renegadelizard

hey Tac, i got those from springfield leather.. http://springfieldleather.com/33676/Black-Wideback-Belt-Clip/

He told me that if he were to do it, he would want to do it right, and to do it right, he would need to use s7 steel and have it heat treated, and that with the precision involved he would have to rent time at a machine shop due to his mill at home being inadequate (he made mine on his lunch break at work, and has since been told to cease millwork not related to his job)..all of this changed his price from around 60 to 140 per piece. I am his friend, and i know the kind of work he does..he is a perfectionist..but that said, 140 was even too steep for me...I have no doubts at all that i would never have to buy another punch as long as me or kids are alive, but there are just too many alternative ways to do the job of a punch to justify the cost..for me anyways...I apologize to everyone for getting their hopes up, i'm feeling sort of bummed out as well...

Even at $140?? Anybody else?

i talked to him tonight and he said he wouldnt be able to do it...he figured it to do it right, with the heat treat using s7 steel, it would cost him in excess of 100 bucks a piece...he said his mill at home would not get the precision he needed, so he would have to rent time in a machine shop, plus material, and his labor, i kind of quit listening when he said 140 selling price...sorry guys...

on mine, the cs osbourne would punch the top side wider than the back, so the back of my slot were much narrower on 1/4 thick holsters...agin, i believe this is inherent in the design of their punches with the tapered wall...my new one is much less pronounced, but when i ordered it, i got it larger just to be certain...

10-4

I dont think it will work unless the 4 inch commander is railed all the way to the end of the dust cover...i would use wood like Shooter suggested....i had to do this for a glock with a light attached along with some sort of window breaker attachment on it....or you could always buy a picatinny rail and screw it on to a blue gun

You are correct..as for how hard it would be to sharpen, i dont know yet...the guy who made this is a very talented machinist, and he has made many, many, dies and cutters for a company that makes shotgun wads for the military...he also used to own a sharpening business, so he is pretty skilled in that area...ill mention it to him about the sharpening angle..

here is a pic of my cutter...ill talk to him about doing different sizes...im going to let this post kind of just run for a week or so then im going to figure out the most requested sizes...ive seen a few already for .25...just a word of on this...the double thick duty belts dont fit real well in those slots...thats why i went with the 5/16 slot, it gives the slot the clearance need to fit the belt and bend... stainless is pretty hard...ive used it more than a few times and it is still razor sharp...

sew a channel on the back of the holster the same width of the belt...

im not sure if i understand you correctly...the skirt was attached to the belt...i usually put a strip of leather on my skirts at the bottom edge of the beltline to stop it from comming up when drawn...could it be that the skirt was glued to the belt?

Hey all..the guy who made my belt slot cutter for holsters wanted to know if there is enough interest to start producing them...he made mine to use with an arbor press but he said he could do a handle version as well...they are made of stainless steel, 5/16 wide by 1 1/2 inches long//the cutting wall is 1/16 of an inch thick...it cuts perfect belt slots for 1 1/4, 16-18 oz gun belts...im sure he could accomodate a larger slot if needed...he said the price would be around $60...after having paid 38 for a cs osbourne that wasnt made for holster work, i jumped on it and couldnt be happier...he said he would have to a minimum of 10...here is a pic of my latest holster using the cutter...he also made me a few arbor adapters..these are aluminum shafts the fit over electric motor arbors, the ones with a flat for set screws...they step down from an outer diameter of around 1 inch to 3/8 of an inch..the 3/8 part is 3 inches long...then a piece of oak dowel 1 inch in diameter x 5-6 inches long is press fitted on the shaft and turned flat for you to finish with whatever grooves you need..im waiting on a price for those, but i think he said around 40 for those...let me know if there is any interest... thanks don

