dmr400

Small world I started in the infantry, but was sentenced to S1 during this deployment. Hooah!

Mr. Ghormley, Thank you for sharing your process with us. Very much appreciated. I brought several collections of western movies home from Iraq with me and have been watching them the last few days as I've kind of been under the weather, and 3:10 was one of the last ones I watched. Very inspiring.

Mugwump, Didn't line any of them, but I am working on a lined prototype of a womens holster at the moment. Haven't gotten the kinks worked out yet, when I do I'll post a pic of it.

olliesrevenge, Those rings look pretty functional. For the $9, looks like it might be worth a try. I was at the range working on my light techniques last weekend, and any kind of a load or malfunction drill takes on a WHOLE new set of challenges with a light, with lots of room for error. HO is the best leather I've tried so far, but it's also the first premium type leather I've used. At some point I may try Wicket & Craig just for grins, but I'm very happy with the HO. As for molding tools, I use the handle end of a creaser (Very old hardwood of indeterminate type), a bone folder, and a butter knife with a handle I've polished a couple of rough corners off of. I've thought about cocobolo but haven't tried it, what are you using and where did you get it?

I've gotten a fair amount of those looks when I tell people what I'm going to pursue now that I'm home after I've had a real summer with my girls, most are less than enthusiastic. It's kind of amusing watching them scope out my waist for a bulge when they realize I am probably using some of my own work at that moment too Then they usually transition to a perplexed "But where is it?" expression...followed by the question "Are you...umm, you know, right now?" I always say "You tell me." and leave it at that.

Hello everyone, thought I would ask for some critiques now that I have my shop set up and have made a few things with all my new equipment (I was previously doing EVERYTHING by hand on a footlocker in my room in Baghdad, no power equipment whatsoever. Now that I'm back in the states things go a lot faster! New sewing machine, belt/spindle sander, drill press for burnishing, etc.) Any feedback/criticisms would be appreciated! I'll post in the order I made them (all are made from Hermann Oak, colored with vinegaroon and neatsfoot oil, and finished with Bag Kote): This IWB was for myself, had a new Glock and wanted to take it out but didn't have a holster for it. Pretty rough, and was still learning to use the sewing machine even halfway proficiently. Didn't do a great job on the burnishing either, especially on the belt loops, was still experimenting with different methods. 7/8 oz Hermann Oak. There were a couple small things made in between the IWB holster and this carrier (this is actually attempt #2 on this one, didn't like the layout on the first one. Starting to get the hang of the sewing machine a little bit better, but not especially happy with the molding job. 7/8 oz HO leather again. Pocket holster for a J Frame, I've tweaked the size of the anti printing flap on the pattern to make it cover the whole grip but haven't built another one yet. 5/6 oz HO. Boning is still kinda rough. Finished this simple pancake for a J Frame last night. I'm much happier overall with this one, and I feel like I've got the edges figured out (Thanks to hidepounders tutorial and a few tips garnered elsewhere, like many others on the forum I suspect) Overall, I'm pretty happy with this one for now and feel like I'm making improvement. I have a lot of practice to do on detail boning though. Anyway, here they are. All criticisms and suggestions for improvement appreciated! Thanks!

Looks Good, I've been working on Block Holsters lately...I mean Glock Holsters...maybe I got the stitchline right on this one Guess we'll know when I get the daughters off to bed and can go back out into the shop

Now THAT'S Inspiration! I've watched Particle's post count growing with the rest of you, and am very inspired by his quick progress.

Change is always a little nervewracking, isn't it? Best of luck with your new shop and apprentice Ray. If "what goes around, comes around" comes around, you should be set! Your contributions to the forum and the good advice you've given me should have your karma bin overflowing along with those materials, with the orders to follow. Can't wait to get home to start setting my shop up at the house my Fiance moved us into while I was gone...Twenty "X" days and a wake up! (Dang security concerns )

Why does the simple solution never occur to me first?! Thanks Dwight.

