Shorts

Agreed, a solid underneath surface is key. Since I'm upstairs, I use a plate from my weight set as the base. Finally! They're getting used!

Yuu know that box of holsters most people have cause they just don't fit right....well, I'm collecting a shelf full of 'didn't works'. I keep them on display. The basic idea is there, its the sum of its parts that went wrong. You never know, it could be useful for something in the future.

Mike, Chuck and Troy, great information. Thank you for keeping the thread informed.

For daily carry, IWB or OWB are most common. I prefer OWB. Ankle holsters are great for BUGs. Shoulder rigs have their place as well in daily carry, but that's going to be more influenced by attire/weather than IWB/OWB. Ideally its great to have several options from day to day.

The way to get your shirts to tuck in is to use a clip positioned lower on the holster body, as well as stepped out away from the holster to create a space for the shirt to go. The shirt will them sit between the holster and the clip. That clip will go up and around the waist of the pants. Take a look at some of the tuckable holsters on ine and make note of the types of attachments they use. Use those general concepts to build your holster. Really, you can't reinvent the wheel on this, but you can use your own style and design to acheive a similar functioning item. Just start putting drawings on paper, get ideas out. Today I had a revelation about my IWB I've been working on for a week or two now and so I jumped into my chair and drew the pattern. I'm building it now. I'm hoping it comes out like I think it will. But, trial and error my friend.

Reminds me of POR15. Its an automotive chemical that is used to convert rust to a black coating on the frames/chassis of vehicles. I imagine the process is similar to putting Naval Jelly on a spot of rust.

Well the anodizing would be the easy part. What hardware is preferred?

I hadn't even considered that but that's a fairly significant scenario. Thanks for the update all around.

Staying tuned Brock, will this DIY kit be for multiple types of metal? McMaster has several varieties of Tnuts. Which and why? I'll keep looking around.

Hmm ok. Looking around, Birchwood Casey makes some products that will blacken zincs. May be worth a shot and something to have onhand. I've used their cold blue to restore an old shotgun of dad's.

Hmm, makes me have an idea. Unfortunately I cannot do any hot blueing here ( actually I haven't tried to purchase the chemicals needed), but I can parkerize. Although I don't intend on Parking T-nuts (won't be good for smoothness of the threads inside), I think I might be able to get a batch hot blued by some folks on a gunsmithing forum. I'm going to poke around a bit, see what I can find. If all else fails, I might push forward on hotblueing. You guys back in the States, give cold bluing a shot, it'd be fairly easy (overall). The hard part is hanging onto the little pieces and wiping each one Would you guys be interested in putting in an order for a T-nuts and have them shipped to be refinished, then distributed to each? I can make a post now and see if its a job someone is willing to take. Edit: Duracoating T-Nuts sounds like horror to me lol Instead of beadblasting each one, is it possible to drop them into a tumbler with some grit? May be a more expedient and less painful way to rough up the surface to take any coating. Also speaking of Duracoat, anyone have a Sherwin Williams store nearby? If so, look for "Polane-T" (Polane-S will work as well). You'll need some catalyst and a special reducer too. The prices are such IIRC that it'd be more likely with a group by. But at that point, you might as well send off for refinishing unless you're already supplied and stocked to do it yourself.

Yeah, sorry, in a rush today and not enough caffeine lol That would be something though, knocking that anvil around! I meant the base piece of the setter kit like the one pictured here:

A little tip I figured out in order to get snaps that are straight is to be certain your anvil is well stabilized and doesn't slide as you rap the post. For instance, I have placed little rubber pads (w/adhesive) on the bottom of my avil for the buttons so it does not slide. This has really improved the quality of my snap applications. Give it a try if you're having a little trouble with your snaps

Oh yeah, the leather easily cracked.

Ron, I'd wager the same. Before anyone intends to burn me at the stake, I wasn't trying to achieve a hardened holster this way. I merely ended up there after treated it the way I did. I do not suggest anyone use the process intentionally!

Hmm, thats interesting. I have a couple pieces here I just might sacrifice for the sake of research. On the hardness note - here's what happened with my first holster. When I dyed it, I used a vinegar based stain. After molding and drying, I used brown Kiwi shoe polish as a easy finish. Weeks later, I decided to strip the wax. I soaked the holster in acetone, then rinsed (what I thought) was thoroughly. I remolded the holster back to fit and used a hairdryer to speed to drying process. As I used the dryer and the leather heated up it basically 'burned' and had a waxy/sappy release of oil?/water? that bubbled off. It turned the leather to what I would call a sunburnt finish. This happened on the entire holster as I dried it. Now that the holster has sat, it is truly hard as plastic. Here it is. Those plates are 7.5lbs each, and x4, that's 30lbs. That holster just started to wince under 30lbs So, obviously there were some chemical reactions that fueled these results. Now you add heat which can work all kinds of wonders in various condition, and that is one of the things you get. Now I'll say that I'm not about to treat all my holsters the way I treated this one. Nor am I about to make the chem-lab type procedure as part of my build process. Just showing the method and results for sake of interpretation and observation.