ive been thinking on this, trying to come up with a way to do a flat backed pancake, and i believe i understand it to the point of being able to make a pattern for the front side using basic math...here is how i figure it...make a pattern like you would for a regular pancake, marking your stitch lines using the 1/2 gun thickness plus 1/2 total leather thickness method and establish a centerline through the middle of the gun where the pattern is curved the least...lay the top piece of your pattern on a new sheet and trace the front half of the pattern...mark the start and stop points for the sight channel stitch line...slide the top pattern perpendicular to the centerline one thickness of the gun toward the back of the holster...mark your trigger guard/dust cover stitchline and trace back half of pattern...remove top pattern and connect the outside top and bottom lines on your new top pattern....cut and mark stitchlines...use stitchlines to mark glue lines...glue one side and sew, glue the other side and sew...insert pistol and mold...this method should allow for enough leather on the top to mold the full profile of the gun without having to mold the top before sewing...after it is all dry and such, you may want to look at it and tweak the pattern as needed...will this work?

DO yourself a huge favor and google adams leatherwork, go to his site and click on his how its made link..Eric provides great tutorials on how to make a pattern and shows his process for the actual creation...hands down the best how-to ive ever seen...he goes by the name Particle on here...

Hey Matt, i dont think it would hurt to move your belt slots out a 1/4 inch or so....these guns are rather thick, and just like revolvers need some more room...when i do these chubby guns, i usually space them at about 3/4 to 7/8 inch from the stitch line..another thing i do is to mold the holster with a belt blank in place..this sets the retension as it is worn and not flat...let me know how it works out...the pucker can be mitigated by inserting a dowel or something similar for a sight channel...it usually pulls that extra out...

Dont change your direction..change your policies...anyone but my closest friends and co workers pays before i even cut the leather...this simple step will make you feel a ton better and get you to your bench with pep in your step instead of that feeling of "got to"...give it a shot and see..

Thanks J.R....good tip with the dye...

Well, let me start by saying that I am nowhere near master level, but unfortunantely, leatherworking is a trade...and tradesmen, will never get paid a wall street salary...some here, like Lobo, is incredibly successful, but like any successfull person, he works his tail off and is always looking for ways to make something better, like his welted pancakes and avengers......others, like me, do this because we enjoy it and it usually pays enough to send off to Kevin at Springfield for more tools and leather...lol...So, i dont think it gets any easier, but doing a job you enjoying doing is worth quite a bit...

I tried it last night, and it is possible..however, my modeling spoon really wanted to slip...i had to go real slow and light pressure, repeated passes...i ran an edger on the outside, then cut in my two lines, then ran the spoon on the shelf of the cuts...it turned out pretty good, but nowhere near as nice as the link you posted...practice would make it better, but i still thing better tools are needed...

The finish that Katsass, aka...the Grump..or Mike in some circles prefers is good old mop and glow cut 50/50 with water...its cheap and effective..some like it, some dont, but most try it cause Mike has been using it for longer than most of us have been alive, so his word is highly esteemed...for a flesh side out, i would wet form and let it dry for a day or two, then dip the whole thing in the mop and glow mix, pull it out, shake it off, and let it dry for another day or two...

i would line it with the dark and go with white thread...stitch every seam before folding it over and sewing the rest of it together...it looks like its a slim jim design, so the sewing wont be nearly as bad as it would be on a mexican loop holster...my first holster was a revolver as well...good choice for a first piece...oh, and i just didi the opposite of you....i wanted to cut out a pattern for a sig 1911, but i wanted mine flesh out so i could overlay it with fake ostrich ...i cut ti the normal way of course...lol...gotta start writing more on my patterns...crossdraw avengers seem to be my nemesis here lately....good luck and post some pics when you are done...

Awesome...the grain is incredible...it looks almost like snakewood...great color choice for that...how difficult was it to mold and bone that horsehide?...i can never get it wet enough to really get it in the nooks and crannies....

What is this foot press you speak of?..got a picture?

i use my scratch awl..

hey rick, what leather wieghts are these used for...im interested in both..