dikman

Nice! Now if it had more clearance under the foot and took heavy thread it would be nice for holsters, although it would handle belts as is. Mike, we use 230v/50 Hz single phase, 415v 3-phase.

I used British Tan on the second holster I made, it came out redder than yours!

That's a very generous offer, NC. Just goes to show, the nicest people use this forum...... Tom, thanks for enlightening me about the needle size (without calling me stoopid ). I was pretty sure that the ones I had were virtually identical, I'll have to have a closer look. Whilst I sort of understand the sizing numbers, I'm obviously still confused about system numbers and the point shapes/styles.

135/16 and 135/17 are virtually the same. My Pfaff is supposed to use 135/16 but I use 135/17 'cos that's what most of my other machines use. Dismantle the tension assembly and have a look at the inside of the pressure discs, sometimes they can get grooves in them. One of mine was like that, I smoothed and polished the discs with some very fine wet and dry paper and swapped the discs front to back (which changed the position of the grooves so that they didn't line up with the thread path). And yes, you can buy the tension assembly's pretty easily, but check out the one you have first and make sure it looks ok.

Yeah, Picasso doesn't do much for me, I much prefer a nice landscape myself. The loop, using screws or snap studs, is certainly easier as you don't have to worry about stuffing the holster down through those loops, and visually it has a flatter, smoother profile. Or you can make it as a strap with a buckle on front, which looks quite nice. But I'm determined to make a Mexican loop, in part so that I can say I've made one. It will take a while, as I have a couple of tons of firewood to sort and stack and need to make a pair of leather suspenders first for my new Cowboy pants .

Tkt 20 is close enough to M20 that any difference isn't worth worrying about. Servos usually just use the existing motor mounting holes, and depending on the type may have a separate control box or it may be incorporated in the motor housing. You would probably need a different length drive belt, most likely shorter. If you're not confidant about fitting it if you know someone who is an electrician/technician and owes you a favour () they shouldn't have any problems fitting one, it's not that complicated. That machine basically has similar performance to most of mine and they handle #69 and #138 with no adjustments needed, but if you're going to lighter weight thread it may need the timing re-adjusted. The manual says it can handle down to size 12 needles so I would think it should be able to handle that smaller thread, but it may need the timing, tension and checkspring adjusted slightly? Don't know for sure as I haven't tried lighter thread but I'm sure others who are more experienced will chime in. The fact it's working with the other thread/needle is good, as it means there's not much wrong.

I've just re-read Jim Simmons (sticky) tutorial, and he uses a slot, rather than a slit, to make the loops. Looks like I may have the wrong idea about how it's done, so shall defer to more experienced makers. I will, however, make the slots fairly narrow, I think, in the interests of aesthetics.

I'm with billybopp, I'd remove the head and pack separately if possible (that is the one part you definitely don't want to damage).

As Mike said, a servo is an excellent investment to "tame the beast". As for thread sizes, yep, it made my brains hurt for quite a while trying to come to grips with it! Here in Oz we generally use the Metric designations, so #69 (commonly used designation in the US) is M40, #138 is M20. These are probably the two most commonly used sizes of thread, from there you start getting into the heavy stuff (which is not easy to find here in Oz). What do you intend making/sewing?

Uwe, you've done it again! Much clearer than my attempt to describe it.

I always thought of them as "Hollywood holsters", as Dwight said, and that they came about as a result of movie-making. I suppose they make a visually cleaner-looking holster, but what I've found interesting is the trend in more recent movies back to the Mexican loop style, striving for greater authenticity I guess.

Ok, 3rd photo is almost right. You could probably try coming into the top tension disk and straight out the bottom into the lower disk, i.e. not wrapped around the pin. In the lower disc the thread should come around the disk, as you've done, and then up past that little bent lug you can see in the second photo pulling the check spring (that little bent spring) with it. If this doesn't make sense I'll see if I can get a suitable photo of the path.

"(I love the tinkering)" - I know exactly what you mean!

Bobby, I take your point re- the slits and can see what you mean. In my case it won't matter because it can only be used at the range so little chance of it catching on something. I had, however, already thought of that potential issue and am considering punching small holes at the ends of the slits which hopefully should help relieve stresses at that point. Clintock, I had a look at the site. I'm assuming that their holsters are mass-produced to provide a relatively inexpensive product, and as such might suit some people who just want a basic holster, but they look "clunky" to me. The three-loop, in particular, just look wrong, the straps are too thick and too close together and in places are a sloppy fit. But then I'm known to be picky! As for the edges of the slits, one site I came across said to insert a steel ruler (or similar) into the slit to lift the strap up which will allow access to the edge. It should be possible to finish the edges, but may require a bit of "creative thinking" to do so. Guess I'll find out, and if it doesn't work then I'll simply turn the slits into slots! My template just needs a bit of minor tweaking, but I've learned not to rush and to give it plenty of thought to try and figure out what I've missed....

