Pretty common occurrence of anyone that has an MPA chassis is the foam covering on the cheek rest comes off. I'm currently not able to shoot as much as I'd like being stuck on nights for the unforseen future. (120 days and counting) so I decided to take up leather making as a hobby... I think I'm going to make some MPA leather cheek pads for my chassis but it's alot harder then I'd thought . There's the first trial I did. Fortunately ingot unlimited resources to deer/ elk/ cow/ antelope hides. Pretty experienced with tanning but not so much using it for anything but rugs and throws. Tanned / dyed some cow hide and come out with this .. I will update will some veg tan that I stamped as soon as it's done sun drying . Here's the cow that I dyed. Pretty shitty / basic.
Phase 1 of MPA leather cheek rest
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I like it.I thought it looks pretty good as well. I really am impressed.
If you have the time and inclination would you mind describing how you do this? Not the tanning but rather how one might effect this/form the cover with a piece of leather that's already tanned.
If you have the time and inclination would you mind describing how you do this? Not the tanning but rather how one might effect this/form the cover with a piece of leather that's already tanned.
A tip is soaking the leather in rubbing alcohol before trying to form it. You can use the item the leather will cover as a mold, or carve a piece of wood to match the item to be covered, and use that as the mold form. The alcohol will dry off much faster than water too. If you need extra thickness, often a piece of foam sleeping mat (about .25-.375" thick) glued to the bottom of the leather (after the leather has been formed and dries) works really well.
I have made skid plates, cheek pieces, and butt stock covers using this wet mold system. Most leather shops sell un-dyed leather that molds very easily. Often they have scrap pieces so you don't have to buy a giant piece of leather for one small project.
I have made skid plates, cheek pieces, and butt stock covers using this wet mold system. Most leather shops sell un-dyed leather that molds very easily. Often they have scrap pieces so you don't have to buy a giant piece of leather for one small project.
Never used the alcohol method. May have to try it. Does the leather stay soft or does it get rigid?
It (the alcohol) does stiffen the leather...using some vegetable oil will help soften it a bit, but you have to work it. A saddle maker told me about using vegetable oil to preserve leather. He said the only issue is that his wife looks at him funny when he heads to the barn with a bottle of vegetable oil....
The alcohol does seem to relax the leather better than hot water does, and allows it to stretch more. I use it to make magazine pouches because no only does the leather hold the molded shape, but I like the stiffness of the leather for the magazine pouches.
To mold for the magazines, I make a wooden model of the magazine (the positive mold) , and a cut out sized for the magazine and leather thickness (negative mold). I put the leather between the magazine mold and the reverse mold, then as I clamp the magazine mold to press the leather into the negative mold, the leather takes, and holds the shape. Even double stack pistol magazine pouches can be made without having to cut out corners.
The alcohol does seem to relax the leather better than hot water does, and allows it to stretch more. I use it to make magazine pouches because no only does the leather hold the molded shape, but I like the stiffness of the leather for the magazine pouches.
To mold for the magazines, I make a wooden model of the magazine (the positive mold) , and a cut out sized for the magazine and leather thickness (negative mold). I put the leather between the magazine mold and the reverse mold, then as I clamp the magazine mold to press the leather into the negative mold, the leather takes, and holds the shape. Even double stack pistol magazine pouches can be made without having to cut out corners.
I took off the remaining of the torn foam pad then used a piece of paper to lay over the riser and ran a sharpie around the edges to get the pattern.
I then layed it on the leather and basically transferred it over/ cut it out.
I definitely shortcutted when applying it to the riser. I should have smoothed out the edges on the leather first. That and the fact I just used super glue to glue it down.
I'm ordering the adjustable riser from MPA ( forgot what they call it, but it adjustes side to side as well) pretty soon so I wasn't too worried about messing this one up. I think I'm going to rip this one off and try to do something with some strong velcro or something that I can swap out different materials/ designs.
I then layed it on the leather and basically transferred it over/ cut it out.
I definitely shortcutted when applying it to the riser. I should have smoothed out the edges on the leather first. That and the fact I just used super glue to glue it down.
I'm ordering the adjustable riser from MPA ( forgot what they call it, but it adjustes side to side as well) pretty soon so I wasn't too worried about messing this one up. I think I'm going to rip this one off and try to do something with some strong velcro or something that I can swap out different materials/ designs.
Another advantage to using alcohol as a wetting agent is that it won't promote rusting of your parts if you use them as the mold. I have used this method for knife sheaths. I allow the leather to dry then use one of several types of leather oil. I try to avoid vegetable or animal oils as they will eventually turn rancid but Neatsfoot Oil is an old standby, I used to use a recipe of beeswax and mineral oil, Obenauf's is made locally (to me) and is my go to now, Turner rifle slings has a recommended oil, even mineral oil works. I oil the leather thoroughly once it is dry from the alcohol because the alcohol tends to drive out ALL the moisture, leather needs oil or water to remain pliable. Obviously, you don't want the water, replace with some form of oil.
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You'd be surprised, felt like I damn near freezer burned my cheek on the leather yesterday in ~20° here in MT. Not nearly as bad as straight alum would be though. I like the idea of cloth, might have to give that a try... Then again I could stop being a cheap ass and just get a proper Wiebad cover.
Don't know if you've seen those , but they look pretty bitchin. They got them for all sorts of stocks/ chassis, one might fit your alum one.
MPA Wiebad Cheek Pad
Yes I have seen them but to cheap to spend the 40 bucks on one let alone 3 since I have multiple rifles
