Leather Chainsaw Shoulder Pad

I was needing a new shoulder pad for wild fires to carry my chain saw, so i went to my buddy https://www.youtube.com/user/1097411 and he said that we could make one out of leather. so we cut a template out of a piece of cardboard measuring 7 1/2in by 4in. Then we went on to cutting out the two pieces of leather. Once we finished cutting the two pieces of leather we glued them together using contact cement. we weighted it down and let it sit for about 30 minutes. The next step was to figure out the spacing for the stitching along the edge. This is his third project working with leather an my first so he new that a simple kitchen fork gives just the right spacing. Once that step was completed we used an 11/64in drill bit to drill the holes in the leather along the edge. The first time he worked with this leather he used an ice pic and an awl to make the wholes when it finally dawned on him that drilling the wholes would be much easier. So we did and it is easier.

Next, it was time to start sewing. we used artificial sinew as the thread and used a saddle stitch pattern. The second to last step was to burnish the edging of the leather. he used to wet a cotton cloth and hand rub the edge of leather, which did work, but was very time consuming. we upgraded to a buffer wheel and just wet the edge of the leather. The whole burnishing process now takes about 5 minuets with the buffer wheel. The last step was to cut the slits for the suspenders to fit through. In the video we said that they might be to small for the suspenders, which they were, so we did end up cutting them to a rectangular shape and they fit just fine. I then did put Obenaufs leather oil on it which darkened it up nicely, an adds a protective factor to it. please head on over and check out my buddy's channel hes got lots of great project and out door things, his link is in the beginning of this posting.