leather is like wood.. it has a grain. if it stretches.. u cut it the wrong way
Sorry, my bad. I didn't know that.
When through the woods and forest glades I wander And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze
I wouldnt use the welders glove leather for anything other than a glove. Pig skin might be stronger than 'roo, but 'roo has the highest strength per weight over any leather in the world.
Post by 40acrefield on Mar 12, 2006 13:47:21 GMT -5
At Mike falconry they have utility falconry gloves for $25 for left and right hand. could i use this for a glove then use the right one for other things
Hey 40acrefield, Call Brad Woods at Northwoods and ask his opinion. In my dealings with them they have been honest and helpful. Ask if this glove is stout enough for, may I assume a redtail? Check their catalog for gauntlets on sale. If you decide on these gloves, don't cut up the other for leather. There is always another falconer who carries on the other hand, and trades can be great.
Try this: Buy a rodeo glove. They come either right or left handed. The kind bull riders use. They extend past wrist to 13" or so. They are usually elkskin and can be had for around $15 to $20. CAREFULLY slit bottom seam from cuff to a point near where your wrist will be. Don't go too far ! Needle and heavy thread is used to secure seam at wrist. Just pass thread a few times through end of seam and make a knot inside to stop it from coming undone. Cut an acute triangle piece of matching or contrasting leather and stitch it in place at slit bottom seam to fit over heavy sleeves. Now go to a farm store and look for a larger pair of elkskin work gloves. Look for suede side out gloves. Sometimes "seconds" can be had for $7 or so. Bring rodeo glove with you to make sure it fits inside. Now if you want smooth side out, take the opposite hand glove and turn inside out. This should give you the outside sewn seam that marks falconry gauntlets. Some falconers like suede side out. This works both ways, just figure out which you want. Take heavy scissors and trim off edge of cuff. Not too much ! Just that cloth trim they sewn on edge. Look at a photo of a double overlay gauntlet to get what the next part should look like. Then carefully cut little finger of glove off between little finger and third finger of glove to a gentle arc ending at top of cuff at thumb. Leave plenty of leather on this piece. You can cut off more later but you can't un-cut ! This will give you a weird looking 3 fingered glove that looks like the overlay on that expensive gauntlet you studied. See where I'm going with this ? Check out fabric stores and look for white fabric glue. It stays flexible and doesn't have that rubber cement smell. Smear a modest amount (not too much) of fabric glue on rodeo glove, after first making ABSOLUTELY SURE they fit. There was a reason for buying the work glove larger. Careful not to get glue past area covered by overlay. Mark lightly with pencil, not pen, if you need to. You can erase light pencil marks.
Work fingers and thumb in so the fit is perfect and let it dry. Depending on your leather stitching skills, you might run a stitched seam around edge of overlay. You can cut a strip from the scrap little finger and use it to rivet a "D" ring on your new custom gauntlet. I like to position D ring right where thumb joins wrist, but you should experiment. Cut leather strip width of D ring and twice length needed. Just enough to attach rivet. Double the strip and rivet to glove. You can glue doubled strip to itself after fitting through D ring. Makes it look a bit neater. Don't go with too big a ring. It will look out of balance. 1/2" is plenty.
You should end up with a nice usable one of a kind gauntlet. Cheaper than catalog gauntlets, way nicer than welder and you made it yourself !!!
Go with elk if at all possible. Washable and with natural leather treatment will stay flexible for years.
If these lame directions aren't clear, I apologize. PM me and I can try to clear anything up.
Best way to get this in your mind is to remember the work glove is the overlay on the rodeo glove. Cutting off what you don't need (little finger of work glove) and gluing overlay on rodeo glove.
Let me know if you need any clarification. Even double thickness of elkskin is usually nicer to use than a cowhide welder. I would still not hesitate using a welder for the price and availability. If it comes down to cost, use a welder for a few years and put your money into a quality scales. I believe that comes from either Oakes or McLaughlan in their books on redtails.