TwinOaks

The only way to get a truly good fitting gun belt on him is to measure one of his belts. Things you need to consider: What type of gun will he be carrying? IWB or OWB? What position (yeah, I know, some folks will say it doesn't matter)? How are the jeans cut?( I wear a different size in one Levi's than in Wrangler) Steel frames weigh more than polymer so more support is needed. An example of how all this ties together: I normally wear a size 36 in jeans and work pants, but I buy size 38. Why? Because I carry IWB and the extra size on the pants allows for more comfortable carry. What I carry is a 1911. Because of the wardrobe allowance, I can get away with a wide body semiauto pistol, but revolvers get a bit uncomfortable. If I wear the correct size, it's uncomfortable to have ANY gun IWB. For OWB, it's less of an issue of pants size, but the width and stiffness (temper) of the belt is more crucial to stabilize the weapon. If I don't carry, I just 'belt up' the extra space. My suggestion, if you can't accurately measure one of his belts, is to make 38" the midpoint of the belt holes. And, make a medium temper belt if you have nothing else to go on.

Yes, but only the ones in the slowest person's pocket.

Sounds reasonable to me. I don't know what % I bought- it's the cheapest gallon jug walmart had. Pour into brew jar, add steel wool, and a handful of rusted nails, let set for 8 months (so far, and with the occasional dip).

Lessee....you said 'hi', you admitted your addiction, and included pics.......Yep! You belong here! Welcome to Leatherworker.net! Glad you found this site. Pull up a chair and tool a while, coffee needs to be made, bathrooms are down the hall, and DON'T EAT THE DONUTS.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=4010&st=0&p=54783&hl="lighter%20holster"&fromsearch=1entry54783 , post #5 is the pattern for the keychain holsters graciously given to us by Hammerhead. A little tweaking and it fits a NAA derringer just fine.

There are several threads on tools people have made for themselves. I think it was Electrathon that was making half-round knives from old saws. Take a little extra time, if you don't already know about it, and do a little research on hardening, annealing, and tempering. Depending on your cut-out method, you can heat the remaining steel (the knife part) to the point that you ruin the temper. At that point, you won't be able to maintain an edge on it until you reharden the edge. Also, for reference, many head knives have the edge sharpened to about 20 degrees. That should give you a starting point.

Keep an eye out for posts from Sewmum (as mentioned), Art, Barra, and Wizcrafts, as they have a tremendous amount of knowledge on the old machines. If you don't see anything on the open forum, try PMing them.

You can try some generous application of saddle soap and a lot of elbow grease to try and smooth it out. Once that is done, apply some sort of sealer- Pecard's, Sno-seal, Resolene, Mop-n-glo.......something that will be very water resistant. If you've got a place that you can flatten out parts of it- an ironing board comes to mind because you can place the bag over the pointed end- you might even try shaving or sanding it a little to pull off the bigger "fuzzies".

...Or just re-case the leather on the sweatshield and press it around the safety that's 'on', to remold that portion of the shield. All I carry is my ol' '91A1 and with a good plunger spring, the safety has never dropped because of the holster. That's not to say that everyone who has a 1911 platform pays attention to the important details....so, Dick is right. It's better to plan ahead. Then again, Andy Artoonian (sp?) of Horseshoe gunleather molds only to 'hammer down, safety down(off)', because molding to "cocked and locked" could indicate that he suggests carrying in that way, possibly leading to liability issues. It's a big fur ball of ideas, and I have to admit that it technically is safer to carry in condition 3 - loaded magazine, no round chambered, hammer down- than in condition 1- loaded, chambered, hammer cocked, safety on. However, the question becomes safer for whom? There was a thread a while back, maybe even pre-crash, in which we discussed this very thoroughly...Also the possibility of having one blue gun and the option of the safety "up" or "down" by grinding off the frame safety on the blue gun, drilling a hole, and mounting a real safety on the blue gun. That would give the customer the option without the necessity of a second blue gun purchase. Oh, dear, I hope I haven't just started a 'what's the best way to carry a 1911' hijack..... (BTW: Even if the safety in the off position, a PROPERLY built 1911 is still safe until the grip safety is depressed. On some models there is also a firing pin safety that is disengaged by either the grip safety or trigger. But unless the pistol is yours, and you can verify the correct function of all the safeties, don't presume that it is "in spec.".)

