Leather Inlay - Coin, Medallion, Etc.

[vaalpens]

On my next sheath/holster project I would like to try something new by doing an inlay. The inlay will not be a different type of leather, but rather a coin, medallion, pin or something like that. I would appreciate it if you have any good tips on how to approach such a project and some of the pitfalls I should try and prevent. The questions I currently have in my mind are the following:

• Glue to use between non-leather object and leather. Is good old contact glue good enough?
  
• How to finish where the outside leather layer touches the outside edges of the inlay. Do you fill it up with something or just leave a place where dust/dirt can accumulate
  
• Does it maybe make more sense depending on the thickness of the inlay to form a deep enough indentation in the leather and then gluing it, instead of cutting out the outside layer for the inlay.
  

Any advise will be highly appreciated.

[stelmackr]

I have made book covers that have medallion holders in them. I make them so the medallion is removable, but they could be made permanent. To make permanent the process is involves two layers of leather. The top layer is punched out with the size of the medallion (plus a little) and a sewing channel is made using a circular piece of pipe. The leather is finished and a piece of vinyl, larger than the hole and larger than the sewing channel, is glued in with contact cement. Next the inner layer gets the medallion double back taped to it and the two pieces of leather are put together and sewn. The size of the hole, the thickness of the vinyl and sewing channel position will also help hold the medallion in the correct position. Please see this simple example:

.

I get the vinyl from Jo Anne Fabrics and comes in about 5 thicknesses.

Hope this helps.

Bob Stelmack

[vaalpens]

I have made book covers that have medallion holders in them. I make them so the medallion is removable, but they could be made permanent. To make permanent the process is involves two layers of leather. The top layer is punched out with the size of the medallion (plus a little) and a sewing channel is made using a circular piece of pipe. The leather is finished and a piece of vinyl, larger than the hole and larger than the sewing channel, is glued in with contact cement. Next the inner layer gets the medallion double back taped to it and the two pieces of leather are put together and sewn. The size of the hole, the thickness of the vinyl and sewing channel position will also help hold the medallion in the correct position. Please see this simple example:

.

I get the vinyl from Jo Anne Fabrics and comes in about 5 thicknesses.

Hope this helps.

Bob Stelmack

Bob,

Thanks for the information. I never thought of using vinyl, but now I know it has it's place in leather inlays also. I probably won't be using vinyl on the holster since it will get some abuse. Using the pipe to create the sewing channel is a great idea. I didn't even that far that creating a sewing channel will be difficult based on the shape of the inlay piece. You indicate that you use double back tape to adhere the medallion. I think I want to go with something more permanent. Do you think contact cement will be good enough, or is there something else that should be used.

The piece you created is beautiful and the stitching and lacing work looks perfect.

Thanks again for the advise.

Charl

[stelmackr]

Charl,

Thanks for the kind words. I have made conchos out of some medallions to allow mounting. I use Chicago screws and solder them to the medallion. I use a pinball and a doming tool I picked up from Harbor Freight to make the concho shape. Here is a sample:

I would not trust any adhesive to attach metal to leather. Maybe you can rivet the medallion to the leather. Or adhere the medallion to a thin larger form of metal and sew through or around it.

There is also a way to form a lip to hold the medallion, but the lip hides part of the medallion. Please see this example:

(Note: This is not my cover. It is made by Mikes Leather at: http://mikesleather.com/gallery/ )

Hope this helps.

Bob Stelmack

[katsass]

From the old grumpy guy; I( usually cut out the area to be inlaid from the outer piece of the project. It may be large enough to form a frame, or just enough for the back side of the inlay to rest on the backing, and leave the inlay standing proud by a small amount. I then apply a piece of 1/64" plywood on the back side of the cutout and then apply the lining of the project. When all else is done. I apply the inlay with some good epoxy cement. Some pics

[vaalpens]

Charl,

Thanks for the kind words. I have made conchos out of some medallions to allow mounting. I use Chicago screws and solder them to the medallion. I use a pinball and a doming tool I picked up from Harbor Freight to make the concho shape. Here is a sample:

I would not trust any adhesive to attach metal to leather. Maybe you can rivet the medallion to the leather. Or adhere the medallion to a thin larger form of metal and sew through or around it.

There is also a way to form a lip to hold the medallion, but the lip hides part of the medallion. Please see this example:

(Note: This is not my cover. It is made by Mikes Leather at: http://mikesleather.com/gallery/ )

Hope this helps.

Bob Stelmack

Bob,

Thanks again for the advise. This is where the fun part starts. I now need to take all the good advise I have received and make a decision which piece to apply to my project. The remaining pieces of advise will then be stored in memory for future use.

The concho shape idea is a great one and I will probably try something like that in the future. It gives a different shape and perspective to the medallion.

Thanks again for the help.

Charl

[vaalpens]

From the old grumpy guy; I( usually cut out the area to be inlaid from the outer piece of the project. It may be large enough to form a frame, or just enough for the back side of the inlay to rest on the backing, and leave the inlay standing proud by a small amount. I then apply a piece of 1/64" plywood on the back side of the cutout and then apply the lining of the project. When all else is done. I apply the inlay with some good epoxy cement. Some pics

Mike,

As always, thanks for the sound advise. I like the idea of the plywood to create the flat surface. Those sheaths you have created are just pieces of art. Hopefully they are for display only and not being used in the outdoors.

Thanks again for the help.

Charl

[katsass]

Charl, yes they are collector knives. Don't know the exact price of each, but if you Google 'Herman Schneider knives' you can see some of his other work and the prices -- which I (in no way) could afford. Mike

[tclaridge]

I recently finished a project with a coin inlay. I took inspiration from this video by Ian Atkinson: http://youtu.be/M7mnEKr8t58. I did recess the back piece of 8 oz leather so it sat almost flush into it. Then, after finding that Barge cement held it less securely in place than I wanted, I adhered it with a DOT of Gorilla glue. The hole in the top piece is smaller than the quarter, so I think it will stay put. Good luck!

Tanner

Edited December 11, 2015 by tclaridge