Dwight

You simply pull the left arm in . . . it doesn't go any place . . . yanks out like it was supposed to. The belt anchor is both good and bad . . . actually it is good if it is anchored on both sides . . . kind of acts like a pair of suspenders. But if it is loose under the left arm . . . it is more comfortable for me May God bless, Dwight

For straight holes . . . hands and punches will be hard pressed to beat a drill press. Remove the drill bit . . . put a needle in it's place . . . unplug the machine . . . and punch your holes. If you really . . . REALLY . . . want them to look good . . . punch them from the top first . . . into a piece of hard wood . . . with the drill press stop set 1/8 of an inch below your bottom edge of the sheath. Then turn the sheath over and punch from the back side all the way thru. Makes right real pur-teeee holes for stitching May God bless, Dwight

The answer to that question is the simple addition of a thumb break on the holster . . . the good thing about one of those is your thumb is heading in that very same direction anyway . . . and all you have to remember to do is have it ready to do it's job which is simply to separate the two pieces of leather by a downward push of the thumb as you push back a tad into your hip . . . it breaks the snap loose at the same time you fingers are surrounding the grip . . . and you are in great shape. As for the G3C . . . of all those you have mentioned so far . . . it would be your best carry option in my opinion. I owned a G3C for a while . . . got talked out of it by a young man . . . his dad had a G3 which I had made a holster for . . . and they both loved it . . . he didn't have enough money to buy a G3C . . . so he kind of begged me out of the G3C and the holster for it. He doesn't carry it . . . it's his home defense weapon. I never had any trouble carrying it as my CCW . . . other than I just simply am not a 9mm fan . . . I like the .45ACP . . . feel comfortable with it . . . which is a big part of feeling comfortable with your CCW. I can get it back . . . make you a holster for it . . . send it to you . . . you can wear it for a week . . . if you don't like it . . . your only cost is the return shipping. I can put it on Ebay . . . it'll be gone in a week. May God bless, Dwight

You put the whole problem in a nutshell in the bold letters above. There is a middle step between seeing and producing . . . it is defining "HOW" to produce it. Take for example . . . sewing a pair of shoes from scratch. Pick up a shoe of yours . . . preferrably a moccasin. Turn it around in your non writing hand . . . and use your writing hand to write down where you put the very first stitch. What two parts are joined before anything else is done. What is the next sewing step . . . the next step . . . the next step . . . etc. Now put the shoe down . . . go watch an hour of youtubes or TV . . . then come back and without making any changes . . . pull off the sheet and do it again. Compare the two . . . If you didn't cheat . . . you probably will have two versions . . . because you caught something in one . . . the other missed. This is how you learn to do the "HOW" . . . make up that written plan . . . cut 1 . . . sew 1 . . . cut 2 . . . cut 3 . . . sew 2 to 3 . . . sew 1 to 2 and 3 . . . etc. I have to do that or I'm coming back and trying to figure out how I'm going to get that snap put in that I forgot . . . or how will I get that sewing over there that I missed. That my friend is the key to your problem . . . a plan of action . . . which will always be subject to modification. Have fun . . . best wishes. May God bless, Dwight

Unless you have to hold your breath to button your jeans (lots of guys do . . . ) I have a holster pattern you can use and carry a full size . . . 45 caliber . . . 1911 pistol . . . and no one will ever know unless you tell them. The pictures below show both my black version and brown version (black got sold some time back . . . still got the brown one). It is an inside the waist band . . . takes up very little real estate . . . I've carried it for over 20 years . . . never been made. The pictures are me with my weapon. I actually don't carry that big boy any more . . . I'm down to a 2inch barrel Springfield .45 . . . works very well. The weapon and holster go on the pants and belt . . . your shirt is pulled down to cover the weapon . . . it goes between your belt and the weapon . . . your pants are pulled up . . . buttoned . . . zipped . . . and belt buckled. Then go on with your life. And I also have patterns for the overstuffed cell phone case in case you would like to go that route. With the .25 auto . . . which no one I know of recommends one should carry . . . the cell phone case would be a non noticeable deal. May God bless, Dwight

Any time I see one like that or even similar . . . always recall the WW2 tanker movie Fury . . . and the 1917 that Wardaddy carried. I've made a couple like it . . . it's a good holster. John Bianchi later did the one like yours . . . and he put spring steel up both sides so it would be open all the way down. Yours is a good looking one too. May God bless, Dwight

Just use it like regular leather . . . do the belt loops . . . then weldwood all of it together in the middle . . . except a few inches at the buckle end . . . where you make your money belt part of it. Sew the top edge . . . rolling pin the bottom edge . . . tight as you can get it. Made several of these . . . May God bless, Dwight

