Fredo

I still need to work on getting the details right but for a first try with inlay I'm happy with it. I have not added the sealer yet that and forgot to white balance the camera if giving it a brown hue. Anyway your thoughts and critiques are appreciated.. Rock Island 1911 CS. .45 ACP It shoots where I aim it

Update on my attempt at making leather grips for my 1911. I tried a cpl of sets by laminating leather and did not like the look of stacks at all. Then I tried a set with a very think armor leather and did not like the look of the edge. So I decided to combine armor leather and stingray (thank you OKIE). Now this i am happy with. Feels good, holds nice under fire. I did not use a stiffiner under the grips however I did heat treat for hardness and after 200 rounds at the range tonight they have not budged, moved or warpped. I do need to work on my mag release cut out but I'll get that nailed in on the next set. Your thoughts and critiques are appreciated. Fredo

As soon as I get the 1911 I will try this and post pics for sure. If you all promise to give me real time and hard critique that is.

Hi Folks, well I went to the gun store to buy a few small items. While there I lost control of my will and bought a new 1911 by Rock Island officers .45 ACP Here's the question, has anyone tried making a set of grips from leather? I imagine that it would be nice to tool and set of grips to match a holster. When I force dry my holsters they end up fairly stiff. So I'm thinking why not grips? I Think natural oils form my hands will be ok, the weathered look of sun tanned leather is ok...... Anyone done this, any pics or posts to see/read? Thanks in advance. Fredo

The best I can offer is pant waists are NOT designed to hold up a weapon. Even the smallish LCR is going to give you trouble if you try to hang it off the pants wasit line or a thin belt. You may want to consider a a back pocket holster or buying a good belt to carry with. Sorry, hate to rain on anyones parade.

If you guys are willing to do a little work a money saving idea I used is to make your own set up (compressor). You can buy the HF airbrush compressor but the probelm with those is the lack of consistant presure. What I did was found a portable air taink on craigls list and plumbed my chepo HF compressor with an inline regulator to it. Now I have constant "regulated" presure for my brush. It made a world of difference in the ability to control the amount of dye being applied. Of course you can buy the smallest tank encluded set up from h0ome depot, lowes etc and be very happy with it also. Never under estimate the value of used items like compressors and tanks on craigsllist.

Very nice indeed, I've been playing with tooled holsters. I see I have a lot to learn.

Not IWB but I made this one a cpl of weeks ago. It fits the CT laser grips on the kimber ultra carry II. I added a wooden dowell when molding to set the grove for the lazer section of the grips. Owner of the kimber says it fits great. The gun is in Texas, I'm in So Cal so I was a bit worried but it all worked out.

I've always wanted to buy a nice knife. I found this one at the Del Mar gun show a cpl of weeks ago. I know there are better knives out there but this one was in my budget so I pulled the trigger and brought it home. First thing I noticed is that nice knives usualy come with not so nice sheaths so I decided to try my hand at making one. Your input, critiques and thoughts are appreciated. Currious George likes it as do I

A few weeks ago a friend's wife and I decided to suprise him with a carry holster fo his Kimber Ultra Carry II. Funny thing is that after I started on his holster he contacted me and wanted to order one. I had to lie and tell him I was abit busy and would get back to him later. 2 Days later he got this in the mail. Zero cant OWB. He sent me these photos a cpl of days ago. The texas star concho was used because he is a retired Texas LEO. He thinks that was a nice touch...what can I say so do I.

Can't tell yuo what type of thread is used "officaly" however I have had good luck with thread choice at my local fabric store. Go in and look around, you'll find something you like. I wax my own thread, I also dye my own threads. Not only will you find more then you thought you needed at fabric stores you'll save a ton of money too.

I think it's been covered by the first post. Most importantly stay behind the knife. It will cut you, the blood coming out your finger will ruin any leather you're working with.... Ask me how I know.

I'll confess I am addicted to craigslist, You can usually find a great deal just by browsing. Today I found my granite, a 24" X 18" X 4" thick machinist sine plate(spl*). It came mounted on a rolling iron stand supported by a steel 24 X 18X 1-1/2" plate. WOW what a monster, I could use a sledge on this thing! All this for 30 bucks! Then as I'm looking around the guy says we're closing up shop so if it's in here it's for sale cheap. Next up an all steel shop table, looks new out of the box. 54" X 24" very sturdy. it's perfect for a work top...10 bucks! I'm going back tomorrow with every penny I can scam ....I mean beg off the wife. There are a cpl of kenedy tool boxes there calling my name. YAY FOR ME!

Both are very nice, like spinner I'm looking at the black one and taking notes for future tank bibs. I change mine out like I do my socks!!

I might be wrong but I'm saying yes, it should work...of course there is only one way to find out.

The thread I use is 5 strand cotton, Cant remember the name since I basicly went to the yardage store and picked up a 100 yard roll of white and one of black. I did this because I was getting a large amount of wax build up as I stiched my projects. I found out by asking here that if I wanted to I could take the tandy prewaxed stuff and run it through a pinched piece of brown papper I could remove the excess wax before I used it. For the same amout of work and for a lot less money I can use the linen trhread for your local yardage place, walmart, k-mart etc... Also the white linen thread is easy to dye to any color I want with ecoflo hi-lite stains. If I get a chance later tonight I'll take some pics of the proccess...

I use harness neddles myself. However I gave up on the Tandy waxed thread, too much build up of wax on there and it takes more work to de-wax it then wax my own from scratch. I now use linen thread from the yardage store and wax it myself. As added bonus I can now color match my threads to the project being sewn.

I found that two things make a huge difference. One is that your hammer has to have the heft to transfer enough energy to cut through. I use a 2 lb copper hammer. I dont have to hit it hard, I let the wheight of the hammer do the work. If you play golf it's the same theroy as your golf club, don't swing hard let the club do the work. The second is that your base has to have enough heft to NOT MOVE or give in any way. I Use a poly cutting board over my granite slab. If you're using a board and a couple of pieces of scrap leather under the leather you're trying to punch through you're loosing too much energy. The board and the scrap leather are giving (compressing) enough that you're not cutting through. The granite gives me a heavy base, the cutting board protects the tool. Stroping is also key.