McJeep

Did a ruff mock up this aft to get shape and dimensions figured out and came up with the following Here's a shot of her bags for reference to the back angle And a shot of her backrest for angle reference And the ruff mock up in recycled ceral boxes LOL The bag is 6" across the back - 4 3/4 deep - 7 1/2 vertical height My question to you fine folks is should I leave it boxed off at the back? Or remock it with the back angled down and in (shown with the black sharpie line) to maintain the line of the sissy bar and maybe pick up on an opposing angle with the saddle bags As it is a very small sissy bar (the top of the bag is within 1/2" of the top of sissy already) I'm thinking that the squared off bag would look too much like we bolted a milk crate to the back of the bike LOL Opinions please and thank u :0)

Will do Thanks :0)

Very kewl - thanks much :0) Those dremel tools look way easy for me to make and I'll try that. Did you just use the screw in dremel arbors? (like the ones for polishing bits) Or get longer a screw for the screw types. Ended up using an angle grinder with a sandpaper flap whell on it to even the double edges, then a rounding tool, then dressed em just by hand with spit (ewww LOL) so that I could basically teach myself that I don't want to do that job by hand again ;0)

Sooooooo I'm hopin' ya don't mind if I plageurize you a bit with that style? The way you mounted the front is just plain sexy :0) Just finished mocking up one for my wife - on to template stage :0)

All finished ... all but installation anywho Got the final trimming done, got an edger to round things off, burnished em just enough to smooth things out (none of the edges will be seen at all), and a nice heavy coat of oil to waterproof em (cuz I know the owner won't ;0) For those who do all of their burnishing by hand? Props to ya folks - da's hard woik ;0) I think I'll be investing in a benchtop drill press and burnishing wheel from that ebay guy LOL My mitts won't put up with this stuff much anymore. Will punch lacing holes in the morning when we install em ... "after" verifying that they do indeed NOT need any trimming. They shouldn't as I sized em up against another harley at the local dealer. Ya shoulda seen this bozo salesman eying me like a Hawk even though I made sure that one of the reps was there with me... you'd think I was putting something wrapped in sandpaper on the bike LOL Anyway

Thanks guys - sandpaper it is. Recommended grit that won't leave the edges all feathery? As for layering a cut piece on top of a roughcut piece, did that and used a razor blade to trim but it's jussssst not quite there ;0) Heading to the tandy shop today to pick up some nippers and punches that I ordered and gonna pick up an edging tool for rounding while I'm there - hopefully he has em in stock. Have some edge dye and will burnish to a certain extent - the edges aren't going to be very visible by any stretch but I want things tiddly and sealed up well ... doh, gotta pick up some bees wax while I'm out too. Thanks guys

So, I'm in the final stretch of making some engine guard chaps of double layer 12'ish ounce. Am cementing fronts to backs and of course it's absolutely impossible (for me anyway) to end up with perfectly matching edges. Have trimmed as close as I can with razor blades and could use some advice on what tool I can use to finish things. File? Sandpaper? dremel? Is there a leather plane of some sort that I can get? Thanks in advance folks :0) Rob PS - when I came to post this question I got totally sidetracked by KK's seat tutorial, read it all 3 times, came back to the forum and wondered where on earth my post had gone? Then realized I hadn't posted it yet All of the great info here can really hold a person back from accomplishing stuff LMAO

Nice looking seat :0) Coupla newb questions: What tool did you use for the inlay - really like the effect, and How do you mark where to punch the holes in the cover for riveting? I see the holes are pre-drilled in the pan ... do you just pull the leather tight at each pre-drilled hole and mark the leather with an awl for the rivet hole? Me thinks I'll be investing in an air rivet gun now LOL Thanks much for the tutorial - it answered a lot of my questions :0)

I much prefer the UK version

Holy crow, that's be like 1/4" thick or better LOL Musta been one tuff ole cow ;0) i've got some 11/12 oz here that I'm thinking will fit the bill but will keep this in mind if it ends up not being enough support. Thanks Joe :0) Rob

One never knows ;0) I was east coast 85-89 west 90-94 back east 94-97 My crew went to fincastle in 94 - alas the sqn chief decided that my gig was up and it was time for me to teach :0/ Guess who took over the crew for that summer Per Ardua ad Astra my friend Rob

Medically retired after 20 yrs of flying in the back of Auroras (canuckian P3's) as a sensor op in the Cdn Airforce - arthritis :0/ Been in the financial biz as a Certified Financial Planner since then, Am presently taking that shingle down as I really don't do the Herb Tarlick thing well and apparently that's what people want rather than facts. Got a few different irons in the fire right now - who knows where they'll take me ;0) Leather's gonna stay a hobby :0) I hope? LOL

