any help. I then went to Ace, you know, the place with the helpful hardware man, and ran into a friend that suggested what to do. The salesman helped me find everything and I had the parts needed in about 10 minutes. I'm was going to use the above holster, I actually did make it ready for the chair by replacing the belt loop with a modified piece of leather and a wooden dowel. Metal and PVC did not fit the hole. I also decided to make a new holster for it with basket weave and a slightly raked angle. I'll post a pic by Wednesday when it should be finished. I'm waiting for the dye to dry over night before assembling it. The attachment I made for my previous holster works great, giving me more room and not having the grip wear on the wheel when moving.

I'm using a lot of 6 -7 ounce and recently bought some 9 ounce. I like the heavier leather. It holds up better. I usually line my holster so they are 2 thicknesses of the leather used. They are stiff and hold onto their form for years.

I use a 12 inch self healing cutting match. It does not leave an imprint from previous cutting and your knife will not get bogged done in a previous cut. I've found them on Amazon. My newest mat is 36 X 48 for when I'm cutting large selections of leather.

Excellent work.