Wet-form leather around a circle?

[Leather20]

Hello! I'm attempting to make a pouch for a new pocket watch I found and I'd like to try to wet-form the leather around the pocket watch. Does anyone have any tips?

[fredk]

1. do not wet form around the watch. carve up a wood or mdf block to mould around and attach that to a bigger piece of wood.

2. use the stretchiest belly leather you can get

3. use a frame over and around the block former covered in wet leather and clamp it down real tight

[Handstitched]

Yeh, the last thing you want is moisture getting into the watch . 

Just make a mould the same size & shape. I have some pine off-cuts that I use , and some MDF like fredk said. I put a coating of oil on the wood so it doesn't  get affected by the moisture. 

HS

[Frodo]

Yes I have a couple of tips for you you, 

Here is a small wet formed pouch about the size of your watch .    ...It is for  my sewing needle packs

Measure your watch, cut the bottom piece the measurement you want the item to be

cut the top piece 1/4'' wider 

are you going to line the pocket with  a soft 2 oz leather?  

add that   and leave it larger than you want.

 trim off the excess liner go ahead a decorate, stamp dye the pieces

then sew every thing together,  

next, drop the pouch into a pan of water for 15 /20 seconds

put the watch in a baggie, shove it into the pouch, use your fingers to form the details

set it out of the way and let it dry

I form pistols and knives, and a baggie works just fine, 

 

[JLSleather]

Guess I'm the odd man out here -- I think you certainly could use the watch to form over.  

Since you say WET FORMING we'll assume you're talking about vegetable tanned leather, and since its a watch we'll assume fairly thin veg tanned. Maybe 2/3 or 3/4?

Cover the watch with plastic wrap... you won't gain enough bulk to matter.

[ryano]

4 minutes ago, JLSleather said:

Guess I'm the odd man out here -- I think you certainly could use the watch to form over.  

Since you say WET FORMING we'll assume you're talking about vegetable tanned leather, and since its a watch we'll assume fairly thin veg tanned. Maybe 2/3 or 3/4?

Cover the watch with plastic wrap... you won't gain enough bulk to matter.

 

No, you are not the odd man out, I agree with you, put the watch in a sealed plastic baggy or cover it with plastic and use the watch form the leather.

[Hardrada]

1 hour ago, JLSleather said:

Cover the watch with plastic wrap... you won't gain enough bulk to matter.

Yup. That's what I did when molding a leather case for my Zippo, and also when making a couple of end sleeves for my phone, to cover the cameras semi-permanently.

(Jump to @ 1:05 in the video.)

 

 

 

He used a similar method to make a case for an electronic gadget, so, if you wrap your watch properly, it should be safe:

 

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by Hardrada

[ryano]

19 minutes ago, Hardrada said:

. That's what I did when molding a leather case for my Zippo, and also when making a couple of end sleeves for my phone, to cover the cameras semi-permanently

 

Great video, I liked the slicker twirl, that was pretty slick. Lol

Thanks!

Edited December 30, 2020 by ryano

[Leather20]

Yeah, I was planning to use the watch after covering it with plastic and using a fairly lightweight leather. I'm not certain the weights but probably a 3-4oz. Thanks for the tips I'll be sure to post some pics when I'm done.

Also, @Hardrada I love your videos! I'm subbed to you on youtube ^.^

[Hardrada]

21 minutes ago, Leather20 said:

Also, @Hardrada I love your videos! I'm subbed to you on youtube ^.^

Whoa! They're not mine! That's a Korean crafter there. I was just linking you to what I've found useful.

[Leather20]

Oh! LOL I thought they were yours xD

[ryano]

16 minutes ago, Hardrada said:

Whoa! They're not mine! That's a Korean crafter there. I was just linking you to what I've found useful.

Well,  thanks for posting his Korean videos.