Shrinking of leather

[Brushpopper]

Does casing and dip-dyeing leather cause shrinking? What do you folks think?

[Jordan]

Stretching deformation is more prevalent than shrinkage when working with cased leather.

[Frank]

Shrinking shouldn't be too much of a problem if you glass the leather really well after it is cased the first time.

[kseidel]

Brushpopper,

Shrinkage is a big problem here! I think it is more of an issue where the humidity is low. I get a lot of shrinkage and for several days after. A saddle seat can shrink over an inch sometimes. I have to count for about 3/4" always. Belts will shrink lengthwise about 1/2 - 3/4". They can be stretched back out to correct size, but not saddle parts. Saddle skirting is more of a challenge than tooling and strap leather.

Keith

[Brushpopper]

Thanks, guys.

Maybe it would be possible to remove the shrinkage before cutting, by wetting the leather and leaving a little slack around the edges. (?)

[china]

What do you mean by "glass the leather"

china

[Frank]

We have relatively high humidity here in Wisconsin during the spring and summer...I can't wait to move to the southwest! Maybe then the shrinking problem will occur more frequently.

The glassing that I am referring to China is stretching of the leather when it is cased with a smooth piece of glass or wood. The better you glass the leather, the less shrinkage that I have found anyways. It also tightens up the leather fibers. You can tell a big difference by trying to cut a piece of leather that has been cased and glassed compared to a piece of leather that has just been cased. You can find the glassers through Barry King tools and also Douglas tools.