box

[sheowahya]

I have never been one to shy away from a challenge, so here is my next project.

I am going to (hear the determination :biggrin: ) cover this store bought box in leather.

My plan is to remove all the hardware and reinforce the wood structure construction where necessary.

Then use one piece of leather starting from the bottom of the top (where the latch is) and going up over the top, down the back, across the bottom, and finishing up the front. Then use 4 smaller pieces for the top and bottom on the sides. I will be doing some tooling, so I know I will have to cut everything larger to allow for casing shrinkage and tooling stretchage. I plan to lace (I WILL master that if it kills me) all of the seams.

My questions are...

1- can I re-attach the hardware once I have the leather in place? I like the look of it but I am afraid because I know leather and metal do not play well together sometimes.

2- how do I get it to stay ON the box? should it just stay put with the lacing? or will I need to use some sort of adhesive? what would be the best adhesive to use?

3- I was considering gluing a thin layer of foam to the surface of the box to smooth out the surface and give the outside a softer feel, sort of like a padded briefcase. Is there anything I should keep in mind on this?

I am not planning to cover the inside, as I like the smell of the raw wood. I think it will be more usefull and easier to clean out if the inside is left as is. I plan on using it to store some of my larger leather related items. I do not have a dedicated workbench area and I'm sick and tired of trying to hide the cardboard box that I've been using. This way I can store my stuff, and have a beautiful piece to show off in my home.

I have Al Stohlman's books "The Art of Making Leather Cases" Volumes One and Two and am reading them and making notes, so I think I have a fairly decent start. WAY better than my last project at any rate.

All thoughts, comments, hints, and suggestions are most appreciated.

Marilyn

[CitizenKate]

Marilyn,

I'll be interested in seeing how this turns out, since I've been wanting to do a project just like this...

I think you can re-attach the hardware after the leather is in place, but you may need to get longer screws than the ones the box came with. I've been using brass fasteners whenever the fastener has to come into contact with the leather, and so far haven't had any problems with leather reacting to it. I think the saddle makers out there can also suggest what fasteners you can use with leather.

I would definitely use an adhesive. Either contact cement, wood (carpenter's) glue, or Tanner's Bond should work fine. I've used carpenter's glue to attach leather to wood, and used contact cement to mount the leather for a game board to its backing. Here are the trade-offs:

With contact cement, you pretty much have one chance to get your leather cover placed perfectly, but then once it's on, the bond is complete. With the white glues (carpenter's glue or Tanner's Bond), you have some time to adjust the position of the leather on your box before it sets, but you need to be prepared to carefully clamp the leather on the project to keep it in place while it's curing, and keep the area free of excess glue.

I'll let someone else comment on the foam, since all my attempts to pad something failed miserably! :scratchhead:

Kate