Avoiding wrinkles when using two layers of 4/5 Oz.?

[jaredwalker]

Hey guys, I hope that everyone is doing well during these circumstances. 

 

I picked up leatherworking as a hobby about 6 months ago, mainly making holsters and other firearms accessories. 

 

Recently, I have been trying to make a lined holster, using two layers of 4/5 oz. leather. The reason for this over my usual 7/8 or 9/10, is I have a small stingray hide I impulse bought a while back that I would like to inlay. My thought process was that two layers of 4/5 Oz. would be stronger with the large window cut out for the inlay. 

 

The issue I have run into is, that the inside piece always wrinkles up near the bend when I am trying to make an avenger style holster or similar. With a pancake it is less of an issue, though some wrinkling occurs near the sight tunnel. It gets really ugly when trying to make a flat back pancake haha. 

 

The current process I am  using to bond the two layers together is to apply barge cement, let it get tacky (about 15 minutes), then press the two pieces together going over it with a smooth piece of wood, then tapping with a hammer. I let it sit for 12-24 hours. Sand, edge, burnish, and stitch where needed. I heavily wet the leather where it is going to be bent. When I go to bend it anywhere though, it always wrinkles up something terrible on me. 

 

If anybody has some experience with this, it would be a huge help! Thanks!

[Frodo]

25 minutes ago, jaredwalker said:

Hey guys, I hope that everyone is doing well during these circumstances. 

 

I picked up leatherworking as a hobby about 6 months ago, mainly making holsters and other firearms accessories. 

 

Recently, I have been trying to make a lined holster, using two layers of 4/5 oz. leather. The reason for this over my usual 7/8 or 9/10, is I have a small stingray hide I impulse bought a while back that I would like to inlay. My thought process was that two layers of 4/5 Oz. would be stronger with the large window cut out for the inlay. 

 

The issue I have run into is, that the inside piece always wrinkles up near the bend when I am trying to make an avenger style holster or similar. With a pancake it is less of an issue, though some wrinkling occurs near the sight tunnel. It gets really ugly when trying to make a flat back pancake haha. 

 

The current process I am  using to bond the two layers together is to apply barge cement, let it get tacky (about 15 minutes), then press the two pieces together going over it with a smooth piece of wood, then tapping with a hammer. I let it sit for 12-24 hours. Sand, edge, burnish, and stitch where needed. I heavily wet the leather where it is going to be bent. When I go to bend it anywhere though, it always wrinkles up something terrible on me. 

 

If anybody has some experience with this, it would be a huge help! Thanks!

 

I have no idea if I do it right or not.  I glue the whole thang

Are you glueing the whole piece?

I have no problems If i glue the whole piece.  I only have problems if I edge glue it

and use a liner that has a little stretch to it,  like pig skin or elk hide

Edited April 13, 2020 by Frodo

[blue62]

The reason the liner wrinkles is because it's growing as you make the fold, try it with a couple pieces of light cardboard and you'll see what I mean.

Try curving the outer piece as you glue the inner layer in, it will help a bit.

[Rhale]

Using one heavy piece, say 6 oz and one thin 2 or 3 oz use the lighter for liner and curve to glue as previous stated .

[toxo]

If you have two pieces the same size and the glue them, when you bend or fold you're making the outer layer stretch while the inner layer has nowhere to go but wrinkle. Is why the outer layer on a wallet is bigger. Try marking out the leather in the bent/folded form.

[Chakotay]

As already mentioned, you have to glue it around something. I use a large dowel rod. Check out around minute 7 of my most recent holster build (video link below.) You can never really lay it out flat afterwards or you'll run into the same problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKFv-VbEgJ4