Food Saver Vacuum Sealer And A Dremel

[Fredo]

I continue to learn from the vast amount of knowledge on this site. Thank you!!

So I found a new in the box food saver at a yard sale. Also even though the smart bet is on using an awl to set your stitch holes I still like drilling. So I bought a dremel-300 and the dremel workstation. The workstation is a great little divice that turns your dremel into a drill press.

Anyway here is my first project using the new tools. Everything worked great, the drill is now plumb and even, the food saver makes initial forming a breeze.

Posting for your always helpful critique and coments.

.45 ACP IWB

[UKRay]

Hey Fredo - what is a Food Saver? It isn't something I've ever come across. Have you got a picture of it being used on leather?

I also use a Dremel in a workstation drill press occasionally. A very useful bit of kit.

Ray

[Fredo]

Hey Fredo - what is a Food Saver? It isn't something I've ever come across. Have you got a picture of it being used on leather?

I also use a Dremel in a workstation drill press occasionally. A very useful bit of kit.

Ray, a food saver is a small kitchen appliance that uses vacuum to seal bags of food for freazing. They range in price starting at about 80 dollars and go up from there. However I have had such good luck that I'm sure I want to upgrade and build a vacuum table now.

[MedusaOblongata]

How, exactly, do you use the foodsaver in the making of the holster?

[jv leather crafts]

How, exactly, do you use the foodsaver in the making of the holster?

I didn't see anyone answer your question, so here goes...

once your holster or sheath is cut out, we your leather well. Wrap the gun or knife in saran wrap....it's needs to stay dry!! wrap the leather around the item where it's going to be set. put it in a vacuum sealer bag..it's a specially designed bag that let's the air out when put in the sealer. Ziplocs don't work... most vacuum sealer bags have a bumpy side and a smooth side, make sure which side you want is on the outside of the holster. put the bag in the sealer and start it...it will vacuum all the air out and compress the leather around the item. leave it about 12-24 hours to mold well..... open the bag and let it dry a bit before you take the gun out to do the finishing.

Good luck

[Fredo]

I didn't see anyone answer your question, so here goes...

once your holster or sheath is cut out, we your leather well. Wrap the gun or knife in saran wrap....it's needs to stay dry!! wrap the leather around the item where it's going to be set. put it in a vacuum sealer bag..it's a specially designed bag that let's the air out when put in the sealer. Ziplocs don't work... most vacuum sealer bags have a bumpy side and a smooth side, make sure which side you want is on the outside of the holster. put the bag in the sealer and start it...it will vacuum all the air out and compress the leather around the item. leave it about 12-24 hours to mold well..... open the bag and let it dry a bit before you take the gun out to do the finishing.

Good luck

+1 what JV said:You_Rock_Emoticon:

[whinewine]

I didn't see anyone answer your question, so here goes...

once your holster or sheath is cut out, wet your leather well. Wrap the gun or knife in saran wrap....it's needs to stay dry!! wrap the leather around the item where it's going to be set. put it in a vacuum sealer bag..it's a specially designed bag that let's the air out when put in the sealer. Ziplocs don't work... most vacuum sealer bags have a bumpy side and a smooth side, make sure which side you want is on the outside of the holster. put the bag in the sealer and start it...it will vacuum all the air out and compress the leather around the item. leave it about 12-24 hours to mold well..... open the bag and let it dry a bit before you take the gun out to do the finishing.

Good luck

Just a simple question: even though the gun or knife is wrapped in saran wrap, isn't there the possibility that moisture will get in to the gun/knife itself in that 12-24 hr time period? (I've done the gun/saran thing when molding western style holsters, but only by hand until the holster was formed- I immediately would remove the gun & saran wrap.) But I definitely like this concept (thanks, Fredo), and would like to use this method for the holster I made for my son's Springfield XD, but I don't want to cause any rusting...

[particle]

For what it's worth, I only leave my gun & holster in the vacuum press for maybe 3-5 minutes total. Once I flip the switch, and the bulk of the air is evacuated from the bag, I start pressing in the detail with the round end of my stitch groover's handle. Then I progress to my bone folder to bone in the detail. Once that's done, I let the pump run for maybe another 20 seconds. Turn off the pump, open the bag, flip the gun, then do the same thing to the other side. Remove the gun & holster from the bag, then chase the lines with a bone folder to bring out the details, then remove the gun and put the holster in the oven for about 30-45 minutes at about 135 degrees, then hang in front of a fan to dry overnight.

I take WAY too long with the forming process compared to some of the pros on here - but my gun goes in the holster and gets removed in about 20 minutes or less. Once removed (unless I need to form another holster immediately after the last one), I field strip the gun and bath it in CLP then wipe away the excess and put it back in the safe. Every now and then I'll detail strip the gun to remove the old CLP from the frame and internals of the slide and give it a thorough cleaning. Now, this is for a stainless 1911 that has a liberal coating of CLP already in place on the internals. It's also not a carry gun, so I'm not worried about the excess CLP build-up. I'll detail strip it and clean/lube it properly before I take it to the range again.

For a blued or non-stainless gun, I'd apply the CLP first to the entire firearm, wipe off the excess on the exterior, then proceed as normal and clean it liberally once I'm done forming. I'd also probably be a little more rushed with the forming process to cut down the time it's in the damp holster.

[Fredo]

PArticle has it right. I will only leave a gun in the bag for a few minutes at most. Also I will oil the gun well before wrapping.

Once the initial forming and boning is complete I take it out of the bag and clean, oil, clean and oil again.

I did one last night for a friends on duty carry piece while he stood there.

Of course with blue guns I tend to let them sit for as slong as I like. I'll have a cigg, go eat dinner, chalenge the wife to a game of spank and tickle....