goose27 Report post Posted October 13, 2011 (edited) Well I just finished my first leather project. It is a shield for my leather helmet at work. Please let me know what you think and any suggestions and advice. I plan on making some more for the guys on my company, but first I have some leather projects for the upcoming hunting season to try. Edited October 13, 2011 by goose27 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EngineCo1 Report post Posted October 14, 2011 Looks great for it being your first! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FiremanRob Report post Posted October 17, 2011 Two Thumbs up!!! Our department put out an SOP saying we couldn't have anything on our helmets that didn't come from the factory or was city issued... so I've been making helmet shield keychains and wall plaques... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PANTHER Report post Posted October 17, 2011 Good looking shield. For a first project, you did well! Panther Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EngineCo1 Report post Posted October 18, 2011 FiremanRob, so the "safety nazis", "by the book asshats", and lets see what we can do to ruin some moral around here......got to ya'll huh? That really sucks! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
urbanfireman Report post Posted October 24, 2011 wow that looks really good. I've been thinking of trying to make leather shields also. Do you mind sharing more about the construction of it? What kind of leather and paint did you use? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
goose27 Report post Posted October 28, 2011 (edited) wow that looks really good. I've been thinking of trying to make leather shields also. Do you mind sharing more about the construction of it? What kind of leather and paint did you use? Sorry for the delay in responding. Been out of town. I used veg tanned leather and I think it is 8 oz. I tooled the front and then cut it out just shy of the final size. I then took another piece of leather that was larger then the front, glued it to the back, then immediately wedged it in between 2 - 2 gallon buckets to give it the curve (I put the leather in wax paper to protect it while wedging it in). I let it sit overnight. I cut the back piece of leather down to the same size as the front and then used a dremel to sand it down to the finished size. All I had around for paint at the time was some cheap acrylics that my wife had. I painted it then sheened the paint, then stained it. Unfortunately, the sheened areas of paint rubbed off when I stained it (my mistake) so I then went and bought some better paints ( Wicked by Createx that I can use in my airbrush too) and repainted it. I then stitched it and airbrushed on the final sheen. If you have any other questions let me know. Edited October 28, 2011 by goose27 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
texasfirefighting Report post Posted January 12, 2012 Goose, Did you ever end up making others for the rest of your crew? Did you end up doing this as a side job? If so, I wanted to see pics of your work primarily because I'm collecting a digital portfolio of fire shield fronts from all over the U.S.. If you have others, would you mind emailing me pics with your permission to use them in the portfolio? I'm not giving credit to creators because there will be so many custom ones involved. It's mainly the pictures that will be the focal point. Thanks, Roy Two Thumbs up!!! Our department put out an SOP saying we couldn't have anything on our helmets that didn't come from the factory or was city issued... so I've been making helmet shield keychains and wall plaques... Rob, Are you making any as a side job? Do you have a web site? I'm trying to collect pictures of full-sized helmet shield fronts for a digital portfolio that I'm making. LMK if you'd be interested in showcasing your work in it. Thanks, Roy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
texasfirefighting Report post Posted January 12, 2012 Hey, E-1! Do you make leather shields on the side for profit or is it just a hobby? Roy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EngineCo1 Report post Posted January 16, 2012 It's just a hobby but I do make some shields when the Brothers ask and don't charge too much. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
