Leather Holster Forming (Vacuum Versus Press)

[JP1]

I was looking for input on tools for forming leather holsters. I want to either use a vacuum press or some kind of hydraulic press to achieve a very nice form fitting holster. I wanted to know if anyone had any experience with these and what their pros and cons are? Would one be better for me to use than the other?

I have seen some plans on this forum for a 12 ton harbor freight press, and seen some negative and positive comments in regards to this item.

I have also been looking at vacuum press plans from veneeringsupplies.com and joewoodworker.com.

If one uses a vacuum press and has already tooled a design on the leather does it have any effect on that work after vacuuming?

Thanks for any comments that are given.

[builderofstuff]

I've tried vacuum forming but didn't have a lot of success. That being said I think it was because of the actual way I was going about it, not the process itself so much. So I would think it would be possible, I just haven't gotten around to trying it again.

Chris

[TwinOaks]

The downside to vacuum molding is wrinkles. Sometimes one gets in there and puts a line in the wrong place. As far as tooling, any time you flex a tooled area, it affects it.

[Denster]

I've used vacuum almost exclusively for the past couple of years. In my opinion, with the proper setup, it is better than using a press. I do have and use both. Vacuum has the big advantage of being able to bone the detail right through the bag. Just don't go the cheap route with a vynal bag the slightly more expensive poly bag is best. As to wrinkles just clamp your bag to your work surface with spring clamps and you will have no wrinkle problem.

Do a search for vacuum here and you will come up with a rather lengthy post showing pictures of the outfit I use. Most of which came from veneersupply as I recall.

[JP1]

I've used vacuum almost exclusively for the past couple of years. In my opinion, with the proper setup, it is better than using a press. I do have and use both. Vacuum has the big advantage of being able to bone the detail right through the bag. Just don't go the cheap route with a vynal bag the slightly more expensive poly bag is best. As to wrinkles just clamp your bag to your work surface with spring clamps and you will have no wrinkle problem.

Do a search for vacuum here and you will come up with a rather lengthy post showing pictures of the outfit I use. Most of which came from veneersupply as I recall.

Thanks for the input, for those that do press what kind of press are you using.

[particle]

I followed Denster's advise and built a vacuum setup like his. I've been very happy with it. I've made quite a few tooled holsters with no affect on the tooling - at least none that I've noticed. The advantages I see to a vacuum press:

1. It can be disassembled and placed in a drawer when not in use
2. It sucks some of the moisture out of the leather to expedite the forming process - you can dampen the leather more initially to help make it easier to mold, then leave it in the vacuum for a little while longer to help suck some moisture out and then remove it from the press and do your detail molding on the bench ('cutting' in the lines, enhancing the edges, etc.)
3. You get vacuum from all directions - not just up/down (two sides of the weapon), which helps to pull the top of the holster against the top of the slide
4. There is no worry about putting excess pressure on a firearm and risking any damage to the gun from the pressure of a hydraulic press
5. I don't know how long you have to leave the holster in a hydraulic press, but with a vacuum you can pretty much devote about 30 seconds for each side to bone the holster to the firearm. So, in about 2 minutes, you're ready to take it to the bench for final detail boning and adding the curve to the holster, etc.

If you go the route of a vacuum press, I would suggest you build yourself a little table top specifically for use with the vacuum press. This will elevate your work surface above your bench so you can clamp down both ends of the bag. This table top should be slightly shorter than the vacuum bag. If a bag is 2' x 4', your table should be about 2' x 3'-4". Your table top should have a "skirt" on it (look at your kitchen table - the top is supported by a skirt, or box frame that's inset from the edge of the table a couple/few inches. This allows you to place the bag clamps on both ends of the bag, then you put your clamps over the bag clamps and secure it to the ends of the table. If you try clamping directly to the vacuum bag, it won't stay put because the bag is too slippery and your clamps will slip off and the bag will wrinkle up under vacuum. When you're done, you can hang the table top on the wall, or slide it against the wall, etc. to get it out of the way. If you decide to go this route and want more information on the table top work surface idea, let me know and I'll try to post a picture to this thread.

Here is a couple holsters I've tooled and formed using the vacuum press that Denster suggested.

[K-Man]

I use Weaver's bench top press. Takes up 8" x 22" on one of my workbenches - hardly any space at all. With a couple of mods/upgrades, it will double as a 12-ton clicker. With space at a premium (for most of us), it's the ideal set up in my opinion. I'm not aware of any advantage of being able to bone the detail through a vinyl bag. To me it seems a lot of extra effort to set up/take down a vacuum system like what Particle describes. I try and keep things as simple and functional as I can. The set up that I use does that for me. YMMV.

I spend approximately 5 minutes with each holster with respect to pressing it and boning/chasing the lines on it. I've never had a problem/issue with it on holsters that have tooling on them. Here's a couple of pics of basic holsters.

Edited November 30, 2010 by K-Man

[particle]

Certainly can't argue with an 8 x 22 footprint! I didn't realize it was that small. I should note that with a vacuum press, you are only boning the rough details of the gun - the holster comes out of the bag looking like a gun made from a melted stick of butter. It is still necessary to go back and bone the final detail after you remove it from the bag - the vacuum just helps you manipulate the leather to the basic contours and shape of the gun. The vacuum alone will not pull ANY notable detail through 8/9 oz leather. K-Man, how long do you have to leave your holster in the press? Does the 5 minutes include the time in the press?

Edited November 30, 2010 by particle

[Denster]

The advantage I find to boning the details through the bag is that it takes far less pressure and the details are held in place and I don't have to go back over them. I find I get better results than I do with the press and boning at the bench. Setup and teardown is only a matter of a minute or two. Probably mostly boils down to personal preference as you certainly can't fault K-Man's results in any way and he does make a point that a press can do double duty as a clicker and I find mine useful working with kydex..

[K-Man]

K-Man, how long do you have to leave your holster in the press? Does the 5 minutes include the time in the press?

Yes, the 5 minutes does include the time in the press. The holster spends 3 1/2 minutes being pressed, and I spend less than 2 minutes boning/chasing the lines.