Tutorial: WW1 Turkish Ottoman bandolier

[Arcturus1020]

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

Contact Cement
1/4" Antique Brass Eyelets
Eyelet setter
Line 20 black snaps
Line 20 snap setter
Snap anvil

 PHOTO ALBUM TUTORIAL LINK

Other items:
Leather or vinyl, sandpaper (or rotary tool with sanding drum!), snap knife, awl or leather punch, pencil or hobby knife to make bullet loops, hammer, rapid rivets (to attach finished bandolier to a belt), belt (try Goodwill), overstitch wheel, painters tape (or masking), acrylic paint for weathering. I also picked up this Mini Anvil which has been a really great buy and I use it a lot! Totally not needed, but it is awesome. Oh, and you'll probably want to get some Sharpie markers (brown & black) to color the cut edges of the leather or vinyl. You can also use a Line 24 snap, but keep in mind that those are larger than the Line 20s I suggest using for this project. Just saying....

Cost: $46.94 plus tax (not including 'other items').

While surfing Craigslist recently, I checked out the 'free' section and discovered that someone had just moved away and left their old brown leather sofa outside for anyone who wanted it . . . at the time, it was posted 4 days prior to me checking it out, but I decided to go see if it was still there, which it was, so I took out the knife I brought with me and sliced off the back to be used for this project (this leather is about a 2-3oz leather).

I'm a template/pattern guy, and make my own using Adobe Illustrator, so I busted this out within 10 minutes and printed it out. Since the leather wasn't long enough, I had to glue 2 of them together and backed it with a small piece of leather (Barge cement).

 

For the bullet section, my plan here is to cut out the areas that will have the Barge cement applied using this template as a mask to apply the cement, and then add cement to the back of the thin 11/16" strip that will hold the bullets and then meld the two together in those spots with a pen or pencil acting as the bullet to get the correct shape for the loops--no sewing as I don't have a machine that can handle leather.

 

I'm heading out to Tandy tomorrow to get more cement, eyelets, and a snap setter (it's much cheaper as I get the Elite pricing than going to JoAnns or Michaels). More to come!

And yes, you can download the template and use if you wish! It's the tiny little image below here...that's the template....

 

Edited March 1, 2020 by Arcturus1020

[Karpouzian]

Awesome, thanks! Following this to see the WIP.

[Arcturus1020]

Not much to report...Tandy is a bit of a trek, but certainly worth the trip when you have a little more than just one little thing to get. Instead of Barge, I bought the Leather Factory brand in an 8oz can with a brush. I also picked up some 1/4" antique brass eyelets (100 per pack), a couple setters (a line 20 snap setter and a rivet setter), and an anvil. Let me tell you, that little anvil is awesome!!!

I just got started working on the flaps and putting the eyelets and snaps on them, which is looking pretty darn cool. For the snaps, I'm using "black" line 20 snaps which aren't painted but do have a metalized black look to them. They're actually pretty nice! As you can see in the photo, I'm using the template for the flap tas a guide for the holes I'm punching. Make sure you're using a really sharp (fresh blade) knife when cutting the leather flaps too because it makes life so much easier.

 

[mutter]

Great endeavor! I've been toying with the same idea. Looking forward to seeing the final product!

Greg

[Arcturus1020]

Today went quick once I got all the flaps assembled last night, so much so that I didn't get to take pics of the bullet process. I used the aluminum handle of the hobby knife as the bullet insert and pressed the two pieces of leather together as I went after I applied the contact cement and let them dry for about 10 minutes. The Phillips screwdriver was used to press the leather together between each bullet. I'm using painter's tape to cover the leather while sanding to rough up the top so the cement has something good to adhere to! *edit: I found that using a small handheld Dremel tool with a small sanding drum works awesome instead of sandpaper!*

 

After that was done, I moved on to the straps that hold the flaps down using contact cement. I put the first flap on just to see how it will look and used some quick rivets along with the contact cement just to make sure it doesn't go anywhere. Totally not needed, by the way. As for the "stiches", I used an Overstitch wheel which really helps sell the whole look.

 

Then it was onto the flaps and gluing them to the back . . . and no, I'm not going to finish the back at all. Nobody's going to see it after all.

TIP: I snapped each flap to the front of the bandolier so it didn't throw anything off to the front while adhering the flaps to the back!

 

And finished! I just need to weather it a little bit!

Oh yes...for the back of the bando...you can quick rivet it to an old brown leather belt that you can pick up from a goodwill store. I had an old sword bandolier that I made for a pirate cutlass that I no longer use and used that for the back of mine. Quick rivets to the top and bottom...and the cool thing about this is that you can make it for either shoulder (mine is for the right shoulder)!

 

[Karpouzian]

Really awesome work on the bandolier!

[mutter]

Looks great!

[Arcturus1020]

Thanks for the compliments guys!

I applied some weathering to the bando, and now it's finished. I used some watered down acrylic paints mixing a dark green, titanium white, and black for the "mud grey" and straight black (watered down again) over that to give it a bit of depth, then I took some sandpaper to the leather adding some wear to the overall look.

I'm quite happy with how this turned out!

 

 

[SithRaider]

Looks great!!

[Karpouzian]

You could probably sell these pretty easily!

[Arcturus1020]

Thanks all! I may do that Dan.....

[Arcturus1020]

Yup, I'm a glutton for punishment alright. I started on another bando and I'll probably post one of these for sale once I'm done with it . . . just waiting on new (and correct) antique brass snaps to come in from eBay.

 

[Karpouzian]

Any idea what you'll charge?

[outrbnkr]

Thats what I want to know.  These look great!

[Arcturus1020]

Thanks so much for the kudos everyone! I hope this tutorial helps some of you out making your own!

[UneekTusken]

Great work !! The over stitch wheel is a definite bonus and adds to the detail !! Thanks again for the tutorial !!

[Majewski79]

That is really cool!

[spoox]

Genius! I might try this with a pink vinyl haha

[pigelectric]

I was going to ask how you got the seams on the leather if your sewing machine can't handle leather (mine can't, either). Then I read your thread in more detail and realized you used a tool!  The overstitcher looks like my pastry wheel...alas, I wish my pastry wheel could double as an over stitcher.

 

 

[Arcturus1020]

On 1/7/2016 at 3:16 AM, pigelectric said:

I was going to ask how you got the seams on the leather if your sewing machine can't handle leather (mine can't, either). Then I read your thread in more detail and realized you used a tool!  The overstitcher looks like my pastry wheel...alas, I wish my pastry wheel could double as an over stitcher.

 

 

Actually I used Barge cement with a piece of black leather on the back to keep them together...no tool. The overstitcher tool was just used to give the impression of being sewn.

[ChiefTrag]

So glad I stumbled onto this. Your work is amazing!

 

[Arcturus1020]

Thanks Kristopher!

@FantasticDamage, you might like this tutorial too...very easy to make!

[FantasticDamage]

2 hours ago, Arcturus1020 said:

Thanks Kristopher!

@FantasticDamage, you might like this tutorial too...very easy to make!

Thanks James, once I get some leather in I'm gonna have to try this!

[Arcturus1020]

I updated the first post here too with supplies needed/suggested and links to make life a little easier for everyone.

And do take a look on Craigslist in the FREE section for leather couches, chairs, footstools, whatever!

[kacrut]

Hi Arcturus1020... is there any way that you can upload the pictures of your bandolier build again, please... it's for me and others who wanted to make the bandolier like yours... for me it's more helpful to see the pictures (because english is not my main language) Thank you.