Dwight

I laid the first one out on some thick cardboard, . . . using John Bianchi's rule of 6 inches bow in the length of the belt. I made my 40 inch belt (normal 36 inch waist, . . . add 4 inches to gun belt) from that layout. I first traced an arc on a 40 inch line, . . . that was 6 inches high in the middle, . . . it is the top edge of the belt. I then added 2 1/2 inches to the radius, . . . making a line for the bottom of the belt. I then cut it out, . . . made my first belt, . . . mine. Later I sold the belt. Then I turned that one pattern into a slip slide type pattern I can open up to whatever size I need to make the next one. That's how I do it. May God bless, Dwight

For me, . . . it makes no difference, . . . buscadero or ranger, . . . ALL are cut on the curve. Tried the straight stuff, . . . found out it just don't work as well, . . . especially for us old guys who needs every extra help we can get. May God bless, Dwight

You most likely bought 277 or 346, . . . should be a paper tag under the bottom of the spool. Personally, I like the thread, . . . and if you want to, . . . pulling it through a clean white cloth will remove the biggest part of the wax. Personal choice, . . . I use 346 for just about everything, . . . waxed, . . . from Tandy. May God bless, Dwight

Most of my work is CCW leather, . . . prone to being sweated upon profusely, . . . so I routinely use a 50/50 mixture of Resolene and water on them. On certain special pieces, . . . they get the NF / Beeswax treatment, . . . apply / rub / heat gun, . . . repeat, . . . repeat as necessary, . . . and finally buff to the luster you want. My western rig for my SAA Beretta .45 LC is done that way, . . . love it. But I've never added oil to the rig since I finished it. It's only 6 or 8 years old, . . . should be good for another 50 anyway, . . . maybe one of my great grand nephews will toss it then. May God bless, Dwight

I have routinely lined holsters with both pigskin, . . . and suede, . . . sewed the things together, . . . dressed up the edges (first pass), . . . then dunked the whole doggone thing in a bucket of warm water, . . . did all the bending, shaping, forming that I wanted to do, . . . hung it up for a couple days to dry naturally in the shop, . . . they come out nice. When I say line, . . . I mean two layers of leather, . . . stuck together with Weldwood contact cement. They were laid flat when I put them together, . . . rolled the rolling pin over them, . . . May God bless, Dwight

I weigh it out, . . . equal portions of virgin bees wax (got my own virgin bees ), . . . and neats foot oil. Stick it in a jar, . . . stick the jar in my Salvation Army $10 crock pot with enough water to float the jar, . . . Turn it on, . . . when the concoction is a nice runny liquid, . . . I set out muffin papers in a muffin pan, . . . pour the concoction into the muffin papers, . . . let it cool. When I want to use it then, . . . grab a hunk of it in the muffin paper, . . . rub it anywhere you want to waterproof something. It DOES lightly darken the leather. I also rub some on, . . . hit it with the heat gun to melt it into the leather, . . . do that until I get the finish I want, . . . shines like new copper penny. May God bless, Dwight

Yes

Contact ciminodw@gmail.com..........

I've had my aluminum one for about 8 years, . . . had to take it back once for a problem we could not diagnose any other way. Turned out to be a slipped disc so to speak, . . . was not charged for service call as it was covered under the warranty. It'll probably be sold in my estate after I turn room temperature. May God bless, Dwight

Are you looking for a vertical or horizontal hold? May God bless, Dwight

Are you looking for a vertical or horizontal hold? May God bless, Dwight

Hey, . . . they're great if you ask me. I've got a 10+ pound hunting rifle, . . . scope, . . . bipod, . . . and a single point on the left side of the receiver at the rear. Left hand controls the weapon all by itself (with help from the sling) leaving the right hand for other important duties: binocular, sandwich, coffee, door handle, tree branch, cookie, . . . whatever. But unlike your system, . . . my barrel is at least tipped up all the time, . . . not hanging down to get stuffed into the Ohio clay. May God bless, Dwight

Hey, John, . . . you obviously went up on Morse Road, . . . maybe met Scott there, . . . I was in your shoes almost 20 years ago. Been a customer there for a number of years, . . . taught holster making class there for a couple of years. I'm 35 miles north of the store, . . . holler if I can be of help. May God bless, Dwight

One of my favorite IWB holsters for a full size 1911 is 4/5 oz. The only ones I make that are over 9 oz thick, . . . are all two layers, . . . made John Bianchi style. I find that the treatment of the leather is far more important than how much skin is there. As for roughout, . . . it is generally used to keep the holster outside from being too slick and moving around, . . . to look like a spaghetti western cowboy, . . . or in some cases, to be a bit more gentle on the weapon. The hair side will not absorb oil, grit and grime like the flesh side will do, . . . becoming an inadvertent sanding machine, . . . working on your weapon's finish. May God bless, Dwight