Wondering how the established makers are gluing their belts up. I plan to make belts in batches, and am kicking around the idea of a sort of "Press" to do this. The bottom plate would have spacers just slightly shorter than the height of the 2 stacked blanks screwed into it with gaps the width of the belt blanks between them (1 1/2" in my case) so the belt and liner halves could be cut to size, glued up, and layed in the gap so the edges would be aligned by the spacers. Then the top plate (with a thin sheet of rubber or smooth leather on the bottom, in contact with the belts) would be placed on top, and screwed down to apply enough pressure to ensure a good glue up. I'd make it wide enough to take 5 belts or so at a time. If this isn't making sense, let me know and I'll do a quick drawing. What are your methods? Any tips or tricks? Or are you cutting liners slightly oversize and trimming? Just curious how others are doing this before I put a lot of time into this. Thanks!

Got an email from Lee, and called them back today, when they got home from wickenberg their phones were out. Apparently Bob's working on backorders, and I'll hear from him in a couple of weeks, so Progress

Hmmm...sent emails to both addresses, and tried to call, no luck. Gotta love the joys of international communication from 10 time zones away!

Payment sent.

PM Sent

Now those are the kind of responses I appreciate Thanks guys(Gals?)!

Hello everyone, I'm currently deployed to Iraq, and am trying to acquire some better tools so I can start working on this obsession full time when I get home in a couple of months. I found an email address for Bob Douglas dsctools at rangeweb dot net and sent him a message a couple days ago, but haven't heard back. Has anyone had any success at dealing with him this way? I have no idea if that email address is even valid or how long it's been up on the web, so I'm not sweating it too much. If I have to I will be able to call him, but email is MUCH easier for me over here so I thought I'd try this way first. Anybody have any thoughts/info/suggestions? From what I can see Mr. Douglas is THE source for a lot of this stuff, with the know how and connections to make it as smooth as possible, so I'd like to deal with him if I could. Thanks everyone!

Great Video, well put together, and as for the mistakes...you learned from them And if you hadn't pointed them out, we'd all think it was just "Your Method" Thanks very much, you've done a great service for people who are starting out in this!

Can't help much with the molding advice, there are many people on this forum more qualified for that. But here is an excellent visual demonstration of a holster press and what it does: Holster Press Thread Hope it helps.

I for one would really enjoy watching a video of your process...those look very nice!

Hello all, I'm looking to expand my collection of holster molds in preparation for a business venture, and would like to pick them up used if I could. The guns on the list are what I'm looking for specifically, but I'll consider anything at a fair price! Let me know what you have and what you would like for them. I would prefer Aluminum Casts, but will take Blue Guns if that's what's available. Please reply via PM or at andyqtip@gmail.com Thanks! Glock: 17/22 19/23 20/21 Smith and Wesson: M&P 9/40 FULLSIZE M&P 45 Springfield: XD 40/9 SUB-COMP. 3" XD 9/40 4" XD45 4" XDM Colt: 1911 GOVT w/ AS 1911 COMMANDER w/ AS 1911 OFFICER w/ AS Springfield: 1911 GOVT 1911 COMMANDER Smith and Wesson: J Frame- Ruger: LCP LCR Sig: P238

Sold? Still Available?

Thank you for your replies. It seems you all look at similar things in similar orders. Lobo, your thoughtful comments as always are logical and well presented, and appreciated. Hopefully some others will chime in and give us some more things to ponder.

Just curious. As Professional holster makers, when you pick up someone else’s work, what do you look at to determine if it's a good product? Stitching? Edge burnishing? How well the liner is bonded? Hand Boning? Other design features I haven't even mentioned? A basic holster is a pouch that holds a gun. But, as they say, the devil is in the details. What takes it from a gun bucket to a quality piece of work in your eyes?

+1 for Skype, I use to call home from Iraq, my monthly subscription for ulimited Landline/Cell phone calls is...drumroll...2.95/month. Canada isn't much more, or you can just pay by the minute. I have a local US number that I paid 30 dollars for the year, so anyone in the states can call me with no oversea's charges.