dikman

That is like an office paper guillotine - except on an industrial scale! Great piece of old cast iron.

If I was in your situation and had blue-type guns readily available I would just buy them as needed (be cheaper overall). You may have trouble finding suitable 3D files, unless you are going to create them yourself, and even if you find some accuracy/sizing may be an issue.

From what I could find out searching for sodium grease it appears to be an old type of grease that was sometimes mixed with a more expensive grease to give a better quality grease. If it was me I would just use a high-melting point bearing grease, wiping off as much of the old stuff first as I could.

If it's an old casting 335 then it's only got about 8mm clearance, later models have 10mm. It's possible to tweak the feet to give a bit more clearance BUT this can create feed issues with thinner materials (I tried it but went back to "standard" adjustments).

I'd say you're doing well, young fella. 77 here (and feeling it at times ).

The first pair I made I stitched all around 'cos that's what I thought you did (plus it looked very neat and tidy). It took a while but the inevitable happened and one strap tore across the stitch line. How did they make them in ye olde days?

Aye!

I'm surprised it took you so long to work out something wasn't right about him. And yes, the obvious question is if he was so good at making and selling holsters why wasn't he making it himself? A very strange person, you're well rid of him.

That's VERY impressive!

Looks great, and I reckon the rivets are fine. Given it's going on a big dog I daresay it won't take long to get a worn used look about it and the rivets should blend in well. Besides, you'll need strong rivets to hold the beast back.

Answering your question about wrapping the gun I use several layers of cling film then push it into the holster, but because I don't want retention (Cowboy action shooting) I wriggle it around to stretch the leather slightly. If he's going to be wearing it for daily use, however, you don't necessarily want a loose fit so it can't fall out.

"Traditional" western holsters weren't normally molded, the leather was simply folded over to form a pouch (which, of course, Dwight knows), the only molding usually done is to dampen the finished holster and jam the revolver in so it's a comfortable fit. That's all I've ever done.

Only black/dark stuff, the light goes straight through clear.

In that case I think a crossdraw might be better? Something else to add to the mix.

Does the guy want a traditional-style holster or a Hollywood style drop leg (buscadero)? That is your starting point, for the belt a Ranger is probably the way to go, it's more work but visually has more style. I use an Eastwood-style belt for Cowboy-action shooting and it's very comfortable BUT looks very plain. If you study John Wayne's holsters he used the same rig for the majority of his films. It was a traditional-style holster and the belt was a money-belt style. He always wore it so the holster was canted slightly and pushed a little to his back.