Please advise for wood sided leather bag

[Whit30]

Hello,

I am wanting to make a wood sided bag using some oil tanned leather I have around.

My question is on construction. I would probably use Walnut for the sides. On something small as a phone case, somewhat bigger as a fire kit pouch would 1/4" be strong enough?

And for larger bags such as a laptop or I pad bag maybe even a purse, do you feel 1/2" thick walnut would be structural strong enough.

I am planning on drilling holes in the sides and sewing the leather to the wood. I have #69 nylon thread. Should this be ok? How far would you space the stiches?

Lastly for now, would you skive the leather that I will cement to the wood edge or leave it the same thickness? Would it be better to sew something like every other hole around entire side and come back with a second thread sewn separately incase a thread is frayed or cut some way and the whole thing wouldnt loosen up or just cross stitch the sides with one thread? Would you cement over the thread to protect it from wear?

I'm sorry, I know a lot of questions but I just like to have everything planned out and squared away before starting something new

Thank you for any and all tops and advice!

[Whit30]

I'm sorry, I somehow double clicked and i double posted this question. Can someone help me delete the second one? I'm sorry. Thank you!

[chrisash]

For both lightness and strength then maybe consider plywood and face it with some nice veneer 

I do remember seeing a wooden sided bag on either here or youtube a few months ago, but not much use i guess without a link

[JLSleather]

TO begin, lemme say I have no idea how these are constructed or the materials used. Just knowing a bit about wood and leather and thread, it seems to me that 1/2" thick wood is excessive and #69 thread is insufficient.

 

[Mattsbagger]

I made a bag similar to what your talking about a few yrs ago. I used decorative furniture tacks and contact cement. Also use Tboyce pattern in the pattern section. Not able to visualize how you would sew it to the wood.

[Northmount]

6 hours ago, Whit30 said:

I'm sorry, I somehow double clicked and i double posted this question. Can someone help me delete the second one? I'm sorry. Thank you!

Done

[billybopp]

Here are some pictures of a bag I made last year using leather and purpleheart.  The leather is about 6 oz dyed yellow, with mahogany dyed straps and the wood is 3/8" purpleheart attached with brass escutcheon pins spaced about an inch apart (sadly hard to see in the pictures).  I pre-drilled holes for the pins to avoid splitting the wood. The stitching went a little wonky, sadly.  My woodworking tools are very limited, and had I known how stinking HARD purpleheart is, I would've chosen something else!

- Bill

[ComputerDoctor]

For your good hardwood inserts with Leather hand sewn into it, I use a Dremel rotary tool with a drill bit of the appropriate size and I punch the leather stitching pattern in it first and then 'mark' through the leather and punch the wood with a sharp Awl and then drill the wood. I use a 207 or 277 thread at a minimum. I finish all edges and then use an edge dye or paint on the leather. Stain the wood first before you sew it all together.

Sam:)

[Whit30]

Thanks so much to each of you! The tips were very helpful! Next time I'll post a link or something. I just did not want to break any forum rules. Thanks again to you all!

[bikermutt07]

I have been toying with the idea for awhile. I have planned to use furniture tacks with cement as well. I am also thinking of a rabbited edge where the leather meets the wood. Then no skiving needed.

Edited December 11, 2018 by bikermutt07

[chrisash]

If there was enough room to be able to turn inside out when finished, you could hide the tacks buy tacking the good side of the leather to the edge of the wood and then turning bag the right side out, that way the tacks on the wood edge are covered over by the leather

Only problem I see is the depth of the wood would need to be shorter than the length of the bag to be able to turn inside out

Edited December 11, 2018 by chrisash

[rodneywt1180b]

I agree with @JLSleather that 1/2" wood is excessive for anything you would want to carry.  3/8" is about as thick as you would need for a large bag and much less bulky looking.

What kind of wood working tools do you have?  If you have a table or bandsaw I would recommend making thick (like 1/16") veneers and laminating them to the desired thickness.  It will be stronger and less prone to splitting and warping than solid wood of the same thickness.  Also-like others have mentioned-be sure to predrill your fastener holes.

A good second choice is a high quality plywood like aircraft or marine grade plywood.  Look for something with a lot of thinner veneers for the same thickness.  If you go this route I would seriously consider screws instead of brads or tacks to hold the leather.  Plywood edges typically don't hold nails well.