So I make holsters and I've come across a thought; I need

fiber reinforced concrete

>>1211695
Why not 3d print it

>>1211699
Damn, goin all out right off the bat I see.

>>1211700
That was actually my first thought, but I'd need a 3D scanner also because the only models you can find right now are iffy at best, and only a few. Plus the plastics used would soften when in the press.

>>1211695
Cast aluminium seems a logical choice, its fairly low melting temp lends it to propane and plaster of paris casts. Then just tidy it up with some sandpaper or a dremel to smooth out any rough spots

>>1211695
Just buy shitty airsoft guns from Amazon in whatever type you need. There's a springer airsoft pistol for practically every type of real pistol out there.

>>1211695

Gun gripmaker here, though my plight is a bit easier than yours.

1. I have molds I've made for certain guns
2. I have demilled guns, usually from PD's. Have the grip end of the gun, but not the rest of the gun.

I bring this up because you might be able to get some demilled guns that have the front potion of the gun but would be missing everything past the trigger guard. Also, make your own molds. You won't necessarily have those guns forever, though if you make enough money at it keeping a couple of popular guns on hand might not be a bad idea.

>>1211739

Kydex is picky shit, and airshit is rarely the exact same specs, so no, that's an awful idea.

>>1211695
sand casted aluminum sanded smooth would be my best suggestion. you could probably hit up gun buddies and get the casts made of actual guns, and the smoothing machine work is easy. You're talking some large castings of aluminum though, not the kind of pour you're going to get out of melting down tin cans... You'll have to build a pretty large size foundry for it, and learn some metallurgy if you want to do this all yourself... however, there are companies that do small batch sand casting. Hub Castings a few cities away from me does such things.

>>1211746
Though on second thought, if you can sculpt styrofoam close enough for what you're going for... this might be an option.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS949QQDtWQ

>>1211734
>>1211746
Ultimately I'd like to go with aluminum, but I might not be able to make it there yet. I'm hopefully getting access to local range rentals through a product trade, and by setting up my oven and press there I can get a good quick mold using Kydex, then pour [I'm leaning towards resin] in the mold at home.

>>1211741
I hadn't thought of demilled/decommissioned handguns but I like that idea. I already have a 17, 19, 23, 26, USP45 and Sig 262 on hand, and I'd like to expand that collection over time, but I'd like to expand my holster inventory well beyond that of course.

>>1211739
Not only would they be out of spec, I'd break them in the press.

>>1211748
>using spent brass to make things
The reloader in me is twitching

>>1211749
The other thing you could look at is this-
http://makezine.com/projects/the-phlatformer-2/

Basically a portable vacuum former. Take it to the gun, get an imprint, take it home and then make a mould of it/fill it with resin or aluminium
For a one-off (or most people!) I don't think it would be really worth it, but for someone making a lot of them like you are, could be an option

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>>1211752
That's essentially what I'm planning on doing, but in a much neater package. I'm going to bookmark that.

I'm getting giddy, but I have to go to bed.

>>1211695
Hello, are these leather and can you do a brief tutorial or post information in regards to how you got started. Thank you

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>>1211762
Did you by any chance read the thread?

>>1211695
>>1211746
>>1211749
>>1211752
So I have a few step process that popped into my head which may work for you.
Combine this idea:>>1211752
with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne9d74Wi8EM
You will probably need to get 3L bottles from the shitty house brand dollar store soda, i'm not sure if handguns will fit into a 2L?
So basically a heat gun and a plastic bottle will let you take molds in the field, then you just carefully cut them off once cool. Maybe a hot knife/knife tip soldering iron to cut it easily and not scratch the model?

Two options here:
1) Take your new shrink formed plastic mold and coat it with a few coats of drywall plaster/plaster of paris on the outside. I would think you would need the first few coats extra thin, because you don't want deformation from either the heat of the plastic curing or the weight. Once you are done, you'll have 2 plaster casts of the gun. However, since you applied to the outside instead of the interior, it will be a slightly larger mold missing a little bit of definition (because small features wont indent the other side of the plastic as it shrinks, and it will be larger by the thickness of the plastic). Then you can either leave the plastic in place for casting and it should evaporate, or you can use a heat gun to shrink it further off of the plaster.

