DonovanM
06-14-2011, 05:18 PM
Well, I had originally bought some kydex supplies to make a set of heavy-duty competition mag pouches, but I went full retard and decided to try out an appendix holster instead :D
I made one mold in a pancake style, and decided I didn't really like that, so next I tried a taco style holster. I like it much better, it's much more low profile and wasn't hard at all to get right. I started with a single piece of kydex, 10" wide, half of it cut to 8" long for the inside (towards my body) and the other half cut to 6" long. I drew a line with a silver sharpie down the middle, and when I got the kydex out of the oven (350*, 5 mins - 10 mins was WAY too long), I put it in the press and pressed the sight channel (cleaning rod taped on) down into the line. I then pulled the top piece of kydex over and pushed the gun into the material as I closed the press to make sure extra material didn't bunch up along the crease. I also used a piece of wood to make the stand-off mount for the belt clip.
Once the mold was set I used a jigsaw (horrible tool for the job, it's all I got) to cut off the excess, and an air sander (GREAT tool for the job) to make the final lines. Finished it off with some 220 grit by hand, didn't bother going any finer cause it looks fine (ie, like shit anyway).
The first mistake I made was I didn't originally form the holster around the exact gun I'd be carrying in it. I used my alloy framed racegun instead of going through the huge inconvenience of unloading and taking the light off of my steel framed carry gun. The biggest difference was in the magazine release. My carry gun has a Grayguns tacticool extended mag release and my racegun has a normal one - so the holster was actually resting on the mag release - not good. I cut down a 9mm shell casing, took the mag release off (and lost my 3rd or 4th mag catch stop spring in the process, #%^#&@~!) and reformed that part of the holster. I gave it a bit too much heat with the heat gun and made the surface of the kydex a little tacky, so there's some foam stuck to that part of the holster that won't come out, but it reformed perfectly and is all well and good now. I also could have cut the shell casing shorter so there wasn't as big of a bulge, but I really don't feel it at all while I'm wearing it.
The second mistake I made was that the kydex is a bit thick for the job. The body is made out of .08" and the belt clip is .125". Like I said, the material was originally for some heavy duty competition mag pouches. When I redo it, I'll make the body out of .06" and the clip out of either .06 or .08, probably .06. As such, the retention is a bit tight because the .08 kydex doesn't give and bend as well as .06 does, but it's not that big of a deal as long as I get a good grip on the draw.
One of my proudest achievements of ingenuity was in the flap I used to close the holster on the non-creased side. I didn't want to bother with a screw or two, because I hate them with a passion, or rivets, as that would have required more material to create the flat surface needed for the rivet punch to set them in. It works superbly well - when I bent the flap around with the help of a heat gun, a wet towel to insulate the rest of the holster, and a spring clamp to set it, I put a scrap piece of kydex between the two sides, which when taken out gave it a little bit of play and allowed the kydex to give and bend at least somewhat, which is really good for the retention. Even with the play, however it is incredibly secure and there's no way in hell the two pieces will ever separate. As with all of my "brilliant and original" ideas, though, I'm sure someone else has done it before :(
To get the "wedge shape" that is so important with appendix holsters - to pull the butt of the pistol into your body - I mounted the belt clip with the right side screw through a spacer that was riveted on. I put a spacer on the inside for the other screw just so both holes could be riveted (OCD) and there would be a tighter clearance for the base part of the Chicago screw. It conceals well enough, but the screws for belt clip force the spacer down a bit and pretty much straightens it out, defeating the purpose. Due to the double layered .08 and double layered .125 the screw is going through, the ones that I bought were too short, so I sacrificed parts from a Blackhawk belt mount thing and a Safariland holster that I wasn't using anymore. Holster cannibalism, YES!
I'm incredibly pleased with it, it being my first DIY holster and all, and with appendix carry altogether (this is my first experience with it as well). It's comfortable, invisible, and fast.
Here are some pics. The pic on my body shows how it doesn't really pull the butt in, but it's invisible under the shirt. The pics also make it more orange, it's actually blood red, my favorite color (and not the most PC choice for a gun holster, I know :D). And no matter how much rubbing alcohol I put on the thing I can't seem to get the silver sharpie off... or the black plastic marks from the jigsaw... or the foam that's melted on... or the modeling clay...
Enjoy!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/vehementi/IMG_0056.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/vehementi/IMG_0055.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/vehementi/IMG_0054.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/vehementi/IMG_0057.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/vehementi/IMG_0053.jpg
I made one mold in a pancake style, and decided I didn't really like that, so next I tried a taco style holster. I like it much better, it's much more low profile and wasn't hard at all to get right. I started with a single piece of kydex, 10" wide, half of it cut to 8" long for the inside (towards my body) and the other half cut to 6" long. I drew a line with a silver sharpie down the middle, and when I got the kydex out of the oven (350*, 5 mins - 10 mins was WAY too long), I put it in the press and pressed the sight channel (cleaning rod taped on) down into the line. I then pulled the top piece of kydex over and pushed the gun into the material as I closed the press to make sure extra material didn't bunch up along the crease. I also used a piece of wood to make the stand-off mount for the belt clip.
Once the mold was set I used a jigsaw (horrible tool for the job, it's all I got) to cut off the excess, and an air sander (GREAT tool for the job) to make the final lines. Finished it off with some 220 grit by hand, didn't bother going any finer cause it looks fine (ie, like shit anyway).
The first mistake I made was I didn't originally form the holster around the exact gun I'd be carrying in it. I used my alloy framed racegun instead of going through the huge inconvenience of unloading and taking the light off of my steel framed carry gun. The biggest difference was in the magazine release. My carry gun has a Grayguns tacticool extended mag release and my racegun has a normal one - so the holster was actually resting on the mag release - not good. I cut down a 9mm shell casing, took the mag release off (and lost my 3rd or 4th mag catch stop spring in the process, #%^#&@~!) and reformed that part of the holster. I gave it a bit too much heat with the heat gun and made the surface of the kydex a little tacky, so there's some foam stuck to that part of the holster that won't come out, but it reformed perfectly and is all well and good now. I also could have cut the shell casing shorter so there wasn't as big of a bulge, but I really don't feel it at all while I'm wearing it.
The second mistake I made was that the kydex is a bit thick for the job. The body is made out of .08" and the belt clip is .125". Like I said, the material was originally for some heavy duty competition mag pouches. When I redo it, I'll make the body out of .06" and the clip out of either .06 or .08, probably .06. As such, the retention is a bit tight because the .08 kydex doesn't give and bend as well as .06 does, but it's not that big of a deal as long as I get a good grip on the draw.
One of my proudest achievements of ingenuity was in the flap I used to close the holster on the non-creased side. I didn't want to bother with a screw or two, because I hate them with a passion, or rivets, as that would have required more material to create the flat surface needed for the rivet punch to set them in. It works superbly well - when I bent the flap around with the help of a heat gun, a wet towel to insulate the rest of the holster, and a spring clamp to set it, I put a scrap piece of kydex between the two sides, which when taken out gave it a little bit of play and allowed the kydex to give and bend at least somewhat, which is really good for the retention. Even with the play, however it is incredibly secure and there's no way in hell the two pieces will ever separate. As with all of my "brilliant and original" ideas, though, I'm sure someone else has done it before :(
To get the "wedge shape" that is so important with appendix holsters - to pull the butt of the pistol into your body - I mounted the belt clip with the right side screw through a spacer that was riveted on. I put a spacer on the inside for the other screw just so both holes could be riveted (OCD) and there would be a tighter clearance for the base part of the Chicago screw. It conceals well enough, but the screws for belt clip force the spacer down a bit and pretty much straightens it out, defeating the purpose. Due to the double layered .08 and double layered .125 the screw is going through, the ones that I bought were too short, so I sacrificed parts from a Blackhawk belt mount thing and a Safariland holster that I wasn't using anymore. Holster cannibalism, YES!
I'm incredibly pleased with it, it being my first DIY holster and all, and with appendix carry altogether (this is my first experience with it as well). It's comfortable, invisible, and fast.
Here are some pics. The pic on my body shows how it doesn't really pull the butt in, but it's invisible under the shirt. The pics also make it more orange, it's actually blood red, my favorite color (and not the most PC choice for a gun holster, I know :D). And no matter how much rubbing alcohol I put on the thing I can't seem to get the silver sharpie off... or the black plastic marks from the jigsaw... or the foam that's melted on... or the modeling clay...
Enjoy!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/vehementi/IMG_0056.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/vehementi/IMG_0055.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/vehementi/IMG_0054.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/vehementi/IMG_0057.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/vehementi/IMG_0053.jpg