Holster part 2

[joe817]

A good start Andy. How long do you keep those clamps on the leather to form it, before the leather dries?

[ELB]

I've seen welts used a lot, but what exactly is the purpose? Does act as spacer, make the seam stronger, or ??

[flechero]

Holster 2 is looking great so far, it obvious that you took notes on the first one!

thicker waxed thread - a big pain to get through the holes:

I run the overstitch wheel to mark it and then take about 2 minutes with a cordless drill and a 1/32 or 3/64 bit (depending on thread) and drill the holes so I don't kill my fingers, sewing!

[flechero]

I'm SO stealing that idea! I think you've just saved my life

Nothing worse than tearing up your trigger finger, sewing! Seriously, you can't explain away a sewing injury... ask me know I know this!

[Maxwell]

Andy,

My wife participates in many craft shows And I do woodworking so I understand the "I made this" pride. But when you look at your time, vs. someone who does this professionally (aka not your labor, time, and headaches), is it really worth making your own?

Just being a devil's advocate.

Max

[puma guy]

I just need it dry enough for the edges to stay more or less where they are before gluing the welt in place, so just a few hours. The leather is just damp enough to fold, not soaking wet.

Welt to be glued:

If you don't have one, I recommend an edge burnisher to finish the edges. Available at Tandy and Ebay.

A Leather Edge Burnisher.jpg (11.34 KiB) Viewed 9140 times

The attachment A Leather Edge Burnisher.jpg is no longer available

[puma guy]

This one is from Tandy.