Contact Cement Vs. Rubber Cement For Sheepskin

[bruce johnson]

And to add yet a third hybrid method.....

I had a good conversation with a guy this morning who asked me to share how he has been doing it the last 15 years. He puts two thin coats of contact cement on the skirts/plugs and lets it dry well. This is to help with sweat penetration. Then he uses rubber cement over the contact cement on the skirts and the woolskins. He thinks the rubber cement is stickier with picking up some of the contact elements, but still can be pulled off easier than contact alone. Kind of an interesting approach. Anybody else doing this?

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Bob,

I use the weldwood contact cement for everything except woolskins and really like it. I didn't know they made a rubber cement. What does the can look like? I am fortunate that Texas law is not as prohibitive and I get the barge from Panhandle Leather at regular shipping cost but it would be handy to have a local supply.

Thanks,

CW

Sorry CW, I mistyped, what I meant to say is that I use Weldwood Contact Cement, not rubber cement, on almost everything including sheepskins.

Bob

[kseidel]

And to add yet a third hybrid method.....

I had a good conversation with a guy this morning who asked me to share how he has been doing it the last 15 years. He puts two thin coats of contact cement on the skirts/plugs and lets it dry well. This is to help with sweat penetration. Then he uses rubber cement over the contact cement on the skirts and the woolskins. He thinks the rubber cement is stickier with picking up some of the contact elements, but still can be pulled off easier than contact alone. Kind of an interesting approach. Anybody else doing this?

I have done this and it does work much better than rubber cement alone. Might be the best of both methods. Keith

[Dwight]

I just wanted to chime in here, . . . saying thank you to all the comments, . . .

I have a custom saddle here in my living room right now, all disassembled so I can put new sheepskin on it, . . . belongs to a friend of mine at church.

I was just hoping I could find out "anything" about this, . . . as this saddle had maybe a dab on the front and rear lower corners, . . . and that was all. The whole sheepskin on both sides was loose as the skin on a fat groundhog. It seemed that the maker used some kind of cement right at the edges where it was sewn, but nowhere else hardly on either side.

My Stohlman books said rubber cement, . . . but I just wanted a "second opinion" and you guys came through.

Again, . . . thank you to all, . . .

May God bless,

Dwight

[Freedom]

^{I thoroughly researched into this with a lot of makers around the country when I asked this original question.....I seems that the biggest problem/cause of, damage to the sheepskins is that the bond will come loose and this is what causes most of the damage to the skins. So by using a very strong bond (contact cement)...the skins will last way longer before they need to be replaced.}

^{So the general thought was if you want your skins to last...USE CONTACT CEMENT!...Or, if you need the "job security" use the rubber...lol}

Edited November 15, 2012 by Freedom

[oltoot]

I think that it is really a two part issue:

1) Glue

2) Construction

I have observed over the years that there are more sheepskin issues associated with construction methods that don't block the skirts correctly during fitting and then don't work at fitting sheepskins to skirt blocking. I was taught in a large shop environment and we used dextrin to put in the linings (and ground seats and most everything else) and did not experience comebacks except where varmints or big wrecks were the root. When I went out as a single, it was just plain too hard to keep the dextrin 'just right' so I switched to Barges for skirts, linings to be sewed and Ol' Yeller low sag (after going through Elmer's and a lot of other similar products) and haven't looked back. BTW, I have found that Barges works best when kept well thinned. Just my story

[adagocowboy]

I use weldwood cement, but only about two inches in around the skirt. 1 thin coat over the woolskin for sealing. I have relined saddles with this method, you only have to fight with the 2" around the edges this way. I wonder if rubber cement would work better? May try it next saddle.