A couple items....

[Farmer]

Knife sheath,..and cell holster.

Experimenting with the basket weave.
I did two holster/belt setups,....but I got to get pics of them.Actually came out pretty well.Problem I got is trying to keep some leather around to work with ....always seems to be in short supply!

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Those look great. You're getting the basketweave down good. Thanks for the pics.

[Farmer]

Those look great. You're getting the basketweave down good. Thanks for the pics.

Thanks,......Man,..you really have to line up the stamp well! My first practice piece was crazy lookin! lol,....but then I started using a tri square and laying out some guide lines,...that helped a lot.

just fyi for whoever might ask,.......the cellphone is natural,..just a coat of neatsfoot(lightly) and thenleather balm atom wax.

The sheath I used the fiebing antique paste,...worked into the pattern,..then scraped off the excess with a scrap leather piece,......finished with balm also.

I gotta get the pics up of the belts and holsters I did,..they came out good! One was for a 22 ruger single six,....I put bullet loops on it,....and OMG,....what a PAIN!!!! I got em on there, but they're very tight! The other is on my Charles Daly 45 colt rig,......came out nearly perfect. Only problem I had was in the holster,...my welt wasn't quite wide enough,..and a couple stitches came out in the inside of the holster,.....no biggie though.

I have trouble drilling through a thick welt and keeping the bit straight. I missed my stitch gouge line on the back in a few places,.....how do you guys deal with that??

[cowboywc]

Howdy Farmer
Very nice job on both. I like the color on the sheath.
Something to think about in the future, Try a smaller basketweave on narrow things like the sheath.
WC

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

  Very nice Farmer

       You did well on these pieces, I'm looking forward to seeing your holsters and gun belt, when using a Dremel tool, and a 1/16" bit, you need a 90 degree corner or edge on your seem line, when you drill, other wise you will be off in the back, which sounds like what happened to you, most holsters won't lay down flat after cementing the seem line, if my leather is too thick I will use the the Dremel, but I EYEBALL the angle of the holster in relation to the seem line, you will sometimes need to lift it up in order to get a straight 90 degree hole through to the back, or you can use a stitching chisel or Dremel and make your holes on the front side of your holster first, then when the seem line has been cemented, you use your sewing awl to punch through to the stitch line in the back, it's a little more work, but the results are always better.

                                               Regards

                                          tEN wOLVES 

[Farmer]

  Very nice Farmer

       You did well on these pieces, I'm looking forward to seeing your holsters and gun belt, when using a Dremel tool, and a 1/16" bit, you need a 90 degree corner or edge on your seem line, when you drill, other wise you will be off in the back, which sounds like what happened to you, most holsters won't lay down flat after cementing the seem line, if my leather is too thick I will use the the Dremel, but I EYEBALL the angle of the holster in relation to the seem line, you will sometimes need to lift it up in order to get a straight 90 degree hole through to the back, or you can use a stitching chisel or Dremel and make your holes on the front side of your holster first, then when the seem line has been cemented, you use your sewing awl to punch through to the stitch line in the back, it's a little more work, but the results are always better.

                                               Regards

                                          tEN wOLVES 

hmmm,..yea,..I might have to get a dremmel,.......I used a big 3/8 hand drill with a 1/16 bit,....hard to manage.

and good idea WC,...but heck I only got one size for now

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

   Howdy Farmer

       If you decide to get a Dremel tool, get the corded model, the battery model is OK for light duty, but doesn't work well on leather when it comes to drilling, if you get one, you will want to get the adjustable chuck to go with it, this will make changing from different sized stems a breeze, I've been using Dremel tools for years now, I have four of them and use them all, I have them set up for different duties, but one will more than serve your purpose, they're great tools for a host of other work too.

                           For a newbi, your doing great, keep up the good work

                                    Best Regards

                                 tEN wOLVES 

[Slowhand Bob]

Farmer, my method for heavy mainseams was a bit offbeat but it worked for me and made life a little easier for the finger joints.  I used a set of the diamond stitch points to punch my stitches.  They come in one hole and four hole versions and I would buy an extra four hole to convert to two holes by grinding one point off of each side.  Make sure they are sharp, to the point of polishing, and keep wax on hand for lubing them also.  While the holster is still laid flat just punch all of the mainseam holes on on the front side, being sure to keep the punch at 90deg to the surface.  I would limit this to no more than about 12oz of leather and this sometimes allows for two thin fillers, one glued to the front and one glued to the back.  With a little practice this step gets pretty fast.

The next step is pretty standard, fold, glue and clamp the mainseam.  Then I would use a diamond awl to finish punching those holes through the back, it is much easier with the prepunched front and theprepunching helps with the awl angle.  Punching straight, perpendicular holes with the awl will get easier and faster with time and making the minor adjustments to hit the stitch line on the back will improve.

I have rarely ever drilled stitch holes but I do use a Dremel for a multitude of leather projects.  The one I use most often is the lithium battery version and it has been excellent, just keep it in a drawer under the bench and its ready to instantly (if the right bit is in place).  The battery store long and offers plenty of work time, just do not try to hog with it as the battery motors are not up to much torque.   

[Johnny McCrae]

Howdy Farmer,

Beautiful work! Very nice design coupled with excellent workmanship. Look forward to seeing your holsters and Belt. Thank you for sharing this with us.

[Farmer]

Thanks for the nice replies all.

Incidently,..I work in Autocad a lot (engineering job),...and I have most all my patterns in autocad which I can send as a .pdf file to anyone who might see something they want...I can send small items(cell holders,knife sheath,ect) in 1:1 scale,..ready to print...just fyi.

I like to make my patterns in autocad,that way I can(virtually) fold them,..cut and move pieces,..and check the fit etc,..before cutting up leather.

Example:

[Slowhand Bob]

AH HA, we need to make you our designated got to guy for pattern swapping.  In the past it has been a pita to figure pattern swapping without actually mailing them individually for many of us computer challenged individuals.     

[Farmer]

AH HA, we need to make you our designated got to guy for pattern swapping.  In the past it has been a pita to figure pattern swapping without actually mailing them individually for many of us computer challenged individuals.     

lol not a problem,....I work with all sorts of dimensional files,...If anybody even has raw hand sketch dimensions they'd like converted to a nice cad drawing,....simply drop me a pm,...I'd be glad to fix it up,....and make it scaled,....or at least nicely drawn out as a print.....I get pretty bored at my desk sometimes

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Howdy Farmer

      That's a nice talent, one that in this craft can be used forever, thanks for your generous offer, I will keep this in mind.

                                               
                                            tEN wOLVES