December Western Gunbelt

[BrokenolMarine]

Back out to the shop this afternoon after Miss T returned from her errands. I beveled the edges of all the pieces, then went to work burnishing them. By burnishing, you seal the raw edges of the leather, preventing dirt, debris, and or moisture from causing the leather to rot or split at the edges, a common cause of failure in cheaper products.

If you take a close look at the picture below, and compare the far right top edge to the left, you can see the difference. The open grain on the left is a magnet for all the negatives. The burnished edge on the right not only looks much better, but is sealed against intrusion.

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Worth the effort, especially on a major project. After burnishing all the edges, I applied a coat of Tan Coat, a permeable finish which protects, but will allow oiling and conditioning of the leather at a later date. We are about to start the first stages of assembly.

[BrokenolMarine]

Out this morning after breakfast. Had to treat my right hand with the heating pad first. Cold and wet this morning and Arthur doesn't like cold and wet. Time to start putting this thing together. My first step was prepping the strap that I'll use to make the bullet loops with. I had precut and punched the first end already, so that was good to go. I used the skiving tool to trim down the opposite end, and cut it to a bit of a point. We are ready.

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As described in a previous post on the practice piece, it's about lacing the strap in and out of the slots cut in the wide belt. The cartridges are placed in the dampened strap to wet form the loops. I'll leave them in there about an hour then pull them out and put them away and allow the loops to shrink as they dry. After finishing, I marked the position of the end of the strap, punched the hole and cut the rounded end on the strap. I even died the fresh cut end. I don't know why, the belt will be lined and no one will see the back side. I used conchos to secure the ends rather than rivets. I like the look.

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One last task before going in for a break. I installed the large belt loop on the buckle end of the gun belt. Punched the planned holes, marked the position on the belt end and punched those, then riveted 'er in place. Good to go.

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Next up, marking and punching the holes in the billets, then matching holes in the belt and sewing them together.
AFTER a break.

[BrokenolMarine]

Late afternoon session, I got the buckle billet marked and the holes drilled, got the position marked on the belt and glued the billet in position. I'll drill the holes into the belt tomorrow then saddle stitch the billet into place.

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I also fitted the silver tip to the strap billet and got it marked and drilled. It will be marked and placed AFTER the buckle is in place so I can DETERMINE where it needs to be. I'll need to put the buckle thru the center hole in the piece, put the belt on, then place the billet into position and mark it.

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We are close....

Next up will be the holster and sheath.

[Hatchdog]

The stamping you put on the cartridge loops really stand out and look wonderful. Another successful project nearly ready for work.

[BrokenolMarine]

Out yesterday afternoon and got the belt buckle billet sewn into place and the raw area of the stitching groove and the thread dyed. Looks good.

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Once that was done, I got the buckle and silver belt loop assembled and riveted in place. That looks pretty sharp too.

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Time to determine the placement for the tip end billet. So, I put the tip end billet in place in the buckle, center hole, and pull 'er tight.

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Now I don the belt and place it where it will ride, LOOSELY on my hips, to allow for the sheath and holster that are to come, and with the awl, place a light single mark centered at the end of the billet. NOW I know where the end of the billet should fall.

[BrokenolMarine]

I use the roughening tool and rough up the back of the billet and the area I have marked on the belt. (After rechecking the position twice.) You mess this up there is no going back. You just hope someone else likes the belt that it FITS.

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I paint the roughened areas on both pieces with a thin coat of contact cement and let it dry, then a second coat, and allow it to become tacky.

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Then VERY carefully place the billet on the belt. Add the clamps. The belt will sit overnight.

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[BrokenolMarine]

After breakfast this morning, I came out and prepped the belt by placing a couple pins at the back end of the billet to insure it didn't move... then began sewing. Once I had sewn down one side it was stable enough to remove the pins and continue sewing.

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I repeated the dying process to match the Stitching groove and thread.... Then added a concho beside each billet. These larger conchos will also go on the holster and the sheath to tie the set together. The belt is done. I decided NOT to line this belt, but will line the next, fancier one.

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I will wax the entire belt to protect it, once the holster and sheath are done. Taking the rest of the day off, resting the hands.

[Hatchdog]

Outstanding and I agree with you, the conchos look great, both front and rear.

