In the last post, I left you hanging on how to do more than
one thing and I promised you a recipe as well. This recipe is not for something
to eat or drink but it will help you when shaping and molding leather. I will
share this ‘recipe’ a little later in this post. For now, I would like to
continue from the point where I left you in the last post.
After marking the form for length, it is a good idea to set
the leather on the form just to get an idea as to whether or not the leather is
going to be the right size or not. Position the edge of the leather that you
would like to have for the top edge of the pocket on the line. If you have
enough length and width with the piece that you have cut, you can proceed on
with the process. The photo below shows the placement of the leather on the
form. It is hard to see it but the edge of the leather is right at the line
marked on the form. You can also see one of the screws that I used to fasten
the form down to the board. As a side note, this allows for the easy removal of
the form and re-application at another time.
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| Dry leather positioned on the form |
As previously mentioned, I found that getting leather shaped
just the way I wanted it was oftentimes a challenge that got the better of me.
Not knowing some of the simplification tricks that others used left me wanting
a better way to do this. One of the biggest mistakes that I made was to attempt
to shape leather that was too heavy for the task. I would overestimate both my
abilities and the “willingness” of the leather to be molded.
I had some projects, which came with built in challenges.
When I worked in the saddle shop, a customer ordered a few tool carriers for
his employees to help perform their work. I got the carriers done in good time,
but I was not happy with the way they turned out though. It was suggested that
I make the molded tool pockets from red latigo leather. I love the look and
feel of this leather but I was not ready for the outcome of wetting the
leather. The outcome of getting the latigo leather wet was that it seemed to
get a little stiffer. The red dye also came out of it and my hands were red for
over a week.
Now when I shape leather I do my best not to hint to a
customer that I might be able to use red latigo to make something for them to
wear. Latigo is the leather used to make saddle strings and the cinch straps
for the saddles. This leather is strong and it is very resilient if treated
well. It has to have many good qualities, it holds a saddle on a horse, it is
exposed to everything in the environment of the horse, plus the sweat produced
by the horse itself. Latigo will last for many years if proper care is
practiced. Anyway, that is enough about latigo leather.
The next step in making this carrier is to get the leather
wet for shaping and molding. Please do not run to your faucet too quickly to
get your leather wet but if you must, you must. I would actually like you to
hold tight for a moment while I describe the ‘recipe’ to you. The recipe will
work on most leathers when you need to mold and shape it. It will even allow
you to stretch out those shoes that are too tight for you. The recipe consists
of equal parts water and rubbing alcohol. I mix mine in a spray bottle, which
allows me to mix enough to complete the project at hand or to make enough to
last a while. By the way, in all of the years that I have used this recipe I
have never had any problems with it staining the leather.
As for stretching shoes, I do not remember ever needing to
use it on any of mine but I was told that it works very well. The only drawback
with using it is that you either need to spray the shoes and wear them until
they dry completely, otherwise, stuff them with enough old rags, paper, or
whatever you might have on hand to hold the shape until they dry. Be sure to
let them dry completely before you quit wearing them for the day or before
removing the stuffing.
Please keep in mind that when using rubbing alcohol that it
is important to have a well-ventilated work area and/or an exhaust fan of some
kind to move the air around the room. Rubbing alcohol can have a rather nasty
effect on your body if too much is inhaled. Chances are that you may never have
a problem with this but it is better to err on the side of safety than to find
yourself overdosed on rubbing alcohol fumes. You might get very sick if it
happened.
The photo below shows the piece of leather for the pocket
after having been sprayed with the mixture of water and rubbing alcohol. I
placed the leather on top of the form and applied no pressure to it at all. The
photo does not show how it had already begun sag a little around form. Please
do not get the idea that it is something that automatically happens after using
the recipe. You will need to use your fingers to shape the leather around the
form. One last thing before continuing with the process, I like to make sure
that my leather is pretty wet before I begin shaping it. I have found that for
my purposes it is a good idea to have it wet enough that it is somewhat limp in
my hand.
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| Wet leather on form |
The leather should not be wet enough to squeeze the mixture
from it but it should be soft and pliable when placed on the form. It will take
some trial and error to get the amount of moisture just right. The other thing
you might find is that two different pieces of leather will not act or react in
to moisture in the same manner. I have used leather from the same tannery, the
same weight of leather; even the same side of leather but the personality of
one part of the side was very different from the other. You might also find
that a tannery tans leather by a different process and that of another tannery.
It not unusual for one tannery’s leather to be more challenging to shape and
mold than another’s. By no means does this mean that it is not a good quality leather.
I just realized that I forgot to tell you about in the
previous post. It is important to know that it is not necessary to use wood for
making your complete form. The photo shown below demonstrates what I mean by
this. I needed to make a carrier for a tool that was thicker than the piece of
wood that I had. I did not want to spend the time or money to drive thirty
miles to the lumberyard for one board. I would then need to use a table saw to
cut the board to get the right thickness to add to the form to make it work.
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| Top view of thickness added to a form |
As you can see from the photo, I simply added a piece of
leather to increase the thickness. Yes, those are stables going through the
leather and into the board. If I remember correctly, I did not want to attach
the leather permanently to this form. It was because the carrier was for a
thicker multi-tool. The photo below shows a side view of this form with the
leather attached.
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| Side view of thickness added to a form |
As you can see, I did not glue the leather down to the form.
It was and is my belief that my methods were good enough that there would be no
problems with the fit. Remember, when you get leather wet there is a good
chance that it can shrink. I have had this happen a few times and that is why I
like to leave a lot of excess around the edges. I can always trim off the
excess but it would be very difficult to add more width.
Do not be shy about making comments or asking questions. I
am glad to hear from you.
Have fun!
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