How Long To Make A Holster..start To Finish

[silkfatblues]

why dont you guys use hair dryer or calorifer to dry holsters? why wait?

the leather tends to shrink a bit while drying so it needs to be tooled a little after drying, but just enough to stretch it so the gun fits easy...

try that... but dont burn it!!

S

[TwinOaks]

The MOLDING can be sped up, but things like conditioning shouldn't be rushed.

[silkfatblues]

if by speeding up molding you meen using rubber moulds (two big rubber peices and a holster with a gun mould in the middle being pressed by a big 5 ton press) or something like that, my experience tells me that is wrong way and the holster just doesnt hold the gun as much as it should, plus it looks like crap... the shaping and moulding is best handmade... but if you guys spend hours on waiting for the leather to dry by itself, that is just apsurd... so, dont be afraid of helping it dry... just my 5 cents... then again, it does depend on the leather quality too...

cheers,

Silk

[Rayban]

Here's my dry helper....small space heater, only $8 at Lowe's going on 3 years now.....other stuff I found laying around the house, the wife didn't even miss it.

[particle]

I've started a holster Saturday morning, and shipped it out on Monday. It really just depends on how fast you want to rush it. You don't really want to soak the holster in water too soon after dying. You don't want to mount your reinforcement piece too quickly if the edges have been dyed & burnished if you're using Barges cement because the solvents can wet the dye, and the dye can rub onto the holster body leaving little black dye streaks sporadically around the perimeter of the reinforcement (happened to me several times...). I think best case, cut, edge, groove & dye the pieces first thing in the morning. Let it sit for maybe an hour, then sand & burnish the reinforcement edges with a little water and dye the edges (in the areas that won't be glued together). If I'm rushing it, I'll dye the edges with a black wide-tip sharpie. Glue and assemble, burnishing & dying the glued edges after you've sewn them. Wet form after lunch, then dry in an oven for about 45 minutes at low heat, then immediately oil the grain surfaces and let sit in front of a fan till that evening. Burnish the interior with gum trag and touch up & burnish the edges again if necessary. Turn the fan back on and continue to let it dry overnight. The following morning, apply your finish and let it hang to dry, which probably leaves enough time to slip it in a zip-top back, box it up and leave it on the porch for the mail man.

[silkfatblues]

Here's my dry helper....small space heater, only $8 at Lowe's going on 3 years now.....other stuff I found laying around the house, the wife didn't even miss it.

that's it my friend, simple but does the trick!!

[SooperJake]

I made this set yesterday from scratch. Dying leather, cutting, sewing (machine), shaping, polishing, taking photos, eating and drinking coffe in the meantime... so all of it... started 9:15 and finished around 15:00... did some smaller things along the way... 250$... considering it was monday I think that's ok

edit:

it's for a smith&wesson 686, 4 inch, 357 magnum revolver, little pouch holds 6 bullets and the leather belt is 2 ply of premium vege tanned leather (same as the holster and the pouch), solid brass buckle and screws, waxed thread and what not...

Nice rig!

[SooperJake]

Great Comments all. Thanks, and keep them coming.

[renegadelizard]

I've started a holster Saturday morning, and shipped it out on Monday. It really just depends on how fast you want to rush it. You don't really want to soak the holster in water too soon after dying. You don't want to mount your reinforcement piece too quickly if the edges have been dyed & burnished if you're using Barges cement because the solvents can wet the dye, and the dye can rub onto the holster body leaving little black dye streaks sporadically around the perimeter of the reinforcement (happened to me several times...). I think best case, cut, edge, groove & dye the pieces first thing in the morning. Let it sit for maybe an hour, then sand & burnish the reinforcement edges with a little water and dye the edges (in the areas that won't be glued together). If I'm rushing it, I'll dye the edges with a black wide-tip sharpie. Glue and assemble, burnishing & dying the glued edges after you've sewn them. Wet form after lunch, then dry in an oven for about 45 minutes at low heat, then immediately oil the grain surfaces and let sit in front of a fan till that evening. Burnish the interior with gum trag and touch up & burnish the edges again if necessary. Turn the fan back on and continue to let it dry overnight. The following morning, apply your finish and let it hang to dry, which probably leaves enough time to slip it in a zip-top back, box it up and leave it on the porch for the mail man.

Hey Eric, ive started waxing my edges right after i dye them...i usually dye the edge, then burnish it, then immediately wax it with 50/50 paraffin/beeswax...no dye transfer after that..

Edited March 14, 2013 by renegadelizard

[particle]

I guess I didn't really mention it in my previous post, but I have also been following my edge dye with a wax/burnish. I usually just use paraffin though. This is my basic process:

1. Dampen and edge
   
2. Sand the edge with 220 grit sandpaper
   
3. Rub the edge with my burnishing stick
   
4. Let the edge dry, then dye with a dauber - Or, if I don't have time to let the edge dry, I'll dye the edge with my black sharpie
   
5. Dampen the edge, then rub paraffin over the edge
   
6. Burnish with my burnishing stick
   
7. Buff the edge with canvas cloth
   
8. Check the edge and re-dye if necessary, then re-wax and burnish/buff again
   

I haven't had any problems with the dye transfer since I've been using this process, but I also stopped using Barges cement - I'm now using a water-based contact cement.