First Leather Project - Shooting Bag

[localfiend]

I've been coming up with leather projects for a long time, I have a bunch of leather stuff I want to make that's too expensive to buy.

Getting a muzzleloader gave me the excuse to get started. A shooting bag was something I needed, and it looks to be about the simplest project I could have started out with.

I'm open to any and all comments and suggestions.



Did a bunch of browsing on e-bay until I found a piece of leather that looked good. Got ~6 square feet of 5-7oz moose leather for $40. It should make 4 or 5 bags easy.

Wasted lots of time browsing the net looking at all of the different bags out there and decided to draw out a pattern with all the features I liked best.

Made up a drawing in Microsoft Word of all things, printed out the pieces, and used the paper as a guide to cut the leather with a razor blade.



I'm using some sort of waxed thread. Dunno what it is, picked it up at a saddle making shop along with a couple needles. My awl is an old ice pick. :grin: I also got one of those thread marker things off of e-bay cheap, but it doesn't seem to work very well with soft leather so I gave up on it. Easier to just eyeball the stiches.



Gotta have a knife, so I bought one of these from Track of the Wolf and added a sheath to the back piece of the bag.



Sewing....







Here's how it sits right now.






I still need to decide what I'm going to do for a flap. I'd like to have bound edges, but I'm unsure of how correct that will be, and tracking down thin leather in the right color hasn't happened yet. I'm also trying to figure out a good way to burnish soft leather, if it's even possible.

Then there's the strap. I'd like to do leather, but I don't like the look of straps unless the edges are burnished well or bound - which might be more than I want to tackle right now. I'm thinking that some of those hand woven linen straps would be pretty cool, but once again - I don't know how correct that would be.

 

[smo]

Excellent work for your first bag... :hmm: Even nice work for a tenth bag. :thumbsup: :haha:

 

[hawkeye2]

That bag is looking real good so far. It goes to show that you don't need a lot of tools to do leather work. If there is a good way to burnish the edges of thin or soft leather I have yet to find it. A fabric or woven strap would be very authentic. You can buy or weave a fancy one or make on from linnen folded to form several layers and stitched. I have made a couple by cutting wool strips and backing it with several layers of pillow ticking. You can also bind the edges of a fabric strap for a more decorative look and they lend theselves to beading real easy.

 

[BrownBear]

I also got one of those thread marker things off of e-bay cheap, but it doesn't seem to work very well with soft leather so I gave up on it. Easier to just eyeball the stiches.

Eyeballing is okay when it works, but wobbles will really stand out when everywhere else your stitching is real regular.

I use a lot of soft leather and know what you're talking about the marker (overstitch wheel) not leaving you with something that lasts through handling. I found a "second step" that solves it, but takes time. After running the overstitch wheel down the leather, I grab a brown fine-point Sharpie and go back along the line to put a little mark on each of the indents. They disappear completely under the stitching if you don't get carried away and make them too big.

As for burnishing soft leather, I've tried lots and only found one thing that sorta works. I use an edge beveller to "round" the edge front and back, then work a little heated beeswax into the exposed raw leather and burnish that using a burnishing wheel with the leather under tension. Looks pretty good when you do it right, but subject to scuffing under heavy use.

Good looking work. You have a great future staring you in the face! :thumbsup:

 

[MSW]

nice looking work!

the 'conventional wisdom' says that you should start with veg tanned hide, but the 'conventional wisdom' also holds that you should use materials readily at hand ... a 'catch-22' if ever there was one ...

now here are some secrets: each of your guns needs its own bag, and each bag gets a gun ... OK, so what if you have three guns and five bags? well, you're gonna need to find two guns to even the system...
:wink: :grin:

by the way, check out TC Alberts' book - it got me started and there are some cool patterns in it ... here's a link:
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/49/1/BOOK-R18-CHP

good luck with your project!

 

[localfiend]

Thanks for the compliments guys, but I think a bunch of that needs to be directed to whoever tanned this leather. That's the hard part I obviously skipped. It takes so few tools and almost no practice to sew something together, that if you have good materials to start out with, just about anything can look good with a little work.

I was afraid that burnishing soft leather was next to impossible. Might give the beeswax thing a go, or some kind of wax. Might have something lying around.

Fortunately for my pocket book I've only got 1 1/4 muzzleloaders at the moment, so I won't be upsetting the balance too badly.... Unless I decide I like the way the bag turns out and make a couple more. :grin:


After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, aka rapid and frequent use of the undo button I was able to draw a flap to my liking. Got it cut out this evening.



Gonna start sewing the flap on while I ponder what it's missing. It needs a button or something, perhaps some stitching around the edges. I dunno.

I should probably buy that T.C. Albert book. Though at the moment, it's the book or a decent awl. The ice pick works, until you get to three layers of leather, and I worry about the large size of the hole it makes in the first piece.

 

[Wes/Tex]

I'd only comment to be sure the flap is wider than the top of the bag. Hard to keep out rain if the flap doesn't overhand the bag enough. First time out in rain taught me several new things! :thumbsup: :haha:

 

[MSW]

you're doing a great job - keep it up!

I made my awl out of a large needle ... can't remember from which of my kids I filtched it, and then I epoxy - glued it to a little handle I turned with my lathe ... if you don't have a lathe to make cool handles, you can use a bit of broom handle ... you don't need it to be fancy; it just needs to work ...

