Stock Cover (x2)

So I finished up my stock cover and sling for my Marlin 1894 just a few days ago, and I forwarded pics of it to a gunnie friend, who told me he HAD to have a stock cover for his Marlin 336.

I happened to be heading by his work on Friday, so I told him to bring the 336, and when I was free, I'd swing by. I headed that way, and picked up his rifle (as well as his payment. He's a longtime friend, so I let him barter 300 rounds of factory loaded  .38 spl in exchange for a stock cover).

When I got back home, I got to work. He saw mine, which I tooled to match my cowboy rig.

He wanted something fancy-tooled, but not necessarily just like mine. So I improvised a zig-zag pattern followed by a tight veiner stamp, highlighted with a dot-stamp. I finished the blank space with some fancy stitching tooling. I dyed it to come close to the color of the sling he had on the 336.

Anyway, he likes it, so I'm happy!

Stock cover and sling for Marlin 1894

I have been thinking about slings. Since I now have a .357 single action, it's time to make a matching sling for my Marlin, since they share a caliber. I have been planning one in my brain, and figured on making it cut to spec.

But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it adjustable, at least to a point. I like using a sling for steadying an off-hand shot, and the secondary look made by the sling attaching back to itself is a great help in stabilizing a rifle. So I started figuring it out.

While I was at it, I decided to make a stock cover with 6 bullet loops on it, too.

I mocked it up, and liked where it was going.

Later, I tooled it to match my personal gun belt, and dyed it to match, too.

Now I'm waiting to let everything to dry. I'll post finished pics in a few days.

A Hat, A Gun, and A Trip to the Store

Two days ago, my dad dropped off a gun. Talk about awesome! I love a .357, which is the perfect woods cartridge in my part of the world. The Uberti is about as perfect a woods gun as can be had. That it will be a great form-gun for fast draw rigs is a great bonus.

But I've been looking at that gun, and seeing it in it's holster got me thinking: I really need to make matching gear.  The start of that project? A hat band that matches my holster.

(Not my gun. This is one I borrowed from dad a few weeks back)

When I was dying it, after using a dark brown, I planned on coating it with Hi-liter, which soaks into the tooling and gives a nice contrast. I must have been distracted, because somehow I grabbed edge-kote, and smeared it with that. It turned out darker for the treatment, but it still looks nice.

Also, now I need to make a matching sling for my Marlin 1894. If I have 2 guns that are wood and blued steel, both in .357, I guess I should have a sling on the rifle that matches the pistol's gunbelt, right?

Well, I'm going to get on that, but that meant I needed to head to the Bass Pro and pick up a set of sling swivels.

My Mother in law and Grand-Parents-in-Laws gave me gift cards for my birthday (totally unnecessary, but appreciated) so I went to the store. Of course, you can't go to Bass pro and pick up sling swivels alone. No, they put the sling swivels on the same isle as the reloading stuff, the bastards! So after spending the gift cards  (and 90 bucks of my money, too...) I walked out with a set of sling swivels, a bullet puller, a Lyman reloading manual for pistols, a pound of Unique, a pound of Blue Dot, 100 .38 caliber 158 grain Hornady XTP bullets, and 250 rounds of plated Berry's 124 grain round nose 9mm.

I always need more 9mm range ammo, and Unique and Blue Dot were staples on my Pop's reloading bench, so I figured I'd give them a try.

I got the XTP's because my Pop made some hunting ammo a few years ago that was BRUTAL. I have like 25 left, but I wanted to mimic the load, so I gotta get with him on what powder he used.

And after I got home, I was putting the reloading stuff away and found ANOTHER  bullet I wanted to make a hunting load out of. Again, it's a mimic of one my dad has made before. It uses a hard cast, gas checked 180 grain flat nose bullet that is a real whitetail-whacker. I know he used Lil Gun, but again, I'm gonna have to get with him on the exact recipe.

Anyhow, it looks like I need to get some reloading done.

Full Tooling

2 weeks ago, when I was visiting family, my Brother-in-law told me he wanted to commission a fast draw rig. He said he wanted some tooling, and wanted it dark brown. I gave him the family price, and asked him if he trusted me. 

"Yeah, I trust ya"

Well, I showed him an example of some tooling that I wanted to try, and he liked it (it was the border tooling on the 'Hand of God' rig made by Will Gromley for Russel Crowe's character in '3:10 to Yuma').

I didn't tell him that I wanted to embellish the tooling I showed him, or that I was going to do more than just that tooling.

But, he told me he trusted me, so I started working.

There are 1,399 individual tooling marks in this rig. Ask me how I know. (Heck, you don't have to ask, just look at the gnarled claw that's probably going to simultaneously develop arthritis and carpal tunnel that is my right hand.)

Anyway, he got a good deal on a custom, fully tooled rig, and I got another walking billboard for my work, so I think it's a win-win!

C.R.K.T. S.P.E.W.

