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Starting with some good quality veg tan. Local bovine, soft, not too thick (just under 2mm is fine), pretty much bag material. If you have a whole side, stay away from anything close to belly for this project
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...ench-1-2-L.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...ench-1-3-L.jpg
For the strap I had an offcut of English bridle. This is saddlery leather, and the best stuff you can use for straps, belts etc.
You can cut it with a utility knife and a ruler if you have steady hands, but a dedicated strap cutter makes quick work of bringing it to size for the buckle.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...ench-1-4-L.jpg
Punching the hole for the buckle
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...ench-1-5-L.jpg
The strap cutter leaves a sharp edge, so I rounded it over with an edge beveller
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...ench-1-6-L.jpg
I bought a roll for my carving chisels but sawing that i'm looking for seeing you craftsmanship at work, Cheers crowie
Next I need something to smooth and polish the edges. I'm using a coloured product here because cutting revealed a brown edge.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...ench-1-7-L.jpg
Last step with the edges is burnishing. I'm using my electric creasing tool with a brass tip for that, it just goes faster.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...ench-1-8-L.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...ench-1-9-L.jpg
I punched the tip with a round punch and then followed the same steps to bevel and burnish it, and here's the finished strap. Ideally it should look about as good as a belt from the shops.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...nch-1-10-L.jpg
last, marking the holes and punching them out
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...nch-1-11-L.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...nch-1-12-L.jpg
With the strap finished I'm moving on to the main roll. I didn't keep a photo but I coated the inside with the same black product I used on the edges. I spread it very thin with a plastic tool, and it dries almost instantly. There's no reason to do that, I just like the look and feel of it as opposed to the normal "furry" inside of the leather.
Then I started punching for the brass self-locking rivets. Most people use much larger ones, I don't think there is any reason for that, when these things are punched to lock they really lock down for ever.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...nch-1-15-L.jpg
Marking & punching the stitch lines
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...nch-1-14-L.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor.../Bench-1-L.jpg
stitching some reinforcement for the end of the roll
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...nch-1-17-L.jpg
Fitting a couple of strap holders on the outside
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...nch-1-13-L.jpg
and then the stitching marathon begins... that's usually when I watch all my documentaries on the ipad in the background :U
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...nch-1-16-L.jpg
Sometimes I have to get creative with the clamping. There are 4 sides that you can approach each stitch from, but only one of them really works if you want the best possible results, but it's not always easily accessible.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...nch-1-18-L.jpg
Overall there were 4 hours of stitching that went into this. I don't mind it at all, I find it really relaxing.
And that's the end result.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...nch-1-19-L.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...nch-1-20-L.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...nch-1-22-L.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Wor...nch-1-23-L.jpg
I put the chisels flat side down just for the photo, but there's a couple of things I need to remember when storing chisels in this roll to avoid scratching the leather: the biggest chisels need to go to the end, and the right way to store chisels is flat side up.
But overall I'm happy with it, with some care I think it will last me decades :)
Canvas or leather? Canvas is great for this too, or a combination of the two.Quote:
Originally Posted by crowie
I actually needed this roll because I tend to knock my chisels off the bench or they roll off by themselves, a tool roll is a nice surface to put them down while working. But I didn't want to buy one because I wanted it to be the exact correct size for my chisels, not too small or too big. It probably ended up costing me more to make it, but I enjoyed it :U
That's come up a treat, very professional looking and suited exactly for the job.
Mine don't look as heavy duty and as fancy as what you've made, [just functional], top marks sir, well done!
Cheers crowie
Very nice. I made a couple out of similar leather and a similar design. One for my chisels and one for a really nice carving set the wife picked up for me at an auction. I did a similar trick with stitched pockets and copper rivets for reinforcing. I also made a strap with buckle. Yours has some nicer finishing touches though. I like it :)