Arriving at the workshop Monday morning I had a lovely big parcel to unwrap. The leather had arrived and it was definitely well worth the wait. A deep, dark brown, treated so it will age and texture very nicely over time. With my lovely assistant, Frank, we set off cutting it down to 30mm strips.
It was pretty exciting to be using a very different material, with its very own quirks. Cutting was fairly easy, but keeping the tension even so the strip remained the right width along the whole length meant precise, regular checks with the ruler and a firm hand down on the straight edge.
I wanted the strips and gaps to echo the dimensions of the rest of the bench, there is a 30mm theme throughout the piece. Once the first leather ends were tacked on, evenly spaced, we were flying. Poor Frank had to put all his strength into stretching the leather as taut as possible, while I hammered the tacks in. Thanks to his help the rack is lovely and firm, ready for all the wellies its made to hold.
And there you have it... Project Boot Bench finished.
Just in time for the workshops exciting trip down to Birmingham NEC, where we will be exhibiting at the Grand Designs Live 7th - 9th October 2011. It's all hands on deck for all the last minute bits and bobs for our stand. If you happen to be in town, pop along and say hello, you can even see my Boot Bench in the flesh.
