Leather question.

S

ShadeTree

Handloader
Mar 6, 2017
3,523
3,074
Not sure if this is the correct topic forum, if any moderators need to move it, feel free to do so.

I'm putting up a couple of pictures of the old leather recoil pad Dad put on his 348 yrs ago. The leather is scuffed and scarred up but is amazingly soft and supple yet so I see no problem with continuing to use the gun with it on.

The old lacing that connects the rear piece that fits the butt plate leather to the main leather stock cover, is rotting away. It's not stitched but laced so it's no issue for me to replace the lacing.

Here's the issue. Apparently yrs ago already the lacing was coming apart at the top. Because the 2 pieces were no longer connected it allowed the leather to shrink at those spots so simply replacing the lacing will not do it, I can look at it and see it wont meet together. I need to somehow stretch the leather to fit together so I can re-lace it.

I'm the kind of guy that will jump into unchartered waters but in this case I want to proceed with caution to not ruin it.

My idea is to lightly dampen the leather with warm water to help soften and relax it more so I can make the 2 pieces meet together properly to re-lace them. Ideas, advice, experience, are welcomed. Thanks.


Left Side.


The Right Side more clearly shows the gap I need to make up.

 
Water is an enemy of wood and steel. In the past I have used denatured alcohol to soften leather when I wanted a holster to form fit to a handgun. The idea came to me from a book long ago by either a Texas Ranger or Boder Patrolman. I have no experience stretching old leather however I would proceed with a delicate hand and maybe try doing it in stages, a little stretch each time. Any sign of cracking in the leather stop.
Just my thoughts, good luck. Rol
 
Thank you Rol P, alcohol is not something I would've thought of so I will look into it! I'm not planning on trying to wet it and stretch it with it on the stock, but rather remove it and come up with a somewhat similar form to put it over to try and get the 2 pieces stretched to meet up where they should be.

Your advice of slow and small bits at a time is well taken.
 
Love your intention.

But, leather isn't like steel, or even wood. It doesn't last forever.

If your restoration project doesn't turn out all that well, certainly consider retiring the old piece, and replacing it with a new leather buttpad.

Leather boots, belts, holsters, scabbards, etc don't last forever either.

Just a thought. Regards, Guy
 
Go to leatherworker.net, join up, post your pictures and question. It's like the Nosler forum of all things leather. They will help and they know the answers. I would only be guessing.
EE2
 
I have messed around with those in the past, imho that one is just too far gone to save it.
Keep it at hunting camp as memento of better days. And grab that one from BA for $33 and
It will dress up the old tomahawk!
 
I guess I was thinking dropping by a saddle shop. Boots, belts and slings do wear out, but dang saddles seem to last a long time. I drive by two of them I'll drop in and show them the picture. My sense is your effort is more about nostalgia, I'm sure they'll have some ideas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
The cheapest and easiest thing to do is what Earle suggested--retire it!

However salmon chaser makes a good suggestion. We have a western saddle that was originally purchased by my grandfather that is currently being used by my grandson. It has had several surgeries at a saddle shop over the years, so if your determined to try to keep it, take it into a custom saddle shop and see what they say ( or mail it to one if none are in your area )

Vince, will understand this. This old saddle is HEAVY, compared to todays saddles

John, I dont want to revive the discussion, as obviously some dont have a clue and it would serve no purpose, so will thank you here and perhaps thank you via pm. I have been out of commission for a couple of days or would have thanked you sooner. My computer time is limited, but thank you!
 
Would probably be cheaper to replace it outright, but if you want to keep it in service for sentimental value, I think there would be an option.

Take it to a tack/saddle repair shop. They should be able to put an overlay of distressed leather over and around the stitched piece, stitch it into the existing sound leather, and make it look vintage. They will probably have some distressed (used) leather and lacing on hand already, although it may smell like horse. My wife's old riding club had a vintage saddle repaired in this manner with old leather, and it still looks like 1920 but it is serviceable for parades and special occasions. The county Sheriffs office has a mounted auxiliary "posse." It is largely ceremonial now except for missing persons searches, but from the 1860s through prohibition, it was a very real light cavalry outfit with special tack, uniforms and an armory. They shot the hell out of some bootleggers in the mid 20's! Wish I had the Krag carbines and Win 97s from the old pictures! They still pull the old gear out for parades, and a local saddle shop has done wonders to keep it in service.
 
