olds cool

Tandy has a saddle bag pattern set. I guess it's worth it for just starting out and making generic bags or just seeing how parts fit together. I only used the tool roll pattern once and realized I was could have figured it out on my own. Cyberthrasher hit the nail on the head though. Measure it out and make your own pattern. Custom fit will be better than a generic bag any day.

I'm usually super critical of my own work so I've never shared one of my finished pieces on here before. I just finished these up tonight and I was so happy with the way the holster came out I just had to show it off a bit, even if it is just plain black. All hand stitched and double stitched on both sides of the shooter. A little different from my norm but it really makes it pop for a black on black piece. The black was done with vinagroon...I've really been into the roon lately. Holster pattern from Eric Adams (gotta give credit). I like doing my own patterns but these ones work so well and it's what the customer wanted. The mag pouch is the first run on my own pattern. Came out pretty good but I think I have a few tweaks in mind for next time around. Let me know what you all think. I respect all of your opinions and constructive critiques.

Keep an eye out for local swap meets. Most guys bring in loads of stock crap and ripped up seats are usually pretty cheap.

Leather work is gaining popularity again, although it will never have the same market that it did 40 years ago. With popularity comes cheaper tools, and by cheaper I am referring to quality. I've been bitten by a few chinese tools that were made without the slightest thought of quality control. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for. Other times, you have to be a little smarter and see through the marketing ploys and realize that a hole punch is still a hole punch by any other name and sold for any other purpose.

Nice find. I've been looking for a mixture that I can put into a deoderant tube and apply to edges or large areas for final polishing. I tried a 50/50 blend of beeswax and parafin with some neetsfoot (unmeasured amount) but it dried too stiff and is now stuck in the tube. Pretty sure something in here will be soft enough to work.

I was just about to ask if you backed it with anything but then read your last post. If you find a good solution, let me know. I just picked up a few pick guards from my dad so I could use them as templates.

Beautiful work. I've wanted to do something in this style for a long time but I don't think I could pull it off just yet.

Honestly I couldn't tell you an exact measurement to use. I just eyeball it every time. The bigger the piece, the more I'll inset the stitch line. After looking at hundreds of projects that others have posted, I just kinda got the feeling for about how much looks right. You can groove a 5oz, just take it easy. No need to carve out 1/2 a cow on each pass. You could get away with not grooving a project like that but still sand those edges smooth before you mark the line with your dividers. You don't need to slick them yet if you don't want to but smooth & even is the key to a clean line. if you have a belt sander, it's great for making those long sides smooth and straight but even a hand sanding block or a dremel can work good. I keep a cheap sanding block on my bench for small touch ups.

That cut doesn't detract from the whole piece. I actually think it gives it a nice character and goes along nicely with the pock mark in the upper middle area. I like using the cheaper leather on some projects just for the interesting marks and color differences that come out. If you can, glue the edges together, sand them smooth & even, then use the groover to make the stitch line. The edge will look a lot cleaner when you finish it. Also, leave a little more room between the edge and the stitch line. It will give it a much more professional look. The only dye booboo I can see is the check mark in the corner, not a huge deal but being a perfectionist it did draw my eye. Overall, it looks pretty good. I like the contrast in color & texture. Keep it up and the next one will be twice as good!

Nice find. The Beretta can be found just about anywhere for next to nothing but the others are a good price.

I haven't seen any of the English books translated, nor have I seen any of the other ones translated over to English. I've got a few of the Japanese and German books and it sure would be nice to be able to read them instead of just looking at the pictures. I tried to covert one of the German pdfs through a few online translator tools and they were too large for the webpages to handle.

Nice work, looks like a quick one to do. I like making holsters for the little guns. I've got a KelTec P32 and I can bang out a neat little holster for that thing in short time and use next to no leather to do it. You got any good pocket holster patterns for these little things? I've thought of drawing one out but I'm not sure on the dimensions to use since every pair of pants I own has a different size pocket.

