Rawhide wrap

[Terry Cheek]

I built a Traditions 50 Kentucky over winter. While building, I decided to eliminate the brass spacer between the stock halves. This worked fine, and yes, there is a visible glue line. I have noticed guns with a rawhide wrap around the joint of a two-piece stock. Are there any tutorials or experienced smiths' that could help with some direction?

Thanks
Terry

UPDATE
I have decided to abandon the rawhide wrap and explore other options. I appreciate everyone's input.

[Mike Brooks]

I have never noticed a rawhide wrap around a jointed stock.

[Daniel Coats]

I've only seen this on faux wrist repairs but it will work.

Buy a rawhide doggie chew toy thin as you can find and throw it in a water bucket until soft and squishy. Cut to shape and make holes evenly spaced along the two edges and keep it wet. Think about where you want the seam when on the gun so as to not interfere with holding it in an uncomfortable position and keep it wet. Use artificial sinew and a larger sewing needle and stitch it up and keep it wet until it's on. It's going to be a little loose until it dries but will shrink up considerably. Stain or paint it to suit your taste and if you don't like it later you can always soak it with water and cut the stitches.

Warning, dogs will still like it and may follow you around! 

[smylee grouch]

Is this going to shrink around the ramrod and make it hard to use?

[borderdogs]

Saddle shops sometimes have rawhide wrap available even some places that sell tack possibly State Line Tack. I have bought mule hide wrap which is different but I have seen rawhide too. I have wrapped saddle horns, you soak the wrap in water usually overnight or maybe a day some say you should boil it I didn't do that. Then wrap it hand tight around whatever then let it dry and wrap it into itself so it holds itself. With rawhide wraps regarding saddles it is usually used on wear spots like the cantle and sometimes at the edge of horns but will adsorb water so you might need to seal it but I don't know for sure. You should be able to find cat gut sinew or thread and a ponch wheel to space where the needle will go in and out.

https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/cp_/shop-now?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-96-k5X99gIVwfezCh1WngeXEAAYAiAAEgI-DPD_BwE

https://www.buckleguy.com/leather-working-tools/

https://www.rmleathersupply.com/collections/pricking-irons-chisels-awls

https://www.panhandleleather.com/products/rawhide-horn-wrap

Rob

[Hungry Horse]

 Get a big dog bone chew. Don’t grab the first one you see, dig though the pile and get one thats on the thin side. Thin ones are easier to sew though. I did exactly the same thing to a CVA Kentucky years ago. I didn’t want tacks or nails in the stock. So I made a cut out in the rawhide to go around the rear sight. It looked like $#@* when I was done, so I took some Lincoln’s brown shoe dye (Feibings won’t work)and smeared it on the rawhide, and then IMMEDIATELY wipe it down with a wet rag. It came out perfect. It looked like it had been on the gun for centuries. Good luck.

Hungry Horse

[elkhorne]

Hungry Horse,
What about a piece of deer hide that one has tacked up on a barn or fence. Soak it, remove as much hair as you can and then while wet, cut a piece for whatever you want to wrap! That would give a nice period look to something!
elkhorne

[Terry Cheek]

I appreciate all of the feedback, past, present, and future. I have only seen it one time on a CVA that also used a two-piece stock. Since it is a Tradition and not period specific to anything, I thought I might try a few things on it—the Kibler I am working on now, period-correct only, with no experiments.

[longcruise]

PM me your address and I'll mail you a chunk of rawhide.  You can compensate my postage after you receive it.  Give me some idea of the size you want.

[RichG]

if your two peice stock doesn't line up with a thimble make one and put it in ramrod groove and wrap your raw hide over it. I can't see it moving after the raw hide drys.

[Hungry Horse]

Elkhorne, I live in California where deer season is in the summer. The deer hides are so thin they really don’t work well.

Hungry Horse

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I have only had the need to repair one muzzleloader with a rawhide wrap.  It was my Tulle muzket which fell from my hands while loading and struck muzzle first on the far side of the trail.  The break was along the grain of the wrist.  I carefully removed the metal parts that were keeoing the stock from pulling apart into two pieces, joined up the broken stock ends with a piece of all-thread and AcraGlas, and finally, wrapped the wrist with a piece of moose hide that was about 3/32" thick (raw).  I jointed the edges with an autopsy stitch along the top of the wrist, and when it dried the fix was permanent, and very effective.