First project: rifle sling

[Redbeeerd]

Heya!

I needed a new sling for my Tikka M55 .243, or, to be honest, for the new Helia scope on top of it. My old sling was a bit unreliable and it never felt good to carry that scope on a crappy sling.

So, I bought a piece of leather, made a simple template in CAD and went to town with a boxcutter and some other tools I had in the shed.

It's not super pretty, but it does the job as intended. Also, I am already looking for new things to make so I guess I might have  a new hobby.

 

 

[tsunkasapa]

Nice rifle!! And leathercraft is an addiction, not a hobby. Welcome to the club.

But I really need to ask, what is that HUGE encumbrance on the front of the rifle?

[TomE]

Looks like a very solid job on the strap.  I can't see the thread along the edges but it looks like it is marked for sewing?  That's an impressive varmint gun - a big upgrade from my .223 ranch rifle.  Hope you enjoy leathercraft as much as I do.  Lots of good folks with expertise on this site.

[Hags]

Nice work.

[Redbeeerd]

11 hours ago, tsunkasapa said:

Nice rifle!! And leathercraft is an addiction, not a hobby. Welcome to the club.

But I really need to ask, what is that HUGE encumbrance on the front of the rifle?

Thanks!

That's a Stalon Victor L suppressor, decent quality and, most importantly, makes the rifles almost perfectly balanced.

11 hours ago, TomE said:

Looks like a very solid job on the strap.  I can't see the thread along the edges but it looks like it is marked for sewing?  That's an impressive varmint gun - a big upgrade from my .223 ranch rifle.  Hope you enjoy leathercraft as much as I do.  Lots of good folks with expertise on this site.

Thanks! I have marked the strap for stitching but when I practiced a bit I realized I need to practice way more to be able to make something that looks ok.

I use the gun mostly for roe deer and fowl (black grouse, capercaillie) and the occasional fox (scabies is very common here unfortunately). I considered a .223 and I think it might actually suit my purposes a bit better. I got this one at 230 USD so I couldn't pass it up

This little project has opened a can of worms I can tell you that: I'm itching to practice stitching now and all of a sudden I see a lot more practical use for leather pretty much everywhere

9 hours ago, Hags said:

Nice work.

Thanks!

[chuck123wapati]

nice sling indeed and a nice firearm. Oh yea you will be hooked in no time just making goodies for your guns. 

[Redbeeerd]

3 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

nice sling indeed and a nice firearm. Oh yea you will be hooked in no time just making goodies for your guns. 

Thanks! 

Having a cold one and practicing stitching as we speak 

[chuck123wapati]

5 minutes ago, Redbeeerd said:

Thanks! 

Having a cold one and practicing stitching as we speak 

you will find it is pretty easy once you get the right tools. I have a couple of these type slings on some rifles and toted them for many miles lol but for my real tight shooters i use the m1907 rifle sling, upside beside better for target shooting is there is no sewing lol.. 

[TomE]

7 hours ago, Redbeeerd said:

This little project has opened a can of worms I can tell you that: I'm itching to practice stitching now and all of a sudden I see a lot more practical use for leather pretty much everywhere

Highly recommend Stohlman's book on hand sewing leather, and Neil Armitage videos.  Using an awl will give you lots of flexibility in constructing and repairing items.

[Redbeeerd]

Thanks for all the advice! I'm using a speedy stitcher at the moment and it is obvious aibneed to get the right tools: the stitcher is too clumsy. Or maybe it's just me 

[Doc Reaper]

Speedy stitcher suck

[DwightT]

IMO - a speedy stitcher is fine in the appropriate place, but also IMO this is not the appropriate place.  I use one when I'm attaching my leather to one of my wife's quilted bags to make one of our bottle totes.  Since at that point I'm trying to stitch into a cloth tube, the saddle stitch just would not be appropriate since 1) it's difficult to see into the tube to find the hole, and 2) there isn't much of a hole anyway after poking the awl through the cloth.  The speedy stitcher works here since now all I have to find inside the tube is the loop of thread coming out of the needle.

When you are stitching leather to leather and/or you have good access to both sides of the project (such as the gun sling here) then I agree that the speedy stitcher is the wrong tool and the saddle stitch would be much better.

    /dwight

[Redbeeerd]

I bought the Speedy Sticher to repair a pair of wading boots (for which it worked perfectly) but I definitely hear you when it comes to actual leatherworking. I'm trying to get a grip on which needles to get but the different size systems alone is a jungle. The store I bought the leather from carries sizes 2/0, 1, 2 and 3. I understand 2/0 is the biggest but I have no clue what that actually means in relation to what I'm trying to be do 

[Redbeeerd]

A mockup of the padding. I'm using 2mm EVA-foam and faux lace meant for furniture

[Redbeeerd]

It took longer than I wanted but now it is finished. I tried different methods for stitching and it really shows 

[Burkhardt]

Go on fleabay and get a set of stitching chisels (10ish). I have the 4mm which is about 6 stitches per inch. Punch all the holes and get a pair of needles and thread and simplify it..