Leather glue

[wlg190861]

I have a friend that wants a wood box that he made for his tattoo equipment covered with leather. What is the best glue for this  or do I need to nail the leather to the wood ? I want it to hold for years to come. 

[fredk]

Normal woodworking PVA* is good for this. It makes a good strong bond. Prime seal the wood surface first with a coat of diluted PVA first. After it has dried, apply a second coat to the wood suface and apply the leather, in stages, eg top, then two opposite sides, other two sides etcetera. Let each area dry before moving onto the next.

A good alternative is contact adhesive. When I use that I prefer the time-bond version. You can reposition the leather a bit, the glue doesn't fully stick until 12 hours or more later

* I was asked to repair a sword grip, on site, one day. The owner had tried various other glues but the leather kept coming loose as he fought. I peeled it off, cleaned the grip up a bit and stuck it back on with PVA. It is still holding 5 years on.

[wlg190861]

23 hours ago, fredk said:

Normal woodworking PVA* is good for this. It makes a good strong bond. Prime seal the wood surface first with a coat of diluted PVA first. After it has dried, apply a second coat to the wood suface and apply the leather, in stages, eg top, then two opposite sides, other two sides etcetera. Let each area dry before moving onto the next.

A good alternative is contact adhesive. When I use that I prefer the time-bond version. You can reposition the leather a bit, the glue doesn't fully stick until 12 hours or more later

* I was asked to repair a sword grip, on site, one day. The owner had tried various other glues but the leather kept coming loose as he fought. I peeled it off, cleaned the grip up a bit and stuck it back on with PVA. It is still holding 5 years on.

Thank you