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I don't do podcasts, but I have a 3 disc CD player and a few hours of the Chieftains or Clapton, Janis and I'm good for the afternoon. Oh, and Jimi!!

Very nice!

MOST of the 1/4" sets I've seen are on a par with your Tandy set.

I have two sizes/wights of the poly mallets and like them fine. I've tried a couple of the round mauls and don't care for them. But that may be because I was a carpenter for 40 years and I'm used to doing things with a 'hammer'. But the poly mallets work fine.

Do all the research, then use really good leather, don't practice, do the job the best you can. Learn from your mistakes and do better.

Price drop!!! $3600 OBO

Well when you say "design" a new holster I'll answer from my experience. What I generally do, is make a couple samples without the stitching. Glued, dampened and worked/boned/formed etc. When it dries, I draw on the formed holster the stitch lines and make patterns to match the stitching. Either by working it out directly from the unstitched molded holster, or by cutting it apart on the stitch lines and making stitching templates/patterns from the pieces. After I have my patterns I work up a couple extra holsters and mark stitch lines from these patterns and give it a test as a prototype. If you plan to make multiples or big runs of holsters it's not much of an investment and you can place your stitching very elegantly on the finished products. Leather can stretch in odd ways when you bone it over a mold/gun. Sometimes it's hard to work out where the stitching would actually go, without actually molding it first.

Complete

When I built my 1st holster 25 years ago, I simply bought a likely-lookin' piece of leather. I didn't know belly from butt. I've made better holsters from better leather since then, but I still use that old Slim Jim for my '58 Rem NMA clone. I think that old piece I bought was a relatively firm piece of belly, perhaps the upper portion and I've made sheaths and phone cases with it, too. Belly ain't all bad. It's good for learning.

Seems I aint gotno time git round here these days, so I aint passed out too much free stuff of late. So, here's sumthin to play with - don't say I aint ne'ev gih ya nuttin' Follow the structions, it'll fit a S/W bodyguard right nice. Note this is sort of a 'avenger' style holster, right handed, 7/8 oz leather, 6 spi, -- all of this in the pattern if ya check it. BG380_A0.pdf Holster_Inst_avenger.pdf AboutHolsters.pdf

As Bruce said, a rubber mallet is probably the worst thing you could use as regards stamping efficiency. There are also many posts on here about people making their own.

Oh, sometimes it's nicer to have a pre-proven pattern to cut from, stitch lines already verified for fit. This one would have been difficult to tool after it was formed (though, I "could" be done....). The pics show some of the tools used in the design.

That's a great book for a leather man, even if you don't make holsters Even better for holster makers. Even if you aren't making THOSE holsters - still good info and experience to have. 👍 That said, Now, if you've already wet formed the leather, then you HAVE your stitch line (right where it's formed). STohlman's books on making leather cases is GREAT for this type of wet forming thing, sewing in the formed line. But SOMEWHERE around here I have some downloadable files, SPECIFICALLY talking about how to lay out holster stitch lines based upon the dimensions of the firearm... Try this? 4 downloads ...

Use the SAME leather you'll be making the finished holsters with. Different leather behaves differently... and you have already found out that some leather works better than others. Belly leather has some purpose, I suppose (I think the saddle boys and girls use it here and there), but it's not for holsters, belts, or anything requiring firm leather or strength. Once you know the pattern is close and worth a "test" piece, it wouldn't hurt to use a piece of the same leather where there's a cosmetic blemish you wouldnt want to put in the finished goods, but it absolutely should be from GOOD leather, that which you would normally use. If you've read some of my stuff on here, you already know I might often take a holster from teh shoulder leather and make the accompanying belt from the back section of the SAME hide (texture is the same, takes dye the same way, etc...).

