Using Wooden Forms

[ToddB 68]

Howdy !

I'll start with my question first for those who prefer to skip the background information below.

When shaping 12oz. Veg-tanned leather over a carved wooden form, should the leather be wet or damp ? What's the usual procedure with thick leather ?

I'm making a tool sheath of my own design, using 12 oz. Veg-tanned leather and the length of the cavity for the tool will be 9-1/2" long and the shape of the sheath will be rectangular (no fancy curves.). The rear leather panel that goes against my thigh will be flat in the usual manner, but I want the front panel to be bulged to create a "half-moon" cavity for the tool.

At the bottom of the cavity, where the tip of the tool rests, I will glue a half-moon shaped block of 1/2" thick rubber to fill the void and drive a few Escutcheon pins through the leather into the rubber block for extra strength. I plan to glue and tack (or clamp) the side edges together, using a carved wood form to create the bulged front. After the glue has dried enough to hold the pieces together, I will remove the wood form and do the hand stitching. Naturally, I will apply the stitching grooves and run a spacing wheel in the grooves before gluing the parts together. I cut the front panel wider than the rear, to provide extra leather to form the bulge.

This is my first serious leather project, so can use all the help I can get.

Thanks everybody !

ToddB64

[dirtclod]

Todd your best bet is to wet the leather and put in a plastic bag over night to case. Or that's what i would do. Then mold it over your form and tack the leather down and wait till it drys. You will need to take the form out before you sew if i'm reading your post right or you won't be able to get the form out with a bluge on it. I would cut both pieces front and back over size and trim after i had it sewed. Unless you want the sew a loop on the back, if you do you need to put the loop on first so it can be sewn. That's how i have done the case's i have made.

Edited October 26, 2010 by dirtclod

[ToddB 68]

Todd your best bet is to wet the leather and put in a plastic bag over night to case. Or that's what i would do. Then mold it over your form and tack the leather down and wait till it drys. You will need to take the form out before you sew if i'm reading your post right or you won't be able to get the form out with a bluge on it. I would cut both pieces front and back over size and trim after i had it sewed. Unless you want the sew a loop on the back, if you do you need to put the loop on first so it can be sewn. That's how i have done the case's i have made.

dirtclod...........Thanks for the advice !

ToddB68

[funnygirl62221]

Howdy !

I'll start with my question first for those who prefer to skip the background information below.

When shaping 12oz. Veg-tanned leather over a carved wooden form, should the leather be wet or damp ? What's the usual procedure with thick leather ?

I'm making a tool sheath of my own design, using 12 oz. Veg-tanned leather and the length of the cavity for the tool will be 9-1/2" long and the shape of the sheath will be rectangular (no fancy curves.). The rear leather panel that goes against my thigh will be flat in the usual manner, but I want the front panel to be bulged to create a "half-moon" cavity for the tool.

At the bottom of the cavity, where the tip of the tool rests, I will glue a half-moon shaped block of 1/2" thick rubber to fill the void and drive a few Escutcheon pins through the leather into the rubber block for extra strength. I plan to glue and tack (or clamp) the side edges together, using a carved wood form to create the bulged front. After the glue has dried enough to hold the pieces together, I will remove the wood form and do the hand stitching. Naturally, I will apply the stitching grooves and run a spacing wheel in the grooves before gluing the parts together. I cut the front panel wider than the rear, to provide extra leather to form the bulge.

This is my first serious leather project, so can use all the help I can get.

Thanks everybody !

ToddB64

this might help

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=19782

[Dwight]

If I understand what you want to do, . . . I do a lot of this for boxes, magazine holders, etc.

I've found that rivets and contact cement are your friends when it comes to a project like this.

Make your wooden core in the shape you want the hole to become. Make it the proper thickness, minus the thickness of the piece of leather you want to use for the rear.

Make two boards 1/2 in by 1 in, and pre drill nail holes about every 3 inches, and within 1 inch of each end.

Cut the leather for the back, and tack it to the mold in the position you want it to finish up.

Cut the leather for the front a bit oversized all the way around. The front piece will overlap around the back of the form by 1 inch on each side.

