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Thread: Make your own leather cobra style rifle sling

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    Little Miss Chatterbox
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    Make your own leather cobra style rifle sling

    I made this one for a guy on another forum but figured this might be a good time to do a "How To" on it. It's a pretty simple project and can be done with some very basic tools, no stitching involved so it's a perfect starter piece. All you need to get started is a piece of leather, something to cut it with (I use a razor knife), a tape measure, a straight edge and something to punch holes in the leather with. You'll also need to decide on a finish and apply that after your done. So let's get started:

    Step 1, cut yourself a strap. Cut it to the maximum width of your sling in this case it's 2 1/4" wide. The customer wanted the maximum length to be 33" so I cut the strap to about 39" leaving me enough for fold over on the ends at that length. As an alternative you can order straps pre-cut from Tandy but you'll likely have to cut them to the final width.


    Step 2, cut the strap to shape. Make yourself a template first to find the desired shape then take a scratch awl or even a finishing nail and trace it onto the leather. You only need faint lines to be able to follow with a razor knife. If you're going to dye the leather black you can trace the template with an ultra fine point sharpie. Once it's traced on the leather it's time to cut it. This is the nerve wracking part because if you mess it up you're out a pretty substantial piece of leather.


    Once it's cut I take the strap to the shop and clean up my cuts with a 1x30" belt sander, works like a charm.

    Step 3 (optional), put your border on. I use a wing divider to set the border to the sling. I set the wing divider width to the thickness of the leather. Wet the leather with a damp sponge (wet the whole thing to avoid staining) and then run the wing divider down the edge from top to bottom, the border will then follow the edge of the strap the whole length. This customer wanted a basket weave pattern sling so in the widest part I used the wing divider again and put a faint line down the center. This line will be hidden later by the stamping. I then set the wing divider to make the semi circles on the ends using that same center line.


    Step 4 (optional), cut the border. I opted for a cut border around the basket weave so using a swivel knife I followed the border and semi circles to create a large oval for the stamping to go in. I then took a beveling tool and went around the entire oval to make that border stand out a bit.


    Step 5 (optional), stamping. This is the most time consuming part of the whole process, you really have to pay attention here because if you get one too crooked it'll ruin the whole look. They don't all have to be perfect (I've reached the conclusion that me and perfection just don't get along well) but if they're really crooked you'll see it. Spend some time practicing before you set that stamp down on the piece. There's lot's of good videos on youtube that will show you how to do it if you're interested in it.

    Here's a look at the tools needed for the stamping process:



    Continued.....

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    Little Miss Chatterbox
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    Here's a close up view of the basket weave stamp as well as the beveler. Looking at the basket weave stamp you can see why it takes so long to do. Your project should now look something like this:



    This is a good time to figure out where you're going to punch your hardware holes. This sling is adjustable from 30-33" so I had to but a bunch of holes in for adjustability.


    Step 6, add your finish. In this case the customer wanted a natural oil finish. Basically this means I'm not dying the leather at all and just doing a couple coats of Neatsfoot oil. This will help repel water but the customer should still give it a couple coats of mink oil or maybe even snow seal to keep water out of the leather and keep it from dry rotting.


    After the oil soaks in a bit it'll look like this:



    step 7, burnish the edges. This can be accomplished in a couple of ways. You can wet the edges with plain old water and then run a piece of dowel over the edges until you get a shiny look to it. I use gum tragacanth so that once the edge is burnished it'll keep that shiny look on the edges.

    Step 8, add your hardware and install. I'm still waiting on the Chicago screws for this project because I'm a dumbass and ordered the wrong size. They come in sizes from 1/4"-1/2" so check your leather before you order them. If I get a chance to take a picture before I ship this off I'll update the thread with pictures with the hardware installed.


    This job was a lot of fun for me gets me out of the assembly line stuff I've been doing for the guys at work. As I said this is a really good project to get your feet wet with because there's a minimal investment in tools, hardware and leather.
    -Infidel

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    1moretoy (09-21-2014),Arklatex (12-11-2016),Denton (09-20-2014),Innkeeper (09-24-2014),Inor (09-20-2014),Just Sayin' (09-20-2014)

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    Just this guy Inor's Avatar
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    Great post! Thanks!

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    Infidel (09-20-2014)

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    I Never Log Off!
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    Man, you are awesome. Thank you, for taking the time to show us.

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    Infidel (09-20-2014)

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    I Never Log Off!
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    I remember stamping leather one time, about seventh grade, my name was spelled right, but crooked, how do you get three letters crooked?

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    Infidel (09-20-2014)

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    Little Miss Chatterbox
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    Just trying to give back to the forum. This forum has been very good to me with the jobs that I've picked up by posting here. I wanted to be able to give you guys something in return so a little knowledge in something that I know is what I can give. If anyone decides to attempt this and has any questions, feel free to shoot me a PM and I'll try to answer promptly.

    Quote Originally Posted by Deebo View Post
    I remember stamping leather one time, about seventh grade, my name was spelled right, but crooked, how do you get three letters crooked?
    Man you should have seen my first couple practice runs with that basket weave stamp. It looked like a hardcore drunk had been at that piece of leather. I can easily understand how 3 letter can come out crooked especially on a first attempt. Believe it or not that's the first production piece that I've done a basket weave on and it's my first sling so really I was learning as I went. The basics all carry over from one piece to another though, making a pattern, cutting the leather making the border. I'll tell you what though I was sweating bullets when I put that stamp on the center line for the first time. After you get a couple stamps on there you develop a rhythm for it and just keep plugging along until you're done.

    -Infidel

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    Denton (09-20-2014),Innkeeper (09-24-2014),Just Sayin' (09-20-2014)

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    Dinky Dau Just Sayin''s Avatar
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    That is one of the reasons we like you so much Infidel. And why we appreciate the work you've done for us. Artistry isn't just paintings, but being able to produce something of value that others can't.

    Thanks man!
    "Free men do not ask permission to bear arms"

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    I may be an old dog
    But I can still bury a bone

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    Little Miss Chatterbox
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    Not quite sure what to say to that other than thank you for the kind words. Believe me I appreciate all the work, it's sure made things a little easier around here having the extra money coming in. I've only been at this for about 4 months and I've sure learned a lot but I still have a whole lot more to learn.

    -Infidel

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    Little Miss Chatterbox 1moretoy's Avatar
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    Wow...that looks great. You definitely have a talent for making something both useful and beautiful. We appreciate you for sharing this with us.

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    Infidel (09-21-2014)

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    If there's enough interest I'll do another "How To" on the next sheath I make. That's another project that's not too difficult and can be accomplished for a minimal investment. I'll also cover template making and stitching in that one. Let me know if you guys are interested.

    -Infidel

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