Steve Lowe

Okay, gang... Fire at will, and I don't mean shoot a guy named Will. I am a newbie to the leather craft. I have been messing around with leather for only a couple of years and been making Conceal-Carry type holsters for about four to six to eight months and have sold a few. I have always wanted a "Cowboy" holster for my .357 revolver but could not see my self paying the price. So a few weeks ago I bought the pattern from Tandy and made my belt. I also found a PDF -not here- from Jim Simmons. His PDF was instrumental in my making the holster for my Ruger. So, Jim Simmons, if you happen to run across this thread i want to offer a huge Thank You for the PDF instructions. Below are a few pictures of my rig. I also have a couple of questions that I am confused about and am hopeful I will be able to get them answered here. My question is belt sizing. The instructions with the pattern i got from Tandy was a bit confusing. I have the Billet, and the Buckle Strap placement down, but the belt length to go with a specific waist size baffles me. Is there a general rule on how long to make the belt, for a waist size. the instructions said to add or subtract per the waist size, but my math didn't add up and make sense to me. Any and all comments regarding my work are welcomed. I have a thick skin (my real job is customer service for software in the construction industry) so I can take negative feedback as well as positive. please be brutally honest as I want to improve to the level of a master craftsman. So, FIRE AT WILL... Thanks ahead of time -Steve Hang on gang.... let me make the pictures smaller.... they are tooooooooo big PS I should also mention that I have not added the Guntraq (sp) to the back or the EdgeKote to the edges yet. And you will see some sewing mistakes. that goes along with my sizing questions... DOH! it was too big at first and I had to redo the buckle and the Billet.