Advice needed on Project

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

  Howdy All

      Will, I'm glad you found the stainless t-nuts, I'll take a look at this hardware store and see what they have, if I find a source for brass t-nuts I'll post it, I'll also check out Lowes, thanks for the heads up on that Outrider, I've used the nickel finish washers before, but never on leather, I'll keep that in my hard drive for the future, Slow Hand Bob I'm glad you brought this up, it's been on my mind to try these t-nuts, I'll be giving them a try.

            tEN wOLVES 

[Slowhand Bob]

Sometime back I done a series of pictures on assembling a competition rig in which I used these, perhaps I can search them out later and do a btt.  The holster that I just patterned out to do as a metal lined competition holster will be somewhat similar but made from lighter leathers.  I also recently done a repattern on a concealment/competition holster I gave to my son several years ago.  I have searched high and low for the orriginal pattern and could not find it so I done a rough tracing of it while visiting him at Christmas.  It uses tee nuts as tensioning devices plus serves to close the holster design below the trigger guard.  Outrider, I  use the stainless oval head screw, finish washer and vinyl ice tube for the tensioner and it makes a nice touch.  Though I have made these devises for revolver holsters before they did not come out as neat.   As soon as I do this one I'll post the pattern also.

[Ned Buckshot]

Slowhand, what is vinyl ice tube??

Please enlighten me.

Ned

[Slowhand Bob]

Think of it as a coil spring that tends to push the leather back apart when you loosen the screw on a tension device.  Hopefully we will do this within the next few days as I am getting scairt of the metal liner and will do the 1911 holster first!!!!!!

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

    Bob, that sounds real interesting, I've never heard that term "ice tube, I'll look forward to seeing this and how you apply it to a holster, I'd really like to find some brass t-nuts, but will probably settle on the stainless. Thanks for all your input on this.

               
             tEN wOLVES

[outrider]

Slowhand,

Yes...I also use the clear plastic "fish tank" tubing as a tensioner...I would like to replace the clear tubing with some sort of rubber flat washer that is more plyable...something about 1/8th to 3/16th in thickness and will compress down to about 1/16th...and give good tension...if I find something I will post it here

[Old Top]

Outrider,

You may wish to try rubber "O" rings they are in many different sizes and can be compressed.  Just a thought.

Old Top

[Kid Terico]

I have been useing T nuts since I started but can find only SS or plated. Have found brass plated but it peeled . Have done great amount of research for brass but nothing found. I even had friend that works for nut manuf. comp. look for me. Hope someone comes up with something. KT

[outrider]

Old Top,

Thanks for the thought on the "O" rings.  Problem is do "O" rings come in a 1/8" thickness??  Maybe some sort of soft rubber washer would do the trick.

[Slowhand Bob]

Ned, I intended to say tubing for the ice makers but that would really be wrong as that tubing is far to stiff.  Outrider came to my rescue with the correct answer.  Its been years since I purchased any but Lowes used to sell these materials in various sizes by the foot from big roles.  Unless you are doing a lot of commercial sales on this a foot will make quite a few and last awhile.

I have custom Kydex holsters made for my 1911s that are made very similar to the leather holster being referred to.  The maker uses what appears to be more of an actual black rubber tube for this.  I have not disassembled one but the rubber does appear to be slightly larger od and much thicker which probably gives better resistance to and recovery from compression??

This is a link to the guys site and you might enjoy looking around a bit.  He has done several 1911 holsters and accompanying accessories for me over the last ten or more years and his designs/work is impeccable.  At any rate you might try contacting him for his source on the rubber tube.  I would do it but we dawnt like each other very much.   http://www.kytac.com/

[Kid Terico]

Outrider 1/8 in. should not be a problem. KT

[Ned Buckshot]

Thanks for the clarification Slowhand!

In the back of my mind I thought that's what you were talking about but...

the back of my mind is a long ways away!!!!!!!

Ned

[outrider]

Slowhand....I certainly know that feeling about a few that I shoot with...    for some reason some people have attitude problems....oh well such is life

[Slowhand Bob]

Guys, I am really suffering from ld timers lately and hate to have put anyone out but I think I mispoke again in referring to the Chicago screws fitting #6-32, it should have been #8-32.  I was in town and decided to do a walking search of West Marine and Home Depot for the stainless parts.  My list showed 8-32 tee nuts with 8-32x1 1/4" flat phillips head screw, a matching finish washer and vinyl tubing in 3/8"x1/4"x length desired but West Marine was a bust.  I ended up getting everything at HD, none of the parts were in stainless and the screws were slotted flat heads.  This will work fine for me as my projects will be given away when completed BUT if you want something really nice I would find these in stainless and we know they are out there.  The 1/4" inside on the vinyl tube will allow it to slip snugly over the tube section of the tee nut so I would stick with that.

Outrider my friend, I assure you that it probably goes both ways between he and I.  If I ever dig my way back to the top of my debt pit I actually want to order a couple more items from the guy, though his work seems high for Kydex and its not traditional like we leather workers normally prefer, it is my choice for real world self defense use and superior to any other I have used.  My son asked, you paid that much for this small piece of plastic and my reply was "I paid that much because it was that small a piece of plastic and still does the job!".  The proof is in the pudding and he loves the one I gave him.  One last thought, two ideas have come to mind on your desire for the rubber parts, Those in my Kydex holsters remind me somwhat of the rubber spacers/backers that used to come with peg board kits.  The screw would run through the pegboard and then through these rubber spacers before entering the wall, their job being to space the peg board a quarter inch or so from the wall.  I looked at HD and they didnt have them.

[Slowhand Bob]

http://www.boltdepot.com/Default.aspx  You will have to be the judge of the prices but they do seem to offer a good selection, 1 to a 1,000 per, and I think will sell to the general public?  There is a fasteners supply outfit locally and I will try to go into the city soon and check them out.  I live outside of Charleston, SC and it is so much larger than the area I came from that going to town is like an adventure for me!  Funny thing is that when I go home for a visit, it has grown so, it seems the same.