Glock21 Report post Posted January 27, 2011 So here is the story..........The welding shop where I work is building a large BBQ to use at company picnics and things like that. The doors that cover the grilling area are stainless steel and the have some standofss about 2-3 inches off the door to attach a handle. currently the have a flat alluminum stock bar attached to the which the plan on making two peices of hard wood to put on eaithe side with the edges to be routed with a round over bit. I was talking to the lead person about maybe covering the wood with a tooled leather peice. My idea's are to either wrap the whole handle or maybe just inlay a peice on the outside of the handle. My question is how would you guys and gals reccomend permanently attaching the leather to the handle? Contact cement? Screws? rivets? or some kind of other hardware. Or a combo nation of teh glue and hardware. The lead person is worried that the heat will melt the glue. 1 More question what would you finish it with or should I just oil it up and leave it like that ...Or is there some kind of finish I could put on that will protect the leather if it gets a little wet or something like that. Any help would be great! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whinewine Report post Posted January 27, 2011 My question is how would you guys and gals reccomend permanently attaching the leather to the handle? [1]Contact cement? [2]Screws? [3]rivets? or some kind of other hardware. Or a combo nation of teh glue and hardware.[4] Or is there some kind of finish I could put on that will protect the leather if it gets a little wet or something like that [5]. [1] Yes, but read the label to see what the heat range is (Barge will loosen under heat, which is why it is frequently used in the shoe & leather industry). [1a] Find out from the lead guy (since he IS the lead guy he should know...) what the temp will be at the handle. [2] Yeah... [3] Yeah... [4] How about sewn? Punch holes beforehand with a #00 punch & sew up with a good quality thread in a cross stitch decorative pattern on the underside of the handle. [5] Neatlac or clearlac or Aussie or Pecards. (Just remember, though, over time, it will darken, even if protected, with hand sweat/gunk, friction of opening/closing the lid, sunlight, etc- but it's going to look great at the very beginning!) just my 2 cents worth. Good luck russ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Glock21 Report post Posted January 27, 2011 [1] Yes, but read the label to see what the heat range is (Barge will loosen under heat, which is why it is frequently used in the shoe & leather industry). [1a] Find out from the lead guy (since he IS the lead guy he should know...) what the temp will be at the handle. [2] Yeah... [3] Yeah... [4] How about sewn? Punch holes beforehand with a #00 punch & sew up with a good quality thread in a cross stitch decorative pattern on the underside of the handle. [5] Neatlac or clearlac or Aussie or Pecards. (Just remember, though, over time, it will darken, even if protected, with hand sweat/gunk, friction of opening/closing the lid, sunlight, etc- but it's going to look great at the very beginning!) just my 2 cents worth. Good luck russ So if I decide to do a flat inlay on only the front side of the handle and use screws will brass screws be ok or will they cause stains in the leather? Or what type of screws should I use Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reddevil76 Report post Posted January 28, 2011 You can use this stitching method But since heat is a concern, you can use the stitching method, but instead of thread, use thin stainless steel wire. The type they use to lock oil drain plugs on racing bikes or cars. But to use wire, I suppose you will need to reinforce the stitching holes with eyelets. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whinewine Report post Posted January 28, 2011 So if I decide to do a flat inlay on only the front side of the handle and use screws will brass screws be ok or will they cause stains in the leather? Or what type of screws should I use A lot of brass is used along side, & in conjunction with, leather. Brass, however, if not protected, will tarnish to a green oxide, so that is a consideration. Also, if the brass goes all the way through the wood & rests upon/touches the flat bar aluminum of the handle, there is the potential of an electrochemical reaction between the 2 metals. Check with a chemist if that is the situation (I don't know- I'm not a chemist, nor do I play one on television). If you're going to do a flat inlay, I would have a space routed out to set the leather into the handle & fastened to the wood with short stainless screw screws, maybe heat-treated to a golden color (Bearman just had several posts on heat treating ss to different colors) if you insist on it {I would probably prefer the ss color, as the bulk of the grill is that color, but, go with whatever looks better on the finished project}... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dwight Report post Posted January 29, 2011 I would probably prefer to punch both sides of the seam, and lace it just like lacing a pair of shoes up, . . . tuck in the ends so they are not seen, . . . then pour some hot/warm water onto the leather. As it dries it will try to shrink ever so much, . . . it will also "set" the veggie tan leather, . . . and I would think that it would be a really handsome piece. To keep it from coming loose and rotating around the handle, . . . I would go back from the seam a bit and contact cement a stripe of it the full length of the handle. May God bless, Dwight Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