I forgot to say in my earlier post that's pretty impressive service from Darren, what I call real old-school type of service.

Just a thought (and I'm probably on the wrong track) but I thought the 132K6 had a "snap foot" system, where the presser foot kicked forward and back? (Or something like that). If that's the case then if this one has a roller foot then it can't use the same "snap feed", can it?

Nice. Is it just me or does that design look a bit like an ancient Greek helmet?

If you've already got orders then you're obviously doing something right! As Gary said, there's no "right" or "wrong" way, it just depends what you're/we're trying to achieve. I should have clarified and said that I'm looking at it from the viewpoint of trying to get the shape as close as I can to an original style (allowing for some slight variation to suit my needs). When you start looking at old photos there's a huge variation in how they're made. Thanks for putting up the photo, it let me see what it's like with slots cut, rather than just slits. I'm hoping with all my cardboard templates that I can get it right first time and not have to modify it, but until it's actually made you just don't know quite how it's going to look! By the way, Fiebing's Moccasin Brown is quite nice, might be a bit too dark for what you're looking for but seems to have a little less red in it.

At least you made one, I'm still working on the pattern for mine! I once bought a large bottle of the Medium Brown and yes, it seems awfully dark for a Medium colour! I tried thinning it down but it didn't make it much lighter. It also has a reddish tint which I'm not too keen on. I finally tried their Walnut stain which is actually brown!! Very nice. A couple of things with the holster (things that I've picked up on by looking at lots and lots of photos). Next to the trigger guard you've made it quite sharp and pointy, it will look better if you round that corner off.You've got a swelling of the holster along the stitch line and the idea behind that is to have the swelling between the two loop straps so that it "locks" the holster in place. It's not necessary to actually cut slots to make the loops. I made a cardboard mockup and tried it with just cuts, not slots, and it works fine. Look up the "Cheyenne"-style holster, as made by Frank Meanea. It is a good starting point and the shape can be refined from there. It's not that hard to make a Mexican Loop holster, but the trick, as far as I'm concerned, is to make it aesthetically pleasing (it's got to look right! And purty, too).

Well, plan A didn't work! I found out the only way to buy any leather thicker than I already have is either some ridiculously expensive imported Italian stuff or something that has been made for boot soles - this has been heavily compressed to make it denser than normal veg and is already as stiff as a board! So, to plan B (which I didn't have until this point). I would have to line it, but my normal lining might be a bit stiff for this, so I bought a nice side of yearling, about 3 oz, beautiful stuff. Now to start experimenting with patterns.

Lucky you! I don't worry much these days about what others may have, but in this case I'm just a little green with envy. Isn't Brian a funny boy?

Thanks Josh, I'll experiment with some cardboard patterns, your figures give me a starting point. I've decided to go with a single piece of leather (unlined) and will burnish the nap side down first. My guns are well used, so any possible wear from using unlined leather is irrelevant. Unfortunately, my 8-9 oz leather is only 8 oz according to my measurements so I'll go for a ride today and get some thicker stuff. I found a place called Purdyleather that have a couple of nice examples of the Meanea-style holster.

I've been googling pictures 'till I've gone cross-eyed (!) and I'm liking the Menea style more and more. Beautiful stuff, Josh. Is there any particular way of determining how long to make the cuts in the skirt for the loops, or is it trial-and error?

I agree with Ralf, I certainly wouldn't want to pay too much for it (and like everything, it's only worth what someone is prepared to pay). As an example, my WSV77 cost me Aus$150, but the only thing of value was the head unit, I junked the rest. The SV machines are problematic due to the lack of information available, but if you can work on one yourself then they can be good value. The 111 class are nice machines and many parts are common to the various models. While it might look like a 155 I'd be surprised if it's the same, more likely to be similar to the 151 - 154 models I would think (or earlier?). In the case of my WSV77, I went through the 151- 155 parts lists, comparing parts and construction, and while the part numbers were different the parts all appeared to be identical to a W153. Fortunately, the only parts I needed were feet which are easy to get. I would point out to the family the poor condition it's in, it's going to need a bit of work to make it usable and that research has shown there's no information available for it. I honestly think they should give it to you if you want it, as I doubt if they'd get much if they tried to sell it.

Anyone have any thoughts/experience on making such a holster from a single piece of 9-10 oz veg, so it is an unlined holster? Pros and cons? I'm guessing this was how old west holsters were made?