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superpacker

Temporary Gluing Leather For Stitching

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What products are recommended for this? I am making wallets and pen sleeves, and simple need a product to hold several lathers of of leather together, just around the edges, long enough for me to punch and sew. Are trade specific products preferred? I have some people use rubber cement, how does that hold up?

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Most will use a contact cement.

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You can get Barg or Master contact cement from the suppliers that support this site. Tandy also carries it.

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Most hardware stores will carry it also.

Look for the thinner at the same time.

A plastic glue bottle with a brush and lid work well to keep small quantities in.

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DAP Weldwood also works great. Home Depot has it cheap.

with any contact cement be careful. once you put the sides together its stuck and almost impossible to move or realign.

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Just to add to that, if you let it dry then slip a piece of waxed paper between the two pieces being glued you can line them up and then slowly remove the paper while keeping your edges in line.

Contact cement will usually take ten minutes to set, just follow the instructions on the can.

When put together it helps to clamp or press the pieces together for a short time.

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+1 for Weldwood if your ever need a permanent bond. I was very impressed when I first tried it. Now I use it almost exclusively.

Otherwise some form of rubber cement. I've used Tanners Bond Rubber Cement from Tandy. Not a huge fan of it due to making everything sticky even after several hours (up to 24+) of drying time before stitching. I sometimes get in a hurry so the glue may not be tacky enough when I slap the leather together. Someone else who has used more than one brand will have to give a better response. Just my experience here.

If all else fails buy a small bottle of something that looks interesting and try it out on some scrap!

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I too use Weldwood and it definitely gets the job done!

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For wallets that you're getting ready to stitch up, contact cement isn't necessarily the best/only choice. Since I'm only putting adhesive on 1/8" strip along the edge, I prefer to just use seam tape here. It seems to take a lot longer to get a clean glue line on that outer edge then it does to slap a piece of tape along there. Keep in mind, I make SURE that it's to the edge and there's a really good bond so that the leather doesn't separate on my. But we're really just talking about a temporary binding until you can get it stitched up.

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I use mostly Barge contact cement that I get from Weaver Supply. And when I need a little help with holding the leather together while it sets I use bulldog clips from the office supply store.

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Double sided sticky tape works well

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Cyberthrasher........Since you are taping the first 1/8" of the edge, your stitch line would be behind the tape, in other words maybe 3/16" to 1/4" in from the edge of the project for example.

I assume you are applying just 1/8" of the tape edge in between the pieces of leather.

After you finish stitching, do you remove the tape from between the two pieces of leather by just holding onto the flap of tape and pulling out the 1/8" stuck in between the leathers ? Does it ever tear, leaving pieces of tape between the leathers ? (Hope I'm getting the correct mental picture.)

BTW, you have such talent with leatherwork....Mega-Kudos !

Thanks,

ToddB68

Edited by ToddB68

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Go with contact cement. I use Weldwood on my holsters. It will give your stitching some extra support by permanently glueing the leather together. No issues with how it will hold up over time either.

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I did what everyone is saying for years. Then one day I eyed the bottle of leatherweld (it is a form of white glue) sitting on my shelf. It is not near as messy as contact and it works almost as fast. It also gives you a little bit of time to reposition and only needs to be put on one side. Less issues if you are burnishing the edges with the contact making an ugly line.

Aaron

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electrathon ,

Superpacker's thread-starter post is asking about "Temporary" gluing. Is the glue you are using a permanent or temporary glue like rubber glue ? Is it in fact "Eco Flo Leather Weld" ? Sounds like permanent, i.e. "Weld".

ToddB68

Edited by ToddB68

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abbey england has a neoprene glue listed, is this any good for this? i havent used any before so don't know

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electrathon ,

Superpacker's thread-starter post is asking about "Temporary" gluing. Is the glue you are using a permanent or temporary glue like rubber glue ? Is it in fact "Eco Flo Leather Weld" ? Sounds like permanent, i.e. "Weld".

ToddB68

I'm still taking leatherworking baby steps... but I'm pretty sure that the temporary refers to keeping the two parts together until you can get them even more permanently together with the stitching. All of the other suggestions were cements and definitely not temporary that could be more easily pulled back apart than the Leather Weld. They are all doing the same thing as the Leather Weld.

