Leather Keepsake Box

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My mom has really gotten into researching her ancestry. As such, she has a huge stack of 8.5x11 paper that's about 6" tall, and growing. She doesn't want to separate out the paper into various binders (for example, one binder per branch of the family), and prefers to keep it all together. I asked her if she'd like to put it in a box, and she said she couldn't find one that was sized for standard Letter-size paper.

So, I have a few woodworking tools at my disposal (another hobby of mine). I was thinking I could build a wooden box, then either create an inlay of leather on the top of the box with some nice tooling, or go all out and wrap the entire box, inside and out with leather.

Has anyone done anything like this before for something this large? I figure it needs to be fairly sturdy, thus the wooden box as a core, but I'm open to suggestions.

[Hilly]

My mom has really gotten into researching her ancestry. As such, she has a huge stack of 8.5x11 paper that's about 6" tall, and growing. She doesn't want to separate out the paper into various binders (for example, one binder per branch of the family), and prefers to keep it all together. I asked her if she'd like to put it in a box, and she said she couldn't find one that was sized for standard Letter-size paper.

So, I have a few woodworking tools at my disposal (another hobby of mine). I was thinking I could build a wooden box, then either create an inlay of leather on the top of the box with some nice tooling, or go all out and wrap the entire box, inside and out with leather.

Has anyone done anything like this before for something this large? I figure it needs to be fairly sturdy, thus the wooden box as a core, but I'm open to suggestions.

One of our members, Anne Newkold, covered an entire wooden chest with tooled panels of leather. I have seen larger pieces of furniture that was covered in leather.

What about making a covered box like the ones that copier paper comes in, and covering it in leather? You could make it deeper if you wanted to. Just make sure the inside dimensions are correct. OR, the book "The Art of Making Leather Cases" series has an interesting project for a briefcase that could be adapted for your needs.

[particle]

Ahh - thanks - forgot about the Leather Cases books. That's a great resource that I have yet to add to my collection...

[leatherman1457]

My mom has really gotten into researching her ancestry. As such, she has a huge stack of 8.5x11 paper that's about 6" tall, and growing. She doesn't want to separate out the paper into various binders (for example, one binder per branch of the family), and prefers to keep it all together. I asked her if she'd like to put it in a box, and she said she couldn't find one that was sized for standard Letter-size paper.

So, I have a few woodworking tools at my disposal (another hobby of mine). I was thinking I could build a wooden box, then either create an inlay of leather on the top of the box with some nice tooling, or go all out and wrap the entire box, inside and out with leather.

Has anyone done anything like this before for something this large? I figure it needs to be fairly sturdy, thus the wooden box as a core, but I'm open to suggestions.

Particle I do leather covered boxes. I would be glad to talk you thru it if you wanted .Here is a sample of what i do. I made these for my Gomph tools but could be used to store anything. just depends on what you want to put in it.Since I am a wood worker also. it is easy to make it any size. Gary

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Gary - that's a beautiful box! Let me give it some thought. At a minimum, I might like to find out where you got some of your hardware. I'm sure I'll have some questions as this thing unravels... Thanks for the offer to help!