GlowingDonut Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 (edited) Or, how I learned to love handling hot Kydex and save a ton of $$$ making my own mag pouches. This year I decided I was going to give up shooting 1 shot per second at paper targets, and get into competitive shooting in the USPSA. I had a Glock 22, but needed a belt and between 5~6 mag pouches to start in Production division. I was kinda bummed to see that most kydex Glock mag carriers are between $25~$35 each. Being a tinkerer, and a DIY guy, I ordered up two 12"x12" sheets of 0.093" Kydex for $12 from a knife making supplier, and went to creating a cardboard template. After several designs, and trial fitting, I settled an a simple, self-tensioning design with integrated belt clip that could be shaped from one piece. No rivets, and simple. The first pattern I scribed on the Kydex sheet and cut out with a coping saw. Screw that. Too time consuming, and rough edges. Second copy I scribed, but drilled 1/8" holes at each inside and outside corner, then scored with a utility knife and snapped out with little drama. Finished all six, cleaned up and smoothed edges with a sanding stick and some elbow grease, then popped each one in the toaster oven for 5 min on 300. For those who've never worked with heated Kydex, I thought it would be like taffy, but it actually has the consistency of leather when hot. The challenge is to hold the form of the mag pouch long enough for it to cool, and hold it's shape. I ended up forming the main pocket first, then heating the belt clip with a heat gun and forming it separately. They came out great, and with a little trial fitting, and reheating to adjust initial tension, I have 6 mag pouches for $12 and a few hours of work. If anyone's interested, I can post the specs of the cardboard template I created. Edited February 24, 2010 by GlowingDonut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latech15 Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 I'm absolutely interested in the specs of your template. I tried a few mag pouches and they didn't come out nearly that good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abs Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 Please post the specs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaredr Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 came out looking great, congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny7 Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 great looking mag pouches, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlowingDonut Posted February 23, 2010 Author Share Posted February 23, 2010 (edited) Please post the specs... Ok, I measured the template with my caliper. Edited February 23, 2010 by GlowingDonut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 That's really cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlowingDonut Posted February 23, 2010 Author Share Posted February 23, 2010 (edited) One more note: My belt is a 1.75" Bianchi, which is a little wider than the CR Speed or DAA 1.5" belts, so the 120MM belt flap dimension is for this width belt clip. If you use 120MM, you can mold your clip for the smaller 1.5" belts and the pouch will ride .25" lower than as seen in my example. Alternatively, use 114MM for that dimension for 1.5" belts, and it will ride flush with the top of your belt. Edited February 23, 2010 by GlowingDonut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 That is awesome! I love it when people can make their own own stuff on the cheap and it works as good or better than the mass produced stuff. Great job! I saved the template now I just need to find a place to buy Kydex sheets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlowingDonut Posted February 23, 2010 Author Share Posted February 23, 2010 (edited) I used these guys for the Kydex sheets. a 12"x12" sheet yields 4 mag pouches with some extra. North Coast Knives I also found these folks online in my search: KnifeKits.com Edited February 23, 2010 by GlowingDonut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirveyr Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 This is awesome! I just placed an order for some Kydex. Thanks for the inspiration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airedale Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 Well done! I have some scrap sheet kydex at the plant and may give your idea a try. Thanks, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlowingDonut Posted February 23, 2010 Author Share Posted February 23, 2010 I'm glad my post has helped! As for forms, I used a G22 mag with a single round loaded to form the pocket. I wore some cheap cotton gardening gloves, and it was just enough protection from the heated Kydex to hold it around the mag and let it cool for 15~20 seconds. Once it started to set, I removed the mag, and collapsed the pocket a little smaller for the tension, and set it aside to cool completely. The belt clip was formed around a piece of .25" x 1.75" stacked cardboard I duct-taped to act as my stand-in belt. I found a heat gun, or careful use of a propane torch on low to general areas for 2~3 seconds would warm the Kydex to relax and allow me to adjust tension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPatterson Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 Those look great and I have added this post to my favorites if I ever get ambitious. I have some great SS pouches made by a shooter back in KY and I wish I had had some Glock pouches made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKAL Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 Very nice and thanks for the template. Would you like to make some more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlowingDonut Posted February 23, 2010 Author Share Posted February 23, 2010 I thought about offering some for sale, but I need to perfect a way to cut out the pattern that's not so labor intensive per unit. The heat forming only takes 5 min. I'll keep everyone posted with a new process I'm evaluating that would let me stack and cut multiple sheets at a time with very little clean up needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latech15 Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 I thought about offering some for sale, but I need to perfect a way to cut out the pattern that's not so labor intensive per unit. The heat forming only takes 5 min. I'll keep everyone posted with a new process I'm evaluating that would let me stack and cut multiple sheets at a time with very little clean up needed. Find someone who owns a waterjet and make friends. I have one and have used it to cut all types of plastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan O Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Those look AWESOME. And seriously, thumbs up for DIY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 I love the title of this post, and the fact you made them in a Toaster Oven. Wonderful use of ingenuity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Find someone who owns a waterjet and make friends. I have one and have used it to cut all types of plastic. Sign shops who have a laser can zap out the patterns super fast also. Once upon a time I made some pouches up, it is amazing how different people solve the sames problems in such similar ways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Adamson Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 (edited) I was bored, so I just stuck this in turbocad... Here's the DXF if anyone wants it.. and I printed it to PDF as well. Either should work as a template or if someone has a cutter that will take a dxf file, this should work. Mind you it's specific to the mag that was being used in this thread so other mags will need slightly different dimensions. Note, I radius'd all the corners and I didn't know the actual angles on the angled cut, so this may need some tweaks. DXF File PDF Version Alan Edited February 24, 2010 by Alan Adamson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlowingDonut Posted February 24, 2010 Author Share Posted February 24, 2010 Alan, that's really cool of you to create those reference files. I'm going to scout around town here in N. Dallas and see if any sign shops can cut this pattern out for me in quantities of four if I supply them 12"x9" sheets. Like I said, 80% of the labor is in the scribing and cutting. The rest I actually enjoyed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itchy Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 That's really great! I've been thinking about trying out something like this. Seiichi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmc1974 Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Pretty cool. Kydex the leather of tomorrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZip Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Pretty cool. Kydex the leather of tomorrow I remember laughing at that thought. Boy do I feel lame about that now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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