CriticalRA

I just finished my second cigar case and now before I stitch, I want to finish it. With so many different ways I am kind of at a loss as to what to use and how to use it. There is no tooling, it's just 3-4 oz. veg tanned belly leather. I want the antique look, so I was thinking 2 coats of Neatsfoot oil, applying Dark Brown Eco-Flow Gell, wipe, apply again, wipe and buff with some wool. This is just plain leather and I am not sure my process will make it look good? What would y'all recommend for this type of project?

Awesome info! I didn't drip the leather in water when I molded it but I got it pretty damn wet. I will re damp it, mold it a little more and bake it and post the results. I will have to wait on getting an Awl, I gotta order one as I cannot find one on town. Hobby lobby didn't even have one..go figure lol. With the new holes being so much smaller, will I be able to do a double stitch? Thanks for the info sir!

I had a fun night last night! I had a little trial and error with the length and width of leather I needed but I think I finally got it down. I ended up making a mold out of some dowels, per the ring gauge I wanted. I am thinking about drilling a new hole in each bottom corner and re-stitching to get a more rounded look, what do y'all think? I wet formed it about 12 hours ago and it's not getting "rock head" as the sticky said it would. I was able to mold it exactly the way I wanted it and I think it's turned out quite well thus far. The cigars are a tiny bit loose inside but I am ok with that. Glad I found this forum I will also be dying it soon, so I will need to read up on that so I do it right, I really think once its rounded and dyed it will look quite nice! Here are the pics... Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Pic 4 Pic 5

Thanks Michael! I tried looking online for what the oil actually does but I couldn't really find anything. I know you case leather before tooling but should I case it even more for molding? I am not sure if I can mold them and clamp the sides till its done and then glue/punch holes for stitching. I think I have to cut, glue, stitch and then mold. I guess I could leave a extra leather on the side, mold it and then start gluing and punching. I don't know, I'll figure it out as I go lol.

Thanks for the reply sir, I will be trying all this today at some point. I am not sure how good of quality the leather is at Hobby Lobby but that's where I will start. And by lacing I meant stitching of course, I used to wrong terminology haha. I was hoping to get a tight group of stitching which is why I went for the 10 but your probably right to start with a larger stitch, perhaps a 6 would be better. I have a video guide that I will be going by but I have a feeling it will come out pretty good. If not, I can tweak it out. The only thing I have not figured out yet is how to line the inside. When using neatsfoot oil to form the leather around the dowels, will I need to oil the inside as well? After that process I was really wanting to line it with a ceder sheet but am at a loss as how to do that exactly. Any thoughts? I was thinking about making my first one, molding it with the dowels and then making a mold of the inside and using that mold as a template for future cases but as everything in life...it works in my brain but will it work on the table? lol. We'll give it a shot and see where it takes me Tyler

Hello everyone, I have been reading this forum all day long and I must say y'all seem to be extremely helpful to the noobies that come around asking for help. I have some questions about making a case. If you do not know what type of case I am talking about please refer to the link below. http://www.cupojoes.com/cgi-bin/spgm?dpt=D&srch=DD&item=DAV085312 I am always looking to work with my hands and this is a perfect skill for me to learn. I would like it to look similar to the case in the link but I still am at a loss as to what tools I will need exactly. This case should be simple to make, 4 pieces of leather, glue, holes for thread, etc. I smoke a lot of cigars so once the leather is assembled I will be using wooden dowels based off the vitola of my cigar. Now for my questions.... What type of leather should I use? I plan on using neatsfoot oil around it to form fit around the dowels and I was told veg tanned leather is the best for molding. What thickness? Obviously this will not be a harden case but I want it to be study, not hard. Any recommendation? What is the point of beveling the edges around the stitching? I know I can use a slicker to round them out but I assume it's for looks only or does it help with the slicking process? Besides the normal tools needed (Hammer, Mat, Blade, Ruler and Glue), I think I will also need a... 1. Beveling Tool 2. A adjustable stitch groover (I read that this helps protect the stitch so that the threads are not worn down) 3. An Overstitch Wheel (Probably 10 per inch), I assume this tool is used to mark the holes needed for the lace, correct? 4. A Awl and blade for making the holes for lacing 5. Saddlers Needles 6. Thread...For thread, does it have to be waxed thread? If so why? (Will be doing a double saddler stitch) 7. Slicker for rounding edges That should do it. I have no idea how this will turn out but I have tried hard to do as much research as possible and now I come to you guys to make sure I have everything I need for this project. I am sure there will be a little trial and error along the way but does it look like I have everything I need? I can't tell you how exited I am to dive into the world of leather working and I hope to see many of you sound off in this topic I am sure I will have more questions along the way. Thanks