Dwight

I gave up on the press idea a number of years ago when so many of the guns became plastic fantastics. I knew the day would come when I'd crush one, . . . and wind up unhappy having to replace a 500 dollar gun for a 75 dollar holster. I use a vacuum setup, . . . put the gun in the holster, . . . wipe it down with an oily cloth afterwards, . . . never have had a problem or an angry client. I also don't get those screwy looking lines down the inside of the holster where the zip lock bag folded over or bunched up. May God bless, Dwight

Personally, . . . I'd probably do a purse for her, . . . take a look at the ones she has now, . . . find one like it at the Salvation Army, . . . rip it apart for the pattern, . . . you will make her day, . . . and when she's gone, you'll get it back, . . . with lots of memories to hold you over. One of my prized posessions is an 1885 silver dollar I bought for my grandmother and gave it to her one year for Christmas. It was one of her treasures. When she passed, it came back to me, . . . and is now one of my treasures. May God bless, Dwight

Dave Richardson, . . . you outdid yourself on that one. THAT is really cool. May God bless, Dwight

Mike, . . . your extra leather in front of the business end of the barrel is a bit much, . . . BUT, . . . I am very careful about that. I always take enough off that it opens up the bottom of the holster so trash falls out, . . . you don't want anything obstructing the barrel, . . . but at the same time, I leave enough on there so if the wearer sits down in the dirt, . . . the holster will fend off most if not all that might try to get up in the barrel. It is a tricky thing to do, . . . and I usually do it on the belt sander, . . . taking off just a little at a time. But, . . . that's the way I do it, . . . and it's not every one's cup of tea. May God bless, Dwight

Also be sure to add about a 1/4 inch across the spine, . . . as a "just in case" the other measurements aren't quite on the money. I had an almost brand new high dollar reference Bible ruined by that simple mistake, . . . the spine was too narrow, . . . pulled in the covers when it was closed, . . . messed it up good. The lady making it for me meant well, . . . just missed on the measurement, . . . May God bless, Dwight

I got mine on black friday a couple years back. You WILL HAVE TO polish the blade, . . . which is a cheap way of saying the blade needs a good stropping. I used a piece of 7 oz about 5 inches wide, . . . contact cemented it to a very flat pine board, . . . loaded it up with polishing compound and went to work. You loosen one end, . . . spin the blade 180 degrees, . . . lock it down, . . . strop it a bit, . . . and put it back into place. Has worked well for me. May God bless, Dwight

The little guy has always been kicked around by the bullies, . . . business is no exception. The little guy's ace is his ability to outperform the bully in terms of customer satisfaction, . . . in whatever that needs to be. Custom work is up front there, . . . service is a big one, . . . even little things like a "thank you" card inserted in the package can make a difference. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, everyone, . . . getting crowded to get it in before Christmas, . . . but I'm gonna have to take a shot at it afterwards. Maybe near the wood stove sometime in January .... lol May God bless, Dwight

I can three strand braid a pigtail, . . . and that's about my talent at this point. I was asked over the weekend by a lady if I could make her a braided "hair strap" for want of another term. It would be about 18 inches long, . . . and with a clasp, . . . it turns into a circle. She wears it behind her ears and up over the top of her head, keeping her hair from flopping down around her ears. The one she has now is a round braid, . . . and she asked me for a flat braided one, . . . maybe 3/8 inches wide, . . . I told her I would look into it. Anybody got a suggestion as to how I could accomplish such a task?? You have my many thanks if you know the trick. May God bless, Dwight

One of my favorites I have ever made, . . . did this one for a fellow I believe in Colorado, . . . It could easily be adjusted to cover the whole trigger if that is what you wanted. That is my Beretta in the holster, . . . his was a shorter barrel. This was the "proof" I sent him to make sure we were on the same page, . . . he loved it. May God bless, Dwight

OLDNSLOW, . . . have you determined what size belt you need for your customer??? Be advised that if you take his belt he wears on a daily basis, . . . and say it is a 40 inch belt (measured from the end of the buckle to the most used hole), . . . the gun belt you will have to make for him needs to be a 44 inch belt. I know that sounds crazy, . . . but it is a rule of thumb that never fails, . . . Once you have done that, . . . gotten the ABSOLUTE measurement of the gun belt you will have to make for him, . . . PM me with an email address, . . . and I'll send you back a pattern you can lay out on 8 1/2 by 11 paper, . . . and use it. May God bless, Dwight

I don't use the pattern pack, . . . but my western or cowboy holster belts are made in pretty much that same pattern. John Bianchi has an excellent DVD out on all the steps etc. to make that belt. That is how I've learned, . . . never had an unhappy customer but once. Measured him up for a 53 inch belt, . . . 6 weeks later he comes to get it, . . . it's too short. He had gained 3 full inches. Managed to make it work for him though,........... May God bless, Dwight

Nice.............. May God bless, Dwight

And you can take a look at this guy's offerings: after I posted above, . . . I got curious, . . . found this one. On the left side, . . . pick the heel bar buckle offering. https://www.buckleguy.com/heel-bar-buckles/ May God bless, Dwight

My friend, you will have a tough time on that one. In my 73 years, . . . not sure I ever did see one, . . . but then again I could be wrong. One thing you can do, that will (if anything will) make a difference, . . . put your search in quotes "heel bar buckle" , . . . and try different search engines. There are a dozen or so out there ready to help you, . . . and each one has it's own way of doing things. I normally use Google Chrome . . . but Firefox is my secondary, . . . and Edge is the next one. You also want to try Ebay, . . . lots of times I have found stuff there that I could not find else where. Good luck, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Hand saddle stitching is one reason I have a very sharp knife that will get down between the layers of leather. May God bless, Dwight

