Hi All, Happy New Year!!

I'm looking for information on making leather covered recoil pads, can anyone point me in the right direction?

Also, I'm interested in making leather covered fitted gun cases for both take down and non take down long guns.

Thanks to all in advance for your help.

Marcos

I believ Shooting Sportsman Magazine had a blow by blow description of how it's done a few years back. Might want to give their editorial depatment a try.

Rob

Chic Worthing (Customstox) has described the process some time ago. You might try a search here and on HA.

Here is a link to a site by G.A. Boss. It is the procedure used by Bill Sovern of this forum. I know both he and Chic have posted pics of their respective work, but I don't have them at present.

There are slightly different techniques of others, but this will get you started. It's a worthwhile project to try.....particularly because a good result is attractive.....and a failure has minimal investment. You can redo it with little effort and cost.

GV

http://t6aluminum.tripod.com/Leather_recoilpad.htm

Mike-

Do you know how they attach it after the pad is wrapped?

There are holes bored in the rear of the pad. I use an old cartridge cut just above the shoulder and sharpened to bore the hole over the screw hole. The leather is folded into that hole and a plug is made to fill the hole after the screw attaches it to the stock.

Thanks Chic. If you use a pad that has holes pre-drilled, can you just make a small slit in the leather over those holes, then glue the leather back down at the slit? I would think the slit only needs to be big enoug to get a screw driver through.

I don't think the leather slitting option would work - trust me on this.

Your options for attaching are basically as Chic says, screw holes with plugs, or you can just cover over the whole pad, put dowels or headless screws in the screw holes in the stock, and epoxy the pad to the stock.

I planned on option #2, when I recently tried to leather cover a pad. I ran into difficulties with leather bunching and folding at the sharp curves on the bottom and top of the pad; I think I didn't use enough leather stretch solution. I was not happy with the appearance of the pad, but needed one on the rifle to hunt with - so, that lead to my observations of your idea for slitting the leather...

I am still debating about another attempt to cover it myself, or having a pro do it. I am very stubborn, and have a lot of leather left, so it could go either way.

Good luck,
Todd

You can do it a number of ways. I have done it with the plugs covered with the leather and then inserted after attaching the pad and I have also done it by makin a minimal sized hole in the pad, just enough to allow the screwdriver to pass through. The leather has to be inserted in the holes so as not to let any of the rubber show through. I have also simply covered the pad and after glueing the leather to the bottom, taken it down on the disc sander to flatten it and then glued it to the butt. That way you won't need any holes for attaching it, but it is better to use the screw down method in the long run.

So these plugs, do you put a leather head on them too, or do you end up with a leather recoil pad and 2 wooden (or cork) spots on it?