Brooks125 Report post Posted January 12, 2018 Not to brag, because it is about 40% sheer luck, but when a customer asked for a closed end on a 1911, I was a little daunted. I'm glad to say it only took two sketch holsters to get this just right. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garypl Report post Posted January 12, 2018 Brooks, that is some very tight molding! Did you vacuum form it or do it by hand? I am always curious to learn what type leather, finish, thread is used to give me a better idea what works best. Nice job! Gary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikermutt07 Report post Posted January 12, 2018 That looks great. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brooks125 Report post Posted January 12, 2018 3 hours ago, garypl said: Brooks, that is some very tight molding! Did you vacuum form it or do it by hand? I am always curious to learn what type leather, finish, thread is used to give me a better idea what works best. Nice job! Gary Right now I'm using a vacuum sealer to do the rough molding. It works OK but makes for a lot of cleanup from the wrinkles it puts in. I'm wanting to move up to a shop press and high-density rubber soon. I recently have been able to use HO leather, exclusively. Weaver Leather is about a 45 minute drive, and I can go there and hand select my sides, which is really nice. I was using Tandy imports prior to that, but now that I'm working for strangers, more and more, the better leather is a must. Thanks, by the way. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garypl Report post Posted January 12, 2018 5 minutes ago, Brooks125 said: Right now I'm using a vacuum sealer to do the rough molding. It works OK but makes for a lot of cleanup from the wrinkles it puts in. I'm wanting to move up to a shop press and high-density rubber soon. I recently have been able to use HO leather, exclusively. Weaver Leather is about a 45 minute drive, and I can go there and hand select my sides, which is really nice. I was using Tandy imports prior to that, but now that I'm working for strangers, more and more, the better leather is a must. Thanks, by the way. I sometimes use a vacuum press for small items - I use my seal a meal vacuum and as long as the item fits in the small bags it does a good job! I put a smooth piece of thin wood under the leather to prevent the diamond pattern from the back side of the bag from imprinting on the leather. Those shop presses I think are only recommended when you are using blue guns - am I correct? I don't think I would be comfortable putting a real gun under that much pressure. Gary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brooks125 Report post Posted January 12, 2018 2 hours ago, garypl said: I sometimes use a vacuum press for small items - I use my seal a meal vacuum and as long as the item fits in the small bags it does a good job! I put a smooth piece of thin wood under the leather to prevent the diamond pattern from the back side of the bag from imprinting on the leather. Those shop presses I think are only recommended when you are using blue guns - am I correct? I don't think I would be comfortable putting a real gun under that much pressure. Gary Oh yeah, I wouldn't put a working gun in a press. In fact, I've got a few jobs because another holster maker wouldn't use a press and didn't use a vacuum. I leave the texture on the back, I actually kind of like it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fire88 Report post Posted January 21, 2018 Nice holster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