Drown, . . . wet, . . . soak the leather until it is similar to a big floppy noodle.

Nail the one edge to the back of the core using small nails. Stretch the leather around the front and nail it to the back on the other side.

Set it up somewhere to dry for a couple of days.

Pull the nails out, . . . let the two pieces and the mold completely dry for another day or so.

Then get a piece of 1/16 in flat stock steel the length of your mold and 1 inch wide.

Re tack your back to the mold, . . . place the front where it should go, . . . mark the back so you know where the front covers the back. Remove the front and coat both the front and back edges where they meet with Weldwood contact cement. Allow it to dry for about an hour.

Put the front onto the back, being careful when you line up the edges, . . . where the contact cement edges touch, . . . they will immediately grab and go together. Roll those joints with a wall paper seam roller.

Punch holes up & down for small capped rivets. Put rivets and caps in holes on one side, lay the piece of steel in the hole over the backs of the rivets, slide the core in and punch the rivets. Remove the core and do the same for the other side.

If I understood you correctly, a cross section of your project when done will look like the attachment.

May God bless,

Dwight

[ToddB 68]

this might help

http://leatherworker...showtopic=19782

Thanks funnygirl62221 ................That was outstanding and a Big help !

ToddB68

[ToddB 68]

If I understand what you want to do, . . . I do a lot of this for boxes, magazine holders, etc.

I've found that rivets and contact cement are your friends when it comes to a project like this.

Make your wooden core in the shape you want the hole to become. Make it the proper thickness, minus the thickness of the piece of leather you want to use for the rear.

Make two boards 1/2 in by 1 in, and pre drill nail holes about every 3 inches, and within 1 inch of each end.

Cut the leather for the back, and tack it to the mold in the position you want it to finish up.

Cut the leather for the front a bit oversized all the way around. The front piece will overlap around the back of the form by 1 inch on each side.

Drown, . . . wet, . . . soak the leather until it is similar to a big floppy noodle.

Nail the one edge to the back of the core using small nails. Stretch the leather around the front and nail it to the back on the other side.

Set it up somewhere to dry for a couple of days.

Pull the nails out, . . . let the two pieces and the mold completely dry for another day or so.

Then get a piece of 1/16 in flat stock steel the length of your mold and 1 inch wide.

Re tack your back to the mold, . . . place the front where it should go, . . . mark the back so you know where the front covers the back. Remove the front and coat both the front and back edges where they meet with Weldwood contact cement. Allow it to dry for about an hour.

Put the front onto the back, being careful when you line up the edges, . . . where the contact cement edges touch, . . . they will immediately grab and go together. Roll those joints with a wall paper seam roller.

Punch holes up & down for small capped rivets. Put rivets and caps in holes on one side, lay the piece of steel in the hole over the backs of the rivets, slide the core in and punch the rivets. Remove the core and do the same for the other side.

If I understood you correctly, a cross section of your project when done will look like the attachment.

May God bless,

Dwight

Dwight,

May God Bless you as well ! You went the "extra mile" on that reply with complete details !

Sorry I'm late replying, but have been in bed with stomach virus and too weak to get on the computer and back to this. However, feeling much better now.

Your method is really nifty and I'm definitely saving a copy for some future leather project and may even adapt some of your steps on my current Tool Sheath. However, on this project, I prefer the look of hand-stitching on the outside in place of using rivets on the inside, although I must say your idea is very clever !

Attached is my rough sketch of the Tool Sheath.........after it's up on your display, you might need to Zoom-in to see all of the little "Detail" at the bottom and maybe on other areas too. This sketch was for my own use, not for public viewing, so please forgive the looks ! LOL

Also, for general interest, attached are (3) photo's of the Mini-Stitching Jaws I made to fit the Craftsman Vice on my Gun stock Checkering Bench. I have leather jaw -pads made but not glued on yet. While making and testing these Mini-Jaws I found that a single spring in the middle didn't provide the right jaw alignment or counter-pressure when closing the jaws, but the double-spring idea works good. As you can see, I made some large leather washers and pushed them onto the wood dowels to prevent the ends of the springs from leaving marks.......not really necessary, but that's just me.