Hi Jeff . . . actually If you know what a Mexican loop holster is . . . that is how it is made. Basically make a "bucket" for the barrel to slide down in . . . sewn at the edge which would be the bottom of the gun . . . with the sewing stopping just short of the trigger guard. The gun sits in the bucket . . . held up from going further down in by the trigger guard . . . and that back side of the holster is just a long piece of the back . . . with loops cut in it like you would do a Mexican Loop holster. I probably did not keep the "pattern" as it was pretty big . . . and it is the only one I've made in 20+ years at this . . . but I will take a look and holler at you if I find it. Here is a little drawing that shows most of it . . . in case I cannot find the pattern. I cut up manila folders . . . tape them together with masking tape and make large patterns like this. That is how I came up with the original pattern I used . . . May God bless, Dwight

Actually I got a first hand lesson on this problem . . . and it was as you stated above. I went to a gun shop that was having a big sale . . . and holsters were like 50 % off . . . this was before I started making them. I had been looking for a certain brand of paddle holster for a full size 1911. He had one . . . and seemed really relieved when it went off the shelf. It was the color I wanted . . . and everything. I wore it a couple times out away from the house . . . and one day I grabbed it to go after a coon that was in my chicken house. I shot at him with the one that was in the chamber and missed . . . but when I went for the follow up shot . . . it just went click. As I looked at my gun . . . the mag fell out. The bandit got away. I took it in the house to try to find out what went wrong . . . exactly the problem you described . . . the hole was too small. Now when I do a holster for a semi auto . . . the mag release gets special attention . . . LARGE holes are left so they don't get inadvertently punched. And please be careful . . . some of them have releases on both sides . . . not many . . . but a few. Have fun . . . holster making is a challenge . . . and one I love to work in. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. May God bless, Dwight

Actually you don't have to have a real gun . . . but you have to have realistic models . . . or at least stop and look at pictures before you go at the holster. Simply laying the holster over on it's face . . . and looking at the same side of the gun should have shown the hole that was needed for the mag release. I use wooden dummy guns that I've made myself . . . but I am very careful about the mag releases and safeties . . . on wooden guns . . . they are absent . . . on blue guns they are at least visible. May God bless, Dwight

Car 52 said: I’ve always like making. Doesn’t matter what. Just like making. ------------- Dikman answered: Nice job carr52, looks great. I'm impressed that you did a drawing first, I just make things up as I go! ------------------- I'm with both of these guys . . . love making things . . . seldom use a drawing as I either lose it . . . or forget to follow it. I have an ability that I've been told very few folks have . . . I can 3D blueprint something in my head . . . and then refine it as I begin to make it. Worst thing that happens . . . it's sometimes a bit on the big side . . . but that's easily fixed. But as others have said . . . good job. I'm gonna put one on here just as soon as I get it fixed for me. May God bless, Dwight

If you buy 5/16 thin sided square tubing . . . AND . . . sharpen the inside edges with a file . . . makes a pretty good punch . . . You won't do 1000 holes with it . . . but for something you use every now and then . . . or once in 10 years . . . it'll work really well. You can then take a nice piece of maple or cherry . . . cut it to a slight taper . . . ending at 3/8 square . . . it'll make your hole better than just about anything else. You can also use 3/8 thin angle iron . . . you just have to hit it twice . . . and that gives room for error that the square tubing does not give you May God bless, Dwight

I have done bullet loops both ways . . . and do not like the long term results of those that are stitched. Old leatherworkers 150 years ago . . . didn't have sewing machines . . . and hand sewing belt loops is a real pain. Their alternative is my favorite way of doing them . . . and they should not stretch out and get loose as quickly as sewn ones. My cowboy belt is over 20 years old . . . still holds them well. Basically you make a vertical slot in the leather . . . pull the loop material thru the slot . . . turn it around and pull it back thru the same hole . . . and pull it tight on the bullet. As mentioned . . . DO NOT use fired cases. I like to use my own hand loads . . . because I know the cases are sized down. After pulling the leather thru both ways . . . insert the bullet . . . and pull the loop up tight closed . . . I normally use about 12 bullets . . . and when I get to # 13 . . . I take out # 1 and use it. The # 2 bullet goes into # 14 and so on. Don't leave them in too long . . . you want the leather still slightly damp when you slide the round out of it. Let it dry overnight . . . and dye the leather . . . then add your finishing. Most will be tight the first time you put them in there . . . and when you come home for the day . . . if you are not going shooting within 3 or 4 days . . . take the rounds out. Use calf leather if you can get it for the loops . . . or shoulder leather works well also. I make all my belts as double layer . . . that is why the belt is 6 oz. Two layers is 12 oz which will always be slightly over 3/16 of an inch thick. Make your .45 ACP loop material as wide as the case is long . . . minus the rim. When properly done . . . an inserted cartridge will show the rim above the loop and the bullet below the loop . . . and that is all. After you dye and finish it . . . the first time in with the bullets . . . it'll be tight . . . but they'll wear in. Have fun . . . may God bless, Dwight See the pictures I included in here.

