jeremyqmartin Report post Posted May 23, 2014 (edited) Been working on my overly ambitious bag project that got me started in leather work. The project officially started over a year ago in like march 2013. All the materials and tools sat for a long while as I worked up the courage to get started. It's been such a laborious process. Early on I made a quick crappy iPhone slip case to wet my feet. I finally started the bag sometime around September IIRC by making the shoulder strap. I learned so much, but overall it's way too dark for the bag. I'll be making a new strap when the bag is finished. I put stitching all around the long piece of the strap; doesn't really have a functional purpose except maybe to prevent some stretching, but BOY did I learn to stitch! I was scared to death to cut the main pieces of the bag without having the design perfectly in mind. I've pretty much just been forcing myself to "go for it" and end up kinda making it up as I go. Edited May 23, 2014 by jeremyqmartin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeremyqmartin Report post Posted May 23, 2014 I've gained so much courage having made the handle and especially when I glued the lining to the main piece. My work bench is getting so much abuse! I nailed the lining down with like 20 little nails to get it nice and stretched out. Then I spread my (runny) contact cement with a paint spreader. I was scared but it spread so perfectly. It was a leap of faith that paid off 150%!!! I'm THRILLED with the pig skin lining. The support piece for the handle got sewed on. You'll notice on the outside the stitches don't go all the way around the rectangle shape. As I made the holes (drilled with a Dremel press station) there were so many holes it started to look like I was trying to punch the whole rectangle out. Good thing I started on the end. I improvised and just stitched on the ends. On the inside of the bag, you can see that I "fake" the stitching for a portion of the support piece. Btw, the rivets that you see at the ends of the stitching are "decorative". Having aborted stitching all the way around, I thought it would help to have something visual at the ends of the stitching line. Too bad I had already marked the holes on the outside. I ended up grooving all the way around to cover the light prick marks in the middle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeremyqmartin Report post Posted May 23, 2014 (edited) Once I attached the handle it finally started to look like a bag! I'm so happy to see this project paying off. It's been haunting me since I started but I've gained so much confidence and momentum. But I know that everything I've done so far has been the easy part... I've reached the point where the next serious step is to shape and attach THE GUSSET! Actually, the first gusset, there will be 2. Everything I learned has lead me to this. It's now or never. I originally intended to use some of the 3.5mm (veg tan) leather for the gussets, but quickly realized the foolishness of that idea. I had to buy more leather, so I got some 2mm veg tan. Is still pretty stiff. I think my only choice is going to be to mold the whole dang thing all at once and then just attach it that way. I made the mistake of dying my gusset piece before trying to mold it. So when I try to bend it, there are horrible wrinkles on the surface, even with water soaking. I think I'm gonna need to build a FULL ON wet mold that somehow puts full, uniform pressure on the entire surface of the piece if I want to avoid harsh wrinkles. Does anyone have experience or suggestions to share about doing gussets with thick veg tan? Any help would be much appreciated!!! Thanks!! Oh, an PS, a few days ago I realized this is going to be one of the greatest things I've ever done, my masterpiece Oh and PSS, YES, this bag was HEAVILY inspired by the Saddleback classic briefcase Edited May 23, 2014 by jeremyqmartin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shadowryder Report post Posted May 23, 2014 WOW<< great work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Basically Bob Report post Posted May 23, 2014 Congrats! Amazing for virtually a first project! Keep it up! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frederiek Report post Posted May 23, 2014 Looks perfect! So neatly planned Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rohn Report post Posted May 23, 2014 You have a talent, that is for sure. Very nice indeed! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bluesman1951 Report post Posted May 24, 2014 First class !!!! Very well done ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OdinUK Report post Posted May 24, 2014 It looks very well made! Id be proud of that! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CTaylorJr Report post Posted May 24, 2014 That looks great from here! Looking forward to the finished pics. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MonicaJacobson Report post Posted May 26, 2014 Very, VERY nice. I love the pictures as you go. Thanks for posting! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
franko2 Report post Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) Looks great! Edited May 27, 2014 by franko2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikeyp Report post Posted May 30, 2014 beautiful looking case nice job. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeremyqmartin Report post Posted June 27, 2014 Ok, so I finally started work on that gusset I mentioned. I built a mold out of trim pieces from Home Depot. I did my best to mold the leather onto the frame but as I mentioned earlier, it was already dyed and thus extra stiff. See the pics, you get the idea. The creases along on the "long" corners were *OK*, but the actual "corners" were were SO HORRIBLY ABYSMAL and unacceptable that I just HAD to start over even though it meant another $32 for a new shoulder. Let me tell you, that was the BEST decision I've made on this whole project. More posts to follow for the new gusset. FYI, in the picture, that crusty cream colored paste on the ugly corners is the wood filler that I used to "round" the inside corners of the frame. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeremyqmartin Report post Posted June 27, 2014 (edited) Ok, so I started the gusset from scratch with a new piece of leather and I built a new frame. I made is one a little thicker since I needed more space in this compartment of the bag. I had to use lots of wood filler on this frame. I sanded it with 400 grit paper and even sprayed it with glossy wood finish. Man! This was the right way to go! It was so much easier to mold the leather pre-dyed. What was I thinking when I dyed the old piece before molding??? The same big wrinkles/folds appeared on the inside of the piece, but with consistent work, I completely removed them. I'm so happy I put in the effort and expense to do it RIGHT! Pics and videos for your enjoyment!!! 1. 2a. 2b. 3. 4. 5. 6. Edited June 27, 2014 by jeremyqmartin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Huginn Report post Posted March 3, 2016 kinda late to the party did you use 3.5mm leather for the front and back? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeremyqmartin Report post Posted March 4, 2016 Hello. Yup, that's 3.5 mm for the back/front flap and for the front panel. There's also an outer pocket on the back that is 3.5 mm. The guessets were made with 4/5oz, which is like 2.5mm if I remember correctly. Honestly i could done the whole back with this stuff; it's plenty thick. With the 3.5, I should add made the back bigger in dimensions. The whole back is VERY stiff. It required a LOT of dye (fiebings pro oil dark brown) which REALLY dried out the leather. I put some light coats of Neatsfoot oil to soften it, but I really should a soaked it in Neatsfoot to get it soft again. The gussets were wet molded into shape before dying. Search "wet molding gusset" on YouTube and you should find my videos of this process; nothing fancy just a few minutes of clips (like 5 clips) of me doing the molding on the jig i built. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Huginn Report post Posted March 7, 2016 did you measure them long and then cut them flush or did you measure them out correctly? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeremyqmartin Report post Posted March 10, 2016 The gussets wrap fully around the sides and bottom of the back. It's been a while now, but I believe I cut them long and little by little trimmed the lengthen as I test fit the gusset against the main back panel, to avoid trimming too much. When actually attaching the gusset (I glued it on before drilling the stitch holes with a Dremel) I believe the some small trimming was still necessary. Remember, I wet molded the 2 gussets and then dyed them (can't really wet-mold *after* dyeing) so after dyeing and everything, they were quite rigid and fixed in shape when it came time to glue them to the panel. I just trimmed the "tops" of the sides to make sure they went up as high as I wanted them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeremyqmartin Report post Posted March 10, 2016 Man, SOOOOOOOOO irresponsible of me to not post completed pictures The bag was completed around september 2014. Here you go! Some more progress pics and final pics. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Huginn Report post Posted March 12, 2016 Beautifully done! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