My thoughts exactly

If you stumble on to it before anyone posts back, be sure to provide a link. I'm in the market for a strap cutter too and that' pretty reasonable price. Getting tired of using a ruler and a box cutter. Not so bad for short runs but keeping a long one straight is a pain.

That neon green snake is pretty wild. I wouldn't carry it (too flashy for me) but I do like it.

Thanks guys. Honestly, I know better than to rush but I did it anyways. I have no problem banging out one of my 1911 holsters because after doing enough of them, and having the patterns on hand, I know exactly what I am doing and I've figured out faster ways of doing certain tasks. When I did the ones for my personal Keltec P32, it took less than 4 days to get 2 of them done, granted some of that was weekend time and thy were concept pieces with less refinement. I guess I got a little over confident and thought I could pull it off. Like chiefjason, I have a full time job and a family too. My time at the bench is limited by a 2 year old that doesn't go to bed until 8:30. I need to make it a point to explain to the customers that there is a leadtime and that many parts of project need a certain amount of time to be done properly.

I learned a very valuable lesson last night, leadtime. I accepted a custom job from a guy at work. Although I've been trying to sell him a holster for months, he finally decided to come to me last Friday. We made arrangements for me to get the gun on Monday afternoon and he asked if he could have it for this weekend. He didn't own a holster for this gun yet and he wanted to carry it while out hunting bear. I really didn't account for the fact that I had to create the pattern, which took a full day off my time. I only get about 2-3 hours per night at most to work on things. I worked a little late every night and by last night, Thursday, I had everything done except the molding and applying a finish. I got everything molded and realized that I would need to dry it out fast and apply finish if I was to deliver it by today. I had stuck a few holsters in the oven before to reduce the moisture content when I oversoaked them so I figured it would be a good way to speed up the drying process too. I set the oven on the lowest setting and let it go for about 20-30 minutes. Checked it and put it back in, checking about every 5-10 minutes while I laced up another project. Everything seemed to be going well but then I opened the oven and found what appeared to be a shriveled up rotten apple peel that used to be a holster. Damn damn damn! Lucky enough, I happened to have a universal nylon holster that fits his gun perfect. He's a pretty cool cat so when I explained what happened and offered the use of my nylon piece for the weekend, he was ok with it and said we could set up another time for me to borrow the gun again. If it had been any other customer, I doubt that offer would have been ok. So, lesson learned...custom pieces need additional leadtime. I was thinking at least 2 weeks since I don't have a lot of orders right now and my main business is just bringing them into a local gun shop as I get pieces finished. For you guys that do this on a larger scale, what sort of leadtimes do you state and where is that line between acceptable and too long for most people?

I'm a little late to the party but I sew mine flat too. I always have to remind myself to sew it on before I cement the 2 halves together though. Done it more than once, lol.

Nice sheath. I assume you made the knife as well?

Your biggest problem is that Tandy black. I have the same crap, and I do mean crap. It doesn't get down into the leather that way a good Fiebings dye will. Most of it lays on the surface and with a good buffing, it will start showing brown underneath. This can be used to your favor if you want a weathered looking piece but not when you want solid shiny black. If I knew of a good way to make this junk work, I'd gladly share it but alas I don't. The only thing I have heard that works well for the resolene application in the airbrush method. As for the accessibility of an airbrush, is it the cost of one or the lack of a compressor that's a problem? If you have a compressor, a lot of guys have had good luck with the cheap Harbor Freight airbrushes, less than $15. You don't need a fantastic $150 airbrush to spray dye. You aren't doing intricate artwork. They don't take a lot of pressure so even one of those small pancake compressors can handle it.

Welcome to the forum Roy! I got your PM about patterns and I'll get back to you shortly.

I like your dye job

That looks wicked!

If you aren't learning something every time you do a project, you're either a real master or you're doing something wrong. I'd go with the latter.

The first thing I thought of when I saw your drawing are handles for large speaker cabinets. Check these out and try to find something similar with a replaceable strap. Shouldn't be any need to reinvent the wheel.