In the middle of a bow build along I was reading on here the other day, part of the process was adding a tooled leather grip to a bow the poster was building for his son. He mentioned that he forgot to take pictures of the tooling process so I thought I would fill in the gaps as I needed a new grip for my bow. This is my first build along so hopefully things will be clear.
Things You Will Need:
1)4-5oz Vegetable tanned leather
2)Razor Knife
3)Leather Tooling Stamps and mallet and lacing punch(This one uses a "seeder tool" and a basic oak leaf 3D stamp)
4)Sturdy Thread (I used bowstring material but artificial sinew or similar will do as well)
5)Two sewing needles
6)Some creativity and desire to make stuff
First cut out a rectangle of leather that will wrap around your bow grip area and leave a little extra to allow for final trimming. Once you have the basic size, hold the leather under a faucet so that it is wet but not soaked (called "casing" This will make the leather pliable and allow it to form to the grip with little pressure as shown and will allow it to be tooled after it dries a bit. After working the leather to shape it gently remove and place on the bench to dry some.
(http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/CPTDimondback/1.jpg)
The leather will then hold its shape. Once it has dried some, wrap the grip around the bow and trim the excess so that the ends just meet on the front of the grip and then remove once again.
(http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/CPTDimondback/2.jpg)
The leather should be starting to return to its original color now and will be cool to the touch. This is the right time to begin the tooling. Using the "seeder" tool, create a design that provides a positive gripping surface that you prefer using light blows with the mallet. Make impressions without punching too deep into the leather. If you see liquid during this process the leather is too wet. Repeat about 500 times!
(http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/CPTDimondback/3.jpg)
Next, using the oak leaf stamp (or letter stamp or what ever design stamp you have decided on)...add other details using the same method that you used with the seeder tool. I know the previous pic had oak leaves on it already and there are two reasons for that...1) I got tired of making the seeder tool impressions and took a break and 2)Forgot to take a picture beforehand.
(http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/CPTDimondback/4.jpg)
VERY cool! Thats one of the the best ways I have seen to make a bow your own. Very simple as well. Thanks for posting.
Once satisfied with your design, use the lacing punch to make the holes on each end of the leather that will allow you to easily stich this to the bow grip using a baseball stitch.
(http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/CPTDimondback/6.jpg)
Place on the bow and check your smile at all you have accomplished so far!
(http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/CPTDimondback/7.jpg)
Allow your leather to fully dry and apply the leather stain of your choice. Some simply use mink oil or their favorite leather treatment but I wanted this one to match the lighter woods in my bow.
(http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/CPTDimondback/8.jpg)
(http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/CPTDimondback/9.jpg)
Once the stain has dried and you buff off the excess pigment according to package instructions, coat the inside with a light coat of rubber cement and wrap the leather around the grip. Complete the mounting by aligning the lacing holes you punched earlier and lace up with a baseball stitch....(plenty of YouTube videos on this online)
(http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/CPTDimondback/10.jpg)
Apply some leather finish...I chose mink oil because that is what I had handy and then admire your fine work! Enjoy! The colors don't match in the pic due to cell phone pictures but it ended up matching great!
(http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/CPTDimondback/13.jpg)
(http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/CPTDimondback/11.jpg)
Great thread.
Check out this link on pic sizing
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=129;t=000093
QuoteOriginally posted by Stiks-n-Strings:
Great thread.
Check out this link on pic sizing
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=129;t=000093
Darn it!....I checked every photo to ensure it was less that the alloted size and still managed to mess it up!....will fix to make for an easier build along...sorry folks....1's and 0's got me again!
Sorry Rob....went in to every image and checked the width and still mananged to violate...won't happen again and I now have the process down.
QuoteOriginally posted by PEARL DRUMS:
VERY cool! Thats one of the the best ways I have seen to make a bow your own. Very simple as well. Thanks for posting.
Thanks Pearl....I heed your cautions and vast knowledge in my planning more than you know...thanks for your ongoing support to rookie bowyers.
QuoteOriginally posted by Stiks-n-Strings:
Great thread.
Check out this link on pic sizing
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=129;t=000093
THX Stiks....Turned out that I was checking my picture dims based on preview pics in photobucket...1's and 0's got me again...fixed
now and hopefully a easy to view build along. Woo Hoo
Very nice! What a helpful post that is. I make nice looking grips but it takes me hours to do so. You made it look easy. I will definately try your method. Thanks, again!
Thanks for the build along- I'll have to give it a try now.
Thank you :)
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: