Neighbors

I lucked into some great neighbors on this move. My front yard is that back yard of a guy named Mike. We both rent from the same people. He has bee here for 4 years, is a blue-collar professional (he does bidding for one of the largest construction companies in this metro area) and enjoys gardening and cheap beer. We barbecue or drink beer together at least once a week. He is much more liberal than I, but is a good man, and can articulate why he views certain politics the way he does. I may not always agree with him, but I respect that he can back up his beliefs with reasonable arguments. He is a fun, hard-working, and intelligent man. For having to share a yard with someone, I did hit the jackpot, as far as neighbors goes.

Across the street, I have another neighbor, Aaron. Funnily enough, I have known him for about 20 years. When we were kids, he was friends with a friend of mine. We always got along fine as kids, and even though I haven't seen him in 10 years, we apparently still get along fine. He works for the local college as building maintenance, and is about a year away from getting a degree in Industrial Maintenance. He is a good guy, and bikes everywhere. He mountain bikes on the weekend, goes on neighborhood rides daily, and commutes to work (about 6 miles) almost every day.

The Boy-o got into bike riding earlier this summer, and insisted we take off the training wheels after learning to ride without them at Paw-Paw's. We were in a bind, and Aaron offered to let me borrow a bike to ride with the Boy-o.

This is no small thing. This dude lives bike-riding. He let me borrow one of his "beater" bikes for almost 6 weeks. I looked it up, and it was about a $700 bike.

2 weeks ago, me and the wife bought bikes to go riding with the Boy-o, and we go riding 4-5 times each week. It's a great family activity. But I wanted to say thanks to Aaron for lending us his bike.

I made him a tool-bag for his bike. This way, he can carry the basic tools you may need to repair problems encountered on the side of the road  with a bike.

He seemed to like it.

Having awesome neighbors is hard to beat.

Also, Cub Scouts

Did I mention that my son is finally old enough to get involved in Scouting?

We went to a Cub Scout social, where the kids played water-kickball. The bases were kiddie pools, and the baselines were slip-n-slides. He had a great time, and I think we found a pack that is a good fit for us. We go for the official sign-up event on Wednesday evening.

Pattern

How does a leatherworker get repeatable stitching on multiple items? Patterns, of course!

These are a selection that I use pretty regularly.

I have a few others. And I have some other patterns that I use frequently enough that I need to just go ahead and make a pattern for them.

Car Door-Holster, Redux

Okay, so this holster isn't officially going to be done for several weeks. Why? Well, I had this idea...

In that big tab on the bottom of the holster (the "foot" if you will) I'm going to fill it with lead shot. You know, like shotgun shot. My dad has a can of it, and I figured that if I filled the foot with shot, it would weigh the holster down, and help it stay in the door, if you had to draw the gun...

I think I'm gonna call it...

The Leadfoot.

And yes, this holster has some interesting features: it has a reinforced mouth, border stamping, and fancy stitchwork. I decided that Momma Jane needed a 'gunfighter stitch' on her holster, as she enjoys that gunfighting game so much. Also, of course it has my maker's mark. Most all my Leatherwork does.

Anyway, that's a wrap, until I can get some lead shot!

Car door-pocket holster

While I am nowhere near done with this one, I really like the way it is coming along. I figured I'd give ya'll a sneak-peak.

This one will ride in the door pocket of my step-mother's vehicle.

Teal

Well, I finished up the second holster my dad asked me to make. Well, actually, my step-mom asked for this one. She wanted a nice black holster, with pretty stitching. I think this one turned out better than the last. I was able to cut the pattern tighter, so it fits the gun better. It is still a bucket-type holster, and doesn't hold the gun, but there isn't a lot of slop, either. I was able to wet-form it as well, and I flared the holster mouth, for reholstering.

The one I made my dad was good, but this one is better. It's the proverbial difference between a 9 ring shot and a bullseye shot. Generally, I'm happy with consistently shooting in the 9 ring, but being able to hit the bullseye is even better.

Component Parts

The major parts of Fast-Draw holster #2 are cut and dyed. They are drying for later, when I have free time.

Fast-Draw

I finished up my Pops' Fast-Draw rig. Learned a few things, too.

I cut the pattern too big. I have re-calibrated my pattern.

I need to stain the whole damn thing before assembling. It will probably go easier, and have a more uniform color.

But, it's a true Fast-Draw rig. If you turn it upside down, and the tie-down isn't over the hammer, the gun will fall right out.

It's wet-formed well enough to maintain rigidity. If you get the muzzle in the holster and let go, the gun will re-holster. A one-handed re-holster is a help in the Fast-Draw game. I even flared the mouth to assist in the re-holster.

I was even able to make a nice bullet-deflector.

I don't know if it's going to suit the old man's needs, but from all I can tell, it should be up to the tasks demanded of a Fast-Draw holster.

Here's hoping.

Mock-up

New project in the works...

Ruger

My sister and her fiancee' came by this weekend. We barbecued last night, and this afternoon, we will go hit some museums.  I called my sister's fiancee', Greg, and told him to bring his Ruger this weekend. He got it about a year ago,  and has yet to get a holster for it.

I used red stitching on this one, and it looks great against the black. I am not entirely pleased with the way the sweat-shield turned out on this one, but otherwise I am pleased. The sweat shield works fine, but I didn't match up it's angles properly with the angles of the Ruger, so it doesn't LOOK as clean as I'd like. At least I know that, though, and can avoid it in the future. Greg says he likes it a lot, and if it gives him something in which to carry his gun in the woods, so much the better.