If you're worried about the sweat shield getting floppy at some point, you can always add another layer of leather to the flap and run it down far enough to make a tertiary loop.

Also, as you near an edge, lean the tool back a bit to avoid making an impression really close to the border- unless you won't be using a cam. It may just be me, but it looks like some of the stamping was done after the camoflauging....save the cams to hide the edges of the regular stamps.

The smell will go away, it just takes a little time. The smell is the result of the vinegar, and since vinegar has a VOC rating, it'll evaporate. As your brew ages, the smell will become less too. Let it set in a fairly well ventilated place. My brew is old enough that there really is no smell left. Other than neutralizing with the baking soda, there's not much you can do but wait. Don't forget to oil it.

On your holster, you just need to to shift the back of the holster more ..."forward" (in the photo, move the sweat shield to the right). Same with the strap. Just offset it from the centerline of the holster so that it can lay flat when covering the weapon.

Rayban, did you remember the little part about oiling it afterward? My 'roon turns a dark gray too, but after a generous rubbing with Aussie, it turns a deep lustrous black.

I do all the molding before vinegaroon too. I've also experimented a bit with 'brushing' the vinegaroon on instead of dunking.

Bump.

I've found two ways to do it- have a thin enough strap that it will fit between the hammer and slide, or, make the strap wide enough to go over the hammer.

Also, some suggested readings: Look up the threads by UKRay on selling sideways, and others. He's had some great ideas on how to increase sales.

pack it up and send it to me!!! and would ya mind throwing in free shipping??? I think a shotty rig would be the perfect use of it.

Very nice design (and I agree with you on placement) overall. The second dye job looks good, and the edges are great.

Hi Allison and welcome to Leatherworker.net! If you want to include a lot of tooling/carving, possibly the WHOLE thing, then you'll need a side of veg tan leather- it's what we tool and carve on. It'll also take a LONG time to do that much tooling. I'd suggest getting some upholstery leather (yes, like what you'd see on a chair or couch) and building the case from that. Then, as you want to add lacing, or tooled portions, you can attach that to the case as inlays, overlays, or appliques. I think this would provide the best combination of factors. The upholstery leather will stand up to a lot of use and provide a uniform pallet for other things you wish to attach to it. It's also thin enough that there won't be significant weight involved (think of how heavy an A2 portfolio would be if the leather was 1/4 inch thick.....not that it wouldn't look nice). There is more than a bit of skill involved in the production, and fortunately, you are in the right place! Tools you'll need to borrow or buy- something to mark stitches something to punch stitch holes (no, not the hole punch) something to stitch with - I use needles from walmart for my handstitching...$0.96/ pack. PRACTICE. Or just use a leather sewing machine......NOTE: DON'T BUY SOMETHING OFF EBAY JUST BECAUSE THE PICTURE SHOWS THEM SEWING LEATHER For tooling the leather you'll need stamps, bevelers, shaders, cams, backgrounders................long list.... We have a section called "getting started" that addresses many of the 'what tools do I need' questions, and may give you a better idea of what you need. If the responses to this thread don't seem to answer your questions, it's worth a few hours of reading/ browsing to see if some of our other members have answered it better. Also, for bag construction.....check out some of the work by " esantoro ", here on the board.

can/will you palletize for shipping, and what is your preferred payment method? I've been hunting a stitcher for over a year, and this is perfect timing. Looking forward to hearing from you.

If you're talking about transferring an image to your seat and then carving and tooling it, I'd suggest using a portrait of your favorite politician, ex-wife/girlfriend, or something along those lines.

With the costs of the part, "shipping and handling", and TIME, I think you'd be better off going to town and just buying a clipboard then drilling out the rivets to get the clip. Once you have the spring clip, you can always use the 'board' part as a cutting board, stiffener, frisbee....

Here's a link to another wallet thread- The pattern helps show the gap between the sides of the liner http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=16830 (scroll down till you see the pattern)