1st pancake holster=WIP

[DieselTech]

Guys & gals dont laugh too hard, but here is my first pancake holster. Of course it's in a working progress. 

I made my own pattern from poster board & went from there. 

I used 6-7oz veg tan craftsman leather, & laminated/glued 2 pieces for the front & 2 pieces for the back of the holster. Lol 6-7oz glued together might be a touch much for the front piece of the holster. 

This for sure has been a learning process for me. But I think it's going to turn out ok. 

Next I need to figure out my stitch lines, then dye, & saddle stitch it together. 

What's your guys thoughts.

Thanks.

[Sinbad395]

Looks like it has potential to turn out real nice...when I do something pancaked I edge bevel the front panel before I glue and stitch.  Both sides across the opening and all around the front panel.

Makes it easier to blend the edge where front and back meet.

[DieselTech]

32 minutes ago, Sinbad395 said:

Looks like it has potential to turn out real nice...when I do something pancaked I edge bevel the front panel before I glue and stitch.  Both sides across the opening and all around the front panel.

Makes it easier to blend the edge where front and back meet.

I some what did that before I glued it, but not enough thou. 

Another thing is I used 2 pieces of 6-7oz leather for the front panel & it was too much I think. Lol was kinda hard to wet form by hand. 

This was kinda of a test run for a straight up carry pancake holster. Also was a test run for making a pattern. 

Next 1 I will have a vacuum pump & a forming bag to form the holster. Plus I think I'll step down to 4-5oz leather laminated/glued panels also. 

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. 

[JLSleather]

 4 layers of 6/7 is GREAT for self-defense.  Ya dont hafta shoot nobody - just hit em witda holster

Okay, that's enough, I'm done there.

GOOD to see the new guys jumpin' in both feet.  That said ...

I thik you gonna find it's tough to get a good grip on the grip .. might remove some leather in that area.  As a rule, I start by drawin' the gun, then draw a line about 5/8" away from the bottom of the grip - more for hands bigger'n mine, maybe abit less for the mrs.

ANd as you would suspect, the position of the slots matters. Higher the slots, the lower the carry.  Each his own there...

Is that the shield you was talkin' bout?  

[DieselTech]

28 minutes ago, JLSleather said:

 4 layers of 6/7 is GREAT for self-defense.  Ya dont hafta shoot nobody - just hit em witda holster

Okay, that's enough, I'm done there.

GOOD to see the new guys jumpin' in both feet.  That said ...

I thik you gonna find it's tough to get a good grip on the grip .. might remove some leather in that area.  As a rule, I start by drawin' the gun, then draw a line about 5/8" away from the bottom of the grip - more for hands bigger'n mine, maybe abit less for the mrs.

ANd as you would suspect, the position of the slots matters. Higher the slots, the lower the carry.  Each his own there...

Is that the shield you was talkin' bout?  

Lol! I did not want to start cutting up a new side of leather, in case my design did not work out. 

Lmao I used thick enough leather to use the holster as a hip support.

Thanks for that drawing. Can I ask when it says 1/2" width frame + leather. Does that mean i should leave a 1/2" width from the gun to the stitch line? 

Yes i did put the belt slots up a bit high to the top, but I was just trying to do a straight carry/draw type pancake holster. 

Yes that is the shield I was talking about. 

I'm still going to get some of your patterns from you yet off of your site. 

Thanks again for all the help & info. 

[DieselTech]

Now we got a multi-carry holster! I knocked another slot in there with my trace punch & gave the pistol a 15 degree cant on your hip. 

So now it can be configured/carried 2ways now. 

I even got some stitch lines & holes punched to saddle stitch it. Lol my diamond punches were just barely long enough. 

[JLSleather]

56 minutes ago, DieselTech said:

Can I ask when it says 1/2" width frame + leather. Does that mean i should leave a 1/2" width from the gun to the sti

might could be the pic is a bit too small. that's not half INCH, that's HALF OF THE THICKNESS OF THE FRAME & LEATHER.  So, assuming your frame was 1/2" thick, and your leather was 1/8" thick (exactly 8 oz), that's 5/8", and half of that would put your stitch line 5/16" away from the gun drawing.  Keep in mind, this is a "starting point" - I have been known to alter the design like 4 times before i'm happy with the fit and land on a pattern.

Not to sidetrack too much, worth mentioning here that this is the importance of the leather thickness.  If you're molding the leather over the form (or gun, or whatever you're using), you can use whatever weight leather you want, then trim when it's formed.  When cuttnig from a pattern, you need to use close to the weight of leather that the pattern was made with, or adjust the pattern to suit different leather thickness.  As in...

