Bustedmp77 Report post Posted January 1, 2018 Two of my latest carvings I think are worthy of showing off. The gun in the holster was the gun that got me into leather work. I wanted a holster for it, but didn't want to pay the price for good quality leather. While the original holster was functional, it was not something I was willing to show very many people. The one pictured is probably the 50th of the various leather projects I've produced. I just lightly oiled it and treated it with Fiebings Aussie conditioner. I serves what I wanted it for very well. The Skull I just did today using one of the craftaid patterns from Tandy. It is also my first time using antique finish. I need a bit more practice with fine details and warmer temps (currently 6 degrees F here) so I can get my not very well insulated shop up to a reasonable working temperature. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plinkercases Report post Posted January 1, 2018 well worth showing off. Skull is king of steam punk cool and the mares leg reminds me of Dead or Alive the old show with Steve McQueen which I got on DDV for xmas... must now watch it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwican Report post Posted January 1, 2018 Nice. Love the mares leg too Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garypl Report post Posted January 1, 2018 Nice job on that holster - what weight leather did you use? Your stitching looks very good! Gary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bustedmp77 Report post Posted January 2, 2018 8/9oz which is what I use on all my holsters. However I normally line them with 4/5oz. I chose not to line this one because the flesh side was darn near perfect, and it was just to see if I was happy with the design. I just made a new pattern last night that is wider and will give me a more open fit. I use a tippmann boss for my stitching. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikermutt07 Report post Posted January 2, 2018 Great job on both. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garypl Report post Posted January 2, 2018 How long did it take to stitch that big holster with the Tippman? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rolandranch Report post Posted January 2, 2018 I like it! I'm not a big fan of skulls but the tooling looks great. Keep it up! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bustedmp77 Report post Posted January 5, 2018 On 1/1/2018 at 8:27 PM, garypl said: How long did it take to stitch that big holster with the Tippman? It almost always takes me longer to plan out how to run the stitches because of the small throat on the boss than actually stitching. I'd say 2, maybe 3 minutes. I recently put a gunfighter stitch on a buscadero belt I messed up to get a feel for running the pattern before doing a customers belt. It took longer to lay the pattern out than to stitch it. For what the boss is, I love it, but I am always aware of the shortcomings and limitations. The short throat makes things interesting for me at times, and only having 1 hand to guide my work is pretty interesting. I can border stitch a full belt in minutes with it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bustedmp77 Report post Posted January 5, 2018 On 1/1/2018 at 9:48 PM, Rolandranch said: I like it! I'm not a big fan of skulls but the tooling looks great. Keep it up! That tooling is a bit too busy for my liking, but I wanted to see if I could do it. Everyone's tastes vary, I never thought I would like the flowery designs on a holster until I decided to give it a shot. Haven't done a full holster carving yet, but I can see it coming. I do have a question for some more seasoned carving/tooling veterans. If decide to do a complete belt, can I carve and tool it in stages. Depending on the weather or whatever, my hands cramp up after anywhere from 30 to maybe 90 minutes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rolandranch Report post Posted January 6, 2018 Now I'm not a seasoned carving veteran by any stretch of the imagination, but I would definitely say that tooling a belt in stages is a good idea. I was recently working on a saddle with a middle-aged saddlemaker who is now limited in leatherwork because he got tendinitis from tooling leather too much. When I tool leather, I take a short break between tooling stages to stretch out my hand. It's just not worth all the cramps to me even if doing all the tooling in one sit-down makes the work slightly better. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fire88 Report post Posted January 7, 2018 I like the mares leg, need to do a holster or scabbard for my dads. I just did two box lids and when I did them I did the cutting one night put them in bags then in the fridge. The next day I got em out worked on one took about 90 mins, took a quick break stretched my hands and then did the other took another 90 mins. I stretch my hands often and put the tool down every couple lines or spin it in my fingers to keep them loose. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JMcC Report post Posted January 7, 2018 Good job and that looks like a "day of the dead" skull...I saw a coloring book in the store last week and all it had in it was different types of skulls for Day of the Dead. If I liked skulls, I would have bought it for using for leather work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
georgiapine85 Report post Posted January 8, 2018 That's looks cool. I have to take breaks from my projects all the time for whatever reasons. I think it helps sometimes to get up and get away from it for a bit. I did a belt for my wife with a repeating floral pattern that ran the whole length, and I definately had to take breaks here and there. I don't think it hurts a thing. I was just looking at the Tippmann last night online, but I'm just not ready to get a machine yet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bustedmp77 Report post Posted January 9, 2018 3 hours ago, georgiapine85 said: That's looks cool. I have to take breaks from my projects all the time for whatever reasons. I think it helps sometimes to get up and get away from it for a bit. I did a belt for my wife with a repeating floral pattern that ran the whole length, and I definately had to take breaks here and there. I don't think it hurts a thing. I was just looking at the Tippmann last night online, but I'm just not ready to get a machine yet. I do like my boss, but wish I had added a few hundred and gotten an electric machine with a larger throat. I've been working a rough out clint eastwood rig for someone the last few days. Today I had to hand stitch part of the holster because I just couldn't manipulate the leather good enough with only one hand. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
georgiapine85 Report post Posted January 9, 2018 Yeah when i was watching videos of it I noticed that it might be tricky to move your work piece with one hand and pull the lever with the other. When you say "throat", Im guessing thats the distance between the frame of the machine and where the needle is? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bustedmp77 Report post Posted January 9, 2018 Yes sir. I don't regret purchasing it, however having used it for over a year now, I regret not getting an electric machine instead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alpha2 Report post Posted January 10, 2018 When taking a break on tooling, or even when tooling a large piece, you can wrap the cased leather you haven't gotten to yet with plastic wrap. It's better than drying it out and spraying or wiping more water on it. That's what Stohlmans recommend. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
panku82 Report post Posted January 10, 2018 looks good ... and I bitch about my garage being cold and it's 50 degrees here lol. Keep up the good work! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
