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Showing results for tags 'firefighter'.
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I’m a career Firefighter in metropolitan Chicagoland. I’m hoping to learn, share ideas with fellow Leather-crafters. I enjoy making fire shields, All of my work is completely hand made by me, from the artwork, tooling, cutting, stitching and painting. I have been doing leather crafting for about 4 years now and enjoy it!
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Made myself a band for my fire helmet backed it with an old inner tube, stitched with 1.0 Rita thread and glow in the dark thread cross crossed at every stitch.
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Made this for my firefighter daughter. Tan strap with black stitching, Black lettering with red outline and of course my daughter, of whom I could not be more proud
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Made this for a customer. Black radio strap with green lettering and stitching.
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Hi i am working on making leather fire helmet shields and had a few questions. Made my first one the other day but having a hard time with the beveling with it leaving alot of uneven marks. Any suggestions on how much to wet down the leather or how to start so that its more even? not sure if im wetting the leather to much or possible not cutting my lines deep enough before i bevel? Any suggestions/ tips would be great thanks!
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Hello Everyone! Brand new newbie here. I'm a firefighter and I'm trying to get into making the helmet shields for those retiring or leaving to go somewhere else. They make awesome gifts. Which brings me to my request, is there anybody out there that has a template that I can print out in order to get a 100% symmetrical and accurate shield? The ones my department lent me are old and pretty misshapen. Also open to any and all advice from anyone willing to help out. If you made it this far, thank you for reading and I hope to hear from you all.
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so after several attempts I finally came up with one I like
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A new single piece radio strap I made for myself , custom 1.25" IAFF stamp, Barry King scale stamp gone over with a backgrounder.
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Still pretty new to leather working, but ive been doing tons of research, asking alot of questions and going through tandy scrap leather like crazy, done a few little projects as well to practice tooling, dyeing, laceing, etc. So I've got an ok base to start with and wanting to try my first real project. So my question is... lace on a firefighter radio strap, what would be the problem with that, and is it going to hold up?. Ive been searching the internet, and on here and have found no results with a custom radio strap with lace. So im thinking there has to be a reason. Yes i realize that on the strap itself where it sits on your shoulder would be a bit uncomfortable and probably rub bad. But maybe some on the radio holster, and possibly sections of the strap doesn't seem like a bad idea... i saw on tandy they have whats called "logger lace" which meets NFPA standards (basically approved for fire gear) was going to try and use some of that. Lace on strap would be for decorative purpose. (Leaning more on a plate braid rather than edge for strap because i think it would rub less) Lace on holster would be used to for assembly.. Let me know what yal think.. preferably a fellow firefighter that uses them and has some experience with them. But any thoughts are appreciated! Also. Dyeing logger laces and laces of that type of leather. If anyone has tryed that id love to here what the outcome was... i know latigo is pretty much set on what ever color you buy. But idk about the logger lace.. let me know what yal think! I have pictures of my EO'S strap for a referance and im going to photoshop them to try and show some of the ideas i have for it and put them into a pdf to post on here. Look at it and tell me what you think! Thanks for taking the time to read! imgtopdf_generated_2506171206036.pdf
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NEW TO THIS FORUM! I want to start making my own fire helmet leather shields for friends and family but I'm not sure what equipment I need to get started. I would like to stamp the letters and carve the artwork myself. What type of paint do I use and tools should I buy? thanks all! I attached a picture of a helmet front I did in like 30 minutes. I was testing Ideas... -Alex
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Hi i am a Firefighter that makes leather helmet shields, radio straps and truck belts. I am looking into purchasing a sewing machine but know VERY little about them. I use 10oz leather for the front of my shields and 7-8 oz for the back so im going through some thicker items and am unsure what machine would be good for that and easiest for some of the fine details i need to use it for as well. I will include some pictures of the work i have been hand sewing. Any input would be helpful thanks! Alex
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Have not posted any projects in awhile. Just thought i would share.
