I have a job that we are working on at the minute that requires us to form some narrow strips of stainless steel to fit round a wooden body of an old railway carriage. As the strips are mirror polished, it's important that we keep marking to a minimum and don't dent them so I thought leather faced slappers would be the tool of choice. Having looked on eBay, there didn't seem to be much choice this side of the pond that looked to be acceptable quality so I decide to make my own. A friend of mine works for his father in law who has his own joinery shop, well stocked with CNC machines so I asked him if he had any suitable timber and whether he could do them for me. All I had to do was supply the DXF files and some cash and this is what we got.
Slapper 1.jpg
Slapper 5.jpg
Slapper 2.jpg
Slapper 4.jpg
Slapper 6.jpg
I have to cut them out and do some shaping/finishing but I'm pretty happy with how they came out. They are approximately 14" long and between 2.1/2" and 2.3/4" wide. Cost for wood and CNC setup machining was £90 lot price which I thought was a bit of a bargain
I ordered some leather strip off eBay this morning to face them with and that was £30 for 2 x 5' strips at 2.3/4" wide which also won't break the bank.
If anyone wants the DXF files to get their own ones cut, just PM me your email address and I'll get them sent over to you.