Combat Ready Camera Holster and Wrist Stap from a laptop case

"I hear the choppers hover'n, their hover'n over head, they come to get wounded, they come to the dead, Airborne" Ahhh! that old cadence still stands out in my head, I think back on those time remembering the whoop whoop whoop of those Huey blades as they chopped the air, looking up as they flew so close to the ground, used to make me think if I only had a good camera handy. Carrying a DSLR into battle just isn't feasible, what with an 80lbs rig, ruck, alice, and car15; just no room. What i needed back then was an old quick draw holster with a way to quickly secure the camera to my hand!

"The Combat Ready Camera Holster and Wrist Strap"

Step 1: Materials

While I am  totally unequipped for this instructable, however I gave it the old Airborne try! I have never touched a sewing machine before and I can say it was probably the most frustrating machine I've ever encountered, I can pretty much master most machines I can put in my hands, all I can say to my fellow tool guys if you want to be truly humble try a sewing machine! With a little help, tips, and trick from my 13 year old daughter I stumbled through and I think I did OK my first try. To those who do this on a regular basis I have a new found respect for your work, and right off the bat let me apologize for lack of knowledge on the names and techniques I may hack through on this.

Materials:

Old laptop case
X-acto style hobby knife (though now I wish I'd invested in a stitch ripper)
Paper
Pencils
Scissors
Sharpie
Sewing machine
Thread (any color that matches your style)
Drill or drill press with bits
Piece of metal
Bolt
Various webbed strapping ( I reused most of what came from the laptop case and camera)
Dremel with cutting disc's

Comments

[The Ideanator]

Dude, I was really toying with the idea of making one of these, I just didn't know how to implement it.

[LifeWarrior]

I am gearing up for a photo shoot and last year I remember how bulky and tiring keeping the camera around my neck for eight hours outdoors was. I had to try something like this, hopefully I can get around to getting the eyelets put in today, I've been working on a much bigger project the past couple of days and just haven't got around to it. this took only a few hours to get done, If you do one post some pics show it off, I'd like to see one in leather but I just couldn't bring myself to ripping up my leather laptop case, LOL!

[The Ideanator]

I want to do it out of leather and hopefully laminate some shaped aluminium sheet in there to act as a bit of armour.

[LifeWarrior]

Have you shaped aluminum before, I love using aluminum it's so easy to shape with just a blowtorch, hammer, and leather sandbag. But I'd love to get my hands on an english wheel I've been thinking about trying to build one for shaping just such a idea and making it nice and smooth. Copper is a little more forgiving to a hammer but a polished aluminum look is wicked. One idea that comes to mind is a plaster positive and negative mold of your cam then heat the aluminum up and press, I've never done anything that big but it does great for plating and the concept is sound.

[The Ideanator]

If I had a positive I'd make a kydex form since it seems cheap enough and a fair deal easier to work, however I have done a bit of aluminum and steel working by hand (little flowers) and If I have my way I'd like to do some larger pieces of steel since that is something I know I CAN weld, but ally is certainly softer/easier. I didn't know about the leather sandbag (I'm new to metalwork) and the tools I have easy access to are mainly woodworking.

I'm working on making a holster at the moment, but its a shoulder holster (and I'm mimicking a part of a patented design)

[LifeWarrior]

Well most people and professionals use shot in their bags but I always thought sand held a better shape when hammering, Just make a bag out of leather about 12" to 15" square fill it most of the way with sand so the bag is full enough that it will form to a shape but not that it will fold in half, then get a wooden mallet or your could get away with a body hammer but don't hammer down real hard. Tell you what mine is getting really worn I'm considering making another I'll make an 'ible on it before Monday, and get it posted. They are great tools for sheet metal work, oh and BTW you could burn out a stump to do the same kind of forming. If you have wood working tools you can turn a wood mallet easy, as well.

I usually braze alum, buit you could pop rivet it too. I thought about that type of plastics forming before using a vacuum forming method but just haven't been that ambitious enough yet

[The Ideanator]

Plastics seem easy enough if you have the tools, but even if you don't the tools are easy to make for cheap, all you need is the facilities to use them in. What I'd be keen on doing is building a small blacksmith setup in the backyard so I can start doing metal sculpture.

Also, today I got a nice military-esque utility belt and some other bits and pieces to make the harness for mine so I might be able to submit my design before the contest closes.

[LifeWarrior]

There still time I'd say try it, if you need a form for a plastic mold, wrap the device with cling wrap, cover with masking tape/aluminum foil, and coat it with vaseline. I do this with fiberglass it should work with plastic molding too just as long as you not pouring it, rather vacuum form it. Good luck I'd like to see what you come up with!

I'd like to build an aluminum forge and try that sand foam form trick for metal sculpting. I've got so many of my own projects I'm working on I don't know when I'm going to get around to it.

[The Ideanator]

Oh I hadn't thought of using aluminum foil, that should work wonders!

[Lorddrake]

that is a very ambitious project to take on since you never used a sewing machine before.

good job.

when you get the leg strap and holding cord added put up some pics so we can see the finished product.

[LifeWarrior]

Per your request pics have been added with the eyelets to the last step

[LifeWarrior]

Will do on the update! I just picked these up this morning to try and add the leg ties this afternoon. The leg strap is already attached after seeing your comment I realized I didn't make that real clear in the pics it's just the bottom that bounces a little which is what I didn't like about the holsters that are out there currently.

[Wasagi]

I just finished making a harmonica holster, and I turn to Instructables to type up the project, and this is on the front page, and unfortunately for me, it puts mine to shame. This is a great project! Fantastic work!

[LifeWarrior]

Actually I say post it, imagine if we can get a whole page full of holstered things would be cool to see. In fact this should be a weekly challenge "Make a holster for something" other than guns or usual thing that have a holster, for instance a mouth organ. Thanks for kudos's!

[Wasagi]

Haha, that would be awesome! We've already got Flashlights, Electronics, Bike Locks, Whack-Bonks, Zippos and Bananas, among others. I can only imagine it getting better!

[Lorddrake]

this would fit in perfectly here ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awq90APEVgw

[LifeWarrior]

Absolutely hilarious! The guy with the steady cam mount looks like one of those futuristic marines from the movie "Aliens" with their steady cam machine guns. That fact that he's shaking like he's firing a bar cracks me up, and the flash bang grenade at the end was great. Thanks for passing this along.