1911 Pancake With Stingray Inlay...need Help

[lairdstew]

I am working on a pancake holster for a 1911 with a stingray inlay and I need some help. I have cut out all three pieces that I will be using: 1 thick piece for the back; 1 thin piece for the middle; and 1 thin piece with a window cutout and stingray glued in. I already dyed the top piece and burnished the edges of the window before gluing in the stingray. Now I do not know what to do. I want to bone the holster for retention but when do I do it?

Should I glue the back and middle together first, then wet mold, then glue the top piece with the inlay on, then stitch all three pieces together? Or should I glue all three pieces together, stitch, and then wet mold?

Thanks in advance for your help! I have been lurking for quite some time and learning a lot, but this is the first time I couldn't find an answer to my question just by searching.

Laird

[TwinOaks]

Think backwards......do your detail boning on the back side of the holster.

[lairdstew]

Ok, thanks for the tip! So, should I glue and stitch everything together now like I normally would? Then I will wet mold the holster but only in the back.

[katsass]

From the old grump: Twin Oaks has it right. When using an inlay, you are not going to be able to bone the front side - just the part that ain't seen. That bumply skin just won't take it. Mike

[lairdstew]

Thanks Mike and Twin Oaks! I understand that the stingray won't take a mold. Now that I have the inlay glued in, should I proceed as normal (i.e. glue, stitch, mold)? With the only diference is that I cannot bone the front of the holster.

Sorry if I am not making myself clear or if I am too slow on the uptake but I don't want to waste a nice piece of stingray. Right now I have three panels, a thin top with inlay, a thin middle with nothing, and a thick back of the holster. Should I go ahead and glue all of those together, stitch, dye, then wet mold?

Thanks again,

Laird

[SooperJake]

I would dye before stitching. And get an airbrush if you haven't already. The results are spectacular over dauber dying.

Jake

[katsass]

Thanks Mike and Twin Oaks! I understand that the stingray won't take a mold. Now that I have the inlay glued in, should I proceed as normal (i.e. glue, stitch, mold)? With the only diference is that I cannot bone the front of the holster.

Sorry if I am not making myself clear or if I am too slow on the uptake but I don't want to waste a nice piece of stingray. Right now I have three panels, a thin top with inlay, a thin middle with nothing, and a thick back of the holster. Should I go ahead and glue all of those together, stitch, dye, then wet mold?

Thanks again,

Laird

From the grump: I always cut, DYE, glue up, stitch, edge, and finish. After dying, allow to dry thoroughly --- like 12 hours as a minimum. Solvent based dyes will feel dry in short order, but stitching into leather which is not totally dry can easily discolor the thread. In essence, take your time. I believe it was Sylvia that said something similar to "leatherwork ain't an instant gratification thing". A very true statement. Mike

[lairdstew]

Thanks for all the help. I have it sitting in the basement right now waiting to be wet molded. I'll do that tomorrow and post the results.

Laird

[lairdstew]

Finished the holster this evening. I think it turned out pretty well. Not perfect, but pretty good. Thanks for the tips! Wet molding the back did the trick.

Laird

[katsass]

From the old grump: Looks like you did a good job, your workmanship is pretty damned good, but two things pop out at me. First, it appears that the mag release is covered - which ain't too good a thing. You can end up with a missing mag, or, as you draw, the mag can decide to hit the floor, dirt, gravel, or roadway, leaving you with one round in the shooter and egg on your face -- if on the range. But if in a personal defence situation, things can get real icky-poo in a hurry if that happens. The other thing is that the rear sight is quite exposed - allowing for dings, bangs or thumps resulting in damage to it, just from walking around. Also, being exposed, it will provide for a lot of torn shirts, and/or jacket linings when worn concealed. The sharp corners sticking out there seem to like to tear stuff up pretty quickly. Overall, not a bad go at things, just a little tweaking of the pattern and you have a winner, JMHO. Mike

[lairdstew]

From the old grump: Looks like you did a good job, your workmanship is pretty damned good, but two things pop out at me. First, it appears that the mag release is covered - which ain't too good a thing. You can end up with a missing mag, or, as you draw, the mag can decide to hit the floor, dirt, gravel, or roadway, leaving you with one round in the shooter and egg on your face -- if on the range. But if in a personal defence situation, things can get real icky-poo in a hurry if that happens. The other thing is that the rear sight is quite exposed - allowing for dings, bangs or thumps resulting in damage to it, just from walking around. Also, being exposed, it will provide for a lot of torn shirts, and/or jacket linings when worn concealed. The sharp corners sticking out there seem to like to tear stuff up pretty quickly. Overall, not a bad go at things, just a little tweaking of the pattern and you have a winner, JMHO. Mike

Thanks for the input. So, should I just cut out the sweat guard a little to not cover the mag release? Like a notch or something? As for the sights, should I make the holster flare up so that it hits right underneath the rear sights?

Laird

[TwinOaks]

Yes, you can just rebate the back side of the holster to give clearance for the mag release. Also, can you get a full firing grip without interference from the holster? If not, you can lower the area directly to the left of the trigger guard (as the holster is oriented in the pic), a light bit more and give yourself the room you need.The design looks solid and the only other things I see to comment on are PURELY aesthetic. The 'front' of the holster looks longer than the rear portion, which makes the holster appear slanted. That may be just a picture angle, so if it's pretty even across the bottom, just ignore this one. Last thing: Corners. Leather corners ('outside corners, that have a point) are bad, and on the frame of the inlay, at the junction of the trigger guard and dust cover, that little point has the potential to get lifted, dog-eared, and possibly snag clothing. 20 seconds with a razor to round it, and a minute to reburnish that spot would finish it up.

Overall, REALLY NICE LOOKING HOLSTER.

[katsass]

Thanks for the input. So, should I just cut out the sweat guard a little to not cover the mag release? Like a notch or something? As for the sights, should I make the holster flare up so that it hits right underneath the rear sights?

Laird

From the old grump: I make very few true pancake holsters anymore, however, here is a pic of a little pancake I made some time ago for an old Llama .380 which is a mini-clone of a 1911 auto, so the only difference is size. . The mag release is free and the sight covered, The customer demanded the safety strap. Hope this helps a bit. Mike

[lairdstew]

Twin Oaks and Katsass, thanks for the input. This is the first time I made this exact pattern and I will be sure to include your input when I make it again. The right side of the holster does dip a little lower so that will be something to pay attention to next time. I can get a decent firing grip on the gun but I think it could be a little better. I will dip that side down a little and raise the other up to protect the rear sights.

One of the more recent holsters I made was for a Kahr p380 and I had to make that thing three times to ensure ample grasping room. What a pain!

Thanks again for the help. The members here have provided an invaluable resource for us enthusiasts!

Laird

[TwinOaks]

The way to get around multiple makes of the same holster is to use a GOOD glue and check your grip before stitching. The glue won't hold up long term, but will be sufficient for keeping the halves together while you 'tweak' the lines. Once you've done a few with plenty of room for the grip, you'll get an eye for it when you do the initial layout.