Vacuum Forming a Taco-1

Ted Calver

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Couldn't find a holster or a nearby maker for my new target pistol so, inspired by this post by Darren, I decided to make my own. Ordered some Kydex, silicone sheet and some misc fittings.

Had a piece of Corian (sink cut out) and some 80/20 aluminum on hand. Drilled and tapped the Corian for a brass 'L' to attach a hose to my lathe vacuum.
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Used a piece of Lowe's project foam board to sculpt a form similar to one found on the web and added closed cell foam. The form and foam results in a curved shape that conforms to the body.

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Prepped the gun with several layers of blue painters tape to protect the finish and added blocking to ensure a correct fit and to provide attachment points for mounting hardware.

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Put the Kydex in the heat press to bring the temperature up to 325F, then folded the hot material over the gun, covered it with the membrane clamped onto the 80/20 frame, pressed down onto the Corian/foam mold and turned on the vacuum. Gloves on and made sure the Kydex formed around the trigger, two dimples that would be the adjustment points and the site channel that keeps the sights clear of the holster. Followed the same procedure for the double magazine pouch. There is a layer of Scotch Brite under the mold to facilitate air flow.

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Out of the press and ready for trimming with the bandsaw and dremel. The white pieces are bits of cotton rope and scotch bright pad that facilitate air flow under the silicone membrane. You can see how the blocking worked.

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The finished product ...a style referred to as a Taco. Took it out to the range for a draw from the holster qualification test and it worked like a charm. Retention is perfect (it passes the upside down and shake test) and the adjustment screws allowed me to dial it in. I think there is some potential to make a few for the guys at the range, since there doesn't seem to be anybody local and some people like the custom look.

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Very very cool Ted, few people here i think gonna be envious.

I am not usually a snake skin guy but the pattern you got there and the color its love at first site. Well done on a great job.
 
Um, Wow. That is the best looking kydex I've ever seen. That is really something.
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Well played sir, well played! :thumb: Those turned out fantastic and I too like that pattern.

Just remember that the cut-offs can be can heated and used again, perhaps for some knife sheaths or something similar. ;)
 
Beautiful! A work of art.

Nice holsters, too. :D

[I loves the Sigs]

Seriously, that's a cool process, and the holsters looks great. Thanks for posting the pics.
 
Thanks for the attaboys. Need to make a few more holsters and try a few other things before putting the gear away. The Kydex is also pretty easy to form with a moving heat gun and there are some clips and wall hangers the small scraps might work for. Saw YouTube videos using it for forming parts trays with embedded magnets and signs with raised lettering....lots of stuff. The vacuum set up can be used for other thermoplastics like polystyrene to make molds for forming/casting. Very interesting once you start looking at the many different applications.
 
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ted great job on both parts the final product and the step by step pics,, what was the piece of ruler for in the first set of pics?

Thanks, Larry. The ruler is temporary blocking that's not part of the finished product. It forms the bump-out seen in the first pic of the second set, where the clip that holds the holster on your belt attaches. The bump-out keeps mounting hardware from scratching the gun.
 
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