Lace Report post Posted October 14, 2012 After a busy summer and a new job, moving and etc etc I have finally settled in and got my work space set up and I'm looking to do a guitar strap. I've done a few before but just basic plan ones cut from patterns with maybe a bit of stamping on them. I got an interesting request from my boyfriend to make a guitar strap for his bass with a crocodile back. (http://www.tandyleatherfactory.ca/en-cad/search/searchresults/9511-19.aspx) I got one from Tandy while they were on sale and now I'm just trying to figure out how to go about this. I'm going to dye it as normal which should be fairly straightforward but as for making sturdy and practical attachments for the front and back of the croc strap for attaching to the guitar - I'm lost. I want to line it as well and again I'm not sure what to line it with. I was thinking foam with some upholstery weight liner but I will need to be able to seal the edges so they don't cut his neck. It needs to be able to slide I guess over his shoulder - but I'm going to hand sew it because I believe my sewing machine isn't ready for something like this and the uneven edges worry me - I don't want to mess it up. Has anyone made a guitar strap - or any strap like this before? I'm hoping for some words of wisdom or advice on design. Here's hoping! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tree Reaper Report post Posted October 15, 2012 Have a look at these ... http://alligatorjakes.com/id75.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DoubleC Report post Posted October 15, 2012 Hi Lace, I make straps and line all of mine so I'd be happy to help if I can. I don't line my attaching strap and I only do one at the rear of the strap. But there's no reason why you couldn't line it I don't think. I just got some great lining material, glazed pig skin from SLC, very inexpensive, but have used suede before and I'm making a strap right now I'm going to lined with thin embossed veg tanned material. I guess if you going a strap from Tandy then you intend to sew the croc on top of that and a lining on the back? I haven't however worked with croc before. Is the entire top going to be croc or just part of it? Because you could do an inlay or an overlay of the croc which would prevent you worrying about the croc against his neck. I have pics below of an ostrich inlay and a lizard on leather overlay. If there's any questions I might be able to answer, feel free to PM me and I'll be happy to help. Cheryl Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neillo Report post Posted October 30, 2012 Hey lace, First of all, congrats on scoring a bass player! Do you intend on using the croc/gator back as the strap, or inlaying/stitching it onto thicker leather? As for lining, I'd recommend some nice thick shearling, I don't know what kind of bass your partner plays, but mine's just a 4 string and still weighs in at about 4.5 kilos, So well padded, wide straps are great; 4-5 inches wide is a dream to wear! Another important design point is the strap button holes, due to the weight of a bass, they will stretch and sag, so make them small as they can be and maybe reinforce them if you're using thinner leather. You could go all out and get some strap locks and fit them to the strap and bass if it doesn't already have them, you can get them at most guitar shops and all you need is a screwdriver to install them! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirtclod Report post Posted October 30, 2012 I belive your going to find out that where the bumps are on the hide that your not going to be able to punch a hole with your awl to sew. Their hard as a rock or at least the piece i tried to sew was. To be able to sew you need a belly or maybe a piece off of the side to be able to sew it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lace Report post Posted February 7, 2013 Thanks for all the advice. It's nice to see that someone else has already done this! (sorry I lost track of this) I'm going to post some pictures as soon as I get going. I think I'm going to go with shearling for padding and keep the natural contours of the gator in tact instead of cutting it. He saw the alligatorjakes straps and got some ideas about design specifics. I think it will be difficult to sew through - but I also don't think just using glue to attach the shearling would be sufficient? Maybe super glue, haha. The straps in the link above don't appear to have the liners sewn on but it could be a deceiving picture. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
