How Do You Store Big Pieces Of Cased Leather?

[Bob Blea]

Hello,

I am starting on a large notebook. It will hold a legal size writing pad, the front cover will have a floral carving and the back with have a basket stamp covering it. Also, it will all be one single piece of leather, measuring roughly 16 x 21 inches. It's not huge but it will take a while to tool and stamp. I work a day job so evenings are the only times I get to work on projects, and normally I store smaller projects in the fridge when not tooling. However, this one is too big to fit. There's all that unecessary food in the way but the wife and kids won't let me get rid of it. And even if I did the door would still hit it.

So my question to everyone out there is this: When faced with a piece of cased leather that is too big for cold storage, do you have any tricks for how you handle it? I'm just planning on a couple of late nights and hopefully a lot of time on Saturday to get this done quickly before any mold gets a chance to grow. I added a little alcohol to the casing solution this time in an attempt to give some mold resistance. But does anyone have a storage solution for large parts to keep them cool until you can get back to working on them?

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Bob

[mikesmith648]

One trick I have used is to get a large cooler that I have and put ice in the bottom........I put a couple of tupperware cake covers upside dowm in ther and put leather on top.....keeps it cool without exposing it to the wet ice as it melts.....drain the water off daily and add more ice as long as you need it. Also Listerene added to the casing solution helps prevent any chance of mold growing.

[Bob Blea]

Thanks Mike, great idea! I'm not sure I have a cooler big enough to fit this but I might. I had thought about using it somehow but hadn't thought of using tupperware as a spacer like that. I will see if I can make the leather fit the big styrofoam cooler I have. I don't need long term storage, just something to keep it cool during the day.

If I come up with a neat solution I'll post it here. You've got me thinking of a rig that might make this work and guarantee no contact with the ice. If anyone else has solutions let me know.

Bob

[benlilly1]

I use a plastic zippered bag left over from purchasing a king sized bed cover. It works perfect for my project sizes. I just submerge my leather in warm water till it stops bubbling dry it off with a towel and insert it into the bag. I've never had a problem with mold and mine have stayed in the bag for days.

Edited May 30, 2013 by benlilly1

[Cyberthrasher]

I've had some issues with mold in the past and that's the only reason I started using the fridge. BUT, that was only after the piece sat wrapped in plastic for a couple of weeks. The ONLY purpose for keeping it cold in my eyes is to keep the mold from growing. If you're going to be working on it that quick, just slap it in that Styrofoam cooler after you wrap it up in plastic. I find the plastic helps to even out all the moisture, and then while I'm working I can simply unwrap the portion I'm working on without causing the rest of it to need re-cased. I actually plan my plastic wrap out for that. Say I have 3 sections with design work, I'll wrap each section with its own piece of plastic wrap and just make sure they overlap. That way I'm never unwrapping the entire piece at once. The only time I need to remoisten things is when I'm doing really detailed stuff that takes a while in small areas.

Edited May 30, 2013 by Cyberthrasher

[Bob Blea]

Thanks Benlilly and Cyberthrasher. If I can work so quickly that I can finish in the next few days I wouldn't worry to much about mold either. But, life has a tendency to get in the way. Having the leather on ice would buy me extra time. I normally leave stuff in the fridge for a couple of weeks sometimes without any problems, but just this week I had a problem with a piece of leather that had only been casing a few days. It looked a little like mold but it only showed up where my hand had been resting on the leather while using a brand new basket stamp. It may have been residual steel filings that caused the discoloration, but I'm treating it like it was mold. It's got me a little gun shy now. Thanks for the input!

Bob

[Jimbob]

dont worry about mold....your leather has enough tanning acid in it to withstand it for weeks....just keep it under plastic or like one said in a large zipper or taped plastic bag and u can keep it for days just as wet as you like....your discoloration is mostlikly oxidation from steel or metal....I have keppt my damp leather for days just under an old shoping bag and all is well !!!

Jimbob

[treybecca]

I second wrapping in Saran Wrap. And only exposing what typos are working on. I've done elaborate book covers that took two weeks (pesky real life schedule) with no issues. I do case mine with listerine solution also however

[Harag]

After reading this thread I have a couple of questions if I may.

1. Listerine - This is the mouth wash stuff right? as it's a brand name, would normal supermarket mouthwash be just as good or does it "have" to be listerine - does this have something in it the shop washes don't?

2. Benlilly1 - You say you soak your leather in warm water until it stops bubbling - isn't this too long for tooling - from my understanding this amount of time is for when you do wet forming and not carving. I've been doing something similar, but rather than wait for it to stop bubbling I quickly run it through the water bowl - takes about 2-3 seconds. I then let mine dry out for about 30 minutes before putting it in a bag overnight. I then tool the following day.

Thanks

[Bob Blea]

Thanks again all. Based on all the experienced advice here I'm just going to keep it bagged and just try to work it through quickly. I don't use the Saran Wrap method but I do keep the parts I'm not working on inside the bag and also use a piece of plastic to cover parts I'm not working on, and it works pretty well. When working things that I keep in the fridge I've gone for several weeks before finishing, so hopefully if I'm quick now I can get it done without any problems.