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Hello everyone, I hope you are having a good day. I am looking for some advice on some recent strap failures I've been having. I make firefighter suspenders out of 9-10oz veg tan. All of the recent failures I've had have been vinegrooned. Some of the suspenders are 1-2 years old. I am trying to make these so they will be more durable to what my guys are putting them through. Unfortunately they are putting them in hot, sweaty environments. I cut my straps from 9-10oz Herman oak. I only cut my straps from the back. They are cut from head to tail on the hide so I believe I'm cutting the correct way on the grain for a belt type piece. My vinegroon process is to submerge the pieces in the vinegroon for 2-3 min. Then move them to a baking soda water bath for about 15-30 sec. Then I rinse the pieces in warm water and let dry. I apply 1 light coat of pure Neatsfoot oil to them with a paint brush. I seal them with 50/50 mix of mop and glow and water, applied with a rag. Hopefully the pictures go through but here are my questions for the incredible wealth of knowledge on this site. Please Help. 1. Am I using the wrong type of leather? I have swatches from W&C should I use harness, eng bridle, latigo? I need something that will take a stamp and acrylic paint for what I do. 2. Is there something wrong with my Black dying process? I only offer my suspenders in brown (treated with Neatsfoot Oil) and Black (Vinegrooned) I really suck at using other dyes. 3. Do I need to increase the weight of my leather and use saddle skirting? 12-14oz? 4. should I finish my leather with something different that will last longer/ ad more water resistance? I know I am asking a lot out of the leather I am using. I have had 4 major failures out of approx 40 sets of suspenders. All failures are on the back part of the straps usually. I have had one belt failure (my own personal duty belt) failed at the hole for the belt buckle. All of the failures have been with Vinegrooned leather. Black suspenders are pretty popular and I need to be able to dye them or buy pre-dyed leather that won't bleed. Thank you in advance Ben
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Heya group... thought I'd post my first two projects. I got into trying leather work so I could make fronts for our fire helmets. The skull is my first attempt for a friend. I definitely made quite a few mistakes but I learned quite a bit. I'm now tinkering with a second project and already learning more. I prefer to say I'm learning instead of messing up. :D Advice more than welcome... this place is a wealth of information! -Slim
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From the album: RJ's leather work
Fire Helmet Shield -
From the album: RJ's leather work
Fire Helmet Shield -
Hello everyone, I am brand spanking new to the leather world! I have just started making leather fire helmet sheilds and so far, so good! Once I was done cutting and tooling the leather, I painted the whole shield white and waited for it to dry. I then came back and painted the background and a bugle on it in back and silver, and to my surprise turned out pretty good for my first time. Every thing to this point has been painted with eco flo, cova color. I then tried putting on super shene and within 2 strokes of the brush the paint started to smear. I have seen several post describing this and one of the biggest things that are mention is buffing the leather. I have tried to buff it and it doesnt seem like anything is coming off, so I am not really sure what to do at this point. Now understand that these shields will endure temps of over 1000 degrees at times. I need to know what I can put on them to seal them from the elements and looking for any advise from others who have made sheilds in the past. Also, am I using the wrong paint, I have seen some people have used 1 shot oil based enamel? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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Hey Folks, I'm just getting interested in leatherwork, kinda started my first project tonight, real simple, quick key fob, Ill post a pic as soon as I figure this out and have a sec. I even just got my set today from a another gentlemen who got out of doing it, so I've got a lot to start with. Im mostly going to be interested in belts, key fobs, and were im a firefighter by trade, firefighting stuff like radio straps and holsters. so if anyone has any patterns for such items, please...send away! also looking for folks from this area, I don't have a real good supply system where i'm at, other than ordering online from a province across the puddle. thanks so much, this site seems like it will be very helpful, and a great tool in itself, and everyone seems very friendly! thanks again,, Dave
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Hey all, I know there are a ton of threads on sewing leather, and I am not a new guy when it comes to searching and posting new topics, but I'm looking for specifically firefighters, saddle makers, or anyone that works with thicker leather (8-13oz). Currently I hand sew just about anything, and it looks great, love doing it but, but a machine would be more efficient. What is good starter machine that would work well with thicker leathers, as well as thinner leathers, and something I could find used or on the almighty craigslist? I would like American made (the oversees stuff may work, I just don't know that much about them). I know a couple guys in the industry who use Cobra Class 4 machines, but that is out of my current price range. Plus, I'd like something used for a first sewing machine. Any info, direction or tips of the trade are welcome, and happy tooling! Ryan
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Have not posted in awhile. Here are a few of my recent projects. Included is a holster I attempted, i think it turned out a little large, however I learned a few things
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Here are the two most recent items I created. A 2 inch wide set of leather firefighting turnout suspenders. Two custom radio straps.
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Does anyone know where I can get 3/4" postman slides? I did not see any at Zack white or OTB. Thanks
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Hey There, First let me say thanks to all of the guys who have already posted threads about this topic. I am a full time firefighter here in Ma. I am also a custom pinstripes, sign painter and hand lettering guy. Do a lot of Gold and Silver leafing as we'll. I wanted to try my hand at making or painting custom leather fire helmet shields. With all of the information posted here I was thinking maybe it would be easier for me to post this and have a central location with all of the info. here as opposed to referencing multiple threads. So my questions is this: if all I want to do is paint shields. What do I need to know, what materials do I need and where do I start. If I want to make custom shields, same questions? Thanks in advance for your patience. FF JM
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this is the first helmet shield I did. I think it turned out pretty good, it being the first time with actually carving letters. Espically the lettering (I don't have letter stamps and had to swivel cut them)
