30 degree angle

[Reverend]

I need a little help here. I have always made straight hang holsters. I'm in the process of making a holster rig & accessories for the 13 yr old granddaughter to shoot Cowboy action. She picked out the Dodge City rig of Wills.  This rig is going to be black. I've already cut the rig down using the colt pattern for her 32 H&R mag Rugers w/ curl open toe. I have already made her Bullet Caddy,Shotgun shell slide, Bullet slide from Jim Simmons Single Action Accessories patterns all w/ Tandys BW449 & BW448 stamped around the edge. Al done in white thread. They look great. She picked all this out herself. I have the right hand holster cut out. Now the question. For the life of me I can't get the 30 degree angle to come out right. I have the holster pattern in paper & the the pouch seperate at the fold line cut. I have added paper 3 times & taped to extend for the crossdraw . still can't get it to be 30 degrees. I have every protractor you think of. I have a mind block & give up. How about one of those little tricks you more MATURE( I didn't mean age) leather workers know. Now she & her grandmother want TAN RIGS  for their Baby Vaquero's 4 5/8" ,her grandmother has 32's also, after this to wear with different outfits. Thank goodness I'm not going back to work until January.

Thank You
Rev

[Freedom]

I just use a wide 6" ruler that has the major angles on it and lay it centered in the holster body and then mark my loops... keeping the pivit point at the intersection of the loop and the body...(well shoot, this is a lot harder to explain the angle (not pivet point) needs to originate from the center line of the pattern since this will be the back/fold of the holster will be.... yeah I guess I am not  much help here. I just did one yesterday and it seemed easier to make than explain... I just used my straight draw pattern for the body and then just changed the belt loop using center and my ruler. My holster had to fit a 4" belt...lol

On another note... isn't there some safety rule that says no more than 25 degrees on the cant?

[Reverend]

Freedom,

      Ain't it a pain when you can do it ,but can't explain what you do!!!!!!! Its 30 degrees. On page 11 I think of your shooters handbook. I just taught a ROI course last Sunday & we talked about it then. I understand what you were telling me. Its just the adding the extra leather to make it come out.

Rev

[Cliff Fendley]

The best way I've found to do this is to take your straight holster pattern and if you don't want to cut it make another one which will become your canted pattern.

Now fold the pattern up like the finished holster will be and put a couple pieces of tape to secure the pouch to the skirt. Now cut the skirt and pouch apart at the fold and add a new piece whatever degree off you want that angle and tape that to the pattern to create the new fold. Remove the tape holding the skirt and pouch together and you have it.

If you still cant figure it out let me know and I'll take a picture of a couple of my patterns so you can see the difference in the straight and canted pattern when it's laid out.

[WaddWatsonEllis]

FWIW ...

I am making the Johnny ringo rig of Will's with a lot of modifications to the holsters ... including a 3" drop to the holsters which required  6" extra lenghth on the loop ....

I didn't want to meess about with the original patterns, so I took them to Kinkos/Fedex and they were able to copy the plans on a blueprint copier  ... cost of the copies (I made three) was less than a couple of bucks ... then I was able to  fold/spindle/mutilate the copies until I got the product the way that I wanted it ... and if I didn't get what I wanted, I still had the originals to make even more copies out of ...

And BTW, when I finally got what I wanted, I decoupaged the pattern onto some 3/16 plywood, let it sit overnight, and then cut the pattern out on my bandsaw. So if you are planning to make copies in different leather colors, a plywood template (pattern) might work for you too

Here is a WIP of the holsters and belt ... and below is a pic of the 'template':

[Reverend]

Cliff,

      Thats what I have been doing for hours. I made a pattern out of paper. Cut at the fold & have been trying to keep adding pieces of paper to get the right degrees. I finally put it on the belt & kept letting out more paper untill I got close. I have a neet little Protractor/Angle finder I bought at Home Depot for other projects made by Empire. I set it on the belt beside it at 30 degrees & kept letting paper out till I got close (28 degrees) taped it. Then I trimmed to look right. Thats what I going with.

      WWE,

       At work they throw away 3/16" thick white laminated poster board after needed for Safety & other things. All different sizes. 2'x2', 2'x4' 4'x4' . I picked up a truckload from the print shop. You can't cut with scissors. I'm cutting it with a scroll saw. Thanks for the great idea. I forgot to tell you that granddaughter & spouse want different Tan sets, not the Dodge set. They haven't decided yet. The 13yr old is leaning toward the Gold Canyon Rig by Will. Who knows what them 2 will finally decide on.


thanks for the help guys

Rev

[Kid Terico]

Sounds like a fun project. Please show when done. KT

[Reverend]

KT,

     As soon as I finnish with the Holsters I will post the complete get up. Kat is going through your pictures of your holsters you sent me.  She said your a master at this. I wish she had never seen the B-Western black & white hair on holsters of yours with black fringe. She loves them. Are them dark brown or black with cream. Camera flash makes them Dk Brown looking. Her second choice is a Indian style with fringe & Beads. Tan or a orangie cream like deerskin bags she has with turquoise lining. She is a turquoise nut. Her gun cart is white with turquoise trim. A baby cart. How are you feeling?? Why are you up so late?

Rev

[outrider]

Rev,

I think the SASS rule is that 30 degrees is the maximum.  When I do a crossdraw I usually only do a 20-25 degree cant....this will reduce the posibility of loosing a gun when you are required to move and also allows you to reholster easier.  I have Will's pattern pack for the Dodge City holster so if you send me a private message with your address  I will do a quick pattern for you with the crossdraw cant.  Is she right or left handed?

[Cliff Fendley]

I never make one over 20 degree either.

Rev, file folders are the trick for making patterns for holsters and knife sheaths. You already have the fold for the main body and on a holster you just add another for the skirt.

[JD Alan]

Rev, as a guy who uses a cross draw, I agree with these fellas; keep it at 20 degrees. I know the rules say 30 degrees max, and I made a couple of mine at that angle, and it's just too much IMO.

Depending on how you make the holster, they can shift on you, and end up riding at a greater angle than you intended.

Outrider has made you a very generous offer. He's sent me a few patterns (thanks again!) and they are first rate. Take him up on it, then you can learn from his pattern.

Good luck, and be sure to show us what you've done. JD     

[knucklehead]

Yes it is 30 degrees max according to sass rules. but what everyone is not remembering is the rules states 30 degrees max when worn on your body.
i did a cross draw holster that was 30 degrees on paper according to a protractor, but it was more than 30 degrees when i put it on my gunbelt.
when i make a cross draw holster now i will do the holster pattern normal draw and fold over the skirt like you do then cut it.
what i do differently is have the person i am making it for put on the gun belt that is going to be used for this setup.
then hold up the holster to the gunbelt and tilt it till i get the desired cant not past 30 degrees.
now tape it to the gunbelt. take gun belt off lay it flat on the workbench while putting the skirt behind the gunbelt.
line the skirt up to the holster main body that is still tapped to the gunbelt. run tape from the top of the skirt(where you cut it off of the holster pattern) over the top of the gunbelt and to the holster main body.
lift off the holster pattern from the gunbelt and lay on bench. there you now have the skirt and main body of the holster taped together at the angle that you like. now just add paper to the taped area. you now have a cross draw pattern