glueing leather to metal

[Hedge]

I'm looking for a glue to use for attaching leather bracelets to metal clasps. Any suggestions?

 

[LatigoAmigo]

21 minutes ago, Hedge said:

Any suggestions?

What do the metal clasps look like? Can you share a picture?

[Dwight]

2 hours ago, Hedge said:

I'm looking for a glue to use for attaching leather bracelets to metal clasps. Any suggestions?

 

I'd really be tempted to say your need is why buckles were invented.  

But I wish you the best on your venture.  

Personally I would split the leather and stuff the attachment part up in the middle of that split leather . . . with the metal scratched up real good with the corner of a file or something of that sort . . . and put it together with Weldwood Contact Cement.  Contact cement on both sides of the metal . . . and both insides of the split leather.

Best wishes . . . may God bless,

Dwight

[Hedge]

3 hours ago, LatigoAmigo said:

What do the metal clasps look like? Can you share a picture?

1 hour ago, Dwight said:

I'd really be tempted to say your need is why buckles were invented.  

But I wish you the best on your venture.  

Personally I would split the leather and stuff the attachment part up in the middle of that split leather . . . with the metal scratched up real good with the corner of a file or something of that sort . . . and put it together with Weldwood Contact Cement.  Contact cement on both sides of the metal . . . and both insides of the split leather.

Best wishes . . . may God bless,

Dwight

Buckles are for watch bands. Clasps are for bracelets. But thanks.

[RockyAussie]

Contact is a no go. Weld Bond is ok on Zamak depending on the leather. Super glue sometimes good but on smooth stainless inside not so good. Think about drilling and pinning.

[LatigoAmigo]

@Hedge I purchased this clasp, and with the help of a little Gorilla Glue, managed to put a bracelet together. What I found was this particular clasp is difficult to open and close with one hand, so that took it out of contention for me.

[Hedge]

1 hour ago, RockyAussie said:

Contact is a no go. Weld Bond is ok on Zamak depending on the leather. Super glue sometimes good but on smooth stainless inside not so good. Think about drilling and pinning.

Yup, contact won't work for this application. I'll check into Weld Bond. Thanks. Can't drill and pin as the leather is braided.

[Hedge]

1 hour ago, LatigoAmigo said:

@Hedge I purchased this clasp, and with the help of a little Gorilla Glue, managed to put a bracelet together. What I found was this particular clasp is difficult to open and close with one hand, so that took it out of contention for me.

I've got some Gorilla glue. Picked up some Shoe Goo and some liquid nails. Will run some tests. There's a trick to opening and closing the clasp one-handed. I like it because it's very secure.

[LatigoAmigo]

Just now, Hedge said:

There's a trick to opening and closing the clasp one-handed.

And what's that? Inquiring minds want to know...

[Hedge]

1 minute ago, LatigoAmigo said:

And what's that? Inquiring minds want to know...

Hard to demonstrate in this forum. Basically,with one hand, you have to use 2 fingers to hold half the clasp and push the other clasp with the other two fingers. The magnet helps pull the clasp together. Undoing it is just the reverse.

[Samalan]

Dremmel tool with diamond burr cut serrations across inside clasp then on the leather cut serrations like a v groove  side to side then epoxy, the epoxy should go inside the clasp first so when you push the leather in it pushes the epoxy into clasp don't use to much but you need enough to get into the serrations sometimes you can tape the leather but not veg leather clear system 3 epoxy works good an epoxy paste even better  you can color epoxy also hope this helps good luck with that project .

[Squid61]

I think I'd go with two part epoxy for this.  I also agree with roughing up the finish inside the clasp.

[Hedge]

4 hours ago, Samalan said:

Dremmel tool with diamond burr cut serrations across inside clasp then on the leather cut serrations like a v groove  side to side then epoxy, the epoxy should go inside the clasp first so when you push the leather in it pushes the epoxy into clasp don't use to much but you need enough to get into the serrations sometimes you can tape the leather but not veg leather clear system 3 epoxy works good an epoxy paste even better  you can color epoxy also hope this helps good luck with that project .

Thanks for the ideas. The leather is braided so, I'll have to glue the ends first. System 3...I'll check it out. Thanks.
I'm running some tests on other glue. Haven't tried epoxy yet but of Liquid Nails, Gorilla glue and Shoe Goo, the Shoe Goo is looking awesome.

2 hours ago, Squid61 said:

I think I'd go with two part epoxy for this.  I also agree with roughing up the finish inside the clasp.

Yup, always rough up a smooth surface to get a good stick.

 

[RockyAussie]

I think if you glue the braid ends first you could still use the drill and pin method for the extra security. here are a couple of pics that show how I 3d printed up some holders for the drill press this weekend. The rod I have used is a 1.5mm alloy welding rod which fits the hole nice and firmly and taps down nice as well. Note that for the curved style ones they need to have the angle put in to keep the shape square when you drill.

 

[KLR]

If you're going to experiment, you might try some JB Weld.  I've used on different occasions for joining dissimilar materials.

[toxo]

I'd go with Gorilla first. It's the only one that foams and expands. Remember to dampen the area. It needs moisture to work, will get into those braid cavities. Of course roughing the clasp will always help.