Page 259 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

Figure 6-63F. Finishing off the first end of the stitch.
The stitch finishes, as it began, with each needle
making a complete round turn. Reef-Knot the ends
together and cut off flush with the leather.

is excellent stuff. It’s tough, elastic, and durable,
but thin enough that it won’t look clunky
in place. If you apply it over stainless, rub a
generous amount of anhydrous lanolin (available
from druggists) into the wire first to minimize
oxygen starvation. Tar and serve galvanized wire
before leathering.
• Always turn the stitches away from chafe. When
leathering nonfeathering oars, run the seam in
line with the blade edge. With feathering oars,
run it a little aft of the edge so that it won’t
chafe against the forward side of the oarlock as Figure 6-63G. Stitching the second half of the leather.
you feather. Row for a bit before leathering; the
chafe marks will show where the middle of the level, one of you on either side, and commence
leather should be. If the boat has more than one stitching, hauling tight after each pass. With a
rowing station or a sculling notch, you’ll want an bit of practice you’ll work into a pleasant little
extra-long leather to accommodate the different choreography.
bearing points. Especially for feathering and • For the neatest job, bevel the meeting edges back
sculling oars, it’s good to glue the wood and from the finished face of the leather and make the
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leather together with contact cement before piece slightly undersized ( ⁄16 to ⁄8 inch, depending
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stitching. on the elasticity of the leather you’re using) so
• If your twine does chafe through sometime, that the leather will stretch to fill the gap.
anchor the repair strand(s) and the original • Rub liberal amounts of neats-foot oil or other
strand(s) under the first several stitches you conditioner into both sides of the leather before
take. This is far better than tying a knot in the sewing, and renew the coating periodically on
end of the twine, as that knot is liable to pull the outside, after installation.
through under strain. • Always leather soft eyes (Figure 6-64) before
• Two people with needles can make this stitch go splicing; it is so much easier to leather in a
very quickly indeed: Set the work up at waist straight line. To leather grommets or to re-leather

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