Vacuum bag for forming holsters

[Denster]

K-Man : Kere are the pictures that show the detail that is brought up by the full vacuum. These just came out of the bag all I did while they were in was run my thumb along the slide frame line.

Larry: I ordered the bag on line. The site is on my other computer I'll post you a link later. Yes the holster is sewen and wet prior to placing it in the bag. Careful with the retirement idea. That was my intention make a few holsters get a little extra fun money and take a big deduction on my taxes for a home business. Worked fine for the first year. Now I work harder than I did when I was working and I'm going to have to be really creative to keep from paying taxes.

[Tkleather1]

I have a question, and probably a stupid one, I was noticing in the pictures that the hammer is back in the cocked position. Why? now I am not a holster maker I was just curious. But I do like the way that they form up using the vacuum very nice!

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

I can't answer for Denster's specific reasons, but both of those pistols are single action, meaning if there is a round in the chamber, the hammer must be back and the safety must be on. To decock the hammer on a live round is folly; any drop safeties would be bypassed, and it is risky to manipulate the hammer manually. Carrying without a round in the chamber is a tactical mistake; it will severely limit the user's ability to respond in a safe and timely manner in some situations which might mean the difference between life and death. It isn't a stupid question at all, Tkleather1. There is no inherent danger in a cocked pistol - only in poorly trained or negligent people.

Denster, it looks to me like there are positives and negatives to both methods. The basic shape comes through enough to find the lines and chase them with a boning tool when using a vacuum bag, so it looks like it is deffinitely a viable option. I do think that more detail is exposed with a press, which might be beneficial if you didn't plan to bone the leather further. It looks like the vacuum bag forming method might yield "cleaner" results in some cases, as the possibility of over compressing the leather exists with a press if one is not careful (not to mention breaking a dummy gun if there is a fault in the material...ERRRRR). Time involved and preperation seems to be comparable with either method.

I will try to get some better pictures taken today to show the detail exposed in a press without boning.

[Denster]

Boomstick: I sure would appreciate seeing those. Oh one thing I forgot to mention the holsters in the pictures are made of 7oz leather.

TK: The hammers are back for a purpose. (guns are not loaded of course) If I don't have the hammers back and the safety up the slide tends to get pushed back when I push the gun into the holster for forming and it gives me one more thing to fiddle with.

[Tkleather1]

Boomstick: I sure would appreciate seeing those. Oh one thing I forgot to mention the holsters in the pictures are made of 7oz leather.

TK: The hammers are back for a purpose. (guns are not loaded of course) If I don't have the hammers back and the safety up the slide tends to get pushed back when I push the gun into the holster for forming and it gives me one more thing to fiddle with.

I got ya I was jsut curious if it was detremental to the forming process was all.

There is no inherent danger in a cocked pistol - only in poorly trained or negligent people.

and Boomstick I couldnt agree more.

[Denster]

Larry: Here is a link to where I purchased the vacuum bag. I also purchased the continuous run parts kit from them. Not absolutely necessasary but very handy. http://www.veneersupplies.com/product_info...roducts_id=2321

By the way I don't believe the shop vac will produce enough power for the job. You can get a 2.5cfm vacuum pump from Harbor Freight for about $80 or less when on sale. More than enough oopmh.

[jbird]

Can you post more pics of your method very interesting.

Josh

[Denster]

Sure Josh. Anything particular you'd like to see?

[jbird]

Yes if you can a closer picture of the vacum unit thing your using and how it works the attachment your using and just some more detailed pics.

Thanks a bunch

Josh

[Denster]

No problem Josh. I'll get some more picks in the morning.

[Deb59]

I was using my Food Saver last night and thinking about what I read on this post. The Bags I used had the channels on the inside, but the outside was smooth. How about turning the bag inside out, It should still seal and not have the little channel markings, or have the possibility of having a ziplock bag wrinkle and make indentions in the leather. Just a thought, I have not tried it myself. Thanks Deb

[Denster]

Deb. The problem with that idea would be that the smooth sides of the bag would form a seal by themselves without establishing sufficient vacuum in the are of the holster. The purpose of the ridges inside the bag is to allow air to be evacuated. WhenI tried this method I used a couple ov sheets of heavy guage vynal inside the bag. The vacuum sealer will work for forming holsters but with the expense of the bags if you do very many you would have paid for a professional system. However if your intent is only to make one or two holsters and you have a food-saver go for it.

[Deb59]

Deb. The problem with that idea would be that the smooth sides of the bag would form a seal by themselves without establishing sufficient vacuum in the are of the holster. The purpose of the ridges inside the bag is to allow air to be evacuated. WhenI tried this method I used a couple ov sheets of heavy guage vynal inside the bag. The vacuum sealer will work for forming holsters but with the expense of the bags if you do very many you would have paid for a professional system. However if your intent is only to make one or two holsters and you have a food-saver go for it.