Thanks.........I appreciate your reply very much !

Todd

Edited October 31, 2010 by ToddB68

[Dwight]

I think you are well on your way to figuring it out, . . . just a little sketch as how I would do it if it were mine, . . . to get the front piece. It of course is the most critical.

One thing to remember about forming leather this way, . . . always use vegetable tanned leather, . . . and don't be afraid to put some pressure on it. It stretches pretty good under most circumstances.

I like the idea of the small clamps for sewing. I had a holster the other day I could surely have used one of them on.

May God bless,

Dwight

[ToddB 68]

I think you are well on your way to figuring it out, . . . just a little sketch as how I would do it if it were mine, . . . to get the front piece. It of course is the most critical.

One thing to remember about forming leather this way, . . . always use vegetable tanned leather, . . . and don't be afraid to put some pressure on it. It stretches pretty good under most circumstances.

I like the idea of the small clamps for sewing. I had a holster the other day I could surely have used one of them on.

May God bless,

Dwight

Dwight..............Thanks much ! Good idea and great job on the drawing. Being a carpenter by trade, I have a wood shop with all the power tools at hand to make the leather form, so I'm on my way ! I'll post a pic when it's all finished.

Todd

[ShirleyT]

Valerie Michael's "Leatherworking Manual" has a project for a wet-formed handbag using a two piece mold - (flat back/curved front) that we have adapted to make various bags and accessories. Making the mold takes some time though it can be used over and over again. Most important is to get the wood form super smooth and then seal it (waterproof) lest the water from the leather deform the mold. Have fun - sounds like a terrific design!

[lightningad]

I'm in the middle of a very similar project myself, and although its only my second pouch, its working out really well.

I created a two part plywood mould - the first has the inner plug glued to a baseboard and sanded smooth. The second is a plywood board with a hole cut out to fit over the plug with enough extra space to allow it to be pressed down without scratching the leather. Again all edges and sides are sanded smooth.

I soaked my leather in lukewarm water for around 15-20 mins, then placed it onto the mould then carefully pressed it down manually first, then used the second part of the mould to press it down all the way. Once happy that it was moulding correctly, i attached a couple of spring loaded clamps to hold it all secure. The following day i released the clamps to check it was okay, ad found that one side was more curved than i wanted, so because the leather was still quite damp, i was able to manipulate the plywood and the leather to tighten up the side that needed it. Then back on with the clamps and left to dry for another couple of days.

I was so taken with this method, that once the leather was dry I was able to trim it to the size i wanted and then draw around the entry profile on to a template from which i made another set of moulds for creating a cupped lid. The two work together really well. And it worked so much more easily than i expected.

Cant wait to finish it properly

Pouch body being formed in mould

Lid being formed - this needs to fit snuggly over the body pouch so has a curved front edge, and i left the back as a long flat piece so it can be shaped and creased to form the rear panel

Not shown is the third flat piece i used to make the lid top flat. This picture shows i quite curved, so i placed a sheet of plasticard over the wet leather and then a sheet of plywood on top of that which was weighted down to give the flat top seen in the next image. The plasticard was to prevent any wood grain from being impressed into the leather

the two halves side by side

awaiting stitching and finishing - but the idea is pretty clear.

adam

Edited February 17, 2012 by lightningad

[ramrod]

whoa! sweet and well executed!! i have several ideas as to wood forms, but i don't have the tools to even begin. i know they are so useful. the stohlman books have drawings showing how to mold leather by hand (which is what i've been doing), but the pictures look so much easier than it really is.

[lightningad]

whoa! sweet and well executed!! i have several ideas as to wood forms, but i don't have the tools to even begin. i know they are so useful. the stohlman books have drawings showing how to mold leather by hand (which is what i've been doing), but the pictures look so much easier than it really is.

I don't have any books, just an idea!

As for tools - these forms were made with very basic woodwork tools - rulers, saws, a screwdriver, sandpaper and a few clamps. Nothing more!

[goodfella]

Mag pouch molds we use i also make these if anyone needs one

the plastic lets the leather stretch and mold nicely