How I Do My T-Nuts For Iwb Loops

[jlaudio29]

I had a few members inquire on how to do this process. So i got bored tonight and decided to try out a little tutorial, this is the way i sandwhich my t-nuts between two pieces of leather for Inside waist band loops

T-nuts are 6-32 (1/4 inch barrel height)

Screw i use are either 3/8 long or 1/4 depending on the application.

#1 - I mark on the front of the leather where i want the t-nut to go, be sure to poke all the way through so its visible on the other side

#2 Turn the leather over and find the spot where you poked through and either open the hole up slightly to make it more visible or mark it with a pen.

#3 Take a 1/2 inch Forestner bit and line it up with the hole and go in about a 1/32 to 3/64ths DONT GO TO DEEP. We are just trying help the sandwhich so the t-nut does show through on either side of the leather.

#4 Ok now take a 5/32 bunch and throw it in the drill press, line it up in the center of the hole you just made and push it through. Do a couple light pushes first to make sure you have the allightment right, when you do it lightly it will creative a light ring in the leather where your about to put the hole, you can move it accordingly until its lined up. Alternatively you can do this without a drill press and use a hammer, i prefer the drill press.

#5 Trimming the T-nut - I have found that these t nut prongs are way to long, so i take a pair of side cutters and trim them way down to help stop them from poking through one side or pushing the leather up. I actually trim them down a little more then where the side cutters are at in the picture, but for the sake of taking a picture and giving you the general idea i had to move it up, otherwise it looked like i was just cutting the thing off entirely

All trimmed down

Ok so now when your ready to glue the two pieces of leather together, put your T-nut in the proper place and your done!

The circle you see on that last pic is from the washer i put inbetween the wing and the loops. So dont be scared it shouldnt show through at all!

I hope this helped someone out there!

[Guy W]

very nice tutorial thanks!

[mattsh]

Thanks for the tutorial.

[wizard of tragacanth]

Fantastic tutorial... thanks so much!

Nick

[RMB Custom Leather]

I had a few members inquire on how to do this process. So i got bored tonight and decided to try out a little tutorial, this is the way i sandwhich my t-nuts between two pieces of leather for Inside waist band loops

T-nuts are 6-32 (1/4 inch barrel height)

Screw i use are either 3/8 long or 1/4 depending on the application.

#1 - I mark on the front of the leather where i want the t-nut to go, be sure to poke all the way through so its visible on the other side

#2 Turn the leather over and find the spot where you poked through and either open the hole up slightly to make it more visible or mark it with a pen.

#3 Take a 1/2 inch Forestner bit and line it up with the hole and go in about a 1/32 to 3/64ths DONT GO TO DEEP. We are just trying help the sandwhich so the t-nut does show through on either side of the leather.

#4 Ok now take a 5/32 bunch and throw it in the drill press, line it up in the center of the hole you just made and push it through. Do a couple light pushes first to make sure you have the allightment right, when you do it lightly it will creative a light ring in the leather where your about to put the hole, you can move it accordingly until its lined up. Alternatively you can do this without a drill press and use a hammer, i prefer the drill press.

#5 Trimming the T-nut - I have found that these t nut prongs are way to long, so i take a pair of side cutters and trim them way down to help stop them from poking through one side or pushing the leather up. I actually trim them down a little more then where the side cutters are at in the picture, but for the sake of taking a picture and giving you the general idea i had to move it up, otherwise it looked like i was just cutting the thing off entirely

All trimmed down

Ok so now when your ready to glue the two pieces of leather together, put your T-nut in the proper place and your done!

The circle you see on that last pic is from the washer i put inbetween the wing and the loops. So dont be scared it shouldnt show through at all!

I hope this helped someone out there!

What is the size or part number of the screw you use to go down inside the male end of the snap that a screws into the t-nut. Where is the best place to get them?

[gicts]

To piggy back on Rob's questions-what about the snaps? Size and type?

Thank you very much for the tutorial as well as answering my messages!

[jlaudio29]

6-32 is the thread size of the screw, and length i use 1/4inch and 3/8th depending on the type of holster im making.

The snaps are Line 24 snaps from tandy, not sure what other manufacturers label them as.

[woodandsteel]

Nice job! I haven't ever thought about reducing the leather, like that, for the T-nut to be inset. Very clean!

Clipping the prongs is another good idea, since I can rarely find the T-nuts with shorter prongs. I've found that even if they poke through, they're hidden by the snap loop on top, and help to grip it. But they would poke through further if I carved the pocket out for them like that.

Your work looks great!

[malabar]

Just curious: It appears as though you are using a single attachment point. Do you have any trouble with the screws loosening as the straps move?

tk

[jlaudio29]

What i do is i put a SMALL amount of DAP contact cement on the threads, and screw it in... it gives it just enough bit to stop it from backing out, but at the same time its not strong enough to never be able to get it back out again. Have not had any bad feedback from customers on this subject yet.

Im currently in Deltona visiting my parents, what part of central florida are you in?

[dickf]

They always look nice when sandwiched like that, but what happens if a customer cross-threads them? It's for this reason that I make mine accessible/visible from the back side of the holster. Something to think about.

[woodandsteel]

They always look nice when sandwiched like that, but what happens if a customer cross-threads them? It's for this reason that I make mine accessible/visible from the back side of the holster. Something to think about.

Yes, and a very good point! It was for that reason that I used to leave them on the outside. But I made one, once, with them sewn in, and it looks so much cleaner, to me, I have a hard time going back. I do worry about a customer stripping a T-nut, but I'll take that chance. I think I could replace one with a fairly clean looking fix, but I haven't tried.

[malabar]

What i do is i put a SMALL amount of DAP contact cement on the threads, and screw it in... it gives it just enough bit to stop it from backing out, but at the same time its not strong enough to never be able to get it back out again. Have not had any bad feedback from customers on this subject yet.

Im currently in Deltona visiting my parents, what part of central florida are you in?

I'm down in Palm Bay, below Melbourne on the East Coast.

tk

[malabar]

Someone asked about the screws. I use 6-32 stainless steel screws in mine. They're obscenely expensive from the local hardware store. But I discovered that I could get them in bulk for Daytona Nut and Bolt, a local supplier, for about 6 cents apiece, if I bought them 100 at a time. Same thing with t-nuts -- they're 25-40 cents each at the local hardware store. Daytona didn't stock them, but they special ordered them for me. I had to buy 1,000 -- but the cost was only $47 or 4.7 cents each.

tk