ShortBBL

Not bad at all for the 4th attempt! I think what TwinOaks was saying about the Chicago screws is right on. They work the same as the ones you have, meaning, you can still swap out other straps if so desired, but wont have those more sharp edges of your current backs to deal with. The ones you have will work fine if you do as you said and sandwich them in the leather.

Here's a holster for a full size 1911. This one has Beaver Tail overlays.

Welcome from another Minnesota Leather Worker! I like the hawk sheaths!

Thank you!!

Hi Guys and Gals! I'm going to make up a magazine pouch (single) for a 1911 45 magazine and was curious.... for those of you who make the pancake style pouch/holder, how much do you add to the width of the magazine for your stitch lines? I know.... it's not rocket science but I want to have nice tight mag pouches and well.... you guys have been there and done that! Thanks! Jon

Alternateforce.net is another great source. They are fast at shipping and I think the guns are 36.95 plus shipping.

Build it up BIG and FAT..... what an ugly gun! What were they thinking? Good luck and let us know how it ends up fitting! Thanks

They are quite different. Taurus screwed the pooch on this one. See the diff below. Springfield (and most all others) look like this: And then Taurus came along with this ugly duckling: See a diff?

Dwight thanks but the only company who I know of who has ever made the Taurus rail dummy, is Duncan's. They are out for now. So.... I was hoping to find one here. Jon

The Ring's model is a Springfield. The Taurus is much different than any other railed 1911. Most rails hang below the dust cover by about 1/8".... the Taurus for some goofy reason is hanging down at least a 1/4" and maybe more!! It's a super ugly gun with such a giant rail. So... Ring's wont work. I already have a rings 1911 rail.

Duncans made these but they are out. I would like to get one so if anyone has one they don't need... let me know. In fact, I'm always looking for more dummy guns so hit me up if you have any to sell. Thanks!

I need to look around at others work I guess. I just can't imagine how I could get the gun in this thing if it was any looser!! As it is... I have to really force it to fit inside. It is VERY tight. Hmmmm Thanks for all the comments so far everyone!

I really need help with boning. If only I could get that down to a science, I'd be pretty pleased with how my work is coming along. I think for starters, I just try too soon. I need to let the leather get way closer to dry before working it. I also probably push too hard. I slipped while trying this one, a couple times and that made it horrible. I guess it just takes making a lot of mistakes but it's hard to ruin a lot of otherwise decent projects while trying to learn. Any tips you who Bone could give me? Some of you do some incredible boning and i think that really makes a holster like this style look incredibly cool! Thanks for looking!

Maybe I'll grab one of those plastic spray bottles at the hardware store and give that a try on some scraps.... I'm also going to try some of the lighter u-82 oil as well. Thanks guys!

I'm half thinking it could be this piece of leather since I have used neatsfoot recently with no problems! This is a new "Back" of the same type I have used though. Real unhappy with how these are looking right now! Ouch. This is Wickett & Craig Skirting pre-dyed in Chestnut. To mold/bone, I have been just giving a maybe 10 second dunk... not until all bubble are gone. And, I start doing some mild gun shaping in about 2 minutes! Email me a picture or two of how yours are coming out if you can. Thanks I've normally used wool daubers on the exterior and interior. I don't put much on, just enough so the leather looks like it all got a coating of it. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and ideas. I need to keep pluggin away at this til I get a nice finish!

Guys and Gals.... I don't know what's happening here but no matter what, my stuff is turning up way too dark lately! I'm using 100% Neatsfoot oil and the last 5 or 6 holsters I made have been just nasty dark from the oil! I'm now wondering if it's the leather or something!? The ones shown below were just super-lightly coated with neatsfoot... I mean just enough so the leather looked like it was covered... no heavy dose or anything... and after they dried for 6 or 8 hours... they look like this!! Ugh.... I'm not too happy. Any ideas?

I'm using 100% Neatfoot Oil (Shep's from Weaver Leather). Man... I am really not diggin how these three came out. Today I tried really hard to just put a super light coat of the neatsfoot oil on these, figuring I had just been getting too much on the other holsters... but yikes...... this is killin me! H E L P !!! Any more ideas here?? I'm so desperate, I may post this in the finishes section too. This is painful to look at. I think i will have to make these three all DARK now... unless you guys think they will dry out lighter in a month or two! ha ha

I made this one out of pre-dyed Chestnut skirting... I tried givin it the ole quick-dip in neatsfoot oil but man... it sure ended up way darker than i had hoped. For those who use neatsfoot oil on a chestnut type leather.... how do you keep it from being so dark?

Thanks! The holster is made of two layers of 7-8oz and the top layer has the beaver tail glued to it. Beaver tail is real thin, I'm thinking 2 oz maybe? The finish is not on in that pic... but, I use neatsfoot oil on all my holsters and then also apply a finish coat of Skidmore's beeswax/oil mix. It makes for a real nice, non-glossy finish. Edited to say: As for forming.... I really tried to only get the back side wet, so that formed great (its not covered with tail) and the front just formed a little. For my pocket holsters, I prefer to form one side only... the inside, so the front of the holster might not look/print like a gun.

Anybody ever seen a Beaver like this? Yup..... it's a Beaver Tail! Pretty sweet if I don't say so myself!

This one is brand new, never used even once! Ouch! I bought this for a huge contract we had but by the time it arrived, the contract had been cancelled so...... I really can't justify keeping it around. I did assemble it, so I can't ship it (shipping packaging materials are long gone). Pickup only and we are about 20 miles north of Minneapolis, MN. Cost with shipping was $2350 roughly.... Will sell for $2000! Thanks for looking! This is the machine: http://www.leathermachineco.com/catalog.php?item=4

I like this pattern but cant find the tool that is wide enough. Most are more pointy vs rounder like in the pic.

Can you show something ith that pattern and show/tell what exact stamp you're using? I am having trouble finding one that will do a nice Fish Scale... Thanks!

Yeah no kidding!! I really did it this time! ha ha I've sold several holsters in the past at reduced prices and showed good pictures of the "error's" and once the buyer got the item, every single one commented on how great they were and the quality of my work etc. So yeah, even though they had some messed up finishes or one had a belt loop that I had stitched wrong and then pulled the stitches and redid it... looked like heck on the back side but they loved it and loved the price. I like to at least get some of the pay for the hard work and leather costs etc. So..... I think I'll keep selling them as long as I keep making them dang mistakes!! Man... it can get frustrating some days!

Thanks guys!