2) use the plastic molds as a mold to make a foam mold using a can of spray foam insulation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMfR58mtN_s
I'm not sure if it would work to tape the two halves together well and grease them, or if the foam expanding would distort the molds.
In that case you would want to do each half separately and cut the foam flush after/as it dries, and then glue the two halves together for your casting mold. add a foam sprue and a skim coat of plaster so you wont get sand inclusions as you cast.

Do an aluminum casting and you'll have a decent sturdy gun blank.

>>1211695
A friend of mine uses shit tier used firearms from flea markets or gunsmiths that have cracked or damaged parts that can't be machined.

He does mostly 1911 Commanders, Defenders and Officers.

Not sure about this, but have you tried to make a plaster mold from the kydex? Most likely will take some tweaking, but it's a start. I'm betting it won't take the same shape though. Just a thought from doing some vac table stuff in thin 5-6mil plastic.

>>1211695
Nearly unrelated, but vacuum forming is really simple for anyone with a bit of skill. You couldn't press leather around your polystyrene shape, but you could use it to as a mould to something stronger.

Buy damaged airsoft replicas from a local airsoft forum.

>>1212018
I like it, I like it.

I'm looking into using resin for now, EasyFlo casting resin to be exact. I'm just trying to figure out how strong it is after it's cast, I'm new to this kinda stuff.
I'm thinking pouring that into mold made by sandwiching real steel with Kydex as if I was making a holster. A few details later, boom, gun prop.

A lot of Kydex holster makers use the vacuum method now and honestly I don't like it. They end up not much better than the injection molded stuff Kydex was meant to replace.

>>1211762
Derp. I'll see myself out.

>>1211695
Call local police training facility.

Inquire of polymere training pistols.

Form your shit.

Have fun.

>>1212513
$60+ per gun, and some companies aren't great with the whole accuracy part.

>>1212526
I think >>1212513 is suggesting you ask your local police departments and training facilities to lend you training pistols to form your shit, not that you try to buy Blueguns through them (I don't understand why the fuck Glock won't let Blueguns sell their training pistols to the general public anymore--as a martial artist, that makes me lose respect for Glock).

>>1212527
I didn't think you were correct, but lo and behold it's in the banner on their site. Wow that's shitty.

Anyway that's also an idea I can use, I'm going to try negotiating with my LGSs first though. Setting up a little press in the backroom and half a days work would get me quite a few molds.

>>1212530
>I'm going to try negotiating with my LGSs first though. Setting up a little press in the backroom and half a days work would get me quite a few molds.
It'd also be a hell of a networking opportunity.

>>1211695
I made some wood forms for leather holsters. Not exact shape copies, but then you want to form a ridge along the top of a pistol for the front sight, so making the wood blank this way is better than following the outline of an actual gun. Which would cause the holster to get stuck on the sight if the shape was 'accurate'.

Wood should stand up to 250F pretty well.

>>1211715
>but I'd need a 3D scanner also because the only models you can find right now are iffy at best,

you're looking in the wong place, try grabcad dot com
get a cheap Wanhao i3+ for around £300
it comes with Cura slicer
Cura has an option to "make mould"
so, make mould, cast something that'll withstand heat, plaster of paris perhaps? i'm sure you'll know what material is best to cast.

Just want to throw something out there; resin shrinks a little when cast, and aluminum shrinks a lot after cooling.
Kydex is a bit more finnicky with exact shapes than leather is. Good luck, but I don't think you're going to find a diy method for this, considering how important exact fit is on something you've got to trust your life to.

>>1211695
Proper gun forms are expensive yes, but without them you are going to make shitty holsters.

You know how you have holsters that arent specifically for your gun and they fit ok but never really feel quite right?
Thats what your final product is going to feel like unless you dump a stupid amount of time and effort into the diy forms

>>1211699
>>1211734
You are trolling right, concrete and cast aluminum are nowhere near the accuracy he wants & needs for a decent product.

I would recommend resin but look for one that is dimensionally stable. You don't want is shrinking after it comes out of the mold.

This may seem expensive at first but it seems the best for your situation, milled aluminum would be better but that is really expensive. You can also make prop guns for people once you have the molds made.

>>1211741
This guy has some good ideas.