Shorts

7/8 worked best for me. I found 8/9 too thick that it seemed fluffy.

3prong 1/4" 8/32 from McMaster-Carr and screw studs from DOT

Doubled 7/8oz HO

Put it down on a manilla folder and draw it. It is the basic step to being creative with patterns. There are some tips at the top of the page on going about drawing a pattern.

I use Angelus Medium Brown. No red tint....it's yellow

Ah, I see. Before getting a strap cutter I was cutting pieces in a similar fashio as you but using a 3' piece of strap aluminum as my guide across the side. lol You've got a pretty tough shop to work in - best of luck out there and stay safe

For this reason I do not edge belts before grooving. On holsters its not as noticeable, but belts show. If you go this route you do want to be steady-handed when you edge so you don't fray or cut into the stitch line. I have not encountered any trouble by going this method compared to edging first. Just a matter of preference.

Mike makes a good point about using the awl in hand technique. I had to do it different since I stitch with one hand. What I did was punch all the holes then stitched.

I handstitched my first belt. Never again. Sure, I'm proud it if. It'll last a very long time. However handstitching yards and yards of thread (one piece!) is something I won't probably do again. And I have a machine now Probably a good thing it was a 33" belt huh?

Dear Lord please help me to resist the urge to reach through the screen and choke the person on the other end

I wish it was as easy as slapping Chicago screws on piece of leather and calling it a holster Customers are silly. I wish they could actually see the amount of thought and work that actually goes into a design

No no, it's for those 'professional enough'

I don't sweat using a customer's gun. What I don't like is the actually dropping off/picking up process. I don't have a storefront so that means they have to come here to the house or I have to meet them in the area. I want to make sure that no matter where I am, if I'm meeting with a customer I have to present a professional and competent foot forward. It puts them at ease. I know they're probably a bit nervous leaving their baby with someone else. I am the same way. I think it goes without saying that once a customer hands me his gun it is now my responsibility and I will handle it as if it were my own. As for being handed a loaded firearm, that's why whenever you pick up any firearm you are suppose to check the chamber and clear it for yourself before doing anything else. Rules are Rules and you don't neglect them just because you're not at the range or out on the land. A loaded gun shouldn't be a surprise or a scare; it should be a reassurance to you and the due diligence you place on firearms handling. Our guns are always loaded. I'm sure those unfamiliar with them would be more than surprised and shocked about that. But to us it isn't out of the ordinary. A written receipt sounds like a good idea to give to a customer in exchange for his/her firearm. Hand them one if your business cards as well. Give them a description of the process and an estimate of how long it may take. I'm fairly laid back in my views to how complicated or regulated this should be. In small instances, things happen. If that's the case, make it right. It could be an expensive endeavor. But it shouldn't take an act of an incompetent congress to do it.

It looks like you have some extra space in your sig line area. See if that might be goofing up your post.

I'm not understanding what you mean

Great color. Very smooth. I still can't get my browns to work right As for HO, it's all I care to use. Can but a bit tough to cut but the results from wet mold are worth it.

You want a holster that is too tight. The reason is because you can fit a tight holster to your gun and your retention preference. What you do is take either a piece of wax paper or a plastic baggie and put it around the gun. Holster the gun and either practice some draws or you can leave it sitting for half hour or so. I've found wax paper works best to really slick and set the leather fibers. The draw is excellent. I recommend these final fitting instructions to my customers as I send all my holsters out too tight. When you have a problem is when the holster is too loose from the start. Once a holster is stretched it can never be shrunk to fit tight again. As for a good estimate on the stitch lines is taking half the width of the gun distance away. A general rule of thumb is .5", for thicker polymer guns you want to bump it out to .7-.75"ish

Good start! And you've done a first holster with a challenging pattern to build. My first was a pancake holster....no hardware or straps to think about Well, I'm just going to jump right in. Edging - Glue your pieces together, sand them down even, then burnish. This gives you a solid, seamless edge. Corners - Try not to have any sharp corners anywhere on the holster. They get bumped and then start fraying. Round off the square and it'll add longevity to that area. It will also be more comfortable. Leather corners can be hard to bump against. Wet mold - Looks like you wet molded the top piece prior to stitching. This is a personal preference, I like to wet mold after stitching. Makes for a snug fit for retention. Gun position - When building a holster, try to keep the gun down in the holster. I can't tell on this one, but if you sit the gun too high in the holster it becomes top heavy. This is especially tricky with some larger semiautos. You need to balance the weight so that the grip doesn't flop away from the body. Just something to keep in mind as you build holsters. Alright, all in all, good work on your first holster. Once you get the feel of building a holster some details will smooth right out.

+1 above No liner, dye black and top coat. A holstered gun will have its finish worn no matter what. Just a fact of gun use and ownership. Anyone who doesn't want any gun to get worn anywhere should keep it as a safe queen. A gun is a terrible thing to waste

You can easily start your project with a 7/8oz shoulder. I encourage you to go to Springfield Leather Co. (their banner is at the top of the page). They were running a special on Herman Oak that still may be available. And if it isn't I know they will get you squared away with the items you'll need. Matter of fact, I need to get another order in myself!

Kevin, I might need that CZ75B. I'll let you know for sure. Got a few others on your list that I could use as well. Let me get my thinking cap on and I'll let you know.

Anyone used denatured alcohol as a reducer to Angelus dye? I ran out of the Angelus reducer but do have s-l-x denatured alcohol onhand (the kind from home depot). My concern is that the denatured alcohol is too strong that it will slightly burn the leather. How do I mitigate that?

There is no fee for using Paypal shipping. I have noticed that it is cheaper to use Paypal shipping for small items. Not sure if I'm doing something incorrect on the USPS site but I can send a $2 bubble envelope from Paypal the same same is $4.80 on USPS. What I don't like about Paypal shipping is the labels are smaller than USPS and I end up wasting adhesive labels. I would guess that's just a matter of the print options and using a certain type of label but I haven't messed around with it to figure it out. I also don't like Paypal advertisements all over the label.

Thanks Carl!

I'm just now looking at this. My head spins and I feel that swamped feeling thinking about the time it probably took to build such a work Incredible!