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I used a 5/16" bit when I drilled them out. Make sure to put a wood backer behind the leather to help get a clean exit hole. The chisel works great - just make sure you watch the angle, or your chisel will exit outside your drilled holes. Practice a few times to get a feel for it. Sometimes it helps to cut a narrower slot out of the hole first - the thickness of the chisel going through the leather will stretch the leather quite a bit and move things around. Cutting a narrower slot first helps to relieve this excess pressure helping you to be more accurate with your final cut. My slots are about 1/16" longer than the belt width, and I angle my slots slightly. When I form the holster, I insert a 1/4" x 1.5" wooden stick into the holes to open them up and pre-curve the holster. This results in a snug fit on the belt that helps to lock the holster in place so it won't slide around.

The Boss is a great machine. But, if you're planning on sewing bags, you might find the shallow throat a little restricting. Bobbins - you should have at least one bobbin per color of thread you plan to use. Thread size for belts and sheaths - personally, I'd go with 277 and whatever size needle is recommended for that size (don't have the chart in front of me). I've used 277 for all my holsters and belts and am plenty happy with it. However, the thread color choices will broaden with each smaller size you go with. I only work with veg-tan leather, so I've never had a need for the flat-bed attachment personally. The material guide - don't have it. It might be useful, but if you score a line first it's not hard to stay on track. I use the stirrup plate exclusively. If you buy it, make sure you polish away all the sharp edges because it will scratch up your leather in a heartbeat.

Amazing work, as always!

They look great! I really like the "PIG" version. I'm sure my 7 yr old boy would absolutely love the Mario version.

Sounds like the price is $1050 to me with free shipping. If you're having cold feet, withdraw the sale and post it on Ebay - otherwise you need to honor the price you originally stated.

I can't stand the fleshy backs. Lately I've been requesting they split it down to 8 oz specifically to remove the fleshy areas as much as possible. I'll be pretty annoyed if I have to wait an extra week for it to ship only to find out they simply sent a thinner 8 oz hide that still has a fleshy back. And I agree with the previous comment about the automated phone system. The first time I ordered, I spoke with a male. He wasn't rude, but he wasn't friendly and helpful either. I hung up feeling embarrassed that I didn't know precisely what to order when I called (I was just asking questions at the time and getting prices, average square footage, etc.). When I called back to place my first order, I spoke with the lady that I believe is last on the list - she was much more polite and helpful and she's the only one I speak with now when I call. I'm plenty happy with the product they deliver thus far, but I prefer the look of Herman Oak so I might give Springfield another try with my next order.

1 - Kimber Solo 2 - Ruger SP101 2.25" 3 - 3.5" 1911 Cocked and locked 4 - F&N FNX

Looking good! I like the coloring on the left one. Glad you found the videos helpful!

Looks great!

Here's a few ideas... http://www.rossleather.com/images/M78%20Snap%20On%20Shotgun%20Shell%20Holder.JPG http://www.gunauction.com/buy/10484151/accessories/collectible/german-g1-g3-hk-fal-leather-mag-magazine-pouch-538 Of course, you can always do something like the holster guys do... http://www.dancinggiant.com/images/firearms/cflex-p220-4.jpg http://www.gilbertsguns.com/productimages/004900.small.jpg

If you buy a line 24 pack from Tandy, I believe it comes with the tiny anvil and punch. That's all I've been using. Works fine most of the time, but it's a little difficult for precision work that Pull-The-Dot snaps sorta require (if you want the cap oriented correctly and the socket prong pointing the correct way which is the most important). I attached the stud with a t-nut, but if you use a post/eyelet, you can use the previously mentioned anvil/punch from Tandy. Just make sure you use the curved side when installing the cap, and the flat side when installing the post/eyelet. http://www.dotfasteners.com/pull_the_dot.html

Thanks guys for the feedback. Dickf - that's my favorite color combination, though I prefer the dark brown accent instead of black. Steven - how much clearance does 5.4" center to center leave between the snap and the belt?