Put the grab on a free copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 . . . I can almost say that if you can't "fix" it with that little program . . . it cannot be fixed. The only thing I've not discovered how to do is a clean background removal. But lighting things . . . and color adjust are pretty easy and straight forward . . . AND . . . it's a free download out there on the internet. Or at least it used to be a 5 dollar pickup on Ebay. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks . . . good one May God bless, Dwight

Drawing is rough . . . but it shows the idea May God bless, Dwight

It depends to a large degree on how certain you are of what you are doing. Generally I will make a paper pattern buy copy/paste onto a piece of printer paper . . . cut it out with scissors . . . tape it down to a manila folder. Cut out the manila folder and paper . . . toss the paper. Lay the manila folder down on my leather . . . get a black or blue ball point pen . . . and draw it out. I'm confident in my ability to draw correctly . . . having graduated from crayons a little over 70 years ago. I can see the ink very well . . . cut it right down the middle . . . or slightly outside . . . and go to work making the holster. If I should happen to have a line where it should not be . . . no big worry . . . holster will be black anyway . . . and if not this one . . . the leather goes into the folder for the next one that will be black. May God bless, Dwight

I use the same "measurements" that I would for a typical ranger belt . . . The cowboy belt is simply 1 inch wider . . . and I make it a "finished" 4 inches longer. If I was making one for you . . . and I made you a 40 inch belt to hold up your britches . . . your gunbelt would be a 44 inch belt. I make them with 7 holes . . . 1 inch apart . . . and from the first hole to the tip of the tongue (where that fancy piece of metal is) is 3 1/2 inches . . . with the fancy metal tip hanging over the front of the belt body. Measuring your 44 inch cowboy belt . . . it would measure from the butt of the buckle (where it meets the leather) . . . to the center hole of the seven holes. That gives the wearer the chance to gain 3 inches of pizza . . . or lose 3 inches of lard . . . and still wear the same belt. I've only had to re-do one cowboy belt for one customer . . . he ordered a 55 and when he came to pick it up about 6 weeks later . . . he needed a 59. The buckle front lip hangs over the other end of the belt body. With a ranger belt . . . the tongue and the belt keeper are laid out and fastened straight as possible along the axis of the belt. With a cowboy belt . . . I lay the buckle end to the left . . . the tongue to the right . . . and I place the tongue so it is NOT straight on the axis . . . I lay it so the tip of it lays over the bottom corner of the belt body. That tends to pull the body upward . . . making it appear straight on the wearer. And of course I don't put a belt keeper on a ranger belt . . . to hold the body right behind the buckle . . . but there is always one on the cowboy belt. Haven't had a customer complain yet. May God bless, Dwight

My setup is not as "pretty" as is many others . . . but it does the job. Took a piece of oak I had laying around . . . made sure that even though the grain is big . . . it was solid . . . no "splintery" trash on it. Semi rounded it out on my disc sander Drilled a hole in it to match the shaft of my little rusty old 1450 rpm motor . . . then slotted that hole so I could put a clamp on it . . . hold it tight to the shaft. Set up a block of wood on which to use my chisels . . . worked it down nice and straight and round. Then used the chisels to cut the grooves in it . . . gave it a good dose of solid bees wax . . . grabbed a rag and polished the wax. The two pieces of leather were just a scrap I had in the shop . . . used to test the stitches on my sewing machine. Hit the edge with a edger . . . put it in the groove closest to the motor . . . as it is the one I use for belts . . . after I dampened the edge. I didn't get fancy . . . wanted to show the basic burnishing . . . would look really nice if I had put some wax on it . . . The ruler is one of them kind that don't measure in inches . . . (lol) This has been my tool for something on to 5 years . . . had to scrap the other one . . . start switch went out on the motor . . . and shaft was different size . . . had to make a new one. May God bless, Dwight

I've never used that . . . too thin . . . and my experience has been NOT to use two pieces . . . one fat and one skinny. A 9oz and 3 oz will eventually find the 3 working loose in the glue . . . becoming bubbly . . . and looking ugly. Match the two layers as much as you can . . . I even cut mine back to back from the same piece of leather . . . It also dyes a lot better that way. Put your bullet loops on the curved outside piece . . . last thing you do before gluing and sewing the two pieces together. It makes the inside look better . . . and when you glue it together . . . you have glue holding the pieces of the belt loops . . . you don't if you add them later. If you can get it . . . use 3/4 oz calf leather . . . And think about your bending of the leather . . . doing so will make the bottom thinner . . . eventually becoming more flimsy than the top. It's better to make a pattern and cut them curved . . . that way they always remain the same thickness uniformly. I know the argument . . . "but you waste so much leather that way" . . . and it is basically garbage argument . . . as you lose some off the back side of the first one you cut . . . and off the front side of the last one . . . and all told . . . when it is done . . . you may have saved enough to make one side of a standard belt. Usually . . . there is a defect I go around . . . and that defect is in that standard belt piece of trash. YMMV May God bless, Dwight

