Pancake Case For Phone Too Tight...

[thekid77]

Hi friends,

I recently made a pancake case for the Galaxy S3...

It is really tight...

Is there anything I could do to stretch it a bit on the inside? or break it in a lil better?

The phone almost fits but not without a bit of forcing...thanks!!!

[Itch]

I first would try a thin plastic shopping bag over the phone and then see if it will go in to your case if it does let it sit overnight..If it is still to tight dampen your case with water and try the same..

[TomG]

If you used Veg-Tan, you may be able to wet the inside and force something inside that is slightly larger than the phone.

But I'd try it on a piece of scrap of the same leather first....

I've had bad luck with brown dye shifting if I wet from the back, but since this looks black.. you'll probably be OK

I don't know if they still make it, but there used to be a product made for stretching shoes. You wet the shoe and wore it. I only tried it once, and it didn't work... Smelled like alcohol and someone told me that was all it was.

Tom

[thekid77]

Okay, thanks for the input everyone...i had an idea to just let steam get to the inside of the case, so it gets damp enough to stretch but not sopping wet...

Don't know if it will work though...hate to experiment on finished projects :/

[Dwight]

The guaranteed fix: go out to your wood shop, . . . create a blank piece of pine the size of the phone, . . . wrap it in a plastic bag, . . . force it into the holder.

Do not wet or steam it, . . . leave it dry, . . . wake up 12 hours later, . . . remove the pine, . . . try the phone.

If it doesn't work the first time, . . . put 2 bags on it and do it again. By bags, . . . I'm not talking about those throw away things from Meijers or Walmart. Use a good quality freezer bag.

We do this all the time with holsters and other items.

By the way, . . . that is a good looking case. I make cases also, . . . but mine are more the heavy duty, . . . rough service types. They're usually 7/8 oz leather, . . . and have a fortifying strip around the top.

Yours is much more the "genteel" variety.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited May 13, 2013 by Dwight

[thekid77]

Thanks for always sharing your insight Dwight, will do!!!

[thekid77]

Thanks for the kind words Dwight, I followed Ian Atkinson's tutorial on youtube (thanks Ian) for the case...it's good practice..

May I ask, what is a fortifying strip?

[Dangerous Beans]

That's a nice looking piece of work there Brendon, Ian will be made up with that, you'll have to show him!

See how you get on with the form and the bags.

If its still to tight, a last resort is to unstitch it and incert a strip of 3mm into the seem as a welt.

Nige

[Dwight]

Thanks for the kind words Dwight, I followed Ian Atkinson's tutorial on youtube (thanks Ian) for the case...it's good practice..

May I ask, what is a fortifying strip?

It is a simple reinforcement piece, . . . I make the body out of one piece of leather, . . . wrapped around the form, . . . coming together at 12 o'clock.

The fortifying strip, or reinforcement, . . . again one piece of leather, wrapped aroung the form, . . . comes together at 6 o'clock, . . . so the seams are opposite each other.

It makes it beefy, . . . but it also provides some pretty heavy duty protection for the phone. I'm pretty hard on all my tools and toys, . . . so I have to think about protection, etc.

May God bless,

Dwight

[thekid77]

Thanks for the compliments Nige, it's very encouraging!!!

Great information Dwight, I will have to try that technique out some time....cell phones keep getting bigger so it's a great challenge to come up with something that will offer protection and still fit comfortably in the pocket