Pack 356 has a set of leatherworking tools available for any Den to use.
Here are the basics of including a leatherworking project in your Den activities:
Decide upon a project. For younger Cub Scouts, the project should
be simple, such as decorating a leather bookmark or keychain fob. For older
Scouts a more involved project such as the assembly and decoration of a leather
wallet may be appropriate.
Reserve the leatherworking tools by writing your name and the date
they are required on a sign-up sheet that is kept in the box with the tools.
(At the time this was written, the leatherworking tools are kept in a 12-gal
plastic storage box in the pantry of Sunrise UMC.)
Purchase the project kits. Simple kits (such as the bookmark) can
be bought in packages of three for $5.00 at crafts stores such as Michael's.
To pay for these project kits, you have the option of using dues money collected
from the Cub Scouts, "seed money" provided to each Den by the Pack Committee, or,
(in special circumstances) ask the Pack Committee to purchase the kits for your den.
Execute the Project. For simple projects, you can decorate the leather
by softening it and stamping it. To soften the leather, you will need a sponge and
a shallow bowl of water. Dampen the sponge and then press it onto the leather in
the area that you intend to stamp. Hold it there for apox 30 seconds. To stamp,
select the stamp image that you want to use and attach it to a handle. Place the
image (correctly oriented) over the leather and strike it once very firmly.
Things to watch out for:
Scouts should select simple patterns - there is a tendency to get carried away
and stamp every square inch. In general, the projects will look nicer if they are
kept simple. Initials, the date, and a simple border or pattern will look good.
Large stamps should be avoided, especially for younger Scouts. They require
additional strength to get a sharp image.
Strike once - double strikes can blur the image or cause a double image. If
image is not sharp enough, let an adult carefully re-align the stamp with the
partial image and hold the stamp in place while the stamp is struck again. For
the next image, soften the leather more by using more water or a longer sponge
time.
Scouts will frequently place the stamps on the leather oriented incorrectly.
Adults should double check the orientation before they strike the stamp.
More complicated projects may require lacing parts together, beadwork, etc -
follow the directions that came with the kit.
Many documents on this CD are in PDF format.
You can download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader, from Adobe's website:
www.adobe.com