I recently posted my first finished attempt at an IWB reinforced mouth holster. Here it is again for reference. I would like to use Pull-the-Dot fasteners, as I think the majority of people expect them. Do you agree? Is it a deal breaker to use line-24 snaps? (that's what they're called, right? I don't really use any snaps much to this point in my holster work) I'd like to continue using the PDT snaps, but I feel like there is something I'm missing. I'm working with 1 1/2" x 1/4" double layer belt blanks when I form my holsters. How much clearance between the top edge of the belt and the side of the snap do you need to leave? Right now, the top edge of my belt is pretty much touching the bottom edge of the metal snap, and it's very difficult to snap closed. It's very easy with a 1/4" belt, but I think that's because I can angle the bottom of the snap downward more easily as is required with the PDT snaps. I obviously haven't done enough of these to test, but it seems like a basic math formula would help. For example (and I suck at math)... If the diameter of the post (P) is 1/2" + the width of the belt is 1 1/2" (BW x 2) + the thickness of the belt is 1/4" (BT) + extra clearance 1/4" © P + (BW x 2) + BT + C 1/2" + 3 + 1/4" + 1/4" = 4" center to center I assume the fold in the strap would actually reduce the 1/4" clearance a tad once the leather was folded. Obviously you'd need to add a little more length = I'm guessing the diameter of the snap cover is about 1/2" (SC) + 1/4" x 2 = 1.5" for an overall strap length of 5.5"... Any help would be greatly appreciated. At this point, I am going to remove the PDT snaps from this holster and replace with basic line 24 snaps so I can get this out to the customer and move on to other orders. But I'd like to resolve the problem with future orders.

Different machine, I know, but they're basically the same from what everyone says. Look at this video and make sure you threaded it just like they did.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Sounds like I need to try harder to reserve some of my sales income for future dummy purchases. We used to have every sale broken down to a percentage. X% to the family budget, X% to supplies, X% towards new equipment, etc. Family responsibilities picked up (scouts, church activities, etc.), holster income dropped off a bit, now 100% of my holster income goes straight towards monthly living expenses. Love the idea of buying the real gun, but I'll need to generate considerably more income from sales because it would take a while to offset the cost of the gun (a $500 gun leaves me $500 in the hole until I can build enough holsters to recover the purchase price, then I still need to build X more to meet my monthly budget). I'm only averaging about 100 orders per year right now since I still work an 8-5 job plus family time before I can work on holsters. Looks like I need to be more proactive with the dummy gun models and decide which ones I'd like to add to my collection, then post them on my website and order the dummy once an order is received. That way I can keep building my collection, but not always feel obligated to buy a new dummy that I don't care to own right now just because someone requested it.

Well, here it is. This customer asked me to make several items in matching colors. I'm overall pretty happy with the IWB, but I think the leather might be a tad thick (8 oz). I'm not happy with the snaps. They're very difficult to snap closed on a double-layer belt. Perhaps I didn't leave enough clearance between the top and the belt and the bottom of the snap (there isn't much clearance at all). How much do you normally leave? I was trying to get it tight on the belt, but I guess I got it too tight... Feedback is much appreciated.

I have a pretty small lineup of gun models I can build holsters for and am always getting requests to build holsters for new models. I try to keep track of requests, and if there's enough interest, I'll order the dummy. It's not scientific... I just save the emails and make a mental note of the model. If I remember getting a few requests, I'll search my email to count the requests. If there was notable past interest, I'll go ahead and buy the dummy if it's available. Lately, my wife has been pushing me to charge a fee for doing a holster for a new model. It's pretty much a "if you really want me to build you a holster for a gun I don't have, I'm going to have to charge a 'special request' fee". I doubt many customers will take kindly to it, but they don't know the amount of time involved in generating a holster for a new gun. Plus, if they want a mag pouch, I typically buy two magazines (for forming double mag pouches). Obviously, there is no guarantee I'll get repeat orders for that dummy gun, which is another justification for the fee. My question is - how do you handle these special requests? Do you charge a premium? Or do you buy the dummy and mag(s) and then immediately sell it/them if you don't think you'll get more orders for it? I thought about placing some kind of poll on my website, but not sure how I'd do that since there are so many models out there. Previously, our canned response was basically "I'm sorry, but we don't currently have a dummy for that gun. We'll make a note of your request in case there is future interest in that model." or something along that line. I guess it's okay to "just say no", but I'm a "yes" man by nature...

