To glue or not to glue, that is the question!

[samNZJP]

Hello everyone,

Recently I have been exploring long wallets and upon examining my wife's wallet (can't remember the brand but it cost her (me) a wopping $700) I found that the largest piece of the wallet, the exterior cover, is only glued on the outer rim so the two pieces are floating against each other in the middle. 

What does everyone do when making a long wallet here? Recently I made a mock long wallet and glued the whole piece, but I could see it coming apart over time and being uneven. I know Equus leather seems to glue the whole piece, at least from video footage.

Also, could the same floating principle be applied to bifolds?

 

Sam

 

[fredk]

Not wallets; on small bags, up to about 6" across, which I put a thin leather lining in the liner is just glued at the edge, and/or over any fittings [eg rivets] which come thru the outer leather. On larger bags, or any in which I put a stiffener, all the interior surface is glued

If the whole piece is glued well it'll be a long time till it separates

[Norton Custom Leather]

I am a marker of many different wallets. I float the middle on all of them. Do not confuse this process with belts

1. it allows stretch. The buyer will always over stuff the wallet with junk.

2. if repairs are ever needed you can assure that you will not destroy the wallet if you have to take it apart.

[samNZJP]

cheers dude!

[ScoobyNewbie]

See, now, I haven’t liked the glue on any of the wallets that I have taken apart for patterns. It has been, every time, a gross, nasty mess. 

Gluing makes it easier to sew together, but the gluck that ends up in a wallet, even after only a year makes me worry about tetanus every time I’ve gutted an old wallet. 

I don’t use glue at all, if I can help it, but then again, I am hardly in this at a professional level. 

 I will admit to repositionable tape use, on occasion, to make sure everything will line up properly, but I take it off before I sew.

Oh, and I don’t usually use a pony. Free hand. My stitches wobble.

Lol.

Since I’m confessing. 

[samNZJP]

No pony or glue man? That’s crazy!

[NVLeatherWorx]

I don't line my wallets so I only glue a thin line along the stitching/lacing edges and that is it.  There really is no reason to put a lining in a wallet unless you have tooled the outer back (by which I mean carved and tooled or full body stamped, not the simple stuff).  The only reason that a lining has ever been included in a wallet is to cover up the flesh side of the tooling back because, if you were following directions, you had applied some rubber cement to the leather and attached to a piece of cardboard or some other heavy material to prevent stretching while you tooled it.  So, with that said, I will only install a lining when it is a necessity to protect the contents from being damaged by residual adhesives from the tooling process; not many people want tooled wallets nowadays so it is a rare time indeed when I have to attach a lining.  When I do install a lining the entire piece is glued down so as to prevent against the lining creating an awkward bulge when it is fully opened.  To make sure that you don't create excessive wrinkles in the lining you should cut it slightly smaller in length than the outer back and then slightly bend your leather while fitting the two pieces together; let the glue dry overnight before you do any more manipulation of the back.

[ScoobyNewbie]

Jim uses clear shelf liner, it holds pretty firm and pulls off once all the tooling is done and it’s dry.