Dwight

You may use any product you wish on the outside of the holster, . . . but for all the holsters I have done, . . . I totally, 100%, without any reservation, . . . prefer to use Resolene on the inside of the holster. Except for the time a guy tried to force another model into a formed holster, . . . I've never had any bad problems on the inside of those that were Resolene coated, . . . it forms a protective layer that is tops in my book. May God bless, Dwight

When I'm making a guitar strap (or a belt) I either use two pieces of material that I just now cut with the same strap cutter, at the same setting, . . . or try to match up previous pairs. Cover both pieces with contact cement, . . . let em dry, . . . put them together. I usually take a strap that is not as wide as my product, . . . lay it under the project, . . . and use my fingers to guide the pieces together, . . . without looking. I find my fingers do a better job of this than my eyes do Then I take the same rolling pin I use for apple pies, . . . roll the pieces together, . . . take it to my belt sander (its a Harbor Freight 20 x 1) and do any necessary dressing of the edges. Tooling, . . . edging, . . . sewing, . . . final finish, . . . in that order. This works the best for me. May God bless, Dwight

Depending on how handy you are, . . . you may make one yourself. I make most of mine I need out of electrical conduit (EMT). Cut off a piece about 9 inches long to start. Take it to the sander first, . . . sharpen it all the way around by rolling the edge against the sander, . . . and every now and then put it in a can of water so it don't get over heated. Then take a piece of 3/8" steel you cut into a long triangle, . . . and rounded both of the long edges real smooth, . . . lay it down on your anvil and start whacking it with a ball peen hammer until you get the slot punch made in the sharpened end of the EMT tubing. Use the 3/8 inch steel to keep the tubing from collapsing and to get the sides straight. If you start out with a piece of 1 1/4 inch EMT, . . . it should come awful close to finishing out the size you want. May God bless, Dwight

I think if I did that, . . . I'd use "Amazing Grace". Not that one song is better than another, . . . but it is much shorter, . . . and I would think it would be easier to do for the first one. Then if I liked it well enough, . . . go back and do another one with longer lines, . . . such as the song you pictured. Mine has a simple cross, . . . with the sun behind it, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Markush made an excellent observation on the mag release, . . . I had one lose a mag for me once, . . . really not a good thing. My other comment would be to suggest that the next one you make, . . . put a sweat shield on it. I personally will not wear a holster without one, . . . as the weapon is forever digging in my side, . . . especially when belted in and driving. You're doing good, . . . I was a whole bunch further up the number scale before I produced one that looked as good as this one. May God bless, Dwight

If you live near a Goodwill or Salvation Army store, . . . they usually have a supply of vests there, . . . buy the one that fits you, . . . take it apart at the seams, . . . you have the pattern. OR, . . . I personally don't like them, . . . but Tandy does have vest patterns. Go to leather shop (find it in the yellow pages) and let them show you appropriate garment leather. Yes, . . . many sewing machines can sew this type of leather, . . . but probably an equal number will not be able. You need to go to Jo Ann fabrics, . . . buy the appropriate leather needle for your sewing machine, . . . get some scrap leather pieces, . . . and try it. Personally, . . . I would hand sew the thing if I didn't already have a machine, . . . the tools and thread for that are available at Tandys. May God bless, Dwight

I personally do not trust myself with a round knife, . . . have to count my fingers too often. Therefore, . . . I use my Stanley drywall razor knife (I have about 5 of them) with cheapo blades I bought at Big Lots, . . . but long before they touch the leather, . . . they go to my strop, . . . and get stropped REAL good. For me, . . . there is nothing that works as well, . . . as in the holsters I do, . . . there are always short radius cuts, . . . quick corners, . . . short straights, . . . all which are not condusive to round blades, whether they are the round knife or the rolling type quilters use. One of these days, . . . I'm going to invest in a band saw, . . . there is a company in Florida that will make a band saw blade that is just one long sharp blade, . . . I plan to try that some day, . . . just don't have the band saw machine to do it with yet. But please remember, . . . if you are trying to cut out the pattern, . . . put it together, . . . and have the edges looking good without some sanding or dressing, . . . you are chasing a rainbow, . . . that only happens once in a while, . . . on a very good day. May God bless, Dwight

