OK... watcha making for Christmas ???

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I decided that this year I'd make holsters for all my shooting buddys... I'll post a pic here before I give them away...

I'm a budding hobby holster maker, so don't be too brutal

this one is antiqued, & fits my buddys S&W top break 32 S&W gun... it has his initials & one of my custom case head snaps... it was styled after an original flap holster I have, but has a much more supportive belt loop, rides higher & carrys a forward cant...



This one is a night stand gun box, made for my retired machinist buddy who doesn't like holsters... it was made completely by my design, has his initials, a small ornimental hasp, just enough to keep the young grandkids out, it has some brass reinforcement to help it hold it shape, & make it a bit better at keeping the little kids out & was made to fit his conversion Remington pocket revolver... I'll add cartridge loops if he'd like, but suspect he'd prefer to keep a box of cartridges in there instead... this is my 1st "box" the 2nd , 3rd, & 4th all got better & went smoother ( 3 rd & 4 th are jewlery boxes, one for my wife, one for my mother )





I'll add some more pics ( I've done several ) before I give them away...

what have you done for Christmas gift projects ???

[ZEBRARANGER]

Thats very nice work, I like both pieces. I like the way you made the holster to match the period of the S&W top break revolver.

[Magnum Wheel Man]

Thanks... I have one more personalized night stand box, a concieled carry / open carry belt box holster ( PDA style ) for my buddy's derringer, & 2 J frame flap holsters yet to picture, plus the 2 jewlery boxes... took me about 2 months total to complete them all ( still have finish work to do on my wifes jewlery box, & I'm going to do my mom's while we are together over Christmas )... I also did up some basic tooled key chain fobs with scraps of leather, for my nieces, nephews, & the guy's wives... on my wife's box, I bought a fancy laquered & jeweled belt / strap set for a closure, & will be dying the floral pattern red, & the box black ( the strap set is black & gold with ruby colored gem stones set in it )... on my mom's, I think it'll all be a custom blended dusty rose pink, unless dying the flowers goes well on my wifes box ( so far, I've had pretty bad bleed through issues when I've tried to dye 2 colors next to each other... so I think this time, I'll use a tiny brush to do the red, then use Neatlac to seal the red, then use a tiny brush for the black around the flowers, after the red is dryed & sealed... if the red goes good, I might try to make the stems, & leaves green ??? )

[Magnum Wheel Man]

here are a couple more...

the "PDA" hidden in plain sight holster... this for my buddy's 38 special double derringer... a very secure belt loop, ( he's a biker ) & a reload in the holster, which when "in" holds the gun in place, & pops out for easy removal of the cartridges... this one is much smaller & holds the gun in a draw position, than a Bulldog case which reqires the guns lay down in an un-natural draw position... the black on black should blend in pretty good for him

[Magnum Wheel Man]

this is that beaver tail overlay flap holster I was working on, finished with a nice shine, & a Sam Brown stud with some custom stud flap treatments... this fits my buddy's new Ruger LCR

[Magnum Wheel Man]

this one a very heavy duty holster for another buddy, who was looking for something to use while ATV riding ( often pretty hard core ), that would protect his J frame... both of the flap holsters are higher riding, & canted

[Magnum Wheel Man]

thought I'd post the jewlery box I made for my mom as well... I went up & spent 2 days with her over Christmas, & started it, & worked on it while we were together...

then finally finished it up the other day

this is really my 1st attempt at both tooling for real, & dyeing different colors right next to each other... I'm not totally happy with how it looks, but it's really my 1st attempt at anything like this... I know she'll love it, because I made it for her... the flowers & the word "mom" are a blended down red dye, my attempt at a dusty rose type color, the blue is also very blended down to lighten it in color... I use the non waterbased dyes, & cut them with rubbing alcohol... I need to pick up a bigger back ground tool, the one I chose is very small, which helps around things like the roses, but is tougher to use on the open field areas... it has a coat of the rare Neatlac on it for a sealer, & I used waxed cotton thread, so the thread would take the dye... & I learned dyeing around that feather edge between the brown & blue was a royal pain in the rear to dye... I won't do anything like that again

thoughts or suggestions ???

BTW... I'm still trying to perfect the lockable night stand gun box, & I think by adding some brass reinforcement at the right places, could make the boxes rigid enough to keep little ones out