Go out to Google, . . . type in youtube multi layer belts. If it is there, . . . you'll see it. I personally wouldn't build a belt like that, . . . but that is just me, . . . May God bless, Dwight

If that had been me, . . . before I was say, . . . 30, . . . the shop would have gotten swept out, . . . by me or by him, . . . one of us would have mopped up on the other one for sure. I'm a little bit more mellow at 71 now, . . . but I would be awful tempted to, . . . uhh, . . . retaliate, . . . and a large metallic object sounds like a good prescription. People like him just need a good head bustin every now and then to keep em in line. May God bless, Dwight

The cure for that is a belt sander, . . . $49.95 at harbor freight, . . . sand off about 1/64 of an inch on both edges. 1. You will then get a more professional looking belt. 2. You will NEVER have to worry about glue ever again...... May God bless, Dwight

Because leather is never "exact" in measurements, . . . for a casual / dress belt, . . . I usually hit for a .150 to .180 belt, . . . go on up to .230 / .240 for a CCW belt, . . . for a really big guy. Personally, . . . I prefer to do both veggie tan, . . . inner and outer, . . . but that is just the way I do it. May God bless, Dwight

Personally, . . . I like it, . . . there are some folks here and elsewhere who have the idea that only "THIS" rendition of a western holster is authentic. Bah, . . . humbug, . . . there were so many guys out there making rigs back then, . . . and everyone had "his" way of doing it. I like your way, . . . even the brown edging. I personally prefer a more squared look for the flap, . . . but that is like one guy likes redheads, . . . the other likes blondes. Personal choice, . . . that's all. May God bless, Dwight

I use Feibings pro oil dye, . . . and I first cut it 50/50 with their thinner. It has cut my "rub off" time to about 25% of what it used to be before I made the cut. I did that quite by accident, . . . long story, . . . but it works, . . . that is the main point. I also do not do any "pre" or "post" treating with the dye / rub process. It goes dye - dry - rub, . . . nothing else until I am happy that the color is where I want it and no more excess dye is coming off. I also dip dye everything, . . . no exceptions. About 5 full seconds in the dye, . . . out, . . . hang or lay, . . . and dry for no less than 12 hours before I mess with it again. May God bless, Dwight

Get a pan and dip dye it, . . . that'll even up the whole thing for you. I won'd dye anything any other way unless it is a custom dyed piece. May God bless, Dwight

I don't know the needle size I use, . . . but I use only 346 thread, . . . and it does everything I ask it to do. Yes, . . . there is a time when you have to "mess with" the machine to learn how to use it, . . . but if one has a good mechanical aptitude, . . . they are a good machine. May God bless, Dwight

Obviously Red Bear has never created a holster. The stitching is 99% done on flat sections, . . . and is done by machines. A few guys still hand sew, . . . but even they do it while it is flat. As for pulling the piece and waiting for LEO, . . . may be true in a shooting situation, . . . but I pull my piece every night, . . . holster goes one place, . . . gun another, . . . they are married again tomorrow, . . . holster goes on first, . . . and the piece is put on last, . . . long after I have cinched up my belt. Leaving a weapon in the holster for all the time between shootouts is a bit of a stretch, dontcha think? May God bless, Dwight

Another tried and true method is to take the belt they now wear, . . . measure from the end of the buckle to the most used hole, . . . add 4 inches. That measurement is the center for 7 holes like camano ridge said. Some guys only give them 5 holes, . . . I also do 7. If you want to give him a bit of "extra" room to grow into it, . . . make the belt measurement you took from his belt he wears, . . . make it the measurement to the 5th hole from the tip of the belt. One caution: never, never, never make a belt based upon the size jeans or britches a person wears. More than 9 times out of 10 you will re-make that belt. I had a guy once want a size 36 belt because his jeans were 36. Thankfully, I measured him. Sure enough he wore 36 jeans, . . . but his belt had to be a 40. Just a little funny story too, . . . don't take too long making those belts either. I made a 53 inch one for a guy once, . . . when he came to get it, . . . he complained about it being too short. Checking his belt, . . . he now wore a 56 inch belt. Only took him 6 weeks to gain 3 inches. Anyway, . . . just in case he doesn't think so, . . . I think you are one awesome grandfather, . . . thank you for your love for your grandson. May God bless, Dwight

Ahh, . . . that makes three of us, . . . and it feels good to have company. I just sold my chap machine, . . . a Singer 111, . . . a very attractive young lady, her beau, and her mother came over, . . . looked at it, . . . did not quibble on the price, . . . loaded it up, . . . and I am out of the chap business, . . . mostly. Down to basically belts and holsters. Feels good. May God bless, Dwight