PastorBob

thanks for that tidbit. What is the math behind determining the spacing of the slots? So I can make them for different calibers.

Thanks @Dwight. That looks lots easier than other ideas I have seen. I will give that a try.

Very nice work. Is is all carving or is there stamps involved. Either way, beautiful...and agree with @Frodo

Very nice. Practice is paying off.

Welcome to the forum from SW Missouri. I would go no more than 9oz and no less than 6-7 oz on the wrap. Maybe go 5-6oz on the loops for the ammo. A couple of thoughts...don't use grommets or rivets unless you have a protective layer between them and the stock.

pretty cool. Wish I had the room and equipment to do wood. Always fascinates me to watch wood turning. some cigars I buy have a thin cedar wrap around them. I could probably find some of that if necessary. Have had no complaints thus far.

In my uses, I either leave them in the cellophane wrapper, or they are not in their long enough to be affected by the leather "aroma" - lol. I mainly use them when heading to an event and don't want to risk crushing them in transit. When traveling for several days, I will take my herfidor (small, pelican style case), then transfer them to small leather humidor for an outing.

What size holes are you making with the laser cutter? Are you only using black thread? If not, how to you prevent the "char" from getting on lighter color thread? What is it you are making using the laser cutter for your patterns?

I have a hard plastic tube made for storing cigars I use to form the shape when the leather is wet. As soon as the shape is formed, i remove the tube and set the wet leather pieces in front of the fan. This piece really needs to dry. It is dyed, then laser engraved. If not completely dry, it is too dark to really see the engraving on it.

It could be imperfections in the tanning process where some of the chemicals they used remained on the leather. I have never tried it, but have heard use of deglazer can help remove the surface impurities. Another thought is to wet all the leather pieces and allow them to dry. I recently made a pocket humidor and its been drying for 3 days in front of a fan and is still not completely dry.

I would guess a wood router. That would shred leather, IMO

PM sent on judge, glock 19, and Beretta 92.

Thanks for sending info on Adam's website. had full list of parts to buy. Just can't shell out $300 right now. It's on my list. Again, Love the way the holster is defined. Great job.

Great information. Thanks so much. I have watched several of Adam's Leatherworks videos, just skipped right past the vacuum. Do you line your holsters? I will check out the vacuum process and see if I can't rig something up to work.

That looks great. Love the handmade tools to assist in the process. I can't ever seem to get crisp lines like that. Matter of fact, i can hardly make the impression for the trigger guard. What is your process? My steps are. Cut leather Dye Assemble and stitch Wet mold I soak mine for about 10 seconds or so then insert gun mold and begin working with fingers. I am using two 5-6 oz pieces glued back to back for holster. Thanks for any insight. Anyone else is welcome to chime in as well.

Yep. Ditto on letters being hard. the bigger they are, it seems to be easier. Keep it up. You are doing good. Remember, we are our own worst critic...we see everything. There are times I have pointed out errors I made to others...glaring to me only to be told, "I would have never noticed that if you hadn't told me. Need to keep my mouth shut sometimes. LOL

Those small carved areas are hard to get beveled without smashing down another line or getting into the design. I had the same issues. Finally got a smaller beveler to get into those tight areas, also got a couple with a steeper face allowing me to lightly tap, but still get some beveling in. Looking good. Keep up the practice.

Very nice. Nothing like creating something for a family member. This, I am sure, will be passed down from generation to generation.

nice work!!! I am currently working on an inlay holster. How hard was it to do the ostrich with just a small amount of leather around the exterior?

Very clean work. I would wear that anywhere. Nice picture as well.

love it...and the play on words.

Nice looking holster! Hand stitching for me is so relaxing, unless I screw it up. I think it really adds to a piece when presenting it to the recipient. A couple of things I have struggled with initially was getting the thread to lay down uniformly. With a standard sewing machine, the needle and thread always travel in the same manner while you move the piece being sewn to achieve the stitch. I practice the same thing when hand stitching...I move the piece all over the place in the stitching pony so my thread and needles go through / pass over each other the exact same way, in the same orientation. And I always use the same amount of tension when I pull the thread tight. This way it looks very uniform. Another trick I picked up...After making my stitching groove, I will place the stitch holes at all the intersections and corners first so they always align, especially when changing directions. This allows me to put a hole on the exact intersection of lines, especially on corners, so it is kept straight in the groove (otherwise it will cut a corner if no hole on the corner). I also don't stitch around the belt holes. I slick them down really good and that works well. It is stitched on the outside so as long as there was plenty of glue, they shouldn't go anywhere. I would also go ahead and run the double stich line all the way to the bottom stitch instead of stopping. When it stops like this, one is forced to do a back stitch there. It's all about how the eye perceives it. To me, it is less noticeable when hidden in the bottom stitch line. Here is an example of one of my holster. Notice the belt loop and stitching.

Nothing sexier than a 1911. Even more sexy with that low cut dress. Wowser! I did notice the "extra" stitches below the trigger guard. Was that intentional? I have not seen that before. What is the purpose? Just added strength?

Welcome to the Forum! Lot of great ideas, patterns, and plenty of suggestions and opinions. Jump right in! Make sure to share your journey with us through pics. There is a thread showing how to upload pics somewhere.

I know Don Gonzalez does a lot of that. May check out his youtube channel. Can't remember what he uses, may be resolene. He is able to cover it using a sheepskin applicator with no smearing.