If the pattern says use 7/8 oz leather (mine usually do), I sometimes use 4/5 lined wit 3/4 without altering anything about the pattern (4.5 + 3.5 = 8 oz).  If somebody asked for that same rig but in 10 oz leather, I know I'm only moving the stitch line HALF THE DIFFERENCE, so (2 more oz = 1/32", and half that distance is only 1/64"... so I just mark down the outside of the SAME LINE and It'll be fine).  Start talking bigger thickness changes than that, you'd want to start kicking teh lines outward on th pattern.

Im'a send you a sketch of the shield .. maybe save you some time.  Use it, or pitch it, or whatever -- up to you.

 

[DieselTech]

59 minutes ago, JLSleather said:

might could be the pic is a bit too small. that's not half INCH, that's HALF OF THE THICKNESS OF THE FRAME & LEATHER.  So, assuming your frame was 1/2" thick, and your leather was 1/8" thick (exactly 8 oz), that's 5/8", and half of that would put your stitch line 5/16" away from the gun drawing.  Keep in mind, this is a "starting point" - I have been known to alter the design like 4 times before i'm happy with the fit and land on a pattern.

Not to sidetrack too much, worth mentioning here that this is the importance of the leather thickness.  If you're molding the leather over the form (or gun, or whatever you're using), you can use whatever weight leather you want, then trim when it's formed.  When cuttnig from a pattern, you need to use close to the weight of leather that the pattern was made with, or adjust the pattern to suit different leather thickness.  As in...

If the pattern says use 7/8 oz leather (mine usually do), I sometimes use 4/5 lined wit 3/4 without altering anything about the pattern (4.5 + 3.5 = 8 oz).  If somebody asked for that same rig but in 10 oz leather, I know I'm only moving the stitch line HALF THE DIFFERENCE, so (2 more oz = 1/32", and half that distance is only 1/64"... so I just mark down the outside of the SAME LINE and It'll be fine).  Start talking bigger thickness changes than that, you'd want to start kicking teh lines outward on th pattern.

Im'a send you a sketch of the shield .. maybe save you some time.  Use it, or pitch it, or whatever -- up to you.

 

Thanks I appreciate your time & info there. 

When you talked about gun thickness & leather weight for pattern size/ allowance is what I was trying to figure out. 

Thanks that helps out a bunch when trying to get a good starting point. That holster there I made the top/outer layer a 1⅜ wider than the bottom of the holster. It was almost not enough for the thickness of leather I used. 

[Hags]

I've been using JLS's method for pancakes for quite a while. Very good results for pistols. Thanks again JLS!

Nice work by the way! I lay all mine out around the tracing of the pistol, mark the stitch lines, add belt loops (don't forget finger clearance under the grip and mag release!), add swoops and curves, I like a tooled reinforcing piece on the front, die, glue, sew, edge, mold, edge some more, mold some more, then finish. I'm sure I forgot a step or three. Your first looks a lot better than my first!

[DieselTech]

16 minutes ago, Hags said:

I've been using JLS's method for pancakes for quite a while. Very good results for pistols. Thanks again JLS!

Nice work by the way! I lay all mine out around the tracing of the pistol, mark the stitch lines, add belt loops (don't forget finger clearance under the grip and mag release!), add swoops and curves, I like a tooled reinforcing piece on the front, die, glue, sew, edge, mold, edge some more, mold some more, then finish. I'm sure I forgot a step or three. Your first looks a lot better than my first!

Thanks Hags I appreciate the vote of confidence. This is my 1st pancake style holster, for a auto. I've made quite a few revolver holsters & a couple mark ii holsters. 

Yeah I could not make my mind up which steps to do first. I will dip dye this in fiebings pro dye light brown. 

Yeah I think thinner leather next time & use the reinforcement piece on the front for the next holster. 

Thanks. 

[bladegrinder]

That looks ok for a first Diesel, my first had a lot of mistakes that I realized after it was finished. it sill worked and I use it around my property but what JLS and Hags is saying is spot on.

I draw a pattern on construction paper exactly like JLS has shown here. and like Hags said, you want good clearance for the grip and especially the mag release.

after you make a few the lights will come on. but I would stitch it up prior to wet molding.

one other thing I do it after it's been wet formed I leave the gun in it and let my vacuum pump run a couple extra minutes to help pull some water out of the leather, then I let it rest out in the air with the gun still in it for about 15 minutes, then I pull the gun carefully and place the holster in a pid controlled toaster oven on a piece of cardboard set at 150 degrees. I flip it every 30 minutes till it feels pretty dry but more importantly, the leather hardens. you have to be careful doing this or you'll have leather jerky.

once the holster cools and probably shrinks a little I put the gun in a 1 gallon ziploc bag and force it into the holster, 24 hours later it fits like a glove in a nice firm holster.