Actually you don't have to do that . . . there's a really MUCH easier way. The program is Laser GRBL . . . and it is free. If you can make a drawing . . . and I mean anything on paper with a pen, pencil, or crayon . . . all you have to do it make a digital copy of it. AND . . . if you take your time . . . and play with it a while . . . you can even take certain photographs . . . digitize them black and white . . . and if you have even a 300 dollar laser engraver . . . it'll pick up the shading . . . you can put a photo on leather. I use cardboard as my test medium . . . when it is right . . . I cut a piece of the picture . . . try it on scrap leather . . . if that works . . . I do it. I do a lot with *.jpg pictures . . . they're easily scalable . . . and work great. You set the laser on a platform that is checkerboarded and each line numbered . . . note on your first good copy that the top left corner was at 24 horizontal and 18 vertical . . . and you can produce a thousand . . . setting your blank at that point every time. The enclosed pic is one taken from an army patch of a buddy . . . turned to *.jpg . . . one made is about 4 cm wide . . . the other was about 8 cm wide . . . he was tickled pink with both. . . . again . . . they were done with B&W *.jpg prints. AND . . . if you go to an auto part store . . . or lumber store . . . buy the absolute cheapest . . . ugly dirt cheap . . . black or grey PRIMER . . . you can spray it on your metal . . . do the engraving trick . . . and clean the paint off with a strong paint thinner . . . or use a drill and steel wool pad to polish it off . . . Yeah . . . it works. May God bless, Dwight

The simple answer to your problem . . . don't make the tongue and buckle end of the thicker leather. I still make double layer . . . but I go down in size . . . so I wind up with an 8/9 oz belt tongue. The one on my cowboy rig has been there for 20+ years . . . was done that way . . . and still works and looks good. May God bless, Dwight

Wood actually does work great . . . several commercial leather suppliers make and sell them . . . Mine is I believe out of maple . . . which is the type of wood you want . . . it has a very close grain and is reasonably hard. Oak can be OK . . . just have to be careful of it . . . sometimes grain can be pretty open . . . which would make for a splinter producer possibly. When you first start it up . . . 1450 rpms or so is good . . . start it up . . . fold up some old canvas or some cotton rope . . . use it to get the wood warmed up . . . holding it tight into the grooves . . . then add sliced solid bees wax . . . back to the rope . . . more beeswax . . . more rope . . . until you get a really smooth surface. Fix up some scrap leather . . . edge it . . . rub beeswax on the edge . . . and force it into the grooves while it is spinning . . . and kinda let up slowly on the pressure . . . finish polishing it with an old handkerchief or tee shirt. Then each time you use it . . . hit it with the beeswax . . . or rub beeswax along the edge of whatever you are burnishing. You'll love the production. May God bless, Dwight

Finish them with a coat or two of Resolene . . . they last for a long time . . . look good and feel good. Before finishing . . . lay it flesh side up . . . slightly dampen it . . . and using a glass slicker . . . go over it . . . from end to end . . . only ONE WAY . . . It'll smooth right out . . . your customer will love you. May God bless, Dwight

I basically disagree with all your conclusions. Leather weighs what leather weighs . . . making a belt out of two layers of 5/6 will equal the weight of one layer of 11/12 oz. If the holster is slipping up and down . . . it is the fault of the design and the maker . . . the belt slot is too big . . . they can be made to fit. Making belts or holsters of 2 layers . . . glued together with contact cement . . . will make a very comfortable and enduring belt . . . to say nothing about it's superior looks. Making a holster "rough out" is only a personal preference . . . sometimes adding a certain "rough" beauty to the belt or holster. For a few dollars more and other westerns of that era had some of them. Double layer holsters also will grip the weapon better . . . be far less apt to deflate and become a floppy mess of loose cowhide. The smooth side out on a belt . . . only allows the belt to slide . . . if the belt is not made on a slight cresent contour . . . which makes it not only very comfortable . . . but will not slip down . . . even with two 4 oz revolvers and 24 rds of ammo in the back. Made right . . . they don't slip. Been making holsters for 20+ years . . . never had one . . . not one . . . negative complaint on any double layer holster I've ever made. John Bianchi taught me how to make them with his videos . . . still do it that way. May God bless, Dwight