Is Wet Form Molding This Skull Shape Possible?

[jimmy eng]

Sorry, this is the only picture I have of it, a bit dramatic I know. I was sleeping in my work studio during a flood, they cut all the power off in that suburb!

I've tried to wet mold this silver skull I've got using thick buffalo hide (3mm) but it's too thick to work into the eye sockets and get any details from the face or even get the shape of the skull. I wanted it thick because I would like it for the flap of a satchel bag as a feature so it has to keep its shape to a high degree. The face is that part that matters most, the whole skull doesn't need to be utilized so I thought I could cut a hole in a wooden board to set the skull in so the face only shows but the forming is the problem. It's the span of my hand if that's any indication of size (6 inches?).

Would doing it in a thinner leather then filling the back with a solid resin a viable method? I can't think of how else to keep the shape of the facial features. I think the type of hide I'm using isn't flexible enough either.

Any advice is appreciated.

[Hilly]

Could you maybe try filling the skull with leather dust and rubber cement (leather putty)? That's how they do it in extreme embossing.

Edited March 18, 2011 by Hilly

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Make a pattern of the skull, and cast a copy that will back up the leather. Check out the Smooth On product line for casting resins http://www.smooth-on.com/

Deer hide / buckskin is veeeeerrrrry stretchy , and should form really nice. Put some tacky glue on the form and stick the leather to it as you form it on. Sheepskin is also very stretchy. I would think to do a thicker leather that you have to make a set of molds , a + &- to compress the leather between to get the detail that you want. Thinner leather with a filler of some kind would be an easier way to accomplish this project.

[jimmy eng]

Yes! Those two ideas was what I had in mind but couldn't grasp. Haha the feeling's like discovering fire. I'll try the method out and see what I come up with. I did think about compressing the leather between two casts but thought it wasn't possible or needed a heavy 'compressor' of sorts. Either way, it sounded too complex in my head.

Thanks Hilly for that idea, I sort of had an inkling that there was a certain way people would have done that, I'll definitely have a go of that on other projects. Is leather dust just finely ground up leather bits or could I use the scrap bits left over from skiving?

Cheers Biggundoctor, I wasn't sure about the elasticity and malleability of the types of leather. Cow, buffalo and kangaroo are the 'standard' hides I can get at the moment but I'll ask the stores I go to about other ones.

[Scary Leatherworks]

Jimmy, I made this bag from 3oz kip. it holds the shape well and has no inside liner. I wet formed it on a life sized styrofoam skull in two pieces. I also used a vacuum and plastic bag to help form it.

[jimmy eng]

Woah Murse, that's a brilliant piece of work. That's something that exceeded what I was aiming for so I can see that it's more than possible to do it. How did you use the vacuum and bag? I'm thinking that you vacuum sealed it before you left it to rest but moisture would be the issue there.

Jimmy, I made this bag from 3oz kip. it holds the shape well and has no inside liner. I wet formed it on a life sized styrofoam skull in two pieces. I also used a vacuum and plastic bag to help form it.

[Scary Leatherworks]

I put it in a bag and taped it over the vacuum hose then turned it on. it took some time to get the hose positioned right so it wouldn't just suck in the bag and occlude itself. then I worked the leather a bit deeper in to the impressions and left it for a few hours. checking often (vacuum so it didn't burn up) it was still damp when I took it out but kept the shape. It was a HUGE pain but it worked and I'm stubborn.

Scott

[Johnny B]

Jimmy, I made this bag from 3oz kip. it holds the shape well and has no inside liner. I wet formed it on a life sized styrofoam skull in two pieces. I also used a vacuum and plastic bag to help form it.

Wow I keep going back to this pic. This is awesome.

[Willitshigh]

Would it be feasible to suspend a skull in a 5 gallon bucket by imbedding it face up in sand and apply your soaked leather over it and then Saran wrap over the leather and then fill the bucket with sand to force the leather to the skull/mold? I want to make a skull faced leather panel for a purse.

 

[RockyAussie]

To me Vacuum forming would be quite easy and therefor the way to go but I think your idea could work depending on the thickness of leather and detail you wish to achieve. If you would need to repeat the casting often I would try putting it face down into some really spongy soft leather of the desired thickness into a render mix of sorts. (maybe sand loam + cement about 5 to 1)
 Once set seal the render mix and then you have a M+F mold so to speak.

[jimmy eng]

I never made a wet formed piece of the skull, had to sell it when I was broke! They are pretty common in alternative market stalls so I might give it a go down the line. I think of Scary Leatherworks skull quite often actually!

[immiketoo]

Another option is to make a leather plug.  You can get as much or as little reliefurther as you like, depending get on how much work you're willing to do.  Here's the depth I got on my Hannya holster using this technique.  You can find all you need on this in the Al Stohlman book on figure carving.