Just a couple of tips from someone who had lots of trouble with grips. I first cut the piece of leather and lace it dry before I mess with any glue. I find it is necessary to make it a slightly bigger than the minimum to get it to lace tight. The Barge tends to shrink thin leather a little bit. I use a scratch awl to make the holes. Those leather punches make too big of a hole for my liking. I then apply the adhesive to the belly side and the two sides of the grip and the same for the piece of leather. Let it set up. Then lace it really loose, so you can get the glue under the lacing and on the grip. Once it is tacky pull all the lacing tight. Hope that helps a little.