Small, Hard Cases

[TigerPal]

I'm considering makin several small cases (i-phone, camera, etc), and have been wondering about the practicality of making them "hard" by boiling the leather - probably after wet-forming. How would this be best accomplished ? wet-form the case using a wooden form, stitching it together, then dunking in boiling water for an appropriate length of time? Looking for any hints or sugestions ....

Thanks in advance

[carsonauto]

I know Ian Atkinson talks about putting it in the oven @ ~50C for 10-30 minutes immediately after wet-forming. I've done that one a few times (with the leather tacked to a piece of wood), I just put it in the toaster oven @~50C for 10 minutes, I'd take it out and re-do some of the forming--just to get really crisp lines. Then put it back in for another 20 minutes or so. I just did it until the leather was completely dry and took it out (so that I wasn't actually baking the dry leather) I suppose in that case, like anything else--you just need to keep a close eye on it.

Anyways, it worked beautifully. Everything I've done this to turned out really quite stiff and strong. In a pinch, I've used a heat-gun to do the same thing. Just my experience, but I'd be interested in learning about boiling it too.

Following his video quite closely, I was able to make this my first time:

And the leather is remarkably hard.

Edited June 6, 2013 by carsonauto

[silverwingit]

A few tips on wet-forming. 1) I don't think you need to use boiling water. That does weird things to leather, grossly shrinking and shriveling it up on the top of the list. I use tap water warm enough to still run over my hand, no hotter. Then I soak until the bubbles stop for the most part, 30 seconds or so. I'm also wary of "cooking" my leather, so I dry over night. The leather still comes out hard enough to knock your knuckle on. 2) There are two basic methods. Both involve making a wooden form or last. With the first, method "A," only one side of the leather is wet formed. It is then stitched to a flat piece of leather to make the pouch. With the other, method "B," the leather is stitched first and then wetted and stretched over a form. This makes both sides of the pouch wet formed. 3) Start with method A, which is used to make pouches for items like knives, such as in the above post. You need to make a wooden last of the appropriate size and shape screwed to a base board (may take some fine-tuning). Then you gradually form the wet leather to the last with fingers and tools such as a bone folder or antler tip. Be patient, take your time. I don't know what you're making but I'd use 5-6 oz. leather to start off. Thicker or thinner can be done, but they are much more difficult and take some practice. Start with 5-6 oz. 4) At that point it is your choice, tacks or a companion last that you clamp down onto the main last with the leather sandwiched in between. With tacks you can tack the leather as close as possible to the last (you'll cover up the blackened tack holes with your stitching later on. With the companion last, you work the leather onto the bottom (main) last and then clamp it down. I've had more luck with the clamping method. 5) With method B, think cigar case. The last may once again take some fine-tuning depending on how exact the fit of the final pouch must be. The wood must be sanded very smooth and I recommend applying several coats of glossy lacquer or polyethelene wood finish, sanding in between. The last can't be too slick.. Even then, depending on the size and shape of he article you're making, you may have to apply neetsfoot oil liberally to lubricate the last well enough to stretch the leather over it. Hope this helps. If not, ask more questions. Michelle

Edited June 8, 2013 by silverwingit

[TwinOaks]

Actually BOILING the leather will result in small unusable scrap pieces. "Boiled" comes from cuir boulli....basically, the leather is wet enough that little air bubbles are coming out of it. There's a couple of tutorials on here ('How do I do that' section) that describe wet forming. Air drying overnight and heat drying have the same end result, but heat drying gets it done quicker...and I think holds up a little better over the long term.<-----just my opinion on that last part

[RavenAus]

You can harden leather this way but you'd need to make it a little oversize and dunk it in the hot water on a form as the leather will shrink. Too long and you'll have the small unusable scraps mentioned earlier. Timing will be different with each hide, even with different parts of the hide, so you'd have to do each by eye. It's a PITA and I'd stick with wet-forming.

[Dwight]

Another thing you can do, . . . I've only done it once, . . . boil parafin wax, . . . dunk it in the boiling parafin, . . . leave it for just a few seconds, you don't want to cook it, . . . shake all the loose drops off it when you pull it out, . . . hang it up on a string to cool and harden, . . . leave it for at least several hours so it colls through and through, . . . UGH, is it hard.

I was told that some ancients used this technique to mold their leather "sunday go to meeting" personal, fancy, armor. Got it all cut, trimmed and ready, . . . dunked it in liquid beeswax, . . . actually laid it on the "owner" and formed it to his body.

Not something I would like to do, . . . but the one item I did was seriously hard being parafin infused as it was.

May God bless,

Dwight