Wet Moulding.... Help!!

[nushearman]

Hello,

I'm looking for a little help wet moulding - I've got one mould thats turned out to be too deep and will need planing off but I'm looking now at making some more. Has anyone used MDF to make moulds in the past... has it worked? & does anyone have any hints, tips or pointers that I should know.. things that everyone wished that they knew before they embarked on the project but no one told them?

I should state that at the moment I'm only looking to make bags and cases nothing more complicated than that, just some simple forms.... but I would like to know how to get consistant results and how to avoid getting marks on the leather when you're working with it. I've watched various you tube videos but they never answer all of your questions!

 

Thank you for your help.

 

Nu

[bikermutt07]

I haven't made any molds. However, I can tell you that you probably don't want to use mdf. It swells bad when it gets wet. I think it should only be used in closets.

[TwinOaks]

It's best to use either a synthetic, like nylon, polyethylene, or acetal (delrin)...OR ...a hardwood that's been sealed.
Most folks will use wood as it's commonly available

[Elliot]

I have used MDF for molding, it has to be sealed with resin to keep moisture out.

All sides.

[gigi]

I think if you wrap it in plastic and scotch tape it will be fine. I do that (I use it for phone cases). Just make sure it does not have very sharp edges. (round the corners a bit)

Edited May 19, 2016 by gigi

[MY63]

I use marine plywood to make moulds for my cases and as others have said I round off the corners on both pieces of the mould.

I cut out the shape I require and sand the edges so the gap is at least the thickness of the leather. I fix one piece usually the inside to another piece of plywood and then place the leather over that then clamp the outer piece of the mould over that.

IMG_0645_1 by my0771, on Flickr

Hope that helps

[nushearman]

Lovely thank you, I've got some molds made up and they seem to be working - I've not used the big one yet but we shall see - fingers crossed and all!!

Thank you all for your help

 

[JLSleather]

On 5/19/2016 at 1:48 PM, MY63 said:

I use marine plywood to make moulds for my cases and as others have said I round off the corners on both pieces of the mould.

I cut out the shape I require and sand the edges so the gap is at least the thickness of the leather. I fix one piece usually the inside to another piece of plywood and then place the leather over that then clamp the outer piece of the mould over that.

IMG_0645_1 by my0771, on Flickr

Hope that helps

WOW... NICE.

See, now THAT is ACTUAL and USEFUL information.  

• What was used.
• What was done to it to make it work.
• How it is used. 
• Complete with a pic showing exactly what was described.  

No hour long video, no subscription to sign up for, no dues, no link to something else "somewhere"... THIS is how it should go.

 

Edited to add:  I'm not making things requiring such a form, but THANKS for your post (anyway!).

 

Edited July 30, 2016 by JLSleather

[rickdroid]

For cell phone cases I  use balsa wood forms wrapped in plastic wrap.  Any time I get a request for a case i havent done before I make a mold specific to that phone.  Easy to make and they have stood up very well to repeated use.

rick

Edited July 30, 2016 by rickdroid
change work case to mold

[plinkercases]

same approach as my63 and more often than not I use a press I made from a hand operated press screw form lee valley tools set in a frame. One operation to worry about rather than several clamps at once. However some bits have required the clamp approach. I am working on perfecting my guide rod/pin arrangement to ensure consistent alignment.

Question for my63... do you punch whole in the leather and run your guide posts through it to keep the leather piece positioned? it look like you do based on how close they are to the edge of the mold cut line.

[Boriqua]

I used ply for my molds because it was what I had on hand and wasnt the best quality. Problem with ply is it is really tough to sand the edges absolutly smooth and I posted an image below of the first thing I ever did with a press and you can see all the grain and splits in the plys showed up very neatly impressed into my leather at the edge.

I have since filled the edges with bondo and resanded and later results were great but I want to get new ones made from plastic. Probably nylon since its fairly cheap. Delrin is awsome but really expensive.

The top one is with untreated edges and the bottom which is cleaner was with the same ply but bondo and sanded

 

[MY63]

On ‎30‎/‎07‎/‎2016 at 7:58 PM, plinkercases said:

same approach as my63 and more often than not I use a press I made from a hand operated press screw form lee valley tools set in a frame. One operation to worry about rather than several clamps at once. However some bits have required the clamp approach. I am working on perfecting my guide rod/pin arrangement to ensure consistent alignment.

Question for my63... do you punch whole in the leather and run your guide posts through it to keep the leather piece positioned? it look like you do based on how close they are to the edge of the mold cut line.

I don't use holes or guide posts just plywood here are some pictures of the mould as it was made.

IMG_0598_1 by my0771, on Flickr

Once the shape was cut out I sanded both sides until the gap was equal to the thickness of the leather I then round over the upper edge of the inside piece and the lower edge of the outer piece.

IMG_0600_1 by my0771, on Flickr

This is the first pressing from the mould as you can see there are some marks on one side so I sanded a little more off that side of the outer piece

IMG_0647_1 by my0771, on Flickr

I thought you might like to see the finished case

IMG_0915 by my0771, on Flick

Thanks JLS Leather I like to keep everything simple my whole blog is the same way straight forward and to the point