Cutting Belt Slots in Pancake Holsters?

[cumberlandhighpower]

Hello,

How do you guys cut slots in your pancake holsters?

At what stage?

I am setting up to make pancakes w/thumbreaks, and have had some interesting situations...

I am using Wickett and Craig leather on these, and for now I am dying this leather (allowing to dry) and then damp forming in an 8 ton press....

I have tried a few combinations on the slots, integral slots in the die when cutting side panels, using a hand punch, and most lately, an oval slot punch in an arbor press.

The W&C leather I am using has really surprised me, it seems different from the elather I recd. from them 2-3 years ago..

I purchased a couple sides for prototypes, in 8-8.5oz.

Very very firm and dense, and after dye it becomes so hard it's difficult to work...The slot punch with a 2 ton press almost bounces off it.

Has anyone had such luck? I generally use Herman Oak, and thought to opt for something I felt would be softer for pancakes....

I dare say this W-C leather reminds me alot of low cost Argentine.....

If anyone has any input on how they cut slots I'd appreciate any thoughts.

best!

CS

[Denster]

I use an oblong bag punch and a three pound maul. The slots are on the face of my pattern and I trace them out when I lay out the pattern. After both parts are cut out I punch the slots in the face. After gule up and stitch I go back through the slots in the face and cut out the back. I keep my bag punches very sharp and one quick whack generally does it.

[JeffGC]

I use a hole punch on the two ends (3/8") and then connect the holes with a wood chisel. I smooth the inside of the slot with a small sanding drum on a Dremel. I add the slots after gluing, cutting through both thicknesses of the assembled leather.

Edited January 23, 2010 by JeffGC

[Lobo]

When producing a volume of holsters there is really no substitute for good punches in the sizes and shapes required.

For the occasional project the cost of the punches can be a significant issue. As JeffGC has described, a good result can be had using hole punches at each end and a wood chisel to finish the slot cuts. I used that method for many years.

I cut my slots after the holster panels have been stitched together. In my production process the next step after sewing is to dress all edges, which I do on a belt sander and drum sander. I have found that dampening the leather prior to dressing the edges eliminates leather dust in the air, so I dunk the sewn holsters into water prior to that step. Right after dressing the edges I cut the slots, and the damp leather cuts much more easily than when dry.

The next step is beveling the edges, which is also done more easily and cleanly while the leather is damp. The following step is forming the holster, which also requires moisture in the leather.

[kevinhopkins]

Hi... I think Lobo has got it on the slot punches... the dumb things are expensive, but they work. As to the W/C leather, I don't know if it's changed over the years or not, but I've got a customer that uses it, and he tells me that he requires W/C to "holster" the leather that he buys from them. I really don't know what that means, and he doesn't either, but his holsters come out really nice, and he says the leather is easy to work with. Sorry I don't have any more info... maybe someone else does...

Kevin

[siege]

Hello,

How do you guys cut slots in your pancake holsters?

At what stage?

I am setting up to make pancakes w/thumbreaks, and have had some interesting situations...

I am using Wickett and Craig leather on these, and for now I am dying this leather (allowing to dry) and then damp forming in an 8 ton press....

I have tried a few combinations on the slots, integral slots in the die when cutting side panels, using a hand punch, and most lately, an oval slot punch in an arbor press.

The W&C leather I am using has really surprised me, it seems different from the elather I recd. from them 2-3 years ago..

I purchased a couple sides for prototypes, in 8-8.5oz.

Very very firm and dense, and after dye it becomes so hard it's difficult to work...The slot punch with a 2 ton press almost bounces off it.

Has anyone had such luck? I generally use Herman Oak, and thought to opt for something I felt would be softer for pancakes....

I dare say this W-C leather reminds me alot of low cost Argentine.....

If anyone has any input on how they cut slots I'd appreciate any thoughts.

best!

CS

[siege]

I use a 1/2 round ( u shaped gouge) wood carving chisel to cut the top and bottom of my belt slots. Then a straight cut to connect the top to the bottom of the slot is all that's needed for a nice, clean slot. no touch-up or sanding is required if you're tools are good and sharp.

[Kate]

I used to do the hole punch on the ends and connect with knife and chisel - WAY too much work. I wanted a "just so" curved slot for my Kate's Comfort Pancake model holsters, and finally just gave up and MADE the tool I needed, a curved drive chisel, cut from an old shoeing rasp. While the steel was still hot, I peened down the rasp teeth to create a textured surface - easy to hold even with tired hands, and it looks pretty cool too!

<br>Since this was tool steel to begin with, it had to be heated and quenched to remove temper to shape and sharpen, then re-tempered afterward. Post-tempering, I then put a polish on the sharpened edge. It doesn't take much of a mallet strike to drive it through even tough horsehide.

To use it, I just space the round punched holes on the ends, then use the drive chisel to make the "fill cut" tangent to the holes - easy, fast, accurate.

Edited February 3, 2010 by Kate