Bronson

When you are making a wrap-around style holster with a reinforced mouth do you: A: Stitch the reinforcement in place before folding the holster over or B: Fold the holster over and then stitch the reinforcement on. I ask because the last time I tried it I stitched it in place first, wet the fold area and folded it around. It worked ok but there was some bunching at the fold on the interior of the holster. If you fold before stitching how much do you add to the length of your reinforcing piece pattern to compensate for the bend? The thickness of the leather? Twice the thickness of the leather? Or do you just wait until it's folded and add whatever is needed for the reinforcement to wrap around and sit in the right place? Is any of this making sense? Thanks, Bronson

Those are really fantastic. Do you have a website or online gallery? Bronson

You could also try www.bersatalk.com It's a whole forum of Bersa owners and, again, there might be one that lives close to you. Bronson

a 6-32 screw should fit right down into the snaps and not cause any issues with the snap function. If you used 8-32 T-nuts you might want to switch them out with 6-32s or you'll have to grind the heads of the 8-32 screws down so they'll fit in the snaps. I found stainless steel 6-32 countersunk hex-drive screws in the bulk hardware section of my local hardware store. They also had the 6-32 T-nuts. Bronson

I seem to remember being told that if you order directly from Ring's you can get the blue gun without the blue coating of paint that tends to rub off on the holser. Is that correct? Bronson

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_101516_425010000_425000000_425010000_425-10-0 http://www.outdoorconnectiononline.com/prodimages/graphics/001%20Slings/006%20BB/Brown%20Bag%20on%20shotgun.jpg http://www.dixiegunworks.com/popup_image.php?pID=9308&osCsid=d5edaef77dfba77e6d02bb2ca345fcd3 Bronson

A knife maker friend of mine calls them "subtle variations in the hand-crafted product." Bronson

I bet they were. How could someone not be thrilled with that rig, it is absolutely beautiful. Bronson

Dang it Nick. Now there's another piece of equipment I need to build Bronson

If you don't have it yet, Al Stohlman's book "The Art of Hand Sewing Leather" will clearly show you how to utilize smaller pieces of thread. Are you using a stitching awl or diamond punches. The one belt I made I was still using diamond punches so I chucked the four prong punch in a drill press and used it like an arbor press to pre-punch all the holes. It was much easier than pounding them all in with a hammer. I've since switched to a stitching awl but really have no desire to hand sew another one. But that could change at any moment Bronson

A friend of mine is an amatuer photographer and was thinking of going into the wedding picture business. She had the opportunity to talk with an established pro in the business and his one big piece of advice was "don't offer customers more than three options." He told her to put together 3 packages and not to offer anything else. His experience was that a customer faced with too many options can never make up their mind and they NEED you, as the professional, to tell them what will work the best Bronson

Nice. Are those Dennis Marshal grips on that Bersa CC? Bronson

Lobo I very much like the looks of that. Would you mind if I used your welt-in-the-wing idea for a similar holster I've got kickin' around in my head? Thanks, Bronson

Except the OP said: "I can't have a strap across the chest", which is why I'm having a hard time picturing it. From the description I think I've figured it out. I think instead of the strap running across the chest it loops over the shoulder and runs across the back of the neck and around the other shoulder. Bronson

How about a pic with you wearing it? I'm having a hard time picturing how it works. Bronson

You can also order directly from Tandy's website http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/ if they don't have something in the store (my little local shop doesn't have any books). Bronson

I started with the jdlawhorn link that was already posted. It got me started enough to want to keep trying As far as books I really like Al Stohlman's "The Art of Hand Sewing Leather". There is more info on hand stitching in that book than I'll ever need in my lifetime. I think the Tandy website has it for about $10.00 I find the Stohlman books to be full of good info in an easy to follow, concise style. Bronson

Nice grips. I also have that exact model of 1911 on layaway Bronson

Wow that's quite the request. I'd suggest telling him no. Bronson

Do you also airbrush the finish into the inside of the holster? Does it do a good job of getting all the way down inside or do you need to use a brush to get to the very bottom. Thanks, Bronson

Looks great. Bronson

I, for one, very much look forward to seeing the finished product. Bronson

Thanks everyone. The strap works ok. The position of the strap is actually one of the things I'd change. I'd bring it up closer the grip so it grabbed the trigger guard a bit more. Right now it retains the pistol if someone were to pull on it from behind or if I draw it straight up. If I put a little forward pull on it during the draw it'll completely bypass the strap. The strap releases well though. I've got a stainless steel tab on the back to stiffen the snap-tab and it releases with just a push of the middle finger. It happens rather natually while obtaining a firing grip. The forming is just tight enough to hold the gun in place with the holster upside down. I'm thinking of adding a retention screw just below the barrel at the frame ...we'll see how ambitious I get. Thanks again, Bronson

Hey all, I was jones'n for all the great stuff here. Glad the powers that be got it worked out and the site no longer locks up my computer. Anyway, here's some pics of my latest holster. I kept it pretty simple since this was the first one I've done with any type of welt ...and 6 layers of 6/7 oz leather is a PITA to hand sew. As always I learned from this one and would do a few things differently if I did it again but overall I'm happy with how it turned out. Comments or suggestions are, of course, appreciated. Bronson (aaaargh, why can't I post pics direct into the post???) Specs: For a Ruger GP100 4" barrel 6/7 oz Tandy leather Feibing's Mahogany spirit dye Tan-kote finish http://www.flickr.com/photos/29310638@N07/3872530473/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/29310638@N07/3872533353/

I'm diggin' the color. Nice job. Bronson