Denster

Actually that is a demo of Will Gormley's holsters not cowboy action shooting. The cross draw is allowed if you don't break the 160 degree rule as you stated however the prarie twist draw will get you disqualified in short order.

Luke Problem diagnosed. Didn't realize that the kydex foot was letting the material jump. That kills forming much of a loop and the hook will miss it a lot, also gives you a nasty looking stitch when it does catch it. Wait till your factory presser foot comes in and I'll bet your problems are gone. Speaking of presser feet it's handy to have the left zipper foot also. Cuts down on the marks when going around the weapon perifery on envelope style holsters. That presser foot adjustment valve that shovelhead mentioned is handy also and only about $30. You won't have many presser foot marks when sewing firmer leather like Hermann Oak but on the less firm leather like W&C and some of the imports it saves some time to lighten the pressure and cut down on the time spent casing and removing the marks. If you're only into the machine for $1000 and almost home free you did good.

Just one other thing Luke. The needle is passing through the center of the needle plate isn't it and is not touching the toes of your home made presser foot. Either can bump the needle a few thou out of alignment. I see what you mean about the former owner robbing parts.

Luke You can run 346 top and bottom. The only advantage to running one size smaller in the bobbin is you can use less upper tension and you have more bobbin thread to work with. The bottom stitch is a double thickness of thread that has to be pulled into the hole in the leather. With machine stitching the back will never look as nice as it does with saddle stitching, well with one exception being a needle and awl machine. Take a look at some of Particles posts in the holsters section. That is as good as it gets on the back. To get nice looking stitches you'll want the heavy thread and 4.5 to 5 stitches per inch. One thing I have found is that poly thread runs better through the Boss and Aerostitch than bonded nylon. I just thought of one other thing. You do have your bobbin thread comming off in a counterclockwise direction don't you. That is the only way it will work right. Do you have a manual for the aerostitch? If not let me know I think I have a pdf of both the early and late models.

Luke The 346 uses a 230S needle.

On the needles. Weaver has a little better price but not much might just as well get them from Tippmann. They darn near last forever anyway. As to bobbin tension about 1lb or a little less, by feel that is flows freely out with only a little felt tension. Top tension a good place to start is back both all the way off then just down till they touch and put two turns on the secondary and 1&1/2 on the primary. Then make adjustments on the primary till the stitch looks like you want. When you get it stitching that is. I'm at a loss for other ideas although Tom should be able to walk you right through it. If the needle picks up the bobbin thread with only light tension but sewing puts too much tension on it sounds like a spacing issue and the hook isn't passing close enough to the needle thats only an issue of a few thousandths. I'd take the shuttle out wipe it and the spacer ring down good reinstall and try again. Me I'm off to bed. Don't be too worried once you get it going you'll really like it. They are a bear and will darn near sew plywood. By the way for holsters I use 346 top and 277 bottom makes a nice plump stitch. 277 and 207 I use for belts. Plenty stroong enough for either just doesn't look as nice. When you find out what the problem is be sure and let me know.

Yes that is correct. You appear to have the needle installed correctly but it looks a little low maybe 1/8 in are you sure you have it all the way into the needle bar? When the needle is all the way up the bobbin should be about 10 degrees right of top dead center as you are facing it. With the needle all the way down it should go past 180 degrees. Also that needle looks like a plain 200 rather than a chisel point 200S. If it is and you are trying to sew any weight of veg tan you will have problems. If you have some canvas or light suede try sewing that and see if you get a stitch.

Luke As to the timing. Watch the Boss videos on the Tippmann website it will show you how the shuttle is supposed to be in. The aerostitch is just a Boss on pneumatic steroids.

Luke A couple of things to check. First did you have the bobbin shuttle and cae out of the machine and thoroughly clean it inside and lube and reassemble? Second are you using the correct size needle. For 277 you need a 200S? Third is the needle installed properly? It needs the flat to be at a 90Deg angle facing the inside of the throat which is to your right as you are sitting at the machine. You do have to hols the thread for the first three stitches but not any tension just no slack. These are simple almost bulletproof machines. Oh one other thing you do have it set to stitch forward don't you. If the stitch length adjustment lever is upright there is no feed and it just runs in place. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info Jeff.

As an addendum to Particles's previous post. This question is for K-Man and Boomstick. Roughly how many guns, blue or otherwise, do you feel it is necesary to have to accomodate the various barrel lengths 3" to 5" of 1911's from just the major players like Kimber, Colt, Sig, S&W, Para, RI, Taurus, Springfiled and Charles Daly given the differences you've mentioned. Skip the custom makers and railed frames. That's a whole other can of worms. Serious question guys.