At Academy the other day, I saw a knife on their clearance rack. It was made by Colombia River Knife and Tool, a decent middle-of-the-road brand knife maker. I liked it immediately for several reasons: 1) It was a smaller knife- I'm past the point of wanting *UGE!!* knives, and I find a small fixed blade knife to be ideal for lots of things. 2) it's a wharncliffe design, meaning a straight blade with a sharply tapered point-it's a good utility design that can pull double duty a s a self-defense blade. 3) it came with a solidly okay sheath-yeah, I'm a leatherworker, and this thing may get a new sheath at some point, but it didn't come with a shitty nylon job that I couldn't use, so this knife doesn't have to get relegated to the desk drawer until I can make a sheath.

Anyway, I was able to pick it up cheap today when I went back to academy, and having been futzing with it for the past hour, I like it. I mean, it's just an initial impression and all, but it seems like a well-designed knife. It came very sharp out the box, but I suspect that the steel used will need dressing often.

That's not a problem, however, as I have a nice set of stones to keep it honed.

So there ya go, initial impressions of the CRKT SPEW are positive, even if the name implies that it would blow chuncks.

The JDL Fast-Draw Rig

Anyone who follows this blog knows I'm a hobbyist leatherworker. For about a year now, I have been making "cowboy" holsters. They all have basically been me looking at rigs made by others, and trying to make something that functioned as well and looked as good as the types of cowboy rigs I saw. I've had successes and failures.

My biggest initial obstacle was tightness. For a concealed holster, you want the holster to hold tightly to the weapon. Not so in a Fast-Draw Rig. They need to fit the gun well, but have NO RETENTION, so that the gun can be snatched quickly and get on target. After 4 or so attempts, I finally got a well-fitted design with no retention.

Next, I figured out the correct stiffener for the leather. That was basically just some trial and error.

Then came cant. In fast-draw, you want just a slight forward cant, so that took some serious thought.

After figuring all this out, I settled on a basic pattern that I liked, similar to one of the holsters made by Mernickle. I extended the bottom of the holster slightly, because in the Mernicles, the gun can ride low, and the barrel will slightly poke out the bottom.

I also make it out of one layer of leather, rough-side in, unlike the Mernickle which uses 2 layers, lined with metal between, for a stiffener. Because of the decision to make it one layer, I attached the Chicago screws holding the back flap on differently, too. I use a leather billet that grabs the bottom of the belt.

And lastly, I designed a wax-bullet deflector that is made entirely out of leather, rather than a leather-sheathed piece of steel.

Overall, I like the design, and do feel as if it is the final evolution of this Fast-Draw Rig. As such, I am naming it the JDL Fast-Draw Rig (short for J. D. Leather).

Now, when someone wants one, they can order, for example, by saying something like " I'd like a JDL Fast-Draw Rig, black, with border stamping. I'd like the right-hand cut, and my belt measurement is 42 inches."

At any rate, this is the second of this design, with 2 others that had *almost* all the same features.

Boosting the Signal

Anyone interested in a German Shepard mix? He's a very cool neutered guy that's at a local (ish) shelter. He's heartworm positive, but it's still treatable.

With 2 dogs and a cat in a rental, I can't take him on. He could go on to have a happy, healthy life for many years for the right human.

They keep taking him off the kill list, because he has such a great personality, but he's been at the shelter for 7 months, so finding him a home is critical, now.

If anyone is interested, let me know via email at j(dot)dezendorf001(at)gmail(dot)com

Lee Pro 1000

So surfing around the other day, I came across a post on a local forum from a guy wanting to sell his reloading setup. I clicked through, and damned if it wasn't a progressive press! It came with the press, a powder measure with the auto-disc setup, 3 quick-change turrets, brass feeder, a complete shell holder assembly for .223, .44 mag/spl, and .38/.357. Also, it came with a small loading bench. The guy was asking $125.

So I texted him, and pulled the trigger, so to speak. I need to buy a 9mm shell holder assembly, and a powder-through expanding die for .38spl  (my .38/.357 dies are RCBS), and I will be setup to load my 2 favorite handgun cartridges quickly!

I have been unhappy with my reloading setup for a while, due to it being outside. It is on the back porch, but if strong winds come along, it can still blow rain onto my old Rockcrusher Jr. press, not to mention the naturally high humidity that encourages rust here in southern Louisiana. Since getting the new press, I went ahead and mounted my old single-stage press and powder measure on the back of my new reloading bench, so I can just turn the table around, and I am good to go with either the progressive or single-stage press.

And I can now reload in the comfort of my dining room! I'm pretty excited about this purchase.

Fast Draw!

Finished up a cowboy fast draw holster for a guy. He wanted a bullet deflector, and I wasn't happy with the type I had made in the past. I re-engineered the design, and was pleased with the way it turned out.

Since I had all the stuff out last weekend, I went ahead and made me a fast draw rig for myself! I like it!

Yard Sale

Yard Sales held by .mil types are WAYYYYY cooler than soccer mom yard sales. 2 tourniquets for 10 bucks? Yes, please!