Gear & Equipment > Holsters & Leather Goods

Holster repair...

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Mudinyeri:
Lookin' good!

unfy:
Again, this was written for someplace else...




So, I've got something workable. Yay!

I made a press that generally follows the idea set forth in the youtube video I had mentioned earlier:



For foam, I bought a couple hunting seat cushion things.  They're closed cell foam, 1.5" thick, and not bad on price ($5, that link again is:)

http://www.menards.com/main/outdoors/outdoor-recreation/hunting-equipment/tree-stands-blinds/hunting-seat-cushion/p-2180556-c-13885.htm

I didn't drill holes for zip ties but instead glued and screwed in some 1x4 scrap to keep the clamp holstered underneath the press.  Does it really work for keeping the press "ready to go" ? No.  Does it make alignment a breeze ? Yes.

Note, I used some the cheaper clamps (tool shop brand).  One of the clamps didn't want to hold at at high pressure and kept slipping a bit.... so ... I ended up sitting/standing on my press / gun yet again (facepalm):

http://www.menards.com/main/tools-hardware/hand-tools/fastening-tools/24-ratcheting-bar-clamp/p-1497908-c-9135.htm




After one attempt, I noted that things weren't quite working out around the trigger guard.  The Kydex wasn't really forming to the outside of the guard very well, leaving things kinda bulbous.  I trimmed up the pink hard foam to a bit of a tighter fit and made it twice as thick.  You'll also notice a piece of yellow foam up there in an odd shape:



This fits inside the trigger guard from underneath. It has room for the trigger, and the lower lip is under the trigger guard housing.  This accomplishes two things - it stops the kydex from sinking into the trigger guard too far, and it stops the Kydex from folding up under the trigger guard (it extends the trigger guard down to the table).  Both of these help to reduce tension a bit without needing to go back later and add relief with a heat gun.




This area (towards the front sight) is really tight. Getting that screw in there and tightening it down was not fun.  The shape of the Kydex was drawn with some yellow to help show it.

The skin tone leather is some veg-tan leather.  It was originally meant to be a spacer between the Kydex and leather in my previous attempt - but after trying to align the holes in the leather to the Kydex, it was clear that things weren't perfect yet.  With the new piece of Kydex, I've gotten it formed 'closer to the table, eliminating the need of the spacer.  When assembling everything, I noted that the screw posts were too long to hold the Kydex tightly.  With the veg-tan under the Kydex - there wasn't enough retention - so above the Kydex it is!

There's some concern if I needed to treat the veg-tan any so that it won't fall apart upon moisture or something, I dunno.  We'll see.

And the back side, if anyone was curious:

unfy:
I've not bought the supplies or built it, but Blue Light Tactical folks have some silicone rubber membranes for sale that come with plans on building your own vacuum former for Kydex.

http://www.bluelighttactical.com/2-Silicone-Membranes-for-BLT-II-PVC-DIY-Build-w-free-Plans-BLT2MBR1826-P.htm

They also provide an hour construction video which is interesting:



I dunno what kind of vacuum stuff is required for all of this, but it doesn't seem unreasonable to be able to use a 5 or 10 gallon portable air tank, a vacuum source (how strong ? i dunno if a shop vac or modified car tire pump can pull enough), and the required valve works in order to make the 'surge tank' they discuss.

They list $200-$250 as the expense of building it.  Buying the membranes from them at least once (you get two) just so you get the plans and show support / thanks for the video is wise.  The cost of the magnets is... I dunno.  That just leaves the vacuum system.  The PVC foam filled board ? Cheap.


There are other folks that have done polystyrene vacuum forming with shop vacs, some wood, and some peg board.  Something like that might work out for someone just wanting to toy around.  I've tried to come up with other uses for vacuum forming - but nothing comes to mind.  I'm not in the costume / prop design market - and although it could be useful for, say, the hoppers to hold brass in the auto brass feeder attachments for progressive presses... I'm still at a loss really.

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