Lining Western holsters

[MackD]

From someone new to leatherwork, I have a couple of questions about making Western single action holsters.

a> When a lining is required, should the entire lining area or just the edges be glued to the outer leather?

b> Should border tooling be done before or after attaching the lining?

c> The upper lip of the holster needs to be rolled outward. How is this accomplished?

[Rayban]

From someone new to leatherwork, I have a couple of questions about making Western single action holsters.

a> When a lining is required, should the entire lining area or just the edges be glued to the outer leather?

b> Should border tooling be done before or after attaching the lining?

c> The upper lip of the holster needs to be rolled outward. How is this accomplished?

Why is a lining req'd? Anyway, yes the entire lining should be glued to the outy...otherwise, the lining will start to stretch, snag, etc. and get all loosy goosy in there.

You'll be stitching the liner to the outy, right?

Tooling should be done b4 adding the liner.

I'm not clear on what you mean in "C"

[Dwight]

From someone new to leatherwork, I have a couple of questions about making Western single action holsters.

a> When a lining is required, should the entire lining area or just the edges be glued to the outer leather?

b> Should border tooling be done before or after attaching the lining?

c> The upper lip of the holster needs to be rolled outward. How is this accomplished?

A couple of years ago, a friend loaned me 3 videos made by John Bianchi on making a SAA drop leg western holster and accompanying cartridge belt. If you ever get the chance, . . . they are well worth the 5 or so hours of watching.

In it, he emphasized using two pieces of leather, one inside, one outside, . . . glued together (he used Tandy glue, . . . I use contact cement). And yes, . . . it is glued all over, . . . I make my outside to the exact pattern, . . . cut the lining a little bit big, . . . glue em, . . . and trim the lining.

I do all my tooling before I put the two pieces together, if there is any tooling.

After the holster is completed, you want to form fit it to the revolver, . . . by wetting the thing down real good and molding it. The last thing you do is take your thumb and very gently roll the edge of the holster out and away from the weapon, . . . when it dries and you apply the finish, . . . it will stay nicely.

His technique is to then drench the whole thing in warm neatsfoot oil (he had a stainless steel tub about 2 feet long, one foot wide and one foot deep, . . . half full of oil) and then finish it with several coats of Tandy Harness finish.

He recommended 7/8 leather for the belt and 5/6 for the belt liner, . . . same for the holster.

Holler if you have any more questions.

May God bless,

Dwight

[MackD]

Thanks Dwight. That is great information. I want the revolver to fit snugly but not tight. It needs to come out easily with no binding and to be re-holstered quickly without having to look at the holster. As you might guess, this will be used in cowboy action shooting where timing is critical. I will take your advice and look for the Bianchi videos.