Think about it, . . . if it would work well, . . . it would have long ago put the dye makers out of business. Shoe polish is just that, . . . polish for an already completed item. It does not have the depth of color needed to do a good job, . . . unless you want to go over it a dozen times. I tried the shoe polish a couple of times trying for a different "look" and finally came back to dye to get a "distressed" and faded look on a black gunfighter rig I made for myself. Dye is for the new project, . . . to complete it correctly, . . . polish is just that, . . . polish. May God bless, Dwight

Another thing to think about if you are dip dyeing, . . . Lay the piece out horizontal, . . . especially a belt. When I first started, . . . I did some belts all together in a hurry, . . . and not thinking, hung them up on one end to dry. The black ones were OK, . . . all the browns were dark brown on the bottom, . . . and much lighter at the top, . . . as the dye had migrated down during the drying process, All my leather gets "dipped", . . . kinda like dipping a french fry in ketchup, . . . leaving it there doesn't do any good, . . . dip it, . . . get it out, . . . go on with life. It also dries out faster that way. And yes, . . . use something to absorb the excess that is laying on the surface when you pull it out of the pan / bowl / tray / bucket or whatever. May God bless, Dwight

My answers: 1. When I did my copy, . . . I used British Tan, . . . toned down with a 1 to 1 ratio of thinner. 2. I use 5 oz for all my ammo loops. 3. No, . . . you can stitch if you want, . . . I prefer the in / out process in the same slot, . . . use a 3/4 inch bag punch for my slots. 4. I had problems with gun belts I bought that were sewn, . . . I do not have problems with the gunbelts I make that use the slotted method. 5. That particular gunbelt was also a money belt. That is why it was folded and sewn only on one edge. On mine, . . . I glue it shut except for enough in the buckle end to hold a 10 dollar bill. That happens to be a fun rig to make, . . . I love mine, . . . and sometimes hope no one buys it at the next show :-) May God bless, Dwight

FWIW, . . . I had many of the same issues listed here when I first started doing holsters. I read a post from a deceased professional who said they only used oil dye, . . . and dip dyed everything, . . . no exceptions. I tried it and have never looked back. Fact is, . . . if someone came up in my driveway and wanted it, . . . I'd hand him/her a half full container of USMC black. For me, . . . dip dying is the only way to go. May God bless, Dwight

Hey, Toasty, . . . been using this stuff for something near 30 years, . . . and I'm not having any new issues. 1st: make sure you have good stuff, . . . if it is gooey at all, . . . not runny, . . . pitch it. 2nd: when you use it, . . . make sure to put the lid back on, . . . tight, . . . also if you use a lot of it, . . . buy a quart, pour it into a half pint container, use out of the half pint, . . . it'll stay better longer that way. 3rd: there is no canned time limit on how long it should take to dry. Temperature, humidity, product, . . . all have an effect on IF it is ready yet. The very best test is to pat the piece with a piece of newspaper. If it don't stick AT ALL, . . . AT ALL, . . . then you are ready to use it. 4th: if you have a heat gun, . . . you can use it in a VERY WELL VENTILATED area on smaller pieces, . . . less than 2 square feet is my rule, . . . to hasten the drying process. Laying the piece, glue side up, in a window where the sun can hit it will also work to dry it quicker. 5th: even when it is done perfectly, . . . enough force, . . . will pull it apart. It has been my experience that it takes quite a while for the process to fully bond, . . . permanently, . . . but letting it dry correctly is 95% of getting it right. Also if you are doing belts or anything you can get a rolling pin onto, . . . do that, . . . roll it with a rolling pin, . . . and put some force onto it. I also use a very flat faced hammer to put my holster edges together, . . . or a wallpaper seam roller. Just sticking them face to face is not enough to complete whatever the chemical process is that happens there, . . . need to add a bit of force. Anyway, may God bless, Dwight

