2 Finger Cigar Case

[CriticalRA]

Hello everyone, I have been reading this forum all day long and I must say y'all seem to be extremely helpful to the noobies that come around asking for help. I have some questions about making a case. If you do not know what type of case I am talking about please refer to the link below.

http://www.cupojoes.com/cgi-bin/spgm?dpt=D&srch=DD&item=DAV085312

I am always looking to work with my hands and this is a perfect skill for me to learn. I would like it to look similar to the case in the link but I still am at a loss as to what tools I will need exactly. This case should be simple to make, 4 pieces of leather, glue, holes for thread, etc. I smoke a lot of cigars so once the leather is assembled I will be using wooden dowels based off the vitola of my cigar. Now for my questions....

What type of leather should I use? I plan on using neatsfoot oil around it to form fit around the dowels and I was told veg tanned leather is the best for molding.

What thickness? Obviously this will not be a harden case but I want it to be study, not hard. Any recommendation?

What is the point of beveling the edges around the stitching? I know I can use a slicker to round them out but I assume it's for looks only or does it help with the slicking process?

Besides the normal tools needed (Hammer, Mat, Blade, Ruler and Glue), I think I will also need a...

1. Beveling Tool

2. A adjustable stitch groover (I read that this helps protect the stitch so that the threads are not worn down)

3. An Overstitch Wheel (Probably 10 per inch), I assume this tool is used to mark the holes needed for the lace, correct?

4. A Awl and blade for making the holes for lacing

5. Saddlers Needles

6. Thread...For thread, does it have to be waxed thread? If so why? (Will be doing a double saddler stitch)

7. Slicker for rounding edges

That should do it. I have no idea how this will turn out but I have tried hard to do as much research as possible and now I come to you guys to make sure I have everything I need for this project. I am sure there will be a little trial and error along the way but does it look like I have everything I need? I can't tell you how exited I am to dive into the world of leather working and I hope to see many of you sound off in this topic I am sure I will have more questions along the way. Thanks

[Aart]

Hi Critical,

Well you are on your way for a lot of fun.

Veg tanned leather would do for a starter. Thin I would say 1-1,5mm

For the rest read the pinned "wet formed bag" article at the top of this page one more time.

"Lacing ?" What lacing? Stitching and do not start with a 10 pi. You'll learn.

And please, please do not stop when your first project does not work out. The third or fourth will be OK

Best, and keep us posted,

Aart.

Hello everyone, I have been reading this forum all day long and I must say y'all seem to be extremely helpful to the noobies that come around asking for help. I have some questions about making a case. If you do not know what type of case I am talking about please refer to the link below.

http://www.cupojoes....&item=DAV085312

I am always looking to work with my hands and this is a perfect skill for me to learn. I would like it to look similar to the case in the link but I still am at a loss as to what tools I will need exactly. This case should be simple to make, 4 pieces of leather, glue, holes for thread, etc. I smoke a lot of cigars so once the leather is assembled I will be using wooden dowels based off the vitola of my cigar. Now for my questions....

What type of leather should I use? I plan on using neatsfoot oil around it to form fit around the dowels and I was told veg tanned leather is the best for molding.

What thickness? Obviously this will not be a harden case but I want it to be study, not hard. Any recommendation?

What is the point of beveling the edges around the stitching? I know I can use a slicker to round them out but I assume it's for looks only or does it help with the slicking process?

Besides the normal tools needed (Hammer, Mat, Blade, Ruler and Glue), I think I will also need a...

1. Beveling Tool

2. A adjustable stitch groover (I read that this helps protect the stitch so that the threads are not worn down)

3. An Overstitch Wheel (Probably 10 per inch), I assume this tool is used to mark the holes needed for the lace, correct?

4. A Awl and blade for making the holes for lacing

5. Saddlers Needles

6. Thread...For thread, does it have to be waxed thread? If so why? (Will be doing a double saddler stitch)

7. Slicker for rounding edges

That should do it. I have no idea how this will turn out but I have tried hard to do as much research as possible and now I come to you guys to make sure I have everything I need for this project. I am sure there will be a little trial and error along the way but does it look like I have everything I need? I can't tell you how exited I am to dive into the world of leather working and I hope to see many of you sound off in this topic I am sure I will have more questions along the way. Thanks

[CriticalRA]

Hi Critical,

Well you are on your way for a lot of fun.

Veg tanned leather would do for a starter. Thin I would say 1-1,5mm

For the rest read the pinned "wet formed bag" article at the top of this page one more time.

