My very first leather project

[Cyrus Sears]

I just finished making a shotgun belt for my 9 year old son.  See attached pics.  He wanted it plain and black, so I did not tool it any.  I did add a couple of conchos and he seems to like the belt.  Once it cools down here in San Antonio, we will give it a try.  Hopefully the pictures come out OK.  I tried to take a close up of one of the edges.  Overall I am happy with it for my first project.  My stitching got better as I went along.  I used vinagaroon for the dye and it is a very nice black and the pics do not do it justice.  Thank you to everyone who gave me advice specifically and to all that post on here with all of your tips.  Thank you to Marine Mike (not sure of exact handle), for providing me with some iron shavings for the vinagaroon.  Please critique the work, because I will use your tips for my next project which is a pistol belt and 2 holsters.  I already have a Will Ghormley pattern and will be cutting leather real soon.  I plan on making the holsters fully lined with a little bit of metal in the area that goes over the belt.

If I use the wrong size of pics, please let me know.

[TwoWalks Baldridge]

Cyrus job well done, I like the conchos.  I am sure your son will get a lot of use out of it.  My only suggestion as a new person to this also "Get to the next project quickly - that new stitching skill goes away fast."  Seem that is one thing that needs to be kept current.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

   Nice job Cyrus, and especially for a first project, so are you hooked, making things like this is what usually hooks us all, it's nice to be able to make belts or holsters just the way WE WANT THEM, Well done pard 


             tEN wOLVES 

[KidTerico]

Cyrus your off to a great start. Thanks for shareing with us. Keep m comming. KT

[Cyrus Sears]

Thanks for the great comments. I think I am hooked. I also want to thank the person that posted the great shell loop measurements. They worked perfect. I am actually going to try to do some stamping on my next project. I have got the cross draw pattern all ready to go and it is on poster board. Now I just have to find the time to work on it.

[marine-mp]

Cyrus,  I see from your signature that you come from great stock!!!  Not everyone has a MOH hero in their family tree.  Glad you got the shavings O.K and have already tried them!!!!! Your belt is a fine piece of art.  I think of any piece of leather as a blank canvas waiting for the artist to sculpt it to his or her own piece.  A small piece of advice.....It seems to be much easier to stamp a design or letters or whatever you want to put on a piece of leather, BEFORE you vinegaroon (vinegar black) it.  The 'roon seems to ...for lack of a better word..."toughen" the leather making it more difficult to stamp or wet mold. I wet mold and stamp before I 'roon anymore.  Others may chime in here and give their own opinions, as I would be interested in theirs also.  "Roon doesn't seem to color the white thread, so therefore the 'rooning process is one of the last things I do, if I stamp or wet-mold a holster.  Good work and as the others artists have said...."keep up the great work".     Semper-fi     Mike

[Cyrus Sears]

Thanks for the advice,Mike. I have to admit that Cyrus Sears is not in the family tree but is from the county that I grew up in.

[Wolf Tracker]

Cyrus  nice job on the belt. Thanks for the look and looking forward to more work from you.

[GunClick Rick]

Wish i was 9 years old again and had that belt. Lucky kid! The only leather i had when i was 9 is still embeded in my tiny hiney

[Long Juan]

Cyrus, nice lookin' belt.  Indeed No Good Nate is fortunate.  I have my first project (holster for my 1849 pocket pistol) underway - slowly, but surely.  Will share pics when I finish.  Hope to see you at Texican Rangers in July. 

[Rossmaker]

Great job on the belt Cyrus! Can't wait to see the next project keep em' coming!

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Lookin' good, Cyrus. Nice work on that one, your son should like it. That'll be fun to try out.

[JD Alan]

Good for you Cyrus. I'v been doing this for a little over 3 years and I've still not made a shotgun belt. You've inspired me!

[Johnny McCrae]

Very nice! IMHO a shotgun belt is not the easiest thing to make especially for a first project. You did good. Look forward to seeing your future projects.