john williams

[John T Williams]

Hi,
I have recently registered with metalmeet and find it facinating, I do need some info on where to purchase or better still how I can make a leather bench sand beating or shaping pad, I have only seen one once in a mag and they look like a dohnut.

[Gonejunking]

Hi John
Welcome to Metalmeet.

Look around here, you will find out how to make a bag, or where to buy one.

The cheapest one, is to get an old leather purse from a thrift store, and fill it with dry sand.

Good luck

[John T Williams]

Hi, Jef,
Thanks for that Jeff makes a lot of sense sometimes the simplest ideas are the best.
John

[Tinman]

I made mine out of an old leather welding apron. Took it to the upholstery shop and had it sown up. $5.00 Bought sandbox sand from the lumber yard “$?”. Spent some time drying it with a heat gun and filled the bag. Wha-La ! I use a another small piece of leather to cover the to prevent the metal from damaging my bag.

[Neal Nicholson]

5 minute epoxy works well for closing the opening you used to put in the sand.

Neal

[John T Williams]

Thanks guys, you lot out there are a mine of information,cheers.

[ralph]

Like Neal said 5 min Epoxy will work. So will Gorilla glue.

As someone pointed out in an earlier post a neat trick is to epoxy or glue in a velcro strip so you can adjust the fill later.

[tdoty]

Contact cement works fine for closing the gap too - at least for me. Tinman, I wish I had your upholstery shop nearby - local shoe shop guy charged me $20 each! Sold those 2 at MM04, and went with a slightly thinner leather that I could sew myself for my subsequent bags.

I buy my leather off eBay, and have gotten really lucky so far :) . Cut the circle, sew the first round with a 3/4"+ seam allowance (remember to leave about 1" clear for the fill hole), then apply contact cement to both halves (from the seam outward, again, leaving the 1" opening) and let it dry. Once the cement is dry, press the havles together and sew 2 more rounds 1/4" apart.

I use "Black Magnum Abrasive Blasting Crystals" to fill my bag - works great, it's already dry and it's about $5 for a 25# bag. Play Sand works nicely too, but you have to dry it first.

John's idea of a welding apron is a good one too. HF sells a suede apron for like $7.99 that might just be big enough.

HTH,

Tim D.

[Tinman]

Here is my sand bag and cover.
Later

[JonD]

John, the only people I know who are selling bags in the UK are Frost. I got an 18 inch one from them and I'm quite happy with it.

regards

Jon