So, as a newbie, I'm just starting to understand the whole addiction compulsion epiphany deal surrounding leatherwork LOL I've got rheumatoid arthritis and need to wear a wrist splint ton one hand at times. So I picked up a good one but jusssst can't get it to fit reeeal comfortable. POOF! Why on earth don't I make my own out of a really sturdy weight leather / mold it to my own wrist / put the type of fastening on it that would make it easier to get on and off etc etc etc I could make it black too cuz bikers like black ;0) So my question to the group is does anyone have experience in this type of thing that they could share please? Weight of leather - moulding process - warm or cold soak - fasteners? I presently plan to use the one I bought as a template (might as well get some use of it - the metal boning in it makes it impossible to get just right), do a tensor bandage wrap on my wrist when molding (to allow for thickness of a lining when done) and use velcro straps that go through a buckle and pull back before fastening (to allow easier one hand adjustment) Any and all ideas are appreciated folks - thanks in advance :0) Rob

You really ARE new to this baby thing aren't ya? Quadruple those measurements and ya just might have enough room for all the "stuff" you'll be luggin along Looks good guy - and congrats! Rob (btdt too many times ;0)

Gracias :0) The bend didn't hurt anything ... gorgeous piece :0)

And what weight leather did ya use - it looks like a nice blend of flex and strength. I'm getting ready to make one for ma wife's scoot :0)

Soooooo much better - being a newbie I was spending a lot of time just looking around to see what tool does what etc - the speed of the new site is very very welcome in my book

Okay, lessee what the archives hold ;0) One favourite pastime MOST favourite pastime :0) :0) Summer mode Winter mode Need to grow the winter wool each year ... it's cold up here! LOL And the lovely that let's me away with all my crap And the newbie leather guy corner of the office workspace - little bench for toolwork and comfy aircraft carrier recliner for lacing etc ;0)

Thanks for the replies guys. Yes, it is heavy - I've seen another set she did with this guage and I just thought they were way overly thick and bulky looking - that's why I opted to do them as inserts rather than wrap around. I was wondring about getting them to stay with the bars as there is a compound bend in the bars themselves - good idea :0) I'm cementing the front to back so the snap won't be an issue but yes, am planning on using a strap to hold them tight towards the down tubes, maybe some of that nylon web so I can use those friction buckles? The bike is a couple hours north of here so I won't see the bike till final fit at my bud's place - will be taking the tool bag with me so I can finish them on site. Rob

Excellent!

So I bought a friends tools and hides when she decided to get out of the business. She had moved and did not have the room for things anymore, and apparently found that the leather trade around here was quite "male" oriented. So for $400 I got about 3 hides worth of leather, a bunch of stamps, swivel knife, mallet etc etc etc ... and a set of started engine guard chaps that she was making for another riding buddy of mine. I agreed to finish off the job. Now what she had started was a front and back pice for each side - these were to be laced together around the perimeter of the engine guards and had holes started (I think she used a dull roofing nail and certainly no straightedge for layout) for pockets to be mounted. So me with all of my vast knowledge and talent for leather work and stitchery (zilch / zero / nada ;0) has to make some kind of silk purse from the proverbial sows ear. Before this I was lucky if I could sew a button on. First decision was that I thought the materials were way too heavy a guage to wrap around the crash bars so I decided on trimming them (getting rid of crooked cuts at the same time) down so that they could be glued back to back and laced to the bars as an insert. Then came the "how do I hide all of the out of straight stitch holes in the original leather? (note - I did not have any more of the 9 oz and that's the guage that my buddy wanted used) Long story short is that I planged the pocket design to cover the boo boos, learned how to do a sailmakers stitch (they're "getting" straighter ;0), whipping, use the various punches and needles etc, and visited the $30 store about 6 times (can't visit the local Tandy without dropping at least $30) I now have things to the point where I can glue fronts to backs, do a final edge trim once I see his bike in person again, and will punch the lacing holes/edge dye and mount these things at that point. Critique away folks - any suggestions on how I could've made the job easier or prettier - don't mention braiding, I haven't read Grant's book (got it for Xmas ;0) yet While I'm at it - Huuuuge Thank You's to all of the posters here - have learned wayyy more here by reading answers posted to other people's newbie questions than I ever could've gotten any other way - 'think I'ma gon' be here a while LOL Cheers, Rob (Bearcat Leatherworks to be ;0)

That is gorgeous - now for the newbie question ;0) Not that I want leather to become anything but a hobby that pays for it's own tools etc in my case ... but how much would a piece like that sell for? I'm thinking that if I ever wanted to put something out anywhere near that quality, I'd be working for about 2 cents and hour! LOL Very very nice work - checking out pieces like this excites me about this hobby in general - thanks :0) edited to add ... and if I was able to produce something like this I certainly wouldn't work for 2 cents an hour ;0)

Muchos thanks from a newbie :0)

Hmmmmm, complete newbie here so please bear with :0) Should this not read "to the left under #4" ??? Like I said, I'm a complete newb at this stuff and saving everything I read at this point so if I'm not understanding lemme know LOL edited to add: muchos gracias for taking the time to post this - this type of tutorial helps clear some of the smoke and mirrors aspect of things like braiding for me :0)

I'll try that and hopefully it'll help. Speed is definitely on the back burner for now - I'm pretty anal about quality over quantity and not trying to turn this into any real going concern, just want to turn out stuff I can be proud of :0) edited to say thanks :0)