Dwight

I'll play the devil's advocate, . . . take a look at a Versa Max 2 holster from Milt Sparks, . . . take a look at my Cactus on my website, . . . we both use a reinforcement piece, . . . and I do know for a fact it makes a difference. My Cactus will stay open with that reinforcement piece, . . . and it does not need a piece of steel or anything else sandwiched in between. I cannot speak for the VM2 as to whether it has or does not have metal in it, . . . but the extra leather does far more than add thickness. It adds strength, . . . and it does also aid in keeping the mouth of the holster open so the re-holstering can be accomplished with only one hand, . . . something that cannot be done if the mouth collapses. But it is a "to each his own", . . . Lobo makes all sorts of holsters, . . . without reinforcements. May God bless, Dwight

A stitching pony is very easy to make, . . . and it makes a world of difference if you do have to hand stitch something. May God bless, Dwight

Sewing on loops like Will showed produces a very pretty gun belt, . . . and it will carry the cartridges, . . . But if you get John Bianchi's video series on making western gun leather, . . . his process is much cleaner looking, . . . and from my personal experience, . . . is a better way to do it. Of course, . . . Will's process is geared mostly to the hand sewer, . . . John's is to the machine man. Either will work, . . . but neither is as durable as the #2 post from Bruno Rock above. May God bless, Dwight

I've still got an undyed right hand holster laying in my "project" box. I finished sewing the doggone thing, . . . all formed and boned of course, . . . but could not kick the "nagging feeling" that something was not right. Checked the fit, . . . AOK, . . . straps, . . . AOK, . . . dye I was going to use, . . . AOK, . . . anticipated fnal finish, . . . AOK. Re-read the order and determined that I needed to make a new one, . . . this time for a left handed individual. Some right handed fellow will come along some day. May God bless, Dwgiht

I haven't had a "learning experience" holster lately, . . . but does a rifle scabbard count? I had marked where to punch the holes for the conchos, . . . punched the holes. Only one of the holes, . . . of course on the front, . . . in the singularly most obvious position, . . . was in the wrong place, . . . and it was only off by 3 inches. I made a new scabbard. I think I'll just keep the other one for myself, . . . use it on Sunday, . . . call it my holy scabbard. Just don't let it get to you, . . . laugh, . . . spit, . . . drink 2 liters of Mt. Dew, . . . do something to get over it, . . . then, . . . yeah, . . . get over it. Folks been making learning experiences since Cain whacked Abel and found out that wasn't in the original script. Leather work is just a different way of making them. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, Bill, . . . I make all my cowboy belts with a curve in them, . . . makes the top a tad shorter than the bottom, . . . makes it hug the hips better, . . . keep it from falling off. Cowboys really hate it when their gunbelts hit the dirt. I made the square originally so I could get that straight down slot from any place in the curve, . . . just have to make sure the front edge and the back edge of the top piece are equal distance from the edge you measure from. . . . May God bless, Dwight

From the picture of the OP, . . . it seems he is doing style # 2, . . . which IMHO, . . . is THE way to do them. They will not get loose if done right, . . . they keep the rim of the cartridge from digging into the belt itself, . . . and they will get to a place where the cartridge is easy in / easy out, . . . but if you lay it down, . . . or tip over, . . . they won't fall out. Stitches on that style is just overkill, . . . and a lot of extra work for nothing. Actually the slots are pretty easy to cut, . . . if you have the "tool". It is a little home made "T" square that has marks for the top and bottom of the slot. It also has a little piece coming down from the top that shows the exact spacing for the next one. Makes the whole process a whole lot simpler. May God bless, Dwight

If I understand you correctly, . . . looks good to me. The stitching around the back of the zipper end is for me one of the most important parts, . . . as an unbroken line of stitches will keep it all together and from shifting around. Show us the finished project when you get it done. May God bless, Dwight

As others have said, . . . good looking rig, . . . good looking work. Lobo definitely is one of the good guys, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Glockanator, . . . If I understand correctly, . . . you are talking about a cowboy gun belt, . . . something similar to what John Wayne wore in his westerns. If that is the case, . . . the generally accepted rule of thumb is to make the gunbelt 4 inches longer than the belt the person wears to hold up his britches. That recommendation comes from himself, John Bianchi, . . . and so far it has not failed me. May God bless, Dwight

I found a long time ago that the most dangerous part of zipper installation is the direction it is sewn. I usually use example # 1 as it allows me to continue my sewing (sometimes at least) around the one end, without stopping, . . . it is a continuous sewing path. # 2 works well also, . . . the way of course I generally sew chaps. # 3 will work on chaps, . . . or something like that, . . . but if you use this sewing pattern on a billfold, a purse, a jacket, . . . you will often wind up with a zipper that looks like it was not put in correctly. And since I sew almost exclusively by machine, . . . they are always contact cemented in place before I start the first stitch. But even there, . . . sometimes, depending on the material, the cement has been known to come loose, . . . Zippers look good when done and done right, . . . but the can be a pain. More than anything else, . . . take your time. May God bless, Dwight

Actually, . . . not meaning to disparage TexasJack, . . . but if it is done correctly, . . . that cannot and will not happen. First, . . . make sure the leather you are using for the loops is about a good 1/16 wider than the slots you punch. They then get pinched into the slot and don't move because of that pinch at the top and bottom because of the excess width. Second, . . . pull the loops tight around the cartridges as you go. Third, . . . contact cement your loops to a liner and sew the edges together to make your belt. There is then no feasible way the loops will become loose by taking out a cartridge here and there. That is simply an internet rumor, . . . as far as I am concerned, . . . and if anyone saw it happen, . . . I'd chalk it up to sloppy workmanship on the belt. May God bless, Dwight

