How Do You Measure Stitchline On Revolver Pattern?

[RoosterShooter]

How do you measure the stitch line for a revolver pattern?

For a semi-auto it's easy because everything is uniform. However, on a revolver it is skinny at the barrel and widens considerably at the lug. How do you make the transition on your pattern?

Thanks.

[Troy I]

I've tried to get it right and can't. I hand sew after wet forming this is a pain, but you keep the stitch line tight to the gun.

[marine mp]

If I grasp what yer axeing...I usually just transition to it with 1/2 the diameter plus a smidgen. I go at a 45 degree angle from the barrel to the underlug. When it comes to the cylinder I do the same,.....1/2 diameter and add a smdgen. The wheel-guns are a bit different for me as I make the stitch-line a bit less confining and also mold less. The radical differences in dimensions make the stitch-lines more radiused than the "squared-off" style on the semi's. Hope this helps some. Semper-fi Mike

[supercub]

Easiest way I've found is to lay the revolver on a piece of cardstock and carefully trace the outline of the underside of the gun from the end of the barrel to the top of the trigger guard. Cut out this piece to use later as a template. If you are doing a pancake, sew the straightline portion of the holster and put the revolver tight against the stitchline. Take a spring clamp and pinch the two pieces of leather over the trigger guard. Make a mark with a pencil at that point. Do the same thing at the end of the barrel. These marks will be the beginning and end of the stitchline. Take out the revolver and flatten out the holster. Take your pattern template and line it up with the two marks you made on the holster. Draw this line between the two points - that is your stitchline. Sew it together, case the leather, reinsert the gun and start molding. Depending how tight you want to fit, you can adjust the stitchline in or out a smidge. You can do it the same way with a fold over holster, but you will need to enlarge it slightly to accomodate the front sight.

This method has worked okay for me on J and K frames, but it might need a little more adjustment to deal with the larger cylinders on the N frames and single actions. It will get you in the ballpark, but depending on the leather weight and other factors - you'll need to do a little trial and error.

[Dwight]

Troy has my process half right.

I wet form the holster, . . . let it dry. When I say dry, . . . I'm talking DRY, . . . no less than 24 hours after forming.

I then glue it together with contact cement, . . . by applying the cement, . . . letting it dry, . . . inserting the gun, . . . and hand clamping the holster around it so the cement makes contact.

Pull out the weapon, . . . flatten the holster enough to sew where it needs to be, . . . reinsert weapon, . . . VOILA, . . . works every time.

I kinda hand sew, . . . my Tippmann Boss is hand powered :-)

May God bless,

Dwight

[Troy I]

Thanks Dwight for getting the other half right. LOL I have always glued before wet forming. ..I'll have to give your method a try.

:-)

[RoosterShooter]

That's my next question. .....

If I'm sewing 'pre-formed' holsters on my Boss .... what presser foot do I need? I'm thinking of ordering a 'Left' or 'Right' anyway so I can "Dye before sewing" to get contrasting colors on my leather and thread.

It's hard for me to visualize without seeing it, so that's why I'm asking.

Should the presser foot be on the left of the stitch or right on a holster?

Edited April 2, 2014 by RoosterShooter

[chiefjason]

That's my next question. .....

If I'm sewing 'pre-formed' holsters on my Boss .... what presser foot do I need? I'm thinking of ordering a 'Left' or 'Right' anyway so I can "Dye before sewing" to get contrasting colors on my leather and thread.

It's hard for me to visualize without seeing it, so that's why I'm asking.

Should the presser foot be on the left of the stitch or right on a holster?

I'd like to find that answer too. Can't seem to get it figured out and I have both right and left presser feet. My problem is that it hits the holster much higher up the presser foot during the turn away from the mold. Basically, you can't turn the holster and stitch. I can't anyway. About the closest I got was sewing some combination of forwards, sideways, and backwards at different times. And you can't get the tension right doing that. Or you turn the wrong way and unwind the lock in the stitch.

I was lucky enough to get the machine on loan. But I'm about to give it back because I can't figure it out.

[Dwight]

I only use the center presser foot.

I generally sew clockwise around the object I am sewing, . . . that keeps everything to the left of the needle, . . . and I can "guide" the flow with my left hand.

I also have a home made table that is flush with the sewing surface, . . . they both exit onto my work table which is also flush with the sewing surface. That makes for easier alignment, feeding, directing, etc.

I've often thought of my machine as though it were an Irish redhead, . . . hard to get to know, . . . persnicketty, . . . but loyal to the end once you make the connection.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Josh Ashman]

I make a pattern just like the Al Stohlman holster book says and it works well every time. In case you don't have the book a very rough idea is to place the pistol upside down centered on a paper fold and "roll" it to the side then mark a line 3/4" away from the pistol. That line would be the edge of your pattern and you'd stitch 1/8" in from it. On larger pistols I always use a welt but I also put my stitch line around 3/16 off the edge, maybe a little more. If you're making a pancake type holster the fold is the "top" stich line, for an avenger type holster mark 5/8 away from the gun for the stitch line and flare the edge out for the belt slot/tunnel. When you "roll" the gun over you account for the width of the cylinder.

Good luck, Josh