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[Boothill Bob]

Dalton, thats looks good, I want my pattern to

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Dalton, those are really coming along. That tooling will look good in just about any color. It'll be nice to see what you finally put on them.

[will ghormley]

Hey Johnny Dingus,

I made 16 different belts for Crowe.  They wanted one to wear over a coat, the wanted one to wear tight so he could draw from it fast, they wanted one loose so it had a sexy sag on his hip, they wanted two that could be worn together, they wanted ones for right hand holsters only, ones for two holsters, etc.  You get the idea.  It was in October when they were goin' to start shootin'.  They were starting on a Monday, and I finished up the last of the gear and over-nighted it to New Mexico so it would arrive the Saturday before filming started.  All was well with my world.  Me and Jon Watsabaugh had been workin' 20 hour days, seven days a week, just to get all the last minute stuff done.

Then, Sunday afternoon when I got home from goin' out to lunch with the family after church, I had a phone message.  They wanted to know if I could make three more belts for Crowe a half inch shorter than one set of belts I had already made - and have 'em done by Monday.  I called 'em back and wanted to shout into the phone, "What?  Are you crazy?  There are four other holes on those belts for a reason!  They are ADJUSTABLE!"  But instead, I said, "Have them done by Monday?  Are you crazy?  It takes at least three days to manufacture and age those belts."  But, I just happened to have two belts on the table, already cut out, but a little too long for what they wanted.  So, I told 'em I could adjust those belts and have 'em in NM on Tuesday.  So I worked through the night into Monday morning, took a nap, finished 'em up and shipped 'em overnight.

They got 'em, phoned me up and told me they looked great, and that it worked out perfectly.  Crowe wasn't even scheduled to start his filming till Wednesday.  I could have spit nails.  I'm sayin' all that to say this, the number of belt loops varied from belt to belt, depending on the length.

However, this does bring up a point that I forgot to point out on the pattern.  On the billet (tongue) end of the belt pattern, the bullet loops patterns start at the same place they actually did on Crowe's belts.  They didn't want any loops under the holsters.  The loops started behind the holster and ran all the way 'round till I couldn't get any more on before the chape.  That's the reason for the little marks that say, "No loops beyond this mark", or whatever it was that I put on the pattern.  For a double holster rig, just leave a space at both ends of the belt.  For a left handed rig, use the space from the billet end of the belt for the space on the chape end of the belt.

If that don't make sense to someone, they can email me for clarification.  But, right this minute, I've got to get back to workin' on the Ringo Rig.

Will

P.S.  Those holsters are lookin' sharp Dalton!  Glad to see you're puttin' the pattern to good use!

[Boothill Bob]

Will, I think u dident had much speartime when u made Mr Crows rig(s)..
Cheeeses so many rigs for one move

[Johnny Dingus]

Will,

Thanks for breaking from your busy schedule to give us that story.
Hope things are going well for you and yours.

Will be getting your Ringo Pattern from you too.

Johnny Dingus

[GunClick Rick]

Why is the flower pattern so prevelent on leather designs and such?? Just wondering? seems it was on leather shirts,saddles,all kinds of stuff?

[Dalton Masterson]

Rick, cuz tv's werent invented yet!
DM

[will ghormley]

Hey Rick,

It's kind'a a long story, but I'll try to make it short.

The Iberian Peninsula had a long history of decoration with geometric designs.  You can see it in the architectural decoration throughout the Arab world to this day.  The geometric decoration extended to their leather work as well.  When Islam invaded Europe, they gained a stronghold in what is now Spain.  For generations, the Muslims influenced everything in Spain, including their leather arts.  Eventually, the Muslims were driven from Spain, but their influence remained.

When the Spaniards established colonies in the Americas, they brought with them their Islamic tradition of decorating saddles and other leather goods with the geometric designs of the Iberian Peninsula.  The Aztecs had long decorated their structures with carved stone patterns, based on stylized floral (flowers and plants) decorations.  As the Aztecs and other earlier immigrant tribes learned leather working traditions from the Spaniards, they adapted their old tradition of stylized floral carving to their decoration of leather goods.  Many of the elements of the traditional "Western" floral carving, can still be distinctly seen the the surviving stone carvings of the Aztecs.

When the Santa Fe trail was established from Missouri to what would become New Mexico, in the 1820s, the floral leather carving of what we then called Mexico, began to influence the saddle makers of Missouri.  "Spanish" saddles became popular among Mountain Men and western explorers, and American artisans began mimicking their southern counterparts.  Eventually, the Spanish saddle was absorbed into our western horse culture and the floral designs inherited from the Aztecs and Muslims became as American as our "Cowboys".  Now you know why there are so many girlie flowers on such manly things as saddles and holsters.

Will

[GunClick Rick]

Well skip to ma lou my darlin,there's a history lesson fer ya.. I do remember though when i went to the Gene Autry museum there were a few saddles there with native american motifs.Thanks for the lesson Will,very interesting...

[GunClick Rick]

Rick, cuz tv's werent invented yet!
DM

That was star gazin Dalton

[JD Alan]

Man, you guys are really doin some great carvin, very impressive

Will, thanks so much for those great stories as well as the great instructions

If you ever get out to Oregon you've got an open invitation speak to our church.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

JD, I moved Will's reply to your post over to the Bunkhouse thread since it was a little off-topic but where it can still be read.

[JD Alan]

No Problem Marshal, thanks. 

[will ghormley]

Workin' on the Ringo Rig pattern.  Not too many tricks to that one, so the "How-To" page will be a bit shorter.  I've got some photos, but I've been too busy puttin' all the patterns and the proto-type together to be able to sit down at the computer.

Will

[will ghormley]

I was finally able to overcome the computer glitches that were keeping me from updating my "How-To" page on the HOG rig.  I've got it fixed to show the envelope cover for the pattern now.

http://www.willghormley-maker.com/MakingHOGRig.html

Will

[Django]

Will you are all artist!
Django.

[amin ledbetter]

Will! Are all the Craftools for the HOG rig listed on the How To Page? I was wander because Tandy has all the Craftools at 50% off and the sale ends next Wednesday! Looks like they still have all the ones on the How To Page. 

[will ghormley]

Yup.  I believe I listed all the stamping tools required for that pattern in the "How-To" article.  They are also on the back page of the pattern envelope.

Will

[Dalton Masterson]

Hey Will, where did you get the lace puller from??
DM

[will ghormley]

Hey Dalton,

I got that one from Weaver Leather.  But, I just made another "Hand of God" rig for a guy, and as I was layin' in bed the night before, I thought to myself, "Why don't you just thread them laces through there before you sew the holster up.  Then, go back and get it the right length and put the Turk's head knot in there."  So, that's what I did on the one I just made.  Worked just fine and I didn't need the threader!

Will