camano ridge

If you are planning to order from the states anyway. You might check with Bruce Johnson. He sells used, older vintage, dixon, osborne etc The stuff you buy from him is sharpand ready to go. http://www.brucejohnsonleather.com

It looks like you were probably using the pattern and tutorial from Eightbits (Roy29). That one was for a semi with a laser and with the gun he used the stitch line was apropriate, although I think it could have been a little tighter to. Look at the picture and compare to yours you will see your gun sits further away from the stitch line then his. You can use that pattern for many small semi's just adjust the stitch line to give you a snug fit. pancake for semi w laser.pdf

You did not ask for a critique, however I am going to throw a few things out for you that may help on the next one and even on this one. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This holster is a little blocky for my liking however if it works for you go with it. I would round the corners off a little bit more, sharp corners do not last long. You need a stitch line that follows the countour of the gun. I think you are going to find that this holster will loosen up very quickly in use with a real gun. Even now you could follow your mold line as close as possible with an overstitch wheel to mark stitching holes, then pooke your stitch holes with an awl and stitch. You will have improved retention that will not loosen up on you. Here is an example of the approximate stitch line:

There are commercial grade thickness gauges that have deeper jaws that reach further into the leather. However for your pupose to determine if leather is close to the thickness you were wanting either of these work well. I have both. A digital read out thickness gauge from Harbor freight reads in inch/mm and is under $9.00. http://www.harborfreight.com/digital-thickness-gauge-66319.html This gauge is from blackriverlaser.com. I t is handy as it is flat and easily carried in the pocket. http://www.ebay.com/itm/HANDY-GAUGE-II-LEATHER-THICKNESS-GAUGE-METRIC-OZ-SIZES-EASY-TO-USE-/131324551530 measures in oz also they have a version that measures in oz and metric. digital read out or gauge caliper works as well. This chart come in handy as well

FIrst thing I recommend, is get yourself a gauge. Even the handy gauge that Blackriver laser has for around $6.00 will help you out. I have found that tandy leather no matter if it is Oak Leaf Craftsman or their top of the line has been inconsistent lately. I was at Tandy looking at some double shoulder that were on sal, they were supposed to be 8-9 oz. Most were more in the neighbor hood of 7-8 found one that was more 5-6 and two that were 9 -10. I did not find any that I found a spot that was actually 8-9. They all had the same number so it was not that they were mixed with other wieghts. I always carry a gauge when I go there and always check the weight. If you are buying 6-7 oz you should get 6-7 oz.

Like Studio-N said Nice find.

SHow us a picture of what you are making. Like Denster said on a IWB pancake style a reinforcment piece is not really going to be effective in keeping the mouth of the holster open as much as you want. I know some one that shapes a piece of kydex that is sandwiched between two pieces of leather he says it works. I have not tried it and do not know how it works over long term.

Bruno, that turned out pretty nice.

I have been making holsters for over 40 years. I have never screwed up a holster. I have a box of learnng experiences and those learning experiences date from 1973 to present. If you stop having things that present a challenge or always turn out the way you want them. Things would be very boring. Even experienced people can have things not turn out the way they planned. It is easy to do things such as forgetting to reverse a pattern when cutting out a left handed holster. A few months ago. I made a matching pair of holsters they were both suposed to be dyed Bordeaux. I dyed one holster then had to quit and take care of. When I came back i grabbed my bottle of dye squirted some on my sponge and wiped the dye on only to realize I had just dyed the holster dark brown instead of bordeaux. I grabbed the wrong bottle of dye in my haste. It happens. Throw it in your box of learning experiences and move on.

You have been a busy little fellow. They look good.

Warning, XRumer is spamming software. I would be very catious about communicating with this person. It appears he is in either Rwanda or Malaysia. Does not appear to have anything to do with leather.

I agree wrapping odd shapes or complex curves with paper and tape is easiest way to develop a pattern. We have customers do it all the time with rifle stocks that can't be sent to us. http://www.veoh.com/watch/v18183118m2eEtc53?h1=How+to+make+a+template+for+my+custom+butt+cover

I don't know if someone is trying to impress us or just way over thinking things. Silverwingit is right, if you are using two individual pieces of leather. However if you are gluing/ laminating them together you treat the end result as one piece of leather. If you have two pieces of 5oz leather glue it together and you end up with a piece of ten ounce leahter. Treat it as one piece of leather. I do it in holster making all the time.. Like electrothon said take either an over long piece of your laminated leather or a piece of the same thickness wrap it around the object and mark. You now have your length. When wrapping around a cylinder to get a good tight butt (all right you guys) cut each end on a slight opposing bias. Then mate the ends together. No algebradic headaches required.

Great rig. Nicely done.

No picture

Comming along nicely.

The original poster was venting his frustration over a situation. Right or wrong it was his situation and he was just venting. THis has turned into a be littling name calling contest. I am surprised that a moderator has not locked this as it seems to be escelating. We have all read David L's posts on other threads and most of us have learned to ignore them. I vote for the calendar as long as Kevin is'nt in it.

Like Deight said it may have worked for Al who probably never heard of IWB. However it won't work for what you want. I am also a little confused on how you are using it for IWB. IT looks like it is a right hand holster, however if you wear it on the right side so you can use the belt loop and put it inside your pants as an IWB the grip would be facing the wrong way. If you put it on the left side as a cross draw you really won't have the angle you need for a good cross draw. I have found very few cross draw IWbs that worked well. Not to be harsh but if you want a good IWB, start over. Do a search on here for IWB and the WEB in general. I would also be willing to share and IWB pattern with you.

Show us a picture of the holster it will be easier to identify your problem or problems. I have to agree with Dwight that it sounds like a design problem.

I am guessiing the customer remebers seeing coins on a belt.. He probably does not know how they were actually attached He has just given you his desire that he thinks they should be romvable. I have used coin bezels and leather rings etc. To hold coins on belts holster etc. I have never seen an actual screw back coin holder. Not to say for sure they do not exist, however obviously they are hard to find. I would give your customer the options availabe. If they don't like any of them send him on his way to find the maker that can do it his way. my guess is that maker will be as ellusive as the screw back coin holders. It looks like the standard coin bezels are about as close as you are going to come.

Frankqv, I like it.

Yep, I would go with wine bottle holder. Lay the bottle on the long parrt with the neck of the bottle through the hols in the handle. it will sit on the counter as in the first picture as a diplay.

Does not look like your picture got atached

Ds Leather my apologies. I see now by clicking on the picture it shows a full size picture with measurements.

Short over simplified answer Backs will be stiffest with least stretch, followed by shoulders. Belly will give you the most stretch and for your projects probably the least desireble. I cut all my straps, belts etc from backs or the back portion of a side. Shorter straps can be cut from shoulders. Just my spin on it.