Twosons Report post Posted January 17, 2009 Thanks, folks. I finished boning my 1st holster last night, a simple pancake. I have learned a ton along the way. 90% of it came from you folks here. What have I learned? Making holsters is easier than I ever thought it would be. Making Holsters is much harder than I ever thought it would be. Even a caveman like me can make a holster. Stitching is way easier than I thought it would be. If you make a mistake, don't panic, you can probably fix it or make it work. My wife will tolerate my crazy habits. I made some learning curve mistakes a long the way. I grooved the stitch line a bit too deep. I am not so great with the free hand groover in the curves. I need to add a bit more space between the gun and the stitching, although not too much. Grooving the backside is a pain. Mine doesn't look so great. I had to trim the sweat guard after boning. Looked great on the pattern and after cutting the leather. After stitching and boning it was off and blocked the draw. Looks OK, but not great. When you are cutting a left handed holster, sometimes you get a right handed holster to practice with when you aren't paying attention to what you are doing. While it's not done yet, it already looks 20X better than I ever thought it would. Now, I need to do the dying and burnishing which both intimidate me a bit. Mostly because I have never done it. I am sure I will make it though after reading what you folks post. She's not ready for photos yet, but I'll get some up when the time is right. Anyway, thanks for all the wisdom and knowledge you have in these pages. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bree Report post Posted January 17, 2009 Nope. Not a 1st holster without PIX! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twosons Report post Posted January 17, 2009 Yes, a new holster without pix... ...yet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rayban Report post Posted January 17, 2009 Yes, a new holster without pix......yet. Two.... Three things I've learned about you... 1. You're pleased and excited about your first effort. 2. You've learned a lot about the process. 3. You're gonna do a lot more of them and get better and better at it. Note....that's not to say you won't screw one up now and then.....it happens. Good on ya!! R Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dynamik1 Report post Posted January 17, 2009 Inspiration for all of us Noobs!! Thanks! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JRB Report post Posted January 17, 2009 I've learned that dying black is easier and hide a multitude of sins! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lobo Report post Posted January 18, 2009 As we used to say in the Army, don't sweat the small stuff. Quick hint: don't mess with grooving stitching lines on the back side! You can pull the stitches in tight, then go over them with the overstitching wheel, and have a nice looking done deal. Keep after it, friend. You will achieve what you want. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twosons Report post Posted January 23, 2009 Finished it up today. The dye came out a little darker than I thought it would, and I flubbed the burnishing (looks sloppy), but I am pretty darned happy for my 1st go around. The next one will be better... I used the Tandy burnishing wheel and will replace that as soon as I get a chance. Hopefully some pics when I get a second. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rhall Report post Posted January 24, 2009 Lobo is so right..Dont groove the off side,snug it up with the stitch and over wheel on a hard surface.Your gonna love them holsters..Anyone who is starting in Cowboy Gear ,I will tell you of my fav Book for referance/pleasure.Packing Iron by Richard Rattenbury...Zon International Publishing Co.It's a little pricey about 45.00 But I was using it so much that I purchased a second one to put away!I hope everyone who appriciates art in leather can look that book over.That is what floats my boat! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twosons Report post Posted January 24, 2009 Here it is! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TwinOaks Report post Posted January 24, 2009 (edited) ...here what is? Seems there's an issue with the pics, 'cause I don't see anything. To post a pic: click the 'browse' button, select the file, then click open when the file name appears in the box next to the 'browse' button, click 'upload' once the upload is complete, click in "manage current attachments" and click on the "plus" sign. In the body of your text, you should have a file name with tabs on either side of it. -or- If you use a 3rd party image hosting site, look for the tags , and copy and past the whole thing. Edited January 24, 2009 by TwinOaks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twosons Report post Posted January 24, 2009 (edited) I used image tags in the 1st try. I'll try the upload this time. Edited January 24, 2009 by Twosons Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