I've been getting a lot of snags where the thread (straight from the spool) goes through the metal loop on the thread stand. It snags when the thread coils up and flips over the top of the metal guide. To minimize the problem, I took some pipe cleaner and wrapped it around the metal to create an additional guide an inch or two before the metal guide. This helped, but does not eliminate it. I just make sure and take a peak at the thread stand every 20ish stitches (I count in my head). Maybe one of these days I'll create a custom metal guide rod that's considerably taller so the weight of the thread itself will help keep the thread from looping over the top of the stand. Or, maybe I'll add a secondary guide at the same height as the current guide. I even though about cutting up one of my kid's plastic loopy straws and placing a "U" curved section in the loop and securing it with modeling clay. I think that alone would solve my problem with the thread looping over the top.

I sent out free leather rifle rests I was developing to a couple people years ago and was promised that I'd receive thoughtful reviews that I could use on my website. Never happened. I always got great feedback, but nothing lengthy to add to my website. I stopped giving out free stuff after that. Now, if someone with a really well known name (TV personality, YouTube user with a lot of videos/followers, blogger with a lot of readers, etc.) contacted me about a review, I'd probably feel differently if the person has a track record of reviewing products. That's a much broader audience than some guy with a few buddies at a gun store.

Have you already sealed the leather? If not, you can try wetting it with a damp sponge and smoothing it out with various smoothing tools (bone folder, polished wooden handles, etc.). What kind of leather was it?

I've used bluehost for years and have been happy with them.

Thank you for the kind words. Always happy to help! Good luck with your decision, but I don't think you'll be disappointed by starting out with a Boss until you can afford to upgrade. I was just looking at your website - hat's off to ya' for the Wounded Warrior page.

I currently have a Boss, but am hoping to upgrade to a powered machine very soon if funds allow. The Boss is certainly capable of sewing belts. I've done quite a few with mine. Yes, it takes a while, but if you sew non-stop, you can finish one in about 5 minutes - maybe a little longer. The edge guide isn't even necessary - just scribe a line along the edge and pay attention to your stitch placement and you'll be just fine. If all you can spend right now is enough to buy the Boss, then do it - you'll be able to sew a holster/belt in just a few minutes instead of a few hours, and in a few months time you'll be able to sell that Boss for almost what you paid for it and buy a powered machine.

I used to do a lot of website development, but over time I've done less and less of it because I didn't care to learn all the standards for website coding. Then, CMS hit the scene..... If you haven't tried it yet, I'd suggest you give Concrete5 a look. It's a free website development program (you still have to pay for hosting service) that is very easy to use. There are lots of templates available (some free, but you'll pay a small fee for the better templates that look much better), and you can even have someone build a custom template if you desire. There is lots of add-ons you can implement - many of them free, and the rest are (in my opinion) very fairly priced (usually around $15). Concrete5 comes with a standard form component (the drop-down boxes you're referring to are actually part of a "<form>" HTML (website code) element). If the standard form component in Concrete5 isn't powerful enough, you can pay for one that is a little more powerful. I've not used Word Press very much, but I hear it has a lot of add-ons as well (I'm sure it has even more than Concrete5). Check out my website for an example of a Concrete5 website. I'm using the basic template that's included with the program - I just created a custom header graphic. http://www.adamsleatherworks.com/ Here is my order form that I created using the Concrete5 default Form component. http://www.adamsleat...ing/order-form/ To give you an idea what you can do with a different template, here is the website I'm currently building for the architecture firm I work for. The website is built with Concrete5, but the actual content (the individual articles) is actually being delivered via WordPress using a WordPress plugin for Concrete5. I wanted our department's team to be able to login to the website and easily update the articles and add new articles easily. If I'd coded the site with Dreamweaver or built a Flash website, I'd be the only one that could edit it and it would have taken a lot more time since I'm not fluent with developing websites any more. Concrete5 is extremely easy to use. http://ghadesignlab.com/

If you cut the G17 dummy down to a shorter length, how will you make G17 holsters...? I could see making shorter length holsters from a longer barrel (provided everything else is the same), but not the other way around since there is no way to mold the muzzle of a longer holster if the dummy isn't filling up the space.