Mcqueen Holster - Sort Of....

[Red Cent]

"..... I just have to develop a technique for clearing the front sight."

Snagging on the bottom of the holster or clearing the mouth of the pouch?

[dikman]

Not snagging the bottom of the holster.

One thing I noticed is that on the Remington 1875 the part of the ejector (the bit you push) at the front sticks out quite a bit and my molding around it is a bit too snug. On this next one I've taped a dowel along the barrel behind the front sight and also one from the front of the ejector to the front of the receiver. Along with padding out the frame/cylinder a bit this should provide smoother contours to mold the leather around, thus giving a bit more "wiggle room". I'm also trying a slightly different method - last time I molded the pouch around the gun, let it dry and then stitched the pouch edge (I stitched most of it first, leaving the pouch edge until molded). This time, after stitching all the edge except the pouch, I thoroughly wet it and folded it over, lined up the pouch edges, lightly clamped it and left it to dry. Tomorrow I'll stitch the pouch edge - I may run two rows of stitching down, still thinking about that one - and then wet it and work the gun into it to shape it.

I figure by the time I do #3 I should just about have figured out the best way to make them.

And this time I remembered to fit the Chicago screws before gluing the leather halves!

[Red Cent]

Molding the gun will create a lot of retention. I never mold a SASS holster. After it is complete, I soak the holster in very warm water, open the holster with a large pointed dowel rod, and then work in the revolver. I fan dry the holster and it dries as hard as a brick.

[dikman]

Keep them good tricks and ideas coming, RC . Actually, that is essentially what I've just done (it's drying next to me as I type). I wet it, folded it, dried and stitched it, then got the pouch part pretty wet and worked the revolver into it. Much better idea than wet molding it around the revolver, drying and then stitching.

In total this is holster #8 that I've made (all Western-style), and I think I'm slowly starting to come up with a method that works, although I'm still not sure with staining whether it's better to stain first and then mold or stain after all the molding is done. Even with spirit-based dyes the water still tends to bring out traces of colour during wet-molding.

[dikman]

Next version. The bottom of the holster is the same width but I made it 1/4" wider at the trigger guard, which gave just a little more room inside overall. I also lowered the slot in the front edge a bit more. By fitting the dowel along the extractor rod it gave a much better fit, the gun now slides out smoothly without the slight drag from the extractor that I could feel in the other one. The dowel behind the front sight appears to have angled the revolver slightly in the holster, with the barrel sitting a bit to the rear of the holster's leading edge and as a result the front sight doesn't catch (as much) on the bottom of the holster. It has zero retention, and the cylinder can be rotated in the holster (although that's not something we do!).

Two quick coats of hot Neatsfoot oil, followed by an application of wax and then it was buffed a little. I figure that by buffing it regularly it should slowly get to the finish I want. Since this one appears to be a better fit to the gun, I guess I'll make another the same and then a matching belt (another gunbelt! Aarrgghh). Funnily enough, when they're side-by-side I think I like the reddish-brown better .

Edited March 9, 2016 by dikman

[Toney]

Very nice!

[dikman]

Thanks Toney, I think I've almost got it. Next one should fix the mistakes.

[Red Cent]

Dikman, I do not use diluted dye on my leather. Can't say you will have the same results. I have found that diluted dye wiped on with sponge or rag will have some dark places when dry. I personally believe that all the alcohol makes for inconsistency.

[dikman]

I was only trying it at the suggestion of the chap where I bought it, he said it should lighten the colour a little (which it did, but it also brought out the red in it). I can see where thinning the dye could cause problems due to the reduced colour content. I intend to experiment a bit more later, but at the moment I'm making Holster #9, to match the last one. It will be natural (oiled and waxed only) and definitely not as well-finished as yours, but that doesn't matter as they're only for me and I'm hoping they'll quickly get an aged/used/knocked about look about them.

The gunbelt is causing me some indecision. My thoughts are for a single layer (I don't want it too thick), rough side in with an Eastwood style buckle and tongue and stitched along the edge. I don't want to stamp it, but am undecided about stitching in the "gunfighter" pattern. Trouble is that it might look pretty plain with just the natural finish. I'll just have to make it and see what it looks like, I guess.

[dikman]

The (almost) finished product. Taking the photos against the green has made it look lighter than it is. This whole exercise was partly an experiment to see how the leather would look "natural". Although it doesn't show on the photos, the neatsfoot oil application came out a little patchy, something to watch out for in future. The belt is only a single layer of 8-9 oz veg (the thickest I had) because I didn't want a stiff belt, I wanted something that would tend to mold to the body and I wanted the rough side in to give a little friction. Only problem I think I can see is with the tongue, it may be a little thin for the overall weight of the rig. I may glue a piece of Kangaroo onto the inside of the tongue to reinforce it, as the Kangaroo is very thin but extremely tough for it's weight.

The belt only has a single line of stitching around the edge for now, as I'm not sure what I want to do with it. I may stitch a pattern on it or just run a second line of stitching around it. Still thinking.