The original stirrup leather was a 2 1/2 in wide strap of 14 oz leather. To the back of that where the Blevins buckle adjusts the length of the stirrup, . . . there was a piece of 5 oz leather sewn to reinforce the punched out hole area up and down the stirrup strap. It was sewn on in the original, and when I replaced the original, I sewed one on the replacement just like it. May God bless, Dwight

OK, . . . to most of you all here, . . . no biggie, . . . but I finally got to break the ice. Fixed some other things here and there, . . . but never got to do the machine sew until this little lady brought her Billy Cook barrel racer in for some work. Her stirrups were tight, . . . one stirrup leather needed replaced, . . . whole thing needed a bath and oil, . . . had to make a special pair of hobble straps for her saddle, . . . did all that and gave it a good layer of Bag Kote, . . . shined up like bald headed deacon on Sunday. Thanks to some on line help here, . . . she walked in, . . . took one look, . . . did the Ooooh, . . . Aaaahhhh thing, . . . all is good. Thanks for all the advice, . . . help, . . . encouragement, . . . y'all are great !! May God bless, Dwight

If you were to use a 3/4 to 1 in wide strap, . . . you could use a bag punch, . . . put 4 holes in a row down the outside of the holster, . . . weave the strap down through it, . . . fillet or fray the end to make it look like part of the decoration, . . . you would be able to adjust it up and down to whateve you wanted to do with it. May God bless, Dwight

A friend of my son asked me to fix her saddle, the stirrup leather on the mounting side had broken over half way. It was a fairly nice Billy Cook barrel racing saddle I believe. It seemed simple to replace a 2.5 in wide strap of 14 oz leather, . . . sew on a backer strip, . . . punch some holes. I started to remove the old stirrup leather, then is when it became fun. IS THERE A TOOL that saddlers have tucked away in the recesses of secret areas that assist in un-screwing the conchos? I was only able to get them off because I have excellent finger strength, . . . and just grabbed them and hogged em out of their holes. Just lookin for some direction, guys, . . . in case this comes around again. May God bless, Dwight

Electrical conduit is not very often aluminum, . . . although it looks like it, . . . it is really galvanized steel. And it can be a bit on the rough side inside the pipes themselves. I've used enough EMT in one lifetime to be sure I would not use it for this job. I am no expert, . . . have never made one, . . . but if I had one of them high dollar cues, . . . I'd probably think seriously of putting it in a suede lined PVC pipe. Just some thoughts. May God bless, Dwight

When I make that type holster, there are 5 pieces of leather: front, back, re-inforce piece, left loop, and right loop. My procedure is: burnish the loops and the three sides of the reinforcement that are not on the top (at the opening). Glue and sew the reinforcement to the front piece (all my reinforcements end squarely at the sight channel of the weapon, . . . which allows me to machine stitch it on and be done with it. Punch and snap the loops to the front. Pre-mold the front and let dry. Glue front w/loops to back, . . . sand, . . . edge, . . . burnish, . . . stitch groove, . . . sew. Final mold and bone. Finish. May God bless, Dwight

Better yet, go to a hardware store, ask for a can of Weldwood Contact Cement. Also get some plumber's "acid brushes". You brush on a light coating to both sides, . . . let it dry, . . . stick em together, . . . and if you do it right, . . . it ain't gonna move. I have a friend who wears a holster I made several years ago that still doesn't have one stitch in it, . . . still works. One small warning, . . . do not get it where you do not want it to be seen, . . . dye and other finishes will not penetrate the cement, . . . will NOT !!!!! It is the best, . . . I use it for belts, sheaths, gun bags, shoe soles, holsters, . . . even use it for cabinet work (which of course it was originally designed for). Get an account with Harbor Freight, . . . buy your acid brushes from them, . . . a whole bag of them is only a couple bucks. Edited to add: the contact cement you buy from Tandy's is junk. It isn't fit to carrry the name. They used to sell a fairly decent product, but the stuff they've been pawning off for the last little while is just overpriced junk. May God bless, Dwight