"Lacing ?" What lacing? Stitching and do not start with a 10 pi. You'll learn.

And please, please do not stop when your first project does not work out. The third or fourth will be OK

Best, and keep us posted,

Aart.

Thanks for the reply sir, I will be trying all this today at some point. I am not sure how good of quality the leather is at Hobby Lobby but that's where I will start. And by lacing I meant stitching of course, I used to wrong terminology haha. I was hoping to get a tight group of stitching which is why I went for the 10 but your probably right to start with a larger stitch, perhaps a 6 would be better. I have a video guide that I will be going by but I have a feeling it will come out pretty good. If not, I can tweak it out. The only thing I have not figured out yet is how to line the inside.

When using neatsfoot oil to form the leather around the dowels, will I need to oil the inside as well? After that process I was really wanting to line it with a ceder sheet but am at a loss as how to do that exactly. Any thoughts? I was thinking about making my first one, molding it with the dowels and then making a mold of the inside and using that mold as a template for future cases but as everything in life...it works in my brain but will it work on the table? lol. We'll give it a shot and see where it takes me

Tyler

[mlapaglia]

Use water to mold it not oil. The water will allow you to form it and give it a good shape. All the oil will do is make your leather soft.

Michael

[CriticalRA]

Use water to mold it not oil. The water will allow you to form it and give it a good shape. All the oil will do is make your leather soft.

Michael

Thanks Michael! I tried looking online for what the oil actually does but I couldn't really find anything. I know you case leather before tooling but should I case it even more for molding?

I am not sure if I can mold them and clamp the sides till its done and then glue/punch holes for stitching. I think I have to cut, glue, stitch and then mold. I guess I could leave a extra leather on the side, mold it and then start gluing and punching. I don't know, I'll figure it out as I go lol.

[mlapaglia]

Thanks Michael! I tried looking online for what the oil actually does but I couldn't really find anything. I know you case leather before tooling but should I case it even more for molding?

I am not sure if I can mold them and clamp the sides till its done and then glue/punch holes for stitching. I think I have to cut, glue, stitch and then mold. I guess I could leave a extra leather on the side, mold it and then start gluing and punching. I don't know, I'll figure it out as I go lol.

cut, glue, stitch and then mold Wet it well. Read the pinned post in this forum titled " wet formed bag tutorial" it should get you started. It's pinned in this forum. I would make it the same way a pancake holster is done. Read the file about the bag

Michael

[CriticalRA]

I had a fun night last night! I had a little trial and error with the length and width of leather I needed but I think I finally got it down. I ended up making a mold out of some dowels, per the ring gauge I wanted. I am thinking about drilling a new hole in each bottom corner and re-stitching to get a more rounded look, what do y'all think? I wet formed it about 12 hours ago and it's not getting "rock head" as the sticky said it would. I was able to mold it exactly the way I wanted it and I think it's turned out quite well thus far. The cigars are a tiny bit loose inside but I am ok with that. Glad I found this forum I will also be dying it soon, so I will need to read up on that so I do it right, I really think once its rounded and dyed it will look quite nice! Here are the pics...

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

Pic 4

Pic 5

[mlapaglia]

If you want it hard you need to get it damp, not wet. remold it a little to make sure it didnt change shape and then put it in an oven at about 150 degrees for 10-20 minutes. Keep an eye on it as it will burn. The object is to get the leather up to about 125 degF. This causes the leather to get really hard and stiff. Just watch it closely as it can burn or deform if you are not careful. Try a scrap piece first to get a feel for it. I do mine in a toaster oven with the door slightly ajar with a insta-read thermometer stuck in the oven at the point where the door is cracked open.

Once it gets hot enough place it in front of a fan to completely dry as there will still be moisture in the leather. Once its done it will be nice and hard and hold its shape.

Next time use a sewing awl to punch your holes. they will be smaller and look better. You can stitch it again with an awl closer to the molded part once its hard and cut the extra off to shape it more like your original.

You have a good start. Congrats.

Michael

[CriticalRA]

Awesome info! I didn't drip the leather in water when I molded it but I got it pretty damn wet. I will re damp it, mold it a little more and bake it and post the results. I will have to wait on getting an Awl, I gotta order one as I cannot find one on town. Hobby lobby didn't even have one..go figure lol. With the new holes being so much smaller, will I be able to do a double stitch? Thanks for the info sir!