Thanks all for the various suggestions. Yes it is for nostalgia reasons mainly to try and keep it, otherwise it certainly would most likely not be worth the effort. I'm gonna try to figure out a way to go slow and get it done, but if I can't get it together I'll probably follow the advice of replacing it.

Thanks!
 
My guess- and that's what it would be- is that a thin split of leather could be sewn in underneath (or on the outside- it would just look a little better to my eye-inside) to attach the pieces together, keep the loose ends/broken seams from getting caught on stuff and pulling the stitching out further. If the pieces were sewn back together with the same color thread it would be an improvement and hide the repair. A trip to the saddle shop is definitely in order-if you wish to keep it for sentimental reasons. I have portions of my grandfathers harnesses hanging from the rafters in the garage. Old , cracked and useless, but staying right there- I get it. But, just a thought- if our fathers were still carrying there rifles- they likely wouldn't think twice about replacing things that made things, safe, better or more functional. The tough part is doing something with the old stuff. I've gat a lot of "old stuff" like that. Ive done a bit of leathwer work myself. "antiquing" new leather isn't that tough. You could likely find something new that would fit the patina of your wonderful rifle. My .02. Keep having fun! CL

PS- if you got in touch with these guys you'd get some advice and ideas.... bet they'd have an idea how to get you set up.

http://www.levergunleather.com/

Im gonna go browse.....hide the plastic :)
 
I'll give you my opinion, as a full time leather guy.

DON'T use alcohol...it will dry it further. Warm water is what I use, and you need to let it penetrate all the way through, so that the fibers of the hide get damp and pliable. Then you can stitch it, and IF you can get all the holes to line up, you can work on slowly stretching it to fit the stock. I'd use a bit of 100%Neetsfoot oil (not compound), to rejuvenate the leather after the water has dried.

That being said, it might be too far gone for any of that to work.
 
Well I got it. It's not professional but it's the best I could do with what I had to work with and it's allowed it to stick around a little longer. The fact that it came together and only tore 1 hole out at the very bottom point is actually pretty amazing.

A job for young eyes and a steady hand and I'm pushing my luck on both fronts. I broke 3 small leather needles trying to get the eye of the needle with the initially doubled over string, pulled through the holes without tearing the holes.

Wife had some dark 4 stranded, twisted string that is waxed. It will long out last the pad at this point. There was no stretching the pad, it would've tore. What I ended up doing is just taking it off, taking it apart, then re-lacing it together. I made up the difference of smaller overall size at the rear, by loosening the shoestring lacing on the bottom when putting it back on.

It will allow me to continue using it for now. But I think you guys are right. Eventually there will be no saving it so I might as well pull it off here at some point and replace it with a new one and just keep this for a keep sake.

 
5 Shot. The bottom point was tore out which made it difficult to tell exactly where to start. I think I started it one hole maybe 2, off. The other end seemed to line up when I got to the end, but if you look at it, it's slightly twisted on the end of the stock. Like I said best I could do with what I had to work with.
 
Nothin' wrong with that- it is what it is -but at the moment its not falling apart. Nice work. CL
 
Thanks Cloverleaf, but the more I think about it the more it doesn't suit me. If I used thinner white thread I could do it over much quicker than what this took me with the heavier thread and the thread will still outlast the pad.

It's twisted and it doesn't suit me. It wasn't gonna stay together the way it was, so I might as well try to get it right, and if I can't get it right I can still get another one.
 
Now it's as right as I can make it. Wife had some thinner hemp cord thread that was much easier to work with than the heavier waxed thread. Went pretty quickly. Instead of starting at the point and mixing up holes again I put the stock leather on the stock and lined up the center with a matched hole on the pad, then started at that center and left a long tail so when I got to the end I just swapped the needle back to the long tail and continued on from the center to the other end. Now it's not twisted. Left a gap up at the top where the leather had shrunk. All that for a pad that's just gonna end up as a keepsake, but I feel better. :lol:

 
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