Hags

Arthritis, cobra class 3....

This is a pic of my connectors and straps. The 3 small straps in the upper left connect the holster to the shoulder and chest straps. I use 1" welded rings for the upper front of the shoulder strap and connect both sides to the ring with Chicago screws ( bigger for the holster, smaller for the strap ). I also use the rings for the non-buckle end of the nylon strap (cut to fit the person, + 12 inches or so for adjustment. The nylon strap goes though the bottom slots on the kinda triangular piece (RH shown) and around to the buckle end on the rh side for a rightie. The extra goes into a "keeper" for want of a better name. It has 2 slots and a center bar. I thread this on before I go to the buckle and put the end into to keep it out of the way (you can see it on the strap in the pic of the back of the holster). The shoulder strap goes through the top slot of that piece and gets closed with a Chicago screw. I use purple loctite on the screws on the holster at assembly and the others at final fitting. I used to not have the 1" bag punch and the triangle piece would float back to the left and loosen up. I remedied this with a 1/4 " punch for the leather and a soldering iron for the hole in the nylon pinned with another Chicago screw. With the bag punch the fit is pretty snug and I've had no issues with the attachment point moving. The skinny strap is the belt strap. I put a line 20 snap in the small holes in the right. These are spaced to fit a 2+in belt the other end attaches with Chicago a screw to the non buckle side of the chest/nylon strap`s welded ring. This greatly aids getting the gun out one handed. moving. I hope this helps. I'm still learning, and appreciate the feedback I get from this site.

Hmmmm, could work I suppose. My machine could sew close enough. Just not the way I learned. I'll have to think about this.

Scope stopped the gun from going quite as deep as I would have liked. Try as I might it's not a real perfect science.

Not my gun but yes, not my choice of grips. Thank you for compliments. This one was a challenge.

Yes, initially the retention was a bit too much. I wrapped the gun and scope in thick plastic wrap and let it sit for a while before it was completely dry. This loosened the fit enough to hold the weapon very well, but allows for the gun to be drawn. I also went into these areas while wet and released/eased them a bit from the inside. I saw this going in and advised the owner this is not going to be a "speed draw" holster (duhhh), and that unless he wanted a very loose fit and a strap, it was going to on the snug side. He loves it and can draw it one handed. Thank you for pointing this out. When I do pistols, I make sure to relieve the area around the ejector port to prevent locking the gun in. I just cant resist getting all the detail I can.

I think I know that guy! Naw, not really. But, that is a very nice rig. Well done!

Yeah, it would hide well under a swimsuit!

Ni e job, and retention is a good thing unless it locks the gun in the holster so tight you cant draw it.

Sweeeeeeet!

This is, no doubt, the biggest holster I have ever made. I brainstormed for a couple of days over how to do this. It is literally huge. Then, add a scope.. Do I cut out for the scope or enclose it? I ultimately opted to enclose. Using the pancake for revolver method, I began to flesh out the design. I built a ramp (?) For the transition from scope to front sight, gave myself some room for error, and made the pattern. Crap!, that's a lot of leather! And he wants a sasquatch silhouette on the reinforcing piece. Dang. Anyway, I think I pulled it off. This really made the customer happy. I hope I can post all 3 photos in this post. If not, I will add another. And no, this is not intended to be a "survival or speed draw" holster. This is a hunting, or just a carry holster. I made this clear at the start. I did not use my vacuum bag on this one, all by hand and hair dryer ok n low. I was concerned about what it may do to the scope. If you have advice on scopes in vacuum, please advise. Going to have to add one photo of the back, dangit. The photo of the back.

Thank you for the response. Making our own tools is, in my opinion, an integral part of our craft. I see a need, I look for a solution.

I tried food saver as well. Didn't care for the bag texture. Even flipping the bag over and putting the smooth side up. Still was too prone to wrinkles that transfer to the leather. I now have a vac set up with a 27 mm vinyl bag and vac pump that does very well. If you look at JLSleather's website he has a very good method for making holsters and establishing stitch lines that will benefit you a lot in the future. But, all in all, a very worthy first wet mold. The texture is a matter of personal taste.

It really does appear to be some seriously heavy thread. I machine sew, and use 207 on mine, and have had no issues. I do wet the back of the front after sewing on the reinforcing piece and hammer the thread flat from the back. Maybe use a little smaller thread? And Papaleaf, if you like my design, check out my attachments, I posted a pic of all my parts and pieces on a grid board so you can see the sizes if your interested. I too used Jls's holster design method.

I've been getting more requests to build shoulder holsters. Single sided. I have looked st others and really like the ones that use a very thick 1 inch wide or so elastic around the other shoulder. Any ideas where to find this stuff?

Very nice. I own a few SA firearms. Might have to steal that double stitch thing. I usually double all the way around, but that is cool.

I agree with more forward cant as a possible solution. Can't really tell what you have since it looks like an avenger type with a belt tunnel in the back. I tend to go with a 15 degree forward cant. I also have my sweat guard rise up in the back of the holster to allow for more retention from the back of the holster than the front. I achieve most of my retention from the trigger guard and the back side of the holster. I usually tape over the ejection port to prevent lockup. As you see in the pic (chest rig, not hip, but the holster is the issue) , I have no molding around the ejection port. Wish I had pics of the back, sorry. Hope thos helps.

Welcome! Lots of good info here.

I was the same way a couple of years ago. I tried the budget shoulders, 4 for $100 oil tanned sides, and other less expensive routes. I found that while there are a few worthy mentions (maverick leather in Oregon has some great sales), I just get more value out of a side of Hermann Oak. For me, I do sell a few holsters. This helps defray the cost a great bit. I'm looking at $250 to the door here for 7/8 oz B grade side, and the same for a 4/5 oz side. I try hard to find a purpose for all the scrap I generate, but still have a big box under the bench. I find i can use small pieces of 4/5 for a lot of speed loader pouches, wrist bands, mag pouches etc. But, there also I have invested time in making quite a few molds for these items. So I guess yes, it is not cheap, but let me ask you. Do you fish? That ain't cheap either...

I posted these on the holster page but felt they might benefit from wider exposure. Might just prompt someone to stretch out and make their own. I got frustrated with contemporary boning tools and decided to make my own for boning my holsters and sheaths. I used 5/16 hex head bolts and one piece of odd material I had. Need to work on my handles, and the long bent one is not functional, I'll probably cut that one off and make a beveler or something else out of it.

Thanks Dad, like the feed back!

Kinda late welcoming you but, welcome! I'm from the Olympic peninsula so, up in your neck of the woods.

I too remember Reddy from my childhood days in Dallas. He was on top of the utilities building on the way down town. Nice pouch!

My guess would be that is a regular quick rivet that has been set with a punch of some sort and not the concave one that is normally used.

Prices must have gone up. Big surprise huh. I got my vacuum pump at Harbor Frieght, think it was about $90. The 2x2 bag and kit was I believe about $125 at the time. Being retired on a pretty fixed income, I can feel the burn over the $. I did see a vac bag local for $75 a while back. Wouldn't fit my set up but was a good deal if you were starting from scratch and could set up around the fitting the bag had. So keep looking, and I got good results without it. It just took longer.