I wanted a way to keep all my essential car repair tools with me in case I broke down. I made a tool warp out of leather and canvas. Check it out!
1. Gather Essential Tools
I have a 1992 Toyota Land Cruiser and it is prone to mechanical trouble. When the time comes to wrench on the Cruiser, I-like most people-keep my tools in a toolbox in my garage. Through experience, I have come to realize that I need to keep a tool kit in my car at all times. This revelation was great an all, but which tools? You have to decide which tools you would most commonly need for your vehicle and some that are universal enough to be handy in a pinch. First decide if your car uses metric or imperial hardware (most use metric) and get a socket set to match. Long handle box-end wrenches are also good to provide leverage in tight spots. Either way, find out which tools are most important and gather them up.
2. Material Layout
After you have gathered all the essential tools and arranged them in an orderly manner, you need to decide on the material used for the tool wrap. I had some waxed canvas left over from the shop apron project that I really like. Wondering if it were going to be durable enough, I pulled out some thinner grey leather. A combination of these materials will not only look awesome, it will be super durable. I laminate the materials together and arranged the tools into vertical slots. After marking the sewing lines and grommet positions, I removed the tools and busted out my leather working tools.
3. Grommets and Thread
With the material laminated and the pocket positions marked, I began adding rivets to the vertical openings to strengthen the joints. Like a set of blue jeans, they needed this extra support so the metal tools didn’t rip any seams. After using a punch to add all of the grommets, I changed the template so that the tool wrap became a folded tool pouch. This way, the set can easily fit under the driver’s seat. Now that the form factor was set, I finished sewing the edges with my hand-crank sewing machine from Weaver Leather. All that was left was to add some snaps to close the essential tool kit, and it was done.
Really Simple Leather Working Project
I’m glad that I finally have the tools that I need to help my out of jam right where I need them. I love my Land Cruiser and don’t have plans on replacing it, so I need to take proper care of it. Keeping tools like these in your vehicle can be the difference between limping home and being left stranded. I’m also pretty proud that it looks really nice too. I encourage you to make an essential tool kit for your vehicle and I hope you learn some new skills along the way.
Tools List:
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Leather Working Tools:
Other Stuff:
