Kydex Press?

L6steel

L6steel

Joined
Sep 23, 1999
Messages
5,855
Hey, I wanna improve my kydex sheaths as much as I can and was wondering if anyone has any good ideas for a press, hydraulic, pnuematic, or otherwise? I was thinking about trying one with a scissor jack. Just make a frame with a fixed top plate and attach a bottom plate to a scissor jack and use my air impact to put the pressure on.Any help you can give me is greatly appreciated!! Thanks up front!
 
Michael,
In this months blade magazine there is an article on how Bud Nealy makes his magnetic sheaths and a list of his supplies, including the person who built his kydex press, hope this helps.
 
Michael,
Try the simple route first. Two blocks of wood with Knee pad foam ala Home Depot glued and screwed to a vice.
Works and is cheap. Also be sure your Kydex is hot enough! 325deg or so.
 
Michael look at the Wilton wood working vise, its about $100, and works GREAT for molding Kydex.. You dont need heavy machinery to get good crisp definition.. If you dont use the proper foam, that alone will improve your work greatly.. Hope this helps ya..
 
Thanks for the tips guys!!!
The biggest reason I am thinking about making a press is recently I've been making some neck knives with thicker handles so the sheaths require molding on both sides. I currently use some foam I bought from Sheffields, it works great, and a pair of welder's vice grips. I can make good sheaths with this set up, I was just thinking maybe I could make them better with a small press. I have started using my toaster oven to heat the kydex instead of my heat gun. I found that if I set the oven at 150 degrees and leave the kydex in long enough for the heat to really soak in, the stuff is alot easier to work and stays moldable longer.
 
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