[BrokenolMarine]

Watched a couple videos to refresh my memory on Western Holster making, especially on drawing out the patterns and the different styles. This one will be pretty straight forward. I'll lay it out and get started this afternoon, hopefully. Been a minute since I made the last one, so I'm looking forward to it.

Stay tuned.

[daytime dave]

Looks great Marine.

[BrokenolMarine]

Watched those videos on holsters, and finally got out and gave the pattern a try. Got started by laying out the dimensions of the Uberti. Gives me a guide for the pattern.

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I laid the belt across the Uberti Silhouette and marked where the holster would hang to insure it wouldn't hang too high or too low, and worked for about an hour laying out the first attempt. Took my time making the loop that would secure the holster to it's skirt so the shape would be pleasing and accommodate the accent concho to match the belt. When I was done, it looked like it would work... But, I wasn't going to cut leather based on that pattern.

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I went back in for the day and RE-watched the three video series from Springfield Leather...

[BrokenolMarine]

That first try at the pattern didn't work out so well. It would not have fit the gun and I tossed it. I went back out this afternoon after Miss T came back from town with a roll of heavy paper from Home Depot. The much thicker paper was easier to work with and I started again. Second try was closer, but no cigar. Third try was a charm. Made another welt of course, but the retention loop was still golden.

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I'll start cutting out the leather this evening or tomorrow. The weather has been cold and raining heavily since last night. Not good for old men with Arthritis.

[BrokenolMarine]

The sharp eyed among you might have noted the extra allowance in the pattern for the main body of the holster. This was intentional, recommended by the Geezer in the Springfield Leather video series. It's easy to trim away the extra after glue up. It's a LOT harder to add leather back if you misalign the parts or pieces and leave a gap...

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I'll also insure that when the welt is installed there is a bit of overhang outside the edge of the holster. That will all be trimmed flush after the glue dries...

[BrokenolMarine]

Well, had family up for a few days and couldn't get into the shop. Just before they arrived however, I did FINALLY make the bench weights I had been intending to make for the last year. Sheesh. Bench weights are the weights you place on the leather or pattern to keep them from moving. I had made a set before from a ziplock bag filled with playground sand, and placed in the cloth bag. Just not enough weight.

This time I took two five pound metal weight plates from an old weight set, and I wrapped them in Bubble Wrap to pad them, then covered them in some old ugly material we would never use anywhere else and added a handle. Perfect.

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[BrokenolMarine]

When I got out to the shop yesterday after company left... I found that these weights worked out great! They are heavy enough that the leather doesn't move when you are cutting and/or tooling.

[BrokenolMarine]

I managed to roll out the 10 ounce leather, and transferred the pattern, then got the leather cut out. Here is hoping this thing turns out well. I marked out the initial tooling window and went around the edge with the tooling accents. So far so good.

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A little closer look. Once it's dyed, any smaller errors won't be so visible.

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When I go back out this morning after my coffee and toast, I'll cut out the retention loop and the welt and then dye them all after any tooling is done.

[BrokenolMarine]

Out this morning and cut out the retention loop and welt for the holster, then tooled the loop. I laid the concho on the loop to see how she would look. I like it.

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A quick check of the pieces and then some paper on the work table and the light brown dye and we are prepped to dye.

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Got them all dyed, and left them to dry. ONLY the edges of the welts were dyed so the contact cement would work better. Same with the edges of the interior of the holster.

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[BrokenolMarine]

Once it's dry, I'll treat it all with tan coat or mink oil to soften and protect it before moving on to the next stage. The dying process often makes the leather stiff.

[BrokenolMarine]

Went out and treated the pieces with the mink oil. Great difference in the flexibility, especially in the retention loop which had gotten very stiff indeed. Then, after carefully measuring and marking, I roughed and glued the welts in place on the holster. Clamped it and prepared to leave it overnight to cure. I'll sew 'er up tomorrow.

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The Retention Loop got the same treatment, but I went ahead and burnished the edges, and waxed it. Then punched the hole for the Concho. I wanted that installed before I put it in place on the holster skirt after that job is done. I think it is looking pretty good.

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We are moving along, again, work to do tomorrow.

[Hatchdog]

Looking good, love the concho. That sure is a heavy piece of leather, must have been a chore to cut it.