If you define the word "better" as cheaper, . . . yes there are. If you define it as a finish that will give your customer a better product, . . . you will probably have to get up real early in the morning, and stay up real late at night to do that. For the double layer belts I make, . . . I would not even think of putting anything else on there except maybe Mop and Glow, . . . all the others are much softer finishes, will scratch easier, will look much uglier, much quicker, . . . and not give your customer as good a product. The only reason I don't use M&G is I did a cost analysis for my business, . . . Resolene is cheaper for me to use, . . . and easier. May God bless, Dwight

My setup cost me $99 for the pump, . . . couple bucks for the hose, . . . $10 for the vinyl at Joann's fabric, . . . and $15 for the vacuum nozzle that goes thru the bag. I've used the same bag now for at least 6 years. All I did was buy a piece of Joann's heavy duty clear vinyl, . . . about 24 inches wide, . . . 45 long, . . . contact cemented the edges to make a bag, . . . installed the nozzle, . . . and have never really had any problems. I gave up the press idea when I started getting so many of the plastic fantastic firearms, . . . figured one of these days the press would collapse the thing, . . . and I would be stuck buying him a new weapon. Can't happen with a vacuum setup. This is my vacuum bag, . . . and my sealing setup, . . . I use the little board to keep the back of the holster straight, . . . without it, . . . it all collapses into a ball. May God bless, Dwight

Clintock asked for a pattern for a Ruger 9mm, . . . and since it had been a long time since I had made one, . . . I had to make the pattern again. Figured while I was at it, . . . might as well make a holster for it, . . . as I don't have one. Here is the finished product from the pattern on another thread in here. And for tearghost, . . . this is the typical product I produce with my vacuum forming process. I don't get serious about the outlining and detailing, . . . prefer the simple look. May God bless, Dwight

Go to ebay, . . . ccw leather vest. Bunches on there from 20 to 200 bucks. Also search for 511 clothing, . . . they make one, . . . I have one, . . . it is a XL closet adornment. May God bless, Dwight

chapelstone, . . . if you have a buddy that has one, . . . borrow his before you go into the trouble of making one, . . . or heaven forbid the price of buying one. I've got a couple of them, . . . and if I could get my money and effort back that I've got in them, . . . I'd do it in a NY minute. You have to carry something small and/or lightweight, . . . no 1911, . . . no Python, . . . not even a Glock 19. AND, . . . it is pretty easy to spot a vest carrier, . . . they also have a habit of standing out on the LEO radar, . . . if there is a reason for them to be watching. But good luck, . . . lots of people do like them, . . . and they do work out for some folks, . . . I'm just not one of them. May God bless, Dwight

No problem tearghost, . . . just do one thing for sure. When you buy your vacuum pump, . . . make sure you get a bottle of vacuum pump oil for it. I used to be in the HVAC game, . . . and we always had to add oil to them every so often, . . . yours should have a little window in one end of it, . . . keep that window half full is the way most of them go, . . . check your mfg book to be sure. You can flat burn it up if it runs out of oil, . . . and it takes special oil. Holler if you have any other questions or concerns. May God bless, Dwight

Use very thin and pre dyed leather, . . . make sure you also line it with some satin like material. Leather vests that are made from heavier leather get really hot, . . . really quick. Make your gun pocket between the two pieces, . . . and toward the outside piece, . . . glue in a piece of Tandy's bag stiffener, . . . you can then put velcro on it, . . . and velcro attach any type of holster you choose. May God bless, Dwight

What would you like to know, tearghost, . . . ??? It is basically a $99.00 vacuum pump from Harbor Freight, . . . a piece of plastic hose from the hardware store, . . . I bought a piece of thick clear vinyl from Joann Fabric store and made a bag out of it by contact cementing the edges. I place the holster on a white plastic cutting board to keep it flat, . . . turn on the vacuum pump and let it do it's work. The tricky part to find is the inlet fitting to get you into the bag with the hose. This might work, . . . it is different from mine, . . . but looks promising: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vacuum-Bagging-Fitting-Port-Adapter-Chuck-w-Locking-Nut-Sealer-Washer-Brass-SS/391876111610?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 The other tricky part is sealing the bag, . . . you can basically roll it over a 1/2 inch piece of tubing, . . . then put a clamp on on the tubing, . . . don't take much. Once the bag gets stuck to itself, . . . it seals pretty good. Let me know if you have any other questions. May God bless, Dwight

Got a request from Clintock for a pattern for a P90 Ruger 9mm semi-auto pancake holster. The gun is better known as a "brick" because when you get done pumping out the bullets, . . . you can always throw the gun at the perp, . . . and if you hit him in the head, . . . it's darn near as good as shooting him. Anyway, . . . down and dirty, . . . pancake pattern, . . . flat backed pancake, . . . to me the most comfortable. If you use these patterns, look on both pieces for two little "X" marks. Print the patterns so that when you get done, there is exactly 6 inches between the X marks on each pattern, and they should be sized correctly for the pattern. I cut out both pieces so the inside of my pancake holsters is the flesh side of the leather. Position them as in the sewn together picture, . . . soak the thing and form it. You can see I used my vacuum forming bag, . . . love the way it does the work for my thumbs and fingers. Hang it up to dry, . . . position it correctly, . . . contact cement it, . . . and sew the trailing edge.' Your holster is ready for finishing. Have fun, may God bless, Dwight Drag files here to attach, or choose files... Max total size 1.46MB Insert other media Uploaded Images ruger 9mm p80 pancake inside piece small.jpg 165 kb · Done ruger 9mm p80 pancake outside piece small.jpg 187 kb · Done