Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Thick Leather - Small Quantity Source
Tom Cooney
>Hi Guys,
Hoping you could help me out. I am looking to make a dead blow hammer featured in a recent magazine (can't remember which one) which uses ~3/16" thick leather on the faces but I haven't been able to locate a local source. The online sources I've looked at are selling far bigger quantities than I am after - sides versus one square foot. Do you have any leads? Thanks!
Tom
Re: Thick Leather - Small Quantity Source
Rob Lee
>Hi -
Try a cobbler.... they may even have scraps....
Cheers -
Rob
Some options
Michael Recchione
>Would rawhide do? A good source for that is the pet food aisle at the supermarket. You can soak the large rawhide chew bones for a few hours to soften them, then cut and shape what you need.
Another option may be more difficult just because of the time of year, but around here people often sell old shoes and handbags at garage sales - these can be a good source of smaller pieces of leather.
Finally, craft stores like A.C. Moore carry bags of scraps from Tandy leather, and you can certainly find a couple of mallet-head sized piece in one of those bags. The bags run less than $5, if I recall correctly.
HTH
- Mike
Re: Thick Leather - Small Quantity Source
paul womack
> which uses ~3/16" thick leather on the faces
If you mean the design with a coiled up strip of leather let into a round recess in the face, a cheap belt might serve.
BugBear
Re: Thick Leather - Small Quantity Source *LINK*
Skip in Falls Church
>Hi Tom,
My suggestion is to try Sprinfield leather at the link below. (There have been so many leather questions the last couple of days I looked them up and added them to my favorites list here at home.) The web site says that even though they prefer not to, they will cut and sell small quantities of leather. If I figure correctly what you're looking for is saddle skirting or armor bends - 12 oz or so leather. Sprinfield lists it by the side - but may cut you a small piece. I've never bought anything from them so I really can't tell you too much about them.
I'd gladly send you a piece if I had a piece that heavy - but the heaviest piece I have is 8 oz. Still, if you can't find any 12 oz I could probably spare a square foot of it if I have that much. In the future if you're looking for quantities in something smaller than a side - try bellies. They are smaller and less desireable and are a lot cheaper to buy. But the heaviest I've seen them is 8 oz.
Re: Thick Leather - Small Quantity Source
Tom Cooney
>Here's the link to the plan I will be using including a picture. The leather provides a cushion on a flat face, not a coil.
http://www.woodstore.net/deadblowmallet.html
What size?
Bob Hackett(Mainely,Bob)
>I have some leather belting from old machine tools that may be of use to you.If they fit the size you need I`ll cut off afew pieces.
MB
Re: Local shoe repair shop
Jim DeLaney, Austintown, Ohio
>What you want is the sort of leather used in making half-soles for shoes. Your local shoe repairman may even have some scraps he can give you, or he can at least sell you a couple sole blanks.
Re: Thick Leather - Small Quantity Source
Jay Hanks
>"Try a cobbler.... "
Hmmm cobbler now I am getting hungry.
Re: Thick Leather - Small Quantity Source
Clay C in Miami
>Any local Salvation Army/Goodwill/thrift shop will have men's shoes/boots for a buck or two a pair, and if you're not hugely squeamish, the soles should do the trick.
Clay
Re: ah - won't work then.
paul womack
>
Re: yep - shoe soles
paul womack
>Here in the UK high street and "in store" shoe repair booths (often called "heel bars") have ready cut and shaped shoe soles in various thickness. Normally they glue them on to the shoe for you, and trim to a final fit.
But they'll also sell the "blanks". These are good thick leather, and large enough for your purpose. And easy to get hold of, at least here.
BugBear
Re: Thick Leather - Small Quantity Source
Greg B�tit, Vergennes, VT.
