Tips for making leather hand guards

[tclements]

I did not read the OP really closely but I would caution using leather without SOME kind of backing. ONCE, I had a leather maker put a really NICE leather wrap on the horn. Without really knowing any better, the tannic acid in the leather actually ate the lacquer and marred the brass. Be careful.

[IOS]

Once you have the leather cut to size and the velco strips installed on the edges (I prefer this to laces because of the easy removal of the guard when I flush my instrument), put an adhesive backed felt on the underneath side of the guard. This has the advantage of providing a cushion and serves a barrier to the tannic acid in the leather. With the adhesive backed felt you have a urethane barrier that the adhesive is applied to as well as the felt itself to prevent migration of the tannic acid.

One source of the felt is

http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/121/3542/=vqmjr2" target="_blank

[elihellsten]

One of my old teachers (a pro musician) used tape that is normally used for tennis rackets and such. Worked like a charm! Something like this:

[DouglasJB]

Once I get my F back, this is something I want to do on it