doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Leg of Mutton gun case handle repair?

I know there are a lot of you with old LEG of Mutton gun cases.
The leather straps that hold the handle have worn through. Please give me some advise as to the best way to make a repair myself. I made some new lid staps and put them on with brass screw together rivits but I cant get my hands down into the case to fix the new straps

thanks for any help

PDD

I chuckled when I read your comments re: repairing the handles on your Leg-O-Mutton case. Three months ago on e-Bay I bid on and won the bid on a 1907 Royale Leg-O-Mutton case. One thing led to another and I took the complete case apart and rebuilt it with a half hide of leather, new brass fittings, a yard of billiard cloth, and 40 yards of waxed thread. I readily admit that a few minor repairs lead to first name relationships at the local Tandy Leather store. The new case is now completed and in total I invested $200 in bits and pieces plus my personal labor at $0.50/hour after I gave myself a raise.

The only items I salvaged are the brass nameplate plus the shell of the case which is made of rolled and varnished paper. If I tackle another case, I'll make the shell out of fiberglas.

If I understand your question; to resew the new handles on your case, you may have to cut through the leather bottom seam and gently spread the bottom of the case to reach and resew the handles (make pilot holes prior to sewing with a Dremel type of drill). Next, hand sew the case bottom back together also using a figure 8 type of stitch, i.e, one piece of waxed thread using two needles. PM me if you have other questions and I'll attempt to help you.

Lewis Drake sells brand new Buffalo hide Leg O Mutton cases for about $300 bucks.
If you live long enough you can make it into an old case.
L.F.

Kevin McCormack in Virginia repairs leg of mutton cases, and can usually restitch handles without dismantling the case. He has done dozens of repairs for me including refitting trunk case interiors and straps. He advertises on the PGCA site.

If you want the case to be usable and and are not restoring it for "looks" or authenticity, you can use the two-part, screw together leather fasteners you find at Tandy, etc. Cut off the old handle straps flush to the case, cut new straps (you can make the ends fancy if you like)long enough to double through the handle rings, then punch through both ends and the case (you'll have to use a drill for this). Reach inside, poke one end of the fastner through all the holes, screw the other end on, tighten. Viola! I've used this with success on guitar and banjo cases as well as legs-o-mutton.

Thanks for all the help. I also have a boatload of time in fooling with these old cases. The shoe people dont have the machines to make the type stitch for the 90 degree angle to repair the tops. I went and bought an awl and after learing how to stitch, fixed it. I will use your suggestions and let you know how it works

THANKS A BUNCH

PDD

PDD, following is another thought on sewing the leather to secure the handle strap. Most of the Leg-O-Mutton cases have the barrel and action divider hinged at the end opposite the cap. If so, move the divider down from the opening side of the case to give you more room. Drill holes around the exterior of the leather securing patches from the top of case side through both the patches and the case. Use a drill a little larger in size so that two needles can pass through the common hole. If you have enough room in your case to allow your hand to reach in to manipulate the needles, great - you may have to use needle nosed pliers to grab the needles inside the case.

Using the one waxed thread with the two needles attached, start the sewing process by running half of the thread length down through the first strap hole. Next, take the top needle and partially run the needle through the second oversized hole. Using this first needle as a guide, run the second needle up through the hole and carefully pull both needles/thread to secure the figure 8 type of loop. Continue the process around the other predrilled holes until the sewing is complete - stop and pour yourself a Scotch, you earned it!

The screw together rivets are called "Chicago Screws" and anyone at Tandy or Tandy takeover stores is familiar with the term. I have no idea where to buy leather working stuff now that Tandy has bailed out of our local area, but I ran into a full service Tandy takeover store in Harrisburg, PA a while ago and bought everything I thought I would ever need, including some way less than acceptable laces. Oh, well, they were cheap. I bought a lifetime supply of Chicago Screws so it was not a wasted adventure. I wouldn't sew one stitch as long as my friend, Mr. McCormack is still repairing cases. My labor is worth much more than fifty cents an hour.

Barrel/action dividers can be removed from cases by removing the muzzle end cap, a removal that is usually neccesary to properly restitch worn areas of a leg of mutton case. While the divider is temporarily removed, handle stitching is simplified to a great degree. No need to bastardize the repair with Chicago screws. While the divider is removed, Mr. McCormack will photograph the interior repair (divider to end cap reattachment) so future repairs can be done without unneccesary destruction of the case. I have filed these photographs with the files on the gun the case houses. No fuss, no muss.