Home › Forums › Campfire Forum › Anybody Make Their Own Tabs

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    • Etter1
        October 24, 2012 at 2:42 am
        Post count: 831
        #5350

        I’ve always hated gloves for shooting but love my calf hair tabs.

        My buddy Tailfeather has turned me on to the idea of brain tanning my own hides and other than my flintlock possibles bag and musket sling, I didn’t know what else to make.

        Then it occurred to me, make your own tabs. I figured, just trace the outline of my current tabs and then sew two of them together. My calf hair tabs always lose the hair anyway, and shoot just the same so I figured this would work well.

        Anybody do this or have advice? I probably won’t start tanning hides til december.

      • archer38
          October 24, 2012 at 3:50 am
          Post count: 242
          #39806

          I made a few out of an old work boot. Traced the shape on the leather upper and cut it up. Works pretty good !

        • fbahouth
          Member
            October 24, 2012 at 4:02 pm
            Post count: 7
            #40434

            I started making my own tabs quite a few years back. I like a fairly thin tab so i can still feel the string, and I thought that the tabs on the market are a little pricier than I would like. So I bought a sheet of cordovan leather, the best for tabs since it is tough and stays slick, from a company in Missouri whose name now escapes me. I have made many tabs for me and others, and still have plenty of leather left.

            I simply trace an old tab, then cut with an extremely sharp knife. I also taper the edges of the leather so it makes a smooth transition from full thickness.

          • Ripforce
              October 31, 2012 at 1:05 am
              Post count: 225
              #47915

              I started making my own tabs this last summer, I bought scraps of leather from the Tandy leather store as well as some leather tools and got started kinda trial and error as far as shape and leather thickness! I have a tab that I use for a pattern, so far I have made about 20 plus of them, give them to friends as gifts etc! I also make my own bow handle grips too! i have enough leather scraps on hand to never have to buy any again!

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