[DieselTech]

1 hour ago, bladegrinder said:

That looks ok for a first Diesel, my first had a lot of mistakes that I realized after it was finished. it sill worked and I use it around my property but what JLS and Hags is saying is spot on.

I draw a pattern on construction paper exactly like JLS has shown here. and like Hags said, you want good clearance for the grip and especially the mag release.

after you make a few the lights will come on. but I would stitch it up prior to wet molding.

one other thing I do it after it's been wet formed I leave the gun in it and let my vacuum pump run a couple extra minutes to help pull some water out of the leather, then I let it rest out in the air with the gun still in it for about 15 minutes, then I pull the gun carefully and place the holster in a pid controlled toaster oven on a piece of cardboard set at 150 degrees. I flip it every 30 minutes till it feels pretty dry but more importantly, the leather hardens. you have to be careful doing this or you'll have leather jerky.

once the holster cools and probably shrinks a little I put the gun in a 1 gallon ziploc bag and force it into the holster, 24 hours later it fits like a glove in a nice firm holster.

Thank bladegrinder for all the tips & info. Yeah since I used too thick of leather, I had to glue it to wet form it. I usually dye each separate piece of the holster, then rough glue area up & glue then stitch.

But since I was wet forming it up I wasnt sure if I should dye it. Lol I was out of my wheel house a bit on this one. 

Then if I add a front reinforcement panel it's another step involved. But will be a better looking overall. 

Yeah I got some things to learn & in what steps I need to take them. 

Thanks again. 

 

[DieselTech]

@bladegrinder when you talk about your vacuum setup. What mil thickness of bag you use. I'm looking at a 30mil thick forming bag made out of some poly something. Lol i cant remember now what it was called. 

Would you be willing to elaborate a bit on your vacuum setup? 

Thanks. 

[WalterF]

Thank you for posting, getting lots of good information. It will be nice to see your finished holster.

[DieselTech]

5 hours ago, WalterF said:

Thank you for posting, getting lots of good information. It will be nice to see your finished holster.

Thanks. Luckily there is some professionals here wanting to help me along & teach me a few pointers. 

I'll try & finish it over the weekend. 

Bunch of great people here. 

[bladegrinder]

21 hours ago, DieselTech said:

@bladegrinder when you talk about your vacuum setup. What mil thickness of bag you use. I'm looking at a 30mil thick forming bag made out of some poly something. Lol i cant remember now what it was called. 

Would you be willing to elaborate a bit on your vacuum setup? 

Thanks. 

If you do a search for "vacuum bag" you'll find a video Dwight made and posted, I don't know how to copy the link here, but In making mine I pretty much did it just like in his video, it works great!

[DieselTech]

9 minutes ago, bladegrinder said:

If you do a search for "vacuum bag" you'll find a video Dwight made and posted, I don't know how to copy the link here, but In making mine I pretty much did it just like in his video, it works great!

Thanks a bunch. I'll do a search & check it out. 

[DieselTech]

Guys & gals I got it a bit closer to finished. I still need to burnish the edges. 

Dang it! It ain't perfect, but I am happy with my very 1st results. What a learning curve. 

Hopefully the next 1 will be better. 

[MarshalWill]

That came out really nice. Congratulations on your first one. What will your next one be?

[DieselTech]

1 hour ago, MarshalWill said:

That came out really nice. Congratulations on your first one. What will your next one be?

I'll probably make another pancake holster for this shield. But I'll change my pattern up to accommodate for more room around the grip area of the pistol. 

Thanks.

[MarshalWill]

1 hour ago, DieselTech said:

I'll probably make another pancake holster for this shield. But I'll change my pattern up to accommodate for more room around the grip area of the pistol. 

Thanks.

I look forward to seeing the new one.

[JLSleather]

4 hours ago, DieselTech said:

holster for this shield....more room around the grip area

that was gonna be my question ... ifya hadda nuf room ta grip onit.

otherwise, I'm gonna say that's not a terrible "first" at all

 

Edited January 30 by JLSleather

[DieselTech]

27 minutes ago, JLSleather said:

that was gonna be my question ... ifya hadda nuf room ta grip onit.

otherwise, I'm gonna say that's not a terrible "first" at all

 

Luckily I got small hands. But yes it will need more hand room for about anybody else. 

 It will work for me, I look at this as a good learning experience. 

The next holster will be better hopefully.