dikman

" I am very familiar with saddle stitching buy not machine. I want the best looking stitch I can get, a slanted stitch if possible. I think I can get that with a machine if I use the correct needle???? " Be aware that the results you get with a machine won't look as good as hand stitching, particularly on the reverse side. It's a characteristic of the needle punching through the leather.

Umm, no, we call it aluminium, you yanks call it aluminum. Nothing to do with bronze.

Looks like a nice setup. I know if it was me I wouldn't be able to let it go!

I had a chance at picking up one of those for $100, only thing wrong was a broken needle (looper, I think they're called?). When I bought one of my Singers and the Pfaff from him he was trying to talk me into it and because I was there he would let it go cheap. Due to inexperience on my part I said no . By the time I realised what it was it was too late and had been sold. He also had a 132K6 for $800 but my mind was set on the 211G166. Another missed opportunity. Sometimes I do some pretty dumb things. Yours looks pretty good, DrmCa..

Thanks for posting that, Gregg, always good to see how others do things. It's a very well made video (and an Aussie too, by the sound of it).

While this may not be a step x step tutorial it's providing an excellent insight into some of the processes involved.Looking forward to the end results.

I shape a piece of dowel to sit behind the sight and along the top of the barrel and tape it in place. This ensures that when the holster is folded around the revolver adequate clearance is left for the sight. Mind you, I'm making traditional-style holsters for traditional-style revolvers with traditional sights, i.e. a blade.

fredk, I was thinking more about the saddlers located in the western towns, not the cities "back East".

Thanks Bobby, that's exactly what I wanted to know. Not having access to old original holsters is why I asked, as the photos obviously can't show how the leather actually performs. By the way, would these saddlers have had any type of stitching machines, or was it all done by hand? And what size thread would they have used relative to our sizing system? In the photos some of them look like they've been sewn with fairly fine thread (#138 ?).

My understanding is that Alibaba is primarily a source of items for business, and thus bulk sales, and they generally do not sell individual items. Aliexpress is the Chinese equivalent of ebay and they sell individual items there. Of course, they may be a bit dearer as a result. I've bought a few things (including three servos) via Aliexpress with no problems. As Matt said, though, you will basically be on your own with regards to adjusting, setting up and getting it working. If I decide I need a 441-type machine I probably would get one that way (due to the high cost of them here in Oz - not the sellers fault) BUT I'm prepared to accept that I'd likely have to do a bit of work on it. I recently bought a Chinese mini-metal lathe (here in Oz, fortunately) and virtually had to rebuild it as everything was loose!! Unfortunately the main controller board has died and, of course, they don't keep spares so I'm about to demand a complete refund. The basic machine is very good, it's just the lack of attention to detail that is the issue, but I tend to think that a sewing machine will probably be built a bit better. Back to main topic, the usual suspects (Singer 111/211 class, Seiko 8BD-type, Consew etc) should be more than adequate for your needs.

Thanks fredk, so the major difference between the old skirting and what I get is it's pre-dyed. That would account for the fact that most of the old leatherwork is all the same colour as I guess it would make life simpler for the saddlers. Is skirting a particular cut of the hide, or is it simply a term to denote how the hide is treated (which is what it sounds like to me)?

Pity we're not nearer, Brian, I'd be only too happy to help out. Sounds like some long days ahead for you.

I've finished the book (sob! I want to read more!) and have a couple of questions. He refers to the most common types of leather used as bridle and skirting. I gather that skirting is the heavier type but how does it relate to what we use today, as in what weight would the two types be? In most cases it appears that holsters were normally a single layer of leather (unlined) so would they have been fairly soft (by our standards, where we generally make rigid holsters)? The book cleared up a few mis-conceptions I had about the Mexican Loop holster, and I had a bit of a chuckle at some of the old posed photos.

Just you wait, sometime in the future someone will dig this thread up and ask you for the tension figures .

Youtube, of course, where else? Rocky, you should have weighed the hammers standing upright on the scales, that way gravity can act in line with the handle.

Chris, the only way to get good, controllable slow speed on an industrial machine is to fit a servo motor! I spent much time messing around with speed reducers, pulley sizes etc. on my first machine (51W59) trying to tame the clutch motor. When I finally bit the bullet and bought a servo I didn't hesitate with my other machines and just bought servos straight away. I also mess around with pulley reducers with the servo as it does help as well, but the servo is the only way to go (imo). The 331K4 I have is basically a straight stitch garment machine, the only reason I have it is that it was free, just needed a bit of work to get it going.

Ideally it needs to be 3D scanned to create the file, unfortunately that puts it beyond almost every hobbyist and I doubt if any company that has the equipment is likely to be bothered doing it.

That's ok, it was an idea I had already considered before, as the basic concept is quite sound. We here in Oz haven't gone to the extreme that the UK did in banning handguns - yet. It was considered but fortunately only resulted in severe restrictions on ownership. Of course, banning handguns immediately stopped criminals from using them too, didn't it? No need to reply, I think we all know the answer to that one! Due to the aforementioned restrictions 3D printing would be an ideal way for me to get suitable patterns for molding, unfortunately getting the 3D files is proving to be an almost insurmountable obstacle.

Chris, it may be cheaper where you are, but not where I live. I've dabbled in molding and casting for small models, using various molding silicons (including high temp for casting lead) and casting resins and I can assure you that in the quantities needed to cast for a revolver it's going to be expensive for me to do. Time is not the issue, but I doubt if I could recover my costs. It would certainly be quicker than 3D printing, however!

Gotta love youtube! Excellent video, short and to the point. Josh, I seem to be spending a lot of time thanking you lately .

Chris, biggest problem with that is you still need the original to make the mold. Making a gun-size mold and then casting with a suitable material won't be cheap either. A hobby 3D printer should be able to print a suitable gun in separate pieces and then glue and pin them together. In my (limited) experience the standard PLA material should work as it is surprisingly tough. The main issue, as Lobo pointed out, is getting the 3D files from somewhere. And they need to be fairly accurate.

Thanks mate, now it makes sense. Something else for me to make.

Josh, another quick question if you don't mine? In another post you mentioned when doing a serpentine stamping you cut first with a swivel knife and then use the knife to bevel the cut edge to act as a stamping guide - is that curved blade in the knife the bevel blade you were talking about?

I'm half-way through, fascinating stuff and exquisite photos!

Looks good to me. The good thing about making boolit loops is that there's no right or wrong way, it's whatever works for you.I made up some dummy rounds (filled the primer pockets with silicone just in case Mr. Plod sees them and has a coronary!) that I keep in the loops while drying in case of shrinkage.