Using vacuum to form a mask

[zman7458]

Hey now, theres a novel approach! I would never have thought you could get enough suction on a porous material like leather to do that without something to contain the negative air preasure. great how-to Tom, you da man.

[TomBanwell]

  zman7458 said:

I would never have thought you could get enough suction on a porous material like leather to do that without something to contain the negative air preasure.

I also was surprised to find that the leather alone held air. I had assumed I would have to cover it with a sheet of plastic to contain the vacuum, which would have made it much tougher to slide the leather around to eliminate wrinkles. Can't wait to see if cowhide behaves the same way.

[TomBanwell]

Here is a picture of the other set-up I referred to earlier. It is a flat-bed vacuum former, designed for making foot orthotics, but would work well with masks as well. The table has a series of small holes in it through which the vacuum pulls air. The top lowers down over the table, and after the edges seal, the natural rubber bladder (tan colored) is pulled down around your form.

If your leather isn't airtight (for instance, if you've sewn more than one piece together), you will need the bladder or something similar to contain the vacuum. This method makes it harder to work out the wrinkles, but does save on how much leather is wasted.

[MadTailor]

That is great wrire up. Thanks

[TomBanwell]

I received my 2/3 oz veggy cowhide today, and proceede to try the same vacuum technique that worked with the lambskin. It is much less stretchy, and thicker, and didn't work well. I discovered a hole in the piece I had prepared which made fully testing it impossible without starting over again, but from how it was going I am skeptical that it's going to work.

[leatheroo]

thanks for all you efforts with this project, it is much appreciated.

[TomBanwell]

I tried the same face form I used before on my flatbed vacuum former. This setup uses a sheet of natural rubber to maintain the vacuum seal, so you can use a much smaller piece of leather for the mask. On the downside is that you can't directly work the leather to eliminate wrinkles. Unlike a plastic bag, the natural rubber lays quite smooth against the form, due to it's ability to stretch quite a bit.

[leatheroo]

this looks like a great result, is this the veg tanned leather? if so any wrinkles left could be smoothed out with a modeling tool after the vacuum process. i find with the veg once it is stretched it says there. the picture above would make a great wall hanging, i can just see it hanging in a frame!! thanks again for all the work you have put into this process.

can we see a close up of the face?

Edited April 18, 2008 by leatheroo

[TomBanwell]

  leatheroo said:

this looks like a great result, is this the veg tanned leather? if so any wrinkles left could be smoothed out with a modeling tool after the vacuum process. i find with the veg once it is stretched it says there. the picture above would make a great wall hanging, i can just see it hanging in a frame!! thanks again for all the work you have put into this process.

can we see a close up of the face?

Sorry to disappoint you, Caroline, but there was no leather involved. I was just testing to see how well the rubber bladder would pull down around the face form. I am going to give some veggie tanned leather a go with this setup, and I'll let you know the results.

[Cyrex]

Awesome stuff. Very cool!