Filler Project

[BrokenolMarine]

I am waiting for the pattern for the Rifle slings and I went out to practice a new technique I saw on line. It's a large format basket weave. I had the holster for the wrangler I had cut out that I had messed up the basket weave on... and had set aside and the back was basically blank except for my maker's mark. I marked out the basic layout on that and started.

01 practice pattern.jpg (108.66 KiB) Viewed 808 times

I worked on it for an hour or so, but the design didn't turn out like it should and I went back in and watched a couple more videos on the same technique and found where I had made my mistakes. My plan had been to toss the piece and move on, but Miss T looked at it and said, "A - it doesn't look that bad. B - it's still a holster. Finish it and we can use it somewhere."

She is a pretty smart lady, and I remembered she had wanted a holster she could use on the tractor / Mower / and I wanted one for the UTV, so... I put my thinking cap on. I went back out and dyed the leather for the fun of it while I tinkered with the idea.

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Kicking around the idea I came up with a doozie. I would put a flap on the back like a standard western holster, and put a firearm magnet on it. She could stick it on the hood or inside fender of the tractor/mower and I could stick it on the door / front of the seat in the UTV. Sweet. I made the loop that would hold down the lower part of the holster and put a rope carving on that, then because it would be mostly Tina's I carved a semi-floral trim on the edges of the hammer tie down.

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As the design progresses, changes could be made, and will I'm sure. I have already decided to try the large format basket weave on the back flap for practice again. Not many will see this, so If I Blow It, it won't matter anyway. I will also toss the tie down strap in a drawer and use a simple thong tie down on this holster. I'm sure the strap will come in handy later, purse, wallet, something.


Oh, look who was visiting when I checked the fence lines. There were four or five but I wasn't fast enough with the camera.

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That little area leads from one of the creeks up to the north west pasture area. The deer love it.

[daytime dave]

Great idea.

I'm hoping to see deer like that next month.

[BrokenolMarine]

Great idea.

I'm hoping to see deer like that next month.

We are lucky enough to have herds of deer on the property. We don't really hunt (deer) so they aren't pressured.
Often they will just stand and look at us as we go about our bidness. LOL.

[BrokenolMarine]

During another session in the shop, I laid out the second pattern on the back panel. I started by plotting the layout with the sharp stylus, cutting a thin line in the damp leather. Easy to see but no pencil marks to deal with.

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Once the initial layout is in place, I sharpened the swivel knife and deepened each cut. Prior to each step, I spritz the leather with the spray bottle as properly cased (moistened) leather holds the work better.

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The next steps were the most important on the design and why I called it practice. I was going to be beveling all four sides of every square. two of each were beveled IN and two OUT and they alternate. Getting these right, and done well will make the pattern appear to be large basketweave. The depth has to be there and dramatic. It will take Practice and skill. It will have to be earned.

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Hmmm... not there yet, but we are beginning to see a hint of the basket weave starting to emerge. I still feel it's not a bad looking pattern for the backing panel. Next we stain and coat it in mink oil to preserve it's flexibility.

08 stained and treated.jpg (71.73 KiB) Viewed 765 times

Stay tuned, more to come.

[BrokenolMarine]

Next up, I burnished the edges of the back panel and the loop that will go around the bottom of the holster to hold it tight against the back panel. If you look at the edge of the back panel, you will note that the edge of cut leather looks suspiciously like a sponge. Untreated, like a sponge, it will absorb moisture, grit, and dirt and quickly rot or fail.

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A closer look.

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To burnish the edge, you lightly dampen the edge and sometimes add a burnishing compound, or simply a dab of finish. Then buff with burlap, or rub with a burnishing tool or the side of a screwdriver. It's not pressure, which would deform the leather edge, but the friction generated heat. Light rapid strokes form the burnished edge...

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Note the finished edge and fading into the partially buffed area.

[BrokenolMarine]

I took the antiqued loop piece, and punched matching holes in both ends, then applied a thin layer of contact cement to both ends. While that cured, I set up the needles and thread. I punched a hole in either end for Chicago screws to attach the completed loop to the back panel. Then I sewed the ends together using a baseball pattern.

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You might notice that the loop looks a lot better now, more subdued, after being antiqued. If you look inside, you'll note that I painted the stitches inside with a strip of Contact cement to help insure they were locked. The inside will be hidden by the bottom of the holster and not seen.

15 Looks better antiqued.jpg (136.55 KiB) Viewed 765 times

To start the actual assembly, I glued the top edge of the back panel to the back edge of the holster panel and clamped it. I'll sew this edge to lock it once it's cured.

[fortyshooter]

That is some great work there Jim! Lots of patience and skill needed for that job.

[BrokenolMarine]

You don't hear the language in the shop. Me either, the CD player is turned up loud, since I spent my first career around jet engines and rotors, AND lots of shooting; my second I shot three times a week in practice for matches three times a month, plus taught firearms classes. More shooting. Tina bought me a shirt once that just said: "Huh?".

[BrokenolMarine]

Thanks for the compliment.

CDs in the player?