Most of my IWB have a reinforcement piece on the mouth. I sew it on while everything is nice and flat, after burnishing the edges of it that I will not be able to burnish later on. I do not use any kydex, steel, or aluminum "stiffener" as I have never had one collapse on me or any of my customers (of which I know). Maybe you just needed to rant today, . . . sometimes I get that way, . . . mostly though when I am out of coffee May God bless, Dwight

All I would have had to see were picture # 2 and # 3, . . . I'd just said "Yep, . . . Lobo's at it again". Seriously, . . . good looking leather, . . . timeless style, . . . just a classic. You also have a lot more patience than I, . . . just never have had enough patience to get to where I can basketweave to suit myself. May God bless, Dwight

If you were my customer and gave me the requirements as stated in your first post, . . . I would tell you that you are asking a lot. But,............it is not beyond reach. Dual purpose holsters are often hard to get, . . . instead of being a great hip holster or a great shoulder holster, . . . it becomes a mediocre, half baked, compromise of both expectations. Start out with the hip holster: define where you want to wear it. Some folks wear your style weapon high, so the cylider is basically level with the belt ( that's my preference ) and others like it hanging lower, . . . some even down so far that it looks like an Old West rig, . . . or a thigh rig like the military uses. Once you have the "Where" figured out, . . . you need to define belt attachment: I prefer a simple, large slot of leather behind the cylinder through which I pass my gun belt, . . . others prefer folding down the back of the holster, sewing it, and making it the belt loop, . . . while others want a slot fore and aft, . . . like an OWB pancake. Once you have the holster, . . . do the belt. For a gun your size, . . . at least 1 3/4 inches wide, . . . and I prefer 2 1/2 myself. If it is for hunting only, . . . I'd put a couple of speed loader pouches on the off hand side, right above the center of the off hand britches pocket. Doing these two projects first, . . . will give you a good measure of how willing you are to take on the shoulder holster. Hip holsters are very forgiving, . . . can often be altered a bit if necessary, . . . but shoulder holsters need that "fine touch" to get em right, . . . and it takes experience and patience. You can begin to develop them if you do the hip holster and the belt first. If you decide to do that, . . . PM me with the style you want, . . . we'll go from there. I'm including a picture of one of my all time favorites for wearing out in the bush or for hunting. May God bless, Dwight

Just a thought, . . . I bought a little dedicated compressor, . . . made just for air brush applications, . . . Harbor freight, . . . got change back from a $100 bill. It stays on my work bench, . . . never needs adjusted, . . . won't be in the "wrong place when I need it" scenario. It is all set up for just that job, . . . If you have the funds to put into one, . . . I would definitely go that way, . . . then get the bigger one later on for the other projects. I actually bought mine in reverse order, . . . but when I got the big one, . . . I wasn't doing any air brushing May God bless, Dwight

Hatcreek, . . . whatever pressure you used to get is adequate pressure for what you want to do.If you are looking to get the outside to pick up all the details of the weapon, . . . you literally will be disappointed. All a press is used for is to make the contact against the weapon in the "inside" that makes for good retention. The outside details are produced by boning the object after the press work has been done. I use 40 durometer gum rubber, purchased from McMaster-Carr on my press, . . . but I am about to change that, . . . as the work I am doing now does not need the press. If anyone is interested, . . . I would probably sell my rubber plates, . . . as I really don't use my press much at all anymore. I have used my 8 ton press for several years now, . . . using blue guns, . . . have never hurt one with it. May God bless, Dwight

Some time ago, I saw a picture of a "Rhodesian" holster by Thad Rybka, . . . lost the info, . . . Frank from up Wisconsin way forwarded it on to me. I used it to make a new carry holster for my newest piece of handgunnery, . . . Just thought I would share, . . . May God bless, Dwight