Thank you! I wish you much continued success. One thing I will say is that you do make nice holsters at a very fair price.

Jeff I would dye the other parts first and not the shark. I haven't had much luck grooving shark except for the straight runs and then only to get a mark. I use the outside toe of my presser foot a a guage and freehand it around everything else. The stitching pulls down nicely in the shark anyways. If you are covering the entire front I think I would use 6/7 for the front and 7/8 or8/9 for the back. Edge burnishing is the same. I don't know about bag kote never used it on shark.

Maybe I missed something in this thread, the part where someone suggested using a five shot revolver to mold holsters for a six shot revolver or leaving the barrel exposed at the end of the holster. That and such things as using a 1911 to make holsters for a Browning HP are not sound practices and no one suggested they were. As to the dimensional differences between 1911's. I have examples from Sig, Colt, Taurus, Rock Island, Springfield and Kimber in all barrel lengths from 3.5" to 5". With the exception of Sig, who just has to do something different, as far as the area of the recoil spring guide. The dimensions we're concerned with are within a few thousandths of an inch of each other and have identical shapes. I measured the width of the dust cover, width of the recoil spring guide, width of the slide, width of the triggerguard, height of slide/dust cover, height of slide/recoil spring guide. I might add that what little difference there is would likely be found in 10 examples of the same make and model pistols as these are not critical dimensions. This is leatherworking not die sinking and leather is not a medium that lends itself to working to metal working tolerances. I can't do it and niether can those who think they can. What is vital to a holster's retention ability and fit are quality leather, a close stitchline, good peripherial molding and good construction techniques. Detail molding, while attractive and I do it, does little to add to the fit and long term retention and is worthless if any of the former are missing. That's just my take on it. YMMV It might be useful if some, rather than just jump in with the occassional criticism or slap at someone, shared some of their techniques for doing it, what they percieve, to be the right way.

Agreed! A bit of possibly useful information. The length of the dustcover on the various sizes of 1911s registering from the front of the triggerguard to the end of the dustcover is (5" barrel 2" to end of DC) (4.25, 4, 3.5" barrel 1&3/4" to end of DC) (3" barrel 1&1/2" to end of DC) This is not a close tolerance dimension and will vary a few thousandths between guns.

Might want to rethink that a bit. As long as the holster was adjusted for length the only variation in any other dimensions would be that tiny 1/4" long transition between the dust cover and recoil spring guide to the end of the barrel. Not boning in that detail would have zero affect on retention. If you just had to have it, just retract the gun until 1/4" of the transition is inside the holster and finish it out. Hardley what I would call floating around. I'm all for using the right tool for the job but not everyone has the luxury of all he tools. I fail to see any potential safety issues.

No problem a little blow up is good for the soul. I understand though it is irritating. I don't know if he was refering to the stitchline wearing on the slide or the other but did you note that his stitchline is above ground and naked to those sharp raspy front sights that tear out wads of leather? Hmmm! probably has a proprietary thread made just for that. Ya think?

Well they do make nice holsters, but a little pricey. Some of their add content is reminisent of the old Herter's catalogs.

Good point Eric. The holsters I wore on duty in plain clothes were heavier in construction and always had some form of retention device as opposed to what I wore off duty and out with the family.

You'll loose a little thickness when you have the leather jacked (plated) in this case .007. One of the reasons I like Hermann Oak so well is it has a nice firm hand to it right from the go.

It will work just fine on the flesh side.

Actually for what they are it is a decent holster and works well. As to being a Crossbreed knockoff you don't really think that Crossbreed developed the kydex leather idea. If the exposed T-nuts worry you, they shouldn't, glue and stitch a liner of 2/3 or 3/4 to the back. Finish the whole thing with bagkote or super sheen and enjoy it. At least it wasn't assembled with speedy rivets like Crossbreed.

For a simple pancake design $50 to $65 would be a better range. Dickf is right 8/9OZ makes for a sturdier holster particularly with no mouth reinforcement and the tunnel loop design and a full size weapon. Molding the holster to a curve is also good. A handy tool to make for yourself are two 16inch belt blanks one 1&1/2" and the other 1&3/4" both 1/4" thick really helps with forming the belt slots and molding to a curve. I think belt slots should be a minimum of 5/16" and I think 3/8" is optimal. That accomodates those that feel a dual purpose gun and weight lifting belt is called for. Still a really nice holster.

OK! Did the smart thing. Ordered direct from Rings. Nice people no hassesl. Have them in six days.

Ahh! The power of advertising. Denigrate others methods and sew in a piece of weatherstriping. Probably works after a fashion.