YinTx

I've also taken smaller bites to go round the corner, as in multiple passes. Kinda like cutting a rounded corner in leather with a straight edge: small cuts result in a curve. YinTx

It is nice work. I do have a question for you tho: on the molding around the back, it looks like the scope and mounts would result in too much retention: ie locked in place. Do you find this to be the case at all? Also, the deeply recessed moulding around the trigger guard: does it interfere with the trigger at all? YinTx

Well, at least I know to keep it under $3-400, otherwise I could have someone else do it! Of course, that is only the cover, not any repairs that are needed... They have an interesting take on binding, for sure! Thanks for the link. YinTx

An old Bible circa 1890 has me going down the winding bookbinding path... YinTx Edit: It weighs about 15 lbs ... with a pillowed cover... wouldn't want to start small or simple or anything...

Wow, thats a stout looking little beast! YinTx

yes, rabbit holes. I do leather work. I need a strap cutter. Check out this cool vintage strap cutter! Ah man, it needs a gib. Gee, I could make that $5 gib. I need to do a little research on metals. Oh, I see. I think I need an anvil. And a forge. And a hammer. I could make a forge. I need to research that. I need a good spot outside. I need a small building outside for my vintage metal working tools. I could build that. Probably need to run 220V to the building. No problem, I can learn how to do that. I probably need some electricians gear. Some of those gloves would be nice. To go with the gloves I got for working in the forge. That I need to build. So I can make that gib, for that strap cutter I need to fix. So I can cut leather straps, because I do leather work. This is my daily life, lol. YinTx

I've usually seen them as you have it. On occasion I'll get one in with two gibs on the bar, not sure why. Also, I've had better luck with some of the older ones with rosewood and brass handles than the iron ones, not sure why. Depends on what I am strapping as to which one works best. Also, whichever one is set up already sometimes works best. YinTx

Yep, thats the one. Sometimes they are different. Osborne sells new ones if your spares don't fit and you need replacements. YinTx

I have a lot of these in my collection. None with the Harrison, NJ mark that I know of. Those are the "newer" ones after they moved from Newark, NJ around 1906. So any time after that. Yours is in nice shape but appears to be missing all the gibs fwiw. YinTx

That is a really good look. Antiquing isn't always necessary and will sometimes bring out the flaws in the leather and tooling, or come out blotchy or streaky and just make you unhappy with the results. No antique may have been the right choice on this project! The finger carvings I did above have no antique also. No beveling either. YinTx

Nice rig for sure! Did you do the roon around the tooling?!?! That would be tedious for sure. YinTx

Not quite the same thing, but I've bookmarked it anyhow. I may have found what I am looking for... YinTx

maybe... don't "worry too much?" I haven't. YinTx

Yeah, that would be a blast... but not in the cards just yet, sadly. YinTx

Like, I want one, but the shipping tho.... YinTx

I had seen these before, gave me some ideas, but this shifter is a bit different. I didn't use any glue at all on the pieces I put on so far, hoping to not have to. All the stitches are functional and not decorative. Thank you! As an aside, I got to drive around with it finally. The stitching really gives some tactile enjoyment I wasn't anticipating, and it is everywhere regardless of hand position. I know where all the flaws are, and I can feel them as I drive, but interestingly instead of bothering me (I am a bit of a perfectionist), I really appreciate them. The contrast of the smooth leather and the rough thread is interesting. All the contours of the original wheel, with the finger bumps on the back, and the thicker grip sections above the spokes translate completely through the leather. It was just really enjoyable, especially in contrast to the dry crumbly uncouth rubber from before! Despite the struggle to get this thing together, I am really glad I did it! YinTx

Thank you. It was a bit tedious, you have to pull each stitch tight, hold it, stretch the leather, do the next stitch. Took many hours. Had to prototype the shapes for each spoke and to get the shape for the enlarged sections just above the left and right spokes. Tried to use tape to get the shape, but that was a worthless exercise. Expect the leather to stretch too much in some places, not enough in others. Stitches occasionally pulled through the leather, had to take it all out and start again. I think skiving and folding for a double top grain for strength may help, as well as possibly adding some rip stop under the fold for strength would be a way to go in the future. Used soggy leather vs just wet, seemed to really help especially considering how long it took. Not sure it was worth all the effort, pretty sure no one would pay me enough to do their car. If I recall, it was 4 to 5 oz leather, could have used thinner but I worried the thinner leather would tear through too easily when pulling the leather and stitches tight. Used 1.4mm Tiger thread, really thick stuff. YinTx

Thanks! it was a bit of a challenge. I didn't actually change the dimensions of the wheel thickness, beyond the addition of the leather thickness. The contrasting colors seem to make it appear thicker than it actually is. Much more comfortable to touch than the old crumbled wheel texture! Thank you! Appreciate it. It is a pretty bold contrast. I debated dying the leather, but I expect the Hermann Oak leather to patina and tan in the Texas sun over time Because of this tho, I'm going to have to think up the shifter soon so that it doesn't come out a different color over time from the rest of it. I expect so, especially in the Texas sun! Hopefully it is somewhat even, and not dark on top and light on the bottom.. time will tell. I only used Carnuba Cream as a finish so I'm sure it'll pick up all kinds of colors, scratches, marks, sun, etc. YinTx

lots of brass and steel burnishers out there, I think even Sam Andrews uses a metal one in his holster shop. YinTx

The rubber on the wheel was a bit crumbly... so I fixed it. Course, had to do the E-brake to match...apparently I need to deal with the shifter next...not sure how to approach that one. YinTx

Well that was fun! Thanks for the challenge. I'm sure I could do it more justice if I tried again. Just grab some pieces of scrap out of the bin, and cut away. Those designs you put up are almost tailor made for finger carvings! So to answer your question, yes you could do them with just a swivel knife. I'm really digging the last horse. YinTx

I think that is a CS Osborne 925 Skife. YinTx

I have a nice big gouge in my hardwood floor from when a round knife I purchased completely fell out of the package after slicing the end, and fell straight down business end first and stuck itself in the floor. Was very grateful it wasn't my toes. It was simply dropped into a plastic envelope and sent on the way. When I picked it up, I wasn't expecting it to be the knife, because I couldn't imagine anyone sending something like that in the mail packaged like that. Can't tell you how many packages I get that have stuff falling out of them, gigantic holes, no tape, poorly packaged, damaged, etc. I always worry when I have something sharp or heavy on in the post. Mostly I worry for the delivery guys that are handling it on the way. YinTx

Walks like a duck? Talks like a duck? It kinda looks like the modern wood burnishers. Maybe a precursor? I'm still thinking shoes... maybe it was adapted for the previous owner's use. Perhaps the base is a diy. Maybe the bit is manufactured, especially since Rossr' has seen one before from another lot of tools. I'm wondering if it was intended to be used horizontally originally, and someone fabricated the base to be used vertically in their jobs, and really only needed to set vertical height once in a while to match a batch of jobs, or one particular job. Hopefully someone recognizes the bit. Perhaps from a line finisher for shoe soles or something? YinTx

It is the .pdf on the last post. I'll PM you the list as well. YinTx For anyone else that can't open the .pdf. YinTx