I did wonder about that, but had not tried anything. I have only made a couple of holsters, and thought I would try that if I ever had the occasion to make any more. The heavy vinyl liner sounds like a good idea. I will have to remember that - Thanks Deb

[Bronson]

Denster,

Do you think something like this would work? http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=11...p;filter=vaccum

I don't make nearly enough stuff to justify the expense of a pro-bag system or a big press. I figure this little bag system would fall between a foodsaver and what you've got as far as effectiveness. I'm thinking of giving it a shot.

I also found a 6 ton bench top press at Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...Itemnumber=1666

but the cost of having steel plates made and the gum rubber sheets ($35 each for 1"x12"x12") make this a bit more financially prohibitive.

Bronson

[Denster]

Bronson: Looks kind of gimicky to me and time consuming to set up. Check that link I gave Larry with a little searching on that site he gives some good info for do it yourselfers to make their own bags and alternate vacuum sources.

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

Denster, I managed to get pics of one holster before my camera died. I don't try for a lot of detail with IWB holsters because I think it is counter productive, but I still showed the lines that I boned after getting detail from the press. The top two are of the front and back of the holster right after I pulled it out of the press, and the bottom two are after I boned the lines to tighten the fit of the holster.

[Denster]

Boomstick: Thanks a bunch for the pics. I appreciate you're going to the trouble to do that.

Josh : Here are the pics you asked for. As you can see I clamb the sides of the bag to the table. One of the tricks I learned as it keeps the bag from bunching up and it pulls straight down. All of those fancy attachments on the side of the pump are the accessory kit I bought from that site I posted. Basically it is just a filter guage and vacuum adjustment for how much vacuum you want to pull. That wood disc is the platnen I mentioned. It is grooved all the way around to keep a seal from being made around the air outlet before a sufficeint vacuum in the bag has been established. The white rod is rolled onto the end of the bag and the blue cover snapped over it to seal the bag.

[jbird]

Thanks a lot sir take care.

Josh

[TwinOaks]

I used a food saver style to vacuum form a holster for a client last weekend. What I found worked well was to only form the outter side of the holster. It's a work in progress, to be sure, but it gave decent mold lines for retention. The biggest advantage is that it pulled the leather down well enough for me to mark my stitch lines and the major detail areas, and saved a good bit of time for that. Now, I'll finish the cut out ( I used a larger than needed piece) and move the stitch lines in a bit to make the leather stretch when I insert the pistol.

Incidentally, I'm facing a pretty serious issue with this holster. The customer wants it to be suitable for two different pistols- HK compact and a P229. Both are similar in size/dimensions with the largest difference in the trigger guard. Any forseable critical issues with this project?

Appologies for the minor hijak.

[Tac]

Twin Oaks... If you mold/bone it to fit one gun well, then it won't fit the other one.... If you leave it "loose" in the stitching/molding , it won't likely hold either gun well....

"a jack-of-all-trades is a master of none"....

-Tac

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

The customer wants it to be suitable for two different pistols- HK compact and a P229. Both are similar in size/dimensions with the largest difference in the trigger guard. Any forseable critical issues with this project?

Appologies for the minor hijak.

If you are making a formed and boned holster, tell your customer no. Anything worth doing is worth doing right. Offer to make him two holsters that fit well. Explain to him that it's obvious by the handguns he chose, he wants the best options available, and that you want to help him make the same kind of choice when it comes to how he will carry those firearms. Realistically, anyone who has both a Sig and an H&K can afford a decent holster for both (and a belt, and a magazine holder, light pouch, etc...).

[Denster]

Boomstick and Tac are right on. While it is do-able by molding to the gun with the largest overall dimensions it won't be right. Sort of like dropping a High Power in a 1911 holster. Even though he requested it the customer won't be happy and I'll give you one guess who he'll blame.

[Dwight]

FWIW, . . . I know not everyone has the funds to experiment with this process, . . . and if one needs a quick and useable vaccuum source, . . . try your local pick up truck.

For a few bucks you can buy vaccuum hose at your local NAPA store, . . . pull a line off your local pick up truck, . . . attach the hose to the bag, . . . start the truck, . . . VOILA, . . .

I watched a guy one day pump out my septic tank using this method, . . . he just had a coiled roll of 3/8 inch hose hanging on the side of the big tank, . . . lifted up the hood, . . . started her up, . . . about 10 minutes later the big "HISSSSS" from the pit said it was empty. Paid him $85.00 for the lesson and the cleaning.

May God bless,

Dwight

[MBOGO]

Great stuff, Really!

[tlowry]

For anyone interested in reading a little on vaccum systems used in the woodworking field, check out the April 1993 issue of "Fine Woodworking" magazine. Page 72, an article, New Tools Make Laminating Easy: Big baggies and vacuum pumps put the squeeze on veneers. Explains the differences in the types of pumps. If you already own an air compressor you can get into a system relatively cheap. Sure gave me some good ideas.