Tooling and forming are like speed and power, . . . you can have one for sure, . . . but the more of the other you want, . . . the less of the first you will get. Unless you are an absolute, dyed in the wool, # 1, expert. Aside from that, . . . you will make the choice, . . . based on how much of which you want the most. It really is that simple. There are some guys who have tooled leather longer than most of us have been on the planet, . . . they can do what you want to do, . . . and when you have tooled leather that long, . . . you will be also able. Until then, . . . learn how to make holsters first, . . . then learn how to decorate them. May God bless, Dwight

Well, . . . it definitely does have a learning curve, . . . but not insurmountable. I bought it because I liked the "non power" feature, . . . not needing electric. I had planned on maybe hitting some horse shows or county fairs, . . . have not gotten there yet. Some restrictions: the needle to right side throat is fairly small, . . . I sometimes have to seriously plan out my stitching route. The back side of the stitches never seems to come out as pretty as the front, . . . which can be a liability in some circles. There are times when a couple more hands would seriously help, . . . one is always occupied with the lever, . . . leaving only one to hold the thread at start, . . . and move the item as needed. BUT, . . . it has never balked at any sewing job I've thrown its way, . . . belts and holsters to it are like unleaded gas to a Ford, . . . just hums along. I also do my chap tops on it, . . . and that is a challenge, . . . but it is doable. One of the best things for me, . . . I'm 2 hours from the factory, . . . and Ben has fixed it both times I've taken it there, . . . all he needs from me is a day's notice. I did actually call him one time, . . . said I needed it today if it was at all possible, . . . he told me to get started, . . . his desk would be cleared by the time I got there, . . . and he is a man of his word. A sleeve had come loose, . . . blew the timing all to smithereens, . . . he was seriously perplexed until he noticed it, . . . but when he saw it, . . . he knew right away what to do, . . . had it fixed in a NY minute. For me, . . . shipping it up & back or driving is about the same $$$, . . . plus I enjoy the ride, . . . and I get the problem fixed that day, . . . shipping takes me down for 5 days. Holsters usually sew up in about 5 minutes or so, . . . I did a belt yesterday for a fellow with a 41 inch waist, . . . took something in the neighborhood of 15 minutes, . . . not hurrying, . . . making sure the stitching is straight. I'm very much pleased with mine, . . . May God bless, Dwight

I use a Tippmann Boss, . . . May God bless, Dwight

I would start at Goodwill, or Salvation Army, . . . get a used glove in there for $3.59 or so, . . . take it home, . . . and take it apart. You will then know how the "other guy" did it, . . . and you can make whatever changes suit your whimsy. May God bless, Dwight

Actually, Mike, . . . leather working is not rocket science, . . . you just have to figure out how the other guy made his. I have a "gift" sort of, . . . I can take most anything apart in my mind, . . . and see the pieces, . . . and how they go together. I've drumrolled it for almost 70 years, . . . and it has certainly proved it's worth in the leather craft. If you do that with the two helmet pictures I posted, . . . you'll see it is not overly complicated, . . . daunting maybe, . . . but doable. May God bless, Dwight

What he said ^ ^ ^ ^ That is except for basket weave, . . . you can do it, . . . or you can't. I can't, . . . gave up trying, . . . some day the tools will go to my rifle range for targets. But other than that, . . . yeah, . . . tooling is sometimes a lot of fun. May God bless, Dwight

About 10 minutes on google caught these images: You can mold vegetable tanned leather to darn near any shape you want, . . . it just has to be made in pieces. The Captain America image shows at least 2 front to back seams, . . . If I were doing it, . . . the owner would don a thin watch cap (toboggon to some) and I would wet, cut, and mold the inside pieces to his head over the watch cap. once you get the inside pieces, . . . you can add the strengthening pieces to the outside, . . . wet the whole thing good, . . . mold it on his head, . . . make him wear it for about 3 hours, . . . until most of it was basically dry, . . . take it off, . . . sit it in front of a fan, . . . come back this time tomorrow, . . . it should be ready for a trial fit and adjustment. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks for the good words, folks, . . . It actually was the second one, . . . first one got one hole punched about 3 inches from where it was needed, . . . could not figure out a work around, . . . so I guess some day in the fairly near future, . . . my old Jumbo saddle (I think it is older than I am), . . . will have a rifle scabbard hanging from it. It was a fun project, . . . for a friend, . . . and that Golden Boy going in it, . . . well, . . . it ain't never had it so good. May God bless, Dwight

Something happened, . . . cause I put the picture on here, . . . gremlins are amongst us I guess. May God bless, Dwight

FWIW, . . . Tandy's clips (and most others for that matter) were never intended to be riveted on and used as they came out of the package or off the sales hook. They need a leather "sleeve" over them, . . . it keeps them in place, . . . the rivet is a "make sure" deal, . . . and positions everything so it can be sewn together. As far as the rivets not staying on, . . . I'd have to see what kind of rivet you used, . . . and how you did it. I rivet my clips to the outside piece of leather, . . .the sleeve, . . . using 2 piece brass rivets, . . . then glue and sew the sleeve onto the holster, bag, knife sheath, whatever, . . . and I've simply never had any problem with them. May God bless, Dwight

A friend asked me to make this for him. I doubt it will ever see a saddle and horse sweat. Lined with a beautiful 1/4 inch long lamb's wool, . . . feels like a fur lining. May God bless, Dwight

A friend asked me to make this for him. I doubt it will ever see a saddle and horse sweat. Lined with a beautiful 1/4 inch long lamb's wool, . . . feels like a fur lining. May God bless, Dwight

They look good to me, . . . especially the basket weave, . . . something I gave up on a long, long, long time ago. What part of Ohio do you call home? I'm near a little burg called Waldo. May God bless, Dwight