Journal Project

[Loudcherokee]

Hello folks, 

Decided to make 3 journals for my daughters and niece for Valentines Day coming up. I've got some pull up laying around from Springfields $30 oil tanned sides and this is the first of the three. 

Basic design idea came from Little King Goods, but I added a couple of touches of my own. The journal notebook is 8x5 and I added a strap closure. 

Finished the edges with sandpaper starting at 220 and working up to 800, then saddle soap with canvas, and finally tokonole with a hand burnisher.

This was my first time using Aquilim 315 and WOW this stuff is awesome. 

Let me know what ya think! 

LC

[Retswerb]

Excellent! That’s nice looking leather and you put it to good use.

[kiwican]

Simple and clean!

[Loudcherokee]

Thanks! I learned alot with this one. 

LC

[Loudcherokee]

Here is Journal #2. This one is for my niece. The strap on this one is a piece of her dad's old belt. 

LC

[kiwican]

Nice thought on the closure 

[JayEhl]

 

On 1/31/2021 at 1:14 AM, Loudcherokee said:

This was my first time using Aquilim 315 and WOW this stuff is awesome. 

I've never heard of this and being a noob I had to look it up.  I've been using DAP weldwood contact cement (the red one).  Why is the Aquilim 315 good/better?  Just curious.  

[Loudcherokee]

1 hour ago, JayEhl said:

 

I've never heard of this and being a noob I had to look it up.  I've been using DAP weldwood contact cement (the red one).  Why is the Aquilim 315 good/better?  Just curious.  

In my case its the smell. I have weldwood too and will still use it probably for my holster and belt projects, but for wallets I like the aquillim. Theres no odor, and you don't have to wait for it to dry to a dull finish before applying, especially if you're gluing flesh to flesh or flesh to sanded grain. Its almost an instant bond. 

The odor is the biggest thing though. Even when I was going outside to do the gluing, I would bring it back in to sew after it dried a bit and it would still smell awful in the room I was working in. While I've inhaled enough paint fumes and adhesive odors over my lifetime for it to probably not matter to me, I have a 16 month old and two teenagers I don't want around the fumes. The aquillim smells similar to Elmer's white glue to me. 

LC

[JayEhl]

well, that makes sense.   As a kid I remember building model airplanes with my dad and the glue smell reminds me of that time (not the getting dizzy part!) .  Funny how aromas do that.  Anyway, I'll have to keep that in mind after I go through my recent can I bought. 

Thanks for your insights!

~JL

[Loudcherokee]

Here's the third and final journal. Well, except for the wife's lol. That one will take awhile though. 

Used a different leather here. Still a $30 oil tan from Springfield and it is really nice to have a whole side of this for $30. Decided to work in a buckle closure instead of a snap on this one. Im happiest with the edges, which finished out really nicely and you can see the layers. Used sandpaper from 220 - 800 grit, then saddle soap rubbed in with canvas cloth, topped off with tokonole. 

Two things I noticed, I forgot to finish the edges on the inside flaps where the journal cover slides under, and I hated having to stitch across my strap on the back but I couldn't figure out a way around that. I would have preferred the two parallel stitches and that be it, but couldn't wrap my head around how I would attach the strap, which has to be done before attaching the inside panel, and then stitching that section of the inside panel. 

LC