I second Mike about the oven & hairdryer to stiffen up the holster. If you use them, be sure to have your holster shaped like you need it. I use them both and they yield good results.

I've been sealing it with Tan Kote on the outside of my holsters. When I brushed it on (w/wool dauber) at full strength, I applied 2 coats, maybe a light third to even out any spots. Now I'm airbrushing a diluted 50/50, well I'm spraying more coats, 3-5 depending on how mesmerized I get playing with the airbrush and the nice lay of spray Airbrush leaves an absolutely gorgeous finish a wool dauber cannot beat - at least in the projects I've done - YMMV. The quality of the finish is very noticeable. On the insides/rough, I lay in a heavy application (w/wool dauber) of Satin Sheen. My main goal is to saturate the the leather with some moisture resistance. Sometimes I'll use Tan Kote to seal it all together on the inside. I'm still experiementing and time/use is whats going to tell me which I should be doing. That goes for the outside as well. Now, you'll notice that if you're applying any coat of any liquid with a dauber, that you will see rub off. So, you must be attentive. Once your top coat dries, you'll need to buff it out again. I haven't experienced uch (if any) rub off from my holsters in handling, but I am also not wearing them all day, every day like someone else may be doing. I'm still very young in the game that I need to wait on feedback from customers before I can be certain.

I'm putting in an order for supplies. I currently use Tan Kote but have been suggested try Resolene. I am applying with an airbrush and diluted with water for ease of spray through tip. Is there any reason I should pick one over the other? I've never tried Resolene. This finish is used on holsters.

Aw, but that's like cookin' with 'love' right?

Easiest lump of tools and material I purchased was the Starter Kit from Tandy that came with the Al Stohlman book, plus the 4 tools. From the beginning I only use a stitch groover that ran along the edges. I even groove the stitch lines of the gun by carefully tilting the groover to the side so the bottom of the rod doesn't mark the leather. This month I just purchased a free hand groover. That thing takes some practice! So if you go with that, don't test it out on a workpiece I don't have a creaser, I'm not really sure how to use it, so, at this point, I don't see it necessary to purchase. What I do need and use to make my holsters is a punch awl, stitch marker (the spur looking tool) and stitch groover, that's it. Scratch awl is nice to have to make small marks and trace lines. For burnishing, as they said, spit works. I started keeping a little cup of water, dip my finger in or wool dauber and damp the edges as I slick. I use a wooden dowel to burnish edges. I cut grooves in it. What I did notice, if you use a dowel, give it a couple holsters before the surface of it is broken in so to speak. As you use the dowel more and more to do it, it also becomes slick and your edges get better. Of course, they also get better cause you practice :D So, I do the initial seal and burnish with water, and then I follow up with beeswax, then buff with horsehair. Then seal the edges when you seal the rest of the holster.

L'Bum, looks good. I also echo the suggestion about leaving a sight track in the holster. This will help the draw stroke, as well as reduce the wear on the front sight and the leather. I'm using a dowel, cut to size, taped on the top of my pistols to mold the track. For stitch placement, I use a pencil taped side by side with a pen, then draw the pines while holding the pencil perpendicular against the gun. If you're using the same gun, nothing wrong with making a pattern and just laying on the leather where you need it. This width will vary with the width of each gun, so, you'll need to experiment with that to find the sweet spots. My process is similar to Rhome's. If I'm doing a 8/9oz Pancake style: 1. Trace and cut pattern from leather 2. Mark stitch lines on inside of holster. Scuff area to glue with 100grit. Apply glue. Set to dry 30min-1hr 3. Even and bevel edges 4. Mark stitch lines around perimeter of holster, then mark stitch lines of gun. ( I use set patterns for consistency) 5. Punch holes w/awl 6. Stitch 7. Apply snaps/hardware or cut belt slots 8. Wet holster, insert gun, mold & form by hand 9. Within the hour bone the holster, leave to dry 10. When back to natural color, carefully pull gun from holster (drying is the step I change up sometimes, depending on my time <-- read: impatience) 11. Place holster in oven for 1hr at LOW temp 30-1hr OR Use hair dryer and test fit OR leave sitting out another 6-10hrs to air dry. Test fit - should be tight. 12. Dye (inside and out), dry, buff 13. Burnish edges 14. Topcoat (inside and out), dry, buff

Those are cool! :D I love how leather just "works". You can have an idea, build it and the character it comes with is just neat. Nice job on the holsters. Maybe on the corners there on the sweat shield, try rounding them off and see how that works.

EcoFlo is fine, just seal it well. Real well. I use EcoFlo browns on my holsters.

Thanks I use 8/9oz to make these holsters. I hand mold for general form and then I follow up with boning. That's how one wilk get sharp detail on the leather. Give it a shot on your next project. But be sure you have a good smooth tool or you risk marring the surface. I think many start off using the rounded end of a Sharpie (remove the black lettering or it will rub off on your leather). Many folks like using an antler. I've made my own tool from a nice piece of arcylic. Whatever you use, make sure it is polished smooth. For a pattern, draw it out on a paper. Lay the gun on top, mark the stitch lines, then draw out the shape of the holster around the gun.