>Tom,
If you find some, please report back. I have a leg vise with a face that has been cut out for a piece of 1/4" leather. The last time I re-faced it, I got my leather from a shoe repair guy. I think what is needed is 16 oz. leather. This Summer I realized that there doesn't seem to be a shoe repair person in the region anymore. I then searched the web high and low, and contacted a couple places that made and sold leather clothing and accessories. No joy. I was given some 12 oz, which I glued over the existing leather.
This worked- but I'd rather have a fresh new piece of 1/4" in there. So if you don't find leather thick enough, consider gluing some together. Don't use a glue that will get brittle. In retrospect, I think I should have used hide glue.
Greg
Re: Thick Leather - Small Quantity Source
Skip in Falls Church
>Hi Greg,
Other than Springfield leather (which does list 15 oz. leather as their max) I do have one other suggestion about locating some appropriately sized leather - and this will probably sound a little odd. See if you can find an SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) group in your area. The leather you're talking about is often used for making armor and some of the people in SCA are very meticulous about recreating things. If nothing else they may be able to put you in touch with someone that can get you a piece. OTOH they might try to recruit you. :)
For anyone that doesn't know, leather is commonly measured in ounces (per square foot) with 1/64" of thickness equaling 1 ounce. So 1/4" leather would equal 16 ounce.
Fiebings makes a leather glue (looks like regular white glue to me) that is made for gluing leather and remains flexible after it dries. You should be able to find it in craft stores like Micheal's or shoe repair stores.
Skip
Re: Thick Leather - Small Quantity Source
Greg B�tit, Vergennes, VT.
>Skip,
Thanks for the lead on Springfield Leather. I really did spend a lot of time searching the Web- but I never found them!
And I'm not sure I should thank you for the SCA info. I've been an 18th Century reenactor wannabe for several years now, studying woodworking, attending classes and events at (the local) Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Ft. Ticonderoga and His Majesty's Fort at Crown Point, etc., etc. I don't need another slope to slip down!
Greg -who will be surfing SCA sites this evening!
Re: Thick Leather - Small Quantity Source
Skip in Falls Church
>Hi Greg,
Like I said, I haven't done any business with Springfield - but they sound nice enough. I've never seen anyone else offer to cut small amounts.
I did offer the suggestion of SCA with some trepidation. :) I've never been involved with them but I've talked to some of them at the Texas Ren Festival. My wife was actually a member for a while in college and almost had to undergo deprogamming. (Just a joke) In any case some of them seem to be pretty whack....., er, fanat..., um, as I said, meticulous. They are likely to see anyone that has eschewed electical tools as fresh mea...., um, a likely candidate for membership.
Wearing latex gloves I carefully looked at their web site and I think you'd be in their East Kingdom. (And I got out of there fast in case someone was watching!) :)
Skip
Barge cement
Jack Guzman from Maine
>That's what leatherworkers I know use.---Jack
Re: Thick Leather - Small Quantity Source
Greg B�tit, Crown Point, NY
>Hi Skip,
The royalty thing did me in.
I'm a peasant, of peasant stock, and proud of it. French Huguenots turned LI potato farmers, Welsh Puritans turned LI potato farmers, Irish turned wife of French Hugenaut's descedant, and a Breton, jumping a cod fishing ship and illegally imigrating from Canada to Vermont because he spoke French funny ("comme un Basque-Espagnol"), and had a Mic-Mac wife. Don't want them rolling in their graves.
I can reenact a woodworking peasant, but can't fathom being "noble" in any sense. I'll stick with the 18th Century.
Greg
I am reminded of someone's observation
Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA
>that people who believe in reincarnation and past life remembering were almost never scullery maids and pig-stall-mucker-outers in their past lives.
Re: Thick Leather - Mc Master Carr ?????
George in Lowell, Mich.
>
Bingo!
Greg B�tit, Vergennes, VT.
>They sell 3/16" X 12" X 12"(, etc.) hunks of leather for gasketing. Not quite the 16 oz. stuff I'd like, but surely good enough for a mallett.
Greg