No . . . I put it around me and buckle it . . . or lay it across my file cabinet . . . and never have any problems with it. Someone would have to intentionally do something out of the ordinary to get it to be bent or folded. My friend used to be rather large . . . and his belts would "sag" so to speak. This one does not sag . . . he cinches it up . . . it stays there. May God bless, Dwight

I ordered a M57 belt based on this post and found out the 3200 can have either a 56, 57 or 58 inch belt depending on the build date. Ryan @ Neel's Saddlery, where I purchased it, is kind enough to send me a replacement. The belt was lost during a house move so there was not an issue with reliability.

This set will be real upgrade... not cheap though. This the only set that I have ever seen that has a "holder" for a line of type. I do not have any personal experience with the seller or this product. https://www.kevinleetools.com/products/updated-new-quality-brass-alphabet-stamp-set Nick

Excellent news!

Thanks Bert

I would like to recommend a cnc bridgeport to open those blister packs. You'll maybe need a ruby probe to get the positioning accurate enough, but that should get them open for you. Once you get the codes figured out. You can get small ball heads cheap now, I hear... My thumbs are starting to exhibit the pains and limited movement I have associated with arthritis. My plan is to keep using them, exercising them following the patterns of an aged powerlifter (who is still very mobile and strong) and later, when all that fails, complaining about it to young whippersnappers. Dropped off some more wallets to the gallery, and got some more feedback from the proprietor. Good stuff, and if they start selling better, great stuff. Also stopped in to see a local artist and ask her help. My stamps are lacking a bit of pinache, and I asked her about creating a better 'ptarmigan' stamp. Mine aren't satisfying me, and her style of art makes cartoon characters out of them. I expect it will work better for my purpose, as long as the art part doesn't cost too much. She's a fairly successful artist here, and liked the wallets so much she even said she should sell them. Then she said that she also works with Ruperts Land leather, and kind of backed up on that. I said that I hadn't met the chap from Ruperts Land, but would be happy to share all my tricks and techniques, as I like what I've seen of his work. Maybe I'll finally meet him. Have so far only seen his product on a local facebook page. Sweetheart and I took a beading course for her birthday. Hers is on the left, and we both did well, and have a decent handle on how that works, I think. Good teacher. Lady from Fort Simpson, who came by the skills honestly and long ago. Just let the dog out for her patrol of the yard. Set an alarm, as usual, to remember to call her in, in a few minutes. It gets cold here, and she's a bit of a dainty.

afair I put a piece of spring steel strapping in a chap's sword belt to stop in twisting under the weight of a sword. It worked well. But as it was only a length of about 12 to 15 inches he had no problem folding up the belt. Being spring steel I couldn't bend it without tools so this chap never bent it

echo, me too. The pills are in aluminium & plastic vac packs. Some are nigh on impossible to break out. I have little felling in my fingers and thumbs but I still gotta break these damn pills out

@Dwight Do you have any problems with kinking or getting bent/folded and not be able to flatten it back out?

I feel your pain. I don't have hearing aids, but I do have arthritis. Many medications (including some kinds of arthritis pain medication) come in blister packaging like your batteries. They SUCK to get open. - Bill

ok I don't rant much anymore, but today is an exception. You know, we used to just call it bitching about really stupid shit. Anyway, I went to buy some hearing aid batteries yesterday. I'll repeat HEARING AID batteries. They changed this round little pack to a childproof thing, Big letters and everything so you know your kids will be safe if they swallow a battery smaller than the size of a friggin pencil eraser. You have to cut each little battery out with scissors, two cuts for each little battery in a ten-battery pack. Now I'll go out on a limb and say MOST people who use HEARING AID batteries have kids at least 20 years old, not only that, they probably also have some form of arthritis and possibly just possibly some vision problems, as well because they ARE FRIGGIN OLD PEOPLE. Can anyone see the stupidity in this besides me, a man whose youngest is 22 and has arthritis in both damn thumbs? Now, as I was writing this i just realized the whole friggin package is small enough for a kid to choke on before they even knaw through it getting to the damn batteries, so it wouldn't help the dumb little shits anyway.