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electrathon ,

Superpacker's thread-starter post is asking about "Temporary" gluing. Is the glue you are using a permanent or temporary glue like rubber glue ? Is it in fact "Eco Flo Leather Weld" ? Sounds like permanent, i.e. "Weld".

ToddB68

From a glue perspective leather weld is less permanant than contact,but it really is a permnant glue. I have a bottle of Fiegings "leathercraft cement" that seems to be the same thing. It is basicly white glue like you used in school.

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Since people have been on this topic for a while, I'd like to contribute any idea that I've found. Check out:

http://www.nippy.jp/en/2013/1141.html

This is a hot melt cementing machine from japan. It has a roller (mine is 3mm wide) and it lays down a very nice and precise line of glue for assembly. When gluing grain side to grain side, the glue is good for temporary holding and positioning. When gluing flesh side to flesh side the bond is fairly permanent. Great for assembly.

The problem is the machine is fairly expensive (~$500) and can only be purchased in japan. I bought mine through a Japanese proxy shopping service.

Anyways, I make a lot of stuff where I have turned edges to need to hold stuff in position for sewing and this thing works great.

Andrew

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Back on this subject again I had the following thoughts. Remember I'm just a beginner and don't know all the angles !

After musing over the title of this thread and back-reading the entire thread again, I have to wonder why anyone would want to use a temporary glue in the first place ? If you are going to sew the pieces of leather together, why would you want/need a temporary glue ? Instead...........

........Why not use a white glue like electrothon spoke of, that offers some working time to realign edges if needed and a permanent bond after some drying time, plus the added benefit of not leaving an ugly residue at the edges ! ? Seems like that would be the ideal glue for all leather gluing applications.

ToddB68

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I've tried the wledwood and other contact cements,...the only one I've found that I like on saddles and holsters and such is the Leathercrafters Contact Cement,.....that or barge. The other stuff can be pulled apart fairly easily,..this stuff,...it will tear the fibers of the leather if you let it cure and try to rip it apart.

Back on this subject again I had the following thoughts. Remember I'm just a beginner and don't know all the angles !

After musing over the title of this thread and back-reading the entire thread again, I have to wonder why anyone would want to use a temporary glue in the first place ? If you are going to sew the pieces of leather together, why would you want/need a temporary glue ? Instead...........

........Why not use a white glue like electrothon spoke of, that offers some working time to realign edges if needed and a permanent bond after some drying time, plus the added benefit of not leaving an ugly residue at the edges ! ? Seems like that would be the ideal glue for all leather gluing applications.

ToddB68

Yea I didnt really get that either,..I want it STUCK! I figured he meant he wanted it held until he could sew it. I cement almost everything I sew.

Edited by SethJ

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on the basting tape, or double sided, used also by some to hold zips in place prior to sewing, does it gum up the needles, i tried one once and the needle was next to useless once gummed.......

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I've tried the wledwood and other contact cements,...the only one I've found that I like on saddles and holsters and such is the Leathercrafters Contact Cement,.....that or barge. The other stuff can be pulled apart fairly easily,..this stuff,...it will tear the fibers of the leather if you let it cure and try to rip it apart.

Yea I didnt really get that either,..I want it STUCK! I figured he meant he wanted it held until he could sew it. I cement almost everything I sew.

If you want your stuff to stick forever get some Renia. It is what the cobblers use to glue the soles on shoes. Amazinly strong, easier to use than Barge and has the harshest smell of any glue I have used.

on the basting tape, or double sided, used also by some to hold zips in place prior to sewing, does it gum up the needles, i tried one once and the needle was next to useless once gummed.......

That is one of the advantages of the white glue. It does not have a rubbery layer to get on your needles, just sort of disapears.

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Hey Guys & Gals,

I know everyone likes to give opinions and share experiences with glues, but electrothon's white glue suggestion seems to have all the properties we need for leatherwork...#1 Not an "instant" bonding glue, so allows realignment of parts if needed, #2 Permanent bond after some drying time, #3 Dries clear, leaving no ugly residue at edges, #4 No rubbery layer to get on needles. So what else do we need in a glue ?

As for the "permanent" aspect, I can see where that is necessary if you are a shoe cobbler affixing a thick heel onto a shoe sole, but with relatively light weight leather projects that get sewn together, wouldn't the white glue be permanent enough ?

ToddB68

Edited by ToddB68

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