work of a newbie

[brian mrbac chapman]

Hello all. Pleased to meet you all and from what I have seen so far this is a great place to be.

I have been spending minimal time with leather till recently and want to get better. I put about 10 hours into this:

1) I had a hard time sewing the lining in with the zipper. suggestions? its just glued. :-(

2) The lacing, well I pull to hard....broke it in to many places and wasn't that good at splicing them in. Should I be using kangaroo lace?

3) And last the end cap. I used a drill bit on a dremel to make the stitching holes but what would be a good filler to use on those gaps?

I know there's more so if anyone has anything to say I'd be glad to hear it, negative or positive.

Also if wondering. I was attempting a basket weave stamp for the lower half, I have not worked with leather this thick yet and before I knew it my guide lines were off from the deep impressions I was making with my stamp. So I cut the piece in half, flipped it inside out then sanded it and dyed it with a 50/50 water/timber brown. Then I riveted it on with an inner piece slightly smaller than the one on the outside as to cover the rivets and use the concho to hide my mistake.

Thanks and nice to meet you,

Brian

Edited September 28, 2009 by brian mrbac chapman

[brian mrbac chapman]

wow not one comment. thanks forum.

[bustedlifter]

I was wondering why there was two different types of leather on the piece, now I know.Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet,though, and start over with a new piece of leather. I know there have been more than a few times I've done things twice. I just did a kind of large wall piece and I had to cut a whole new one cause the lettering was slightly off. I don't do linings so I can't help on the lining deal. Just take your time on the rivet placement,get them in a straight line and maybe radius the corners of the handle straps a bit. The carving looks fine.

Edited October 2, 2009 by bustedlifter

[brian mrbac chapman]

thanks busted. those rivets were giving me a hard time. the thickness of the leather was an odd size, neither the short or long rivets seemed to fit good. maybe next time im in that situation i should skive some of the leather away to make it the right fit. considering all the mistakes i made my brother still took it with a smile. i went and bought enough to make two more. ill post em and see if im improving or not.

Edited October 2, 2009 by brian mrbac chapman

[leatherhead117]

Looks Good! On your rivots with the thicker leather... One trick that I learned was to use a French edge beveler and stick one side in the hole punched for the rivot. Then skive in a circle, using the hole as your center. This kinda counter sinks the hole for the rivot. Just be careful and practice before you try on the real piece, as it is easy to overdo it. And that could be bad.

[phillipsimsleatherwork]

Looks real good. Ive been wanting to make a rifle scabbard for a while and have been putting it off cuz it looks like ALOT of work!hahah! Good job man!

Phillip Sims