Another targe thread.....

[MizzouScotsman]

Ok, the decorative tacks have now been applied. The only thing left to do is put on the strap and handle on the back. So here are the pictures of the tacks applied.

[frank_a]

Very nice, looks great!

Frank

[KiltedDixon]

Nice work!

[Father Bill]

You know, I've never been interested in targes... until I saw this one. Beautiful work, gorgeous colour. Good for you!

[MizzouScotsman]

You know, I've never been interested in targes... until I saw this one. Beautiful work, gorgeous colour. Good for you!

Thanks Father Bill, that means a lot! I have added a few more tacks to the front of the targe at the request of the Mrs, pictures soon to follow.

targe 12.jpgtarge 13.jpg

So now I'm officially done with the front, all I have left to do is the handle and strap on the back. Then this pup is ready for display at the Clan Donald tent come April in Warrensburg MO.

[Tobus]

I really like the choice of tacks you used on there, with the diamond shape. They give it a nice rustic look, along with the natural colour variations in the leather.

What was your process for installing the tacks? Did you just drive them into the leather and wood with a hammer? Or did you drill small pilot holes, use any supporting glue, etc.?

One of the things I'm concerned about when my (future) targe project gets to the point of installing the tacks is that I'll end up bending a lot of the tack posts trying to drive them into plywood. I had that problem in the past with a furniture project. As I'd try to tap a tack through the fabric and into the wood behind it, the post would often bend ever-so-slightly or drive into the wood at a slight angle, and the tack would end up off-center. Drilling tiny pilot holes would seem to help, but would be quite a pain. So I'm curious what you did.

[Guinness>water]

Your targe looks great!

In the couple I have made, the wood used decides if pilot holes need to be drilled or not. The first one I made I used oak plywood and had no problems hammering in the tacks. The second one was regular ol' ply wood and pilot holes were needed.

I highly recommend the 1/2 inch oak ply wood used for cabnent making. Its easy to cut and takes the tacks really well.

[MizzouScotsman]

I really like the choice of tacks you used on there, with the diamond shape. They give it a nice rustic look, along with the natural colour variations in the leather.

What was your process for installing the tacks? Did you just drive them into the leather and wood with a hammer? Or did you drill small pilot holes, use any supporting glue, etc.?

One of the things I'm concerned about when my (future) targe project gets to the point of installing the tacks is that I'll end up bending a lot of the tack posts trying to drive them into plywood. I had that problem in the past with a furniture project. As I'd try to tap a tack through the fabric and into the wood behind it, the post would often bend ever-so-slightly or drive into the wood at a slight angle, and the tack would end up off-center. Drilling tiny pilot holes would seem to help, but would be quite a pain. So I'm curious what you did.

Thank you Tobus. The tacks were ones I picked up at Jo Ann's Fabric.

The process was a learning one for sure. I did not drill any pilot holes. Truthfully, I never thought of doing that...lol. What I did was use my T-Square to line up where the tacks would go, then used a leather tooling stylus to slightly score the leather so I knew where the tacks would go. I then used a smaller ruler to set the tacks evenly apart. I used the somewhat sharp end of the leather tooling stylus to make holes in the leather where the tacks would be set. I then put the tacks in the holes and used a small hammer (ball peen to be exact) to hammer them home. I did bend a few but not many. But that was more a product of my hammering skills (not hitting straight as I should have done) than the hardness of the wood. The plywood that I used is not regular ole plywood but a plywood made up of wood shavings compressed together, almost a particle board plywood. Not sure but I think that made it easier to hammer the tacks into the wood.

I think the hardest part I had was measuring and getting the tack placement correct. I had to pull a couple out of the leather to replace them a wee bit. If any scars resulted, I can simply look at them as "battle scars" on a well used targe.

The color I used as a bottle of "Saddle Tan" from Tandy Leather company. I used an old sock and after rubbing on the first coat, dabbed the last two coats on so there would not be a swirl in the leather and give it a more rustic look. There are a couple of areas where the leather is somewhat darker, but not much, but I like that look.