Soundtracks this time... Two disk set to American Graffitti, and the soundtrack for Duets.

[BrokenolMarine]

Tina asked what some of you may be thinking... Why didn't I trim the back panel to match. The wider flat panel will (Um, should...) Help stabilize the holster in place on the tractor.

[BrokenolMarine]

Went out this morning and took the project out of the clamps. First thing, sew the holster to the backing plate. It turned out pretty good. I need to burn the ends. Duh.

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The machine left a little trail in the mink oil but that would buff out. You won't see it as it will be hidden by the fold. Anal, I'll buff it out anyway.

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I have talked about the magnet I will use on several occasions, but haven't shown it other than laying on the bench in the background a couple times and forgot to point it out. Here is the magnet. It's meant to hold firearms under tables or against your bedframes. I have used them in the home in several places and they work great. They are non-marring rubber coated. TWO hold the wife's 410 pump up in a discreet location. You have to PULL to retrieve it.

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This is a look at what the setup will look like, sorta. A mockup so to speak. I note that due to the fold you can see a bit of the unfinished back. Hmmm, guess I need to stain part of that. (Anal, again.)

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Now that I am ready to sew the holster portion together, I'll glue the spacer (Memory issues, I forgot what it's called... ) in place. contact cement on both sides will be given time to cure and then be carefully placed. It's spaced to insure the inside is properly aligned, but oversized on the outside so it can be trimmed.

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In place and in the clamps... Wait, what's that, the back got brown dye spilled all over it, or was it dyed so it didn't look so pale compared to everything else.

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Next, we'll cement the other side of the spacer and the holster, fold it over and clamp it, and then sew it down. Then we punch the holes for the magnet and the retention loop and install them. The holes for the retention hammer loop. Add that, and then burnish the holster sides, wax and buff and done.

[The Wiz]

Wow!!

[BrokenolMarine]

Out this afternoon... got most of the project done.
I took the holster out of the clamps and got 'er sewn. Still not an expert with the new machine, but it beats sewing by hand.

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I dyed the stitching red to calm that white down, then antiqued the holster one last time, as well as the pull tab and holster loop.

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The pull tab looks pretty good considering it was made from a scrap out of the junk pile. It will go on top of the lace that will hold the Wrangler in the holster by hooking over the hammer spur. This will make it easier to hook and unhook the loop.

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I got everything assembled, including the magnet, then realized the captured nuts I used didn't fit below the level of the magnet and would scratch the metal surfaces they touched. I removed the magnet and will go to home depot tomorrow and find proper countersunk bolts and nuts to make this work. Otherwise, she is about done. The holster and back plate are waxed, the loop is waxed and pops like it should. This is how it will look.

26 almost done.jpg (123.71 KiB) Viewed 668 times

The only thing left to do is add the tie down thong and pull tab and mount the magnet tomorrow. Then this project will be complete.

[BrokenolMarine]

Went back out to the shop and looked everywhere trying to find hardware that would allow me to finish the project this evening. Yeah, yeah, I wanted to see the end of the project and try it out. So sue me. Try as I might I couldn't find proper hardware and I was going to halfa... um, half way do it. I'll have to hit Home despot and get the correct hardware. But, since I had walked all the way to the shop, You know, 30 yards... I decided to practice the tooling again, and prepped a piece of leather to make one more attempt at the large basket weave pattern. I had a heavy 7/8 weight piece of leather. Okay then... I cut off the rough edges, but for aesthetics left the natural curves it came to me with.

Then, I got a little carried away with the layout, and didn't get to the beveling tonight as the layout and border filled my HOUR limit on my arthritic hands. Well, there is always tomorrow.

27 tooling practice.jpg (247.07 KiB) Viewed 664 times

[Hatchdog]

I really like the color combination you used for the holster. The yellow and black contrast nicely with the red. It really catches your eye.

[BrokenolMarine]

I really like the color combination you used for the holster. The yellow and black contrast nicely with the red. It really catches your eye.

Thanks. It's not what I would normally choose for myself, even though Scarlett and Gold ARE the Marine Corp's colors... Odd isn't it? But this one is mainly for Miss T and I wanted it to pop. She rarely wears or displays pink.

[BrokenolMarine]

Got out this morning and started on the finishing touches on the holster. I mounted the magnet, now that I had the hardware, and finished off the hammer loop. I also added a couple holes to the bottom of the toe of the holster and sewed it to the back plate to insure the holster didn't move when you tried to draw. THAT magnet HOLDS the holster in place.

It looks good, I'm happy. It was a learning experience and the design flow changed as the holster progressed.

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Since that picture is on the bench, I thought you might like to see that the magnet would hold the weight. Here it is on the front of the safe.
To remove it you HAVE to slide it sideways and twist to start breaking the hold of the magnet. You can't just pull 'er off.

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Handed it to Tina and she immediately tried it on the front of the stainless steel fridge. Upright, then sideways. She loves it.
I can call this one DONE.

[BrokenolMarine]

For those who might be interested.

That practice panel? I did finish it to see how it would turn out. I won't do anything with it, just keep it around, but Miss T gave it a thumbs up.

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