I've not posted on here for a while, having been very busy with making stuff for Christmas, then having a break, but have just had a nice little job to repair a shooting stick.
A nice old "Featherwate" shooting stick, which was originally owned by the customer's grandfather. Sadly, the original leather seat has become dry and brittle, and has split, so there's little that can be done but replace it.
The first thing is to sort out a cutting pattern for the replacement seat. The leather would have stretched somewhat, so I've made a paper pattern from thick cartridge paper and tested the fit on the stick. Needless to say, I didn't try sitting on the paper seat!
The replacement is made from cow shoulder, with two pieces being stitched together, back to back, so that both sides of the seat present a nice face.
The pieces are hand stitched together using linen thread. You can see the stitch positions along the two edges of the lower piece, having been marked by a pricking iron to ensure even spacing.
Each of the 208 stitches is made by hand. The stitch hole is pierced using an awl, and the thread is then saddle stitched, using two threads and two needles going in opposite directions through each hole.
After colouring the cut edges, the seat is given two coats of wax polish and then fitted to the stick. Here we have the sitting position.
And finally, the folded position. Making new items is good, but it's always very rewarding to be able to bring something old back to life again.
Thanks for looking
Geoff
A nice old "Featherwate" shooting stick, which was originally owned by the customer's grandfather. Sadly, the original leather seat has become dry and brittle, and has split, so there's little that can be done but replace it.
The first thing is to sort out a cutting pattern for the replacement seat. The leather would have stretched somewhat, so I've made a paper pattern from thick cartridge paper and tested the fit on the stick. Needless to say, I didn't try sitting on the paper seat!
The replacement is made from cow shoulder, with two pieces being stitched together, back to back, so that both sides of the seat present a nice face.
The pieces are hand stitched together using linen thread. You can see the stitch positions along the two edges of the lower piece, having been marked by a pricking iron to ensure even spacing.
Each of the 208 stitches is made by hand. The stitch hole is pierced using an awl, and the thread is then saddle stitched, using two threads and two needles going in opposite directions through each hole.
After colouring the cut edges, the seat is given two coats of wax polish and then fitted to the stick. Here we have the sitting position.
And finally, the folded position. Making new items is good, but it's always very rewarding to be able to bring something old back to life again.
Thanks for looking
Geoff
