cleanview

Yes. I took my pattern and made that exact modification to it. Great minds think alike.

Thanks for the replies. It does seem the stitch line is the mystery . The first one was to close, so being a liitle gun shy I put the stitch line on the redo holster a little to far out. I figure it can be brrought in if needed but when it is to small it is to small. I see what you mean about the stitch around the tunnel belt loop. I will incorporate that in future holsters. The low ride on the front (the cut out) is for action shooting. Am I missing something? I assumed the only way to put more cant was the positions of the belt loops. It is hard to get a grip. The balancing act again. Each time I do a holster I learn by error. There is a way around the grip problem in the sport I play. I use this gun once in a while, but mostly the holsters I have made are functional, but onlt practice for the one I will make for the 1911 gun I play with most. I really appreciate the comments and any more that are to come. It is a big help in the learning process. Brent

Redid my avenger holster that was posted a week or so ago. Its biggest problem was trigger was not covered enough. The first one below is the redo corrected the trigger problem but might have gotten the stich line a little looser than needed. Took the sharp corner out and trimmed up the ear a little. Also moved teh front belt loop forward some. Any pointers? Over all I am pretty happy with it.

where do you get adjustable tension screws at?

really nice

Thanks a lot for the comments. Yes I thought that ear could have been a little smaller as well. did not think about rounding the corner off, that would not have crossed my mind, which is why I appreciate this forumn so much. I have a page of hand written notes of things I will do different in the future. When a round is chambered the trigger is covered. In the picture the gun has been clearedand the trigger is more to the rear. Thanks again. The next one will be for my 1911 which is the main gun I play with. I do this as a hobby but have had some one ask me to make them one. They want a pancake style for a commander 1911. this person grew up with my kids so I told him 30 bucks since I was still practicing. I figure it is about 12 bucks worth of leather involved. thanks Brent

It is a action pistol holster and it is advantageous to expose a little more. BUT I see what you mean. the trigger is exposed. I did not even notice. thank you.

This one did not seem to require as much boning in because of the cut away design. Overall I was pleased with the results. It probably could have been a little looser, it was quite a bit of work to get it to fit well. And my pattern was flawed in that the rear of the guardshiled overlapped with the stitchline. there was a little overlapping. I thought I was putting in a little more cant than I did (that seems to be hard to judge). Again for the 2nd holster I am well pleased as it is better than the first. Any pointers? Brent

I was was suprised at the springfield site . The prices were reasonable and soem ways better than tandy and smaller quanities are available and from what I could tell shippin was very good. I just bought two half shoulders from tandy. Probably last me a good littlw while. I think I will try springfield next time I have need. They had a real good selection. Practice makes perfect, or closer to perfect I guess. Each project gets better. Thanks again Brent

THANK YOU That is a very good site. It is the best one I have seen IMO. Why is Tandy leather such a poor choice? Brent

That is the dye that I am using. what is the propper way to reduce it?

I bought the leather at tandy and it is usually called craftsman oak I believe it was 6-7 oz. Thanks

As mentioned before, this is my first attempt at an avenger and to use a pattern and to form after sewing (basically first attempt to do as I have learned on this sight. I made this one for a bersa 380 just to do some learning. Some of the things I learned through error. 1. Dye pieces before attaching peices. 2. Probably going to dye the main color with dauber then airbrush the 2nd color. To thin a coat with the air brush. 3. dont bone in the holster so wet. THis was the biggest mistake. attachment=66016:rezized.jpg] Couple of questions. 1. When dyeing the base coat some of the cordovan looked black. My first thought was the leather need to be cleaned. Do you clean the leather before dying and if so How? 2. The holster is tight fitting, but not tight enough. It can barely be held upside down. Is it the forming that need to be better? Over all I am pleased with the first attemp. It is far from where I want it to be, but I believe a redo could be better just from what I learned by error, and far better by you responses and advicec. Brent

It is amazing how far a thred can wander. In one way, so many points of view makes me ralize how little I know. I needed a hobby a few years ago and got into guns and acton shooting. I had played with leather years ago and decided to extend my hobby into holdters as well. This sight is a wealth of information and i appreciat ethe time and effort ot takes form knowledgeable to people to share and teach others that want to learn. I have the day off tomorrow so I will get to make some headway ont he holster. will post a pic when finished. Brent

Cool. Lots of good info. What is the reason for the mop and glo being 50/50 water? Do you think that it would change any of the results? Thanks again for all of the responses. Brent

Thanks to EVERYONE that offered advice. Each offered good advice, for which I am greatfull. I overlooked "countrytrash" post. I am going to let the finished spray dry overnight and see if that wont solve the problem. Makes sense to me. Brent

Did not let it dry very long. That was probably the problem. Just not sure how long it should dry before any buffing or second coat. Of all the posts I have read, it seems liek the grump is a knowledgeable person to listen to. I probably only remember him because it seems like he starts every post with "this is wha the grump says" or something like that. while I appreciate the posts and found them very informative, I dont argue with advice given to me (ecspecially when I am the new one) but there are many things that can be used for more than one purpose. Thanks again. I will try letting the first coat dry, then buff, then the 2nd color and let it dy and then buff and see how that works out.

Thanks for the replys. Very good pointers. What about the first problem I listed? I dye the cordovan then the black around the edges and then when I buff it, it pretty much turns black. Is there an amount of time between coats or time to set before buffing. I am attempting the avenger on the little bersa basically to get my feet wet at the over all process. My ultimate goal is a cut back version of the avenger for a 1911 that is popular in action shooting. Thanks again.

I am from Amarillo Texas. I started making housters for myself last year, and wound up making more than one for most of my handguns. Then I start reading this forumn about 2 months ago and found out how BACKWARDS I was going about the process. I have spent a lot of time reading and learning from this group. An example, yesterday I said "honey you got any mop&glo" of course she said no, so we ran out and got some to try what someone who calls hinself the grump suggested. I have experimented with so mnay things that I have read hear. Well I am just about to make my first avenger for a bersa 380. I have the pattern ready to go but have been practicing several aspect to make sure that I am ready to get it right. I have been glueing 2 small pieces together and then practicing beveling, stitch lining stiching, the belt hole airbrushing and finishing and so forth. Here are a few questions. 1. When I spay the leather cordovan and then the second black around the edges it usually looks pretty good, but I think that whe I buff them it blends into an almost black all over, Is my assumptio correct, and if so what is the remedy? 2. Most video example are sewn with a machine. When hand stiching, are stch lines on both sides of the leather? If so, it seems like the smallest mistake and the drilled hole would mis the back line. I appreciate all I have learned form this forumn and any input to my questions. Before to long I will post a picture of some past holsters (ugly yet functional) and the new one. Brent