Mr. Alberts' book is well worth the money ... if you really want to splurge, get some waxed Irish linen thread and some glover's needles (I use the ones from Tandy, but I'm sure there are better ones out there) the cool thing about making bags is that you can do it with a bare minimum of investment in tools and space my kit is in an el- cheap- o brand 8x8x14 inch tackle box, and replacement value of the whole deal is probably in the twenty to thirty dollar range.

Keep with it- you're 'doin' good!'

 

[localfiend]

I'd only comment to be sure the flap is wider than the top of the bag. Hard to keep out rain if the flap doesn't overhand the bag enough. First time out in rain taught me several new things! :thumbsup: :haha:

Ha, good point. The reason it took me so long to get the flap right was trying to get the right curve and keep it wider than the top of the bag. Course, I was only thinking of looks, not rain. Looks like I got lucky there. :grin:

I made my awl out of a large needle ... can't remember from which of my kids I filtched it, and then I epoxy - glued it to a little handle I turned with my lathe ... if you don't have a lathe to make cool handles, you can use a bit of broom handle ... you don't need it to be fancy; it just needs to work ...

Huh, I might just do that. I ran across some rather large needles in the craft box that probably haven't been touched in 20 years. Free is always good.


Got the flap and strap rings sewed on. I was thinking it needed something else, but looking at it now I think it might be good. The light thread really gives it a nice contrast even if it does highlight some of my stitching boo boos.








Now I just need a powder horn. Hmm, buy one or make one.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Make one and then put on it...
"The grane I hold
shall frele go
to lay the blody
tyrant low"
...or...
"Here-in is flame
to put to flite
a hero or a
coward wight"
...or...
"I pray that I may never flee
but stand stout as the soldiery"

:thumbsup:

 

[Silex]

:thumbsup: Very nice, I like it!

Silex

 

[BrownBear]

Buy or build, I sure recommend your awl handle have two flat sides along the lines of this one, and the awl blade oriented with it's flats sides aligned with the flats on the handle.

The flats do two things:

They keep the blooming thing from rolling off the table after you spent half an hour sharpening it.

The flats on the handle are a huge help in orienting the blade.

I keep saying "blade." That's because you'll discover that a narrow blade like this one produces an opening that accepts two passes of thread easier than a round awl blade, yet the opening isn't really visible in the finished product. You'll fall in love with that little blade quickly, if all you've ever used is a round one.

Aw heck. One more point. Get that blade sharper than sharp, and it passes through leather like butter, even several plies of leather. My blood letting went waaaaay down when I finally got my awl blade sharp enough and quit having to use so much force.

 

[BillinOregon]

LF: Wow, that bag has nice lines. You've got a talent, friend.
Which part o' the wet state to the north o' me are you calling home?

 

[Stophel]

I will recommend a leather shoulder strap rather than a woven one. Woven straps are slicker'n snot on a door hannel. The bag will want to slide around to the front with every slight motion or bend forward. A leather strap, with the suede side inside, is more grippy, and will help keep the bag in place... a little...

 

[Short Arm]

:thumbsup: Nice job for your first bag.

 

[larry wv]

Nice. Now put a latch or strap or something on it to keep it closed when it needs to be. :grin: Larry

 

[localfiend]

Make one and then put on it...
"The grane I hold
shall frele go
to lay the blody
tyrant low"
...or...
"Here-in is flame
to put to flite
a hero or a
coward wight"
...or...
"I pray that I may never flee
but stand stout as the soldiery"

:thumbsup:

I really like that first one. My drawing ability is pretty much non-existent. I have trouble drawing stick figures without a ruler. :haha: I can make the horn, then pass it off to my brother for the artwork.

I keep saying "blade." That's because you'll discover that a narrow blade like this one produces an opening that accepts two passes of thread easier than a round awl blade, yet the opening isn't really visible in the finished product. You'll fall in love with that little blade quickly, if all you've ever used is a round one.

Might be better off buying a blade then, all the needles I've got that would work are round. Though I might run into more problems with sharp instruments. I haven't actually bled making this thing yet. :grin:

LF: Wow, that bag has nice lines. You've got a talent, friend.
Which part o' the wet state to the north o' me are you calling home?

I'm on the dry desert side of the wet state, just about smack dab in the middle and an hour away from civilization.

I will recommend a leather shoulder strap rather than a woven one. Woven straps are slicker'n snot on a door hannel. The bag will want to slide around to the front with every slight motion or bend forward. A leather strap, with the suede side inside, is more grippy, and will help keep the bag in place... a little...

Guess I'll have to make more than one bag then. I just ordered a strap from the Weaving Welshman.
http://theweavingwelshman.com/straps_page_1

That, or add a belt loop of some kind. On my more modern bandoliers I've had good luck adding a short strap that buttons to a belt or loop to keep it in place.

Nice. Now put a latch or strap or something on it to keep it closed when it needs to be. :grin: Larry

Yeah, it could probably do with a button or something. Gear doesn't do me any good up on the mountain someplace.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Old pal saw the post about ole sayings carved on horns and sent me this one as well:

"Within this horn there doth abide
a dose to humble tyrants pride
steal not this horn for fear or shame
for on it stands the owners name"

many old horns had something like "John Smith
His horn" on them plus a date. Then they might be as simple or ornate as the owner or maker liked. Truthfully, after Dennis sent me the old saying above, I posted back "Burma Shave"! :rotf: Hopefully, you're old enough to make teh connection! :wink:

 

[Renegade Dan]

Excellent work! :thumbsup:

 

[Mickc01]

First leather project!!?? WOW! :hatsoff: