Making a leather case

[SteveS]

I've been thinking about making a leather case - copying an existing Wheatstone or Lachenal leather case as my starting point.

 

I've sourced leather for concertina parts and bellows - and got a few offcuts of leather sufficient for a small test box, using box sewing techniques.

 

Has anyone tried sewing a leather box?

 

Looking at the technique videos on YouTube it seems fairly straightforward (hence the need for a test box). 

But I'm sure there are some things not explained in the videos that I'll run up against.

 

I'd appreciate any tips / advice.

Edited July 3, 2023 by SteveS

[AndyNT]

Can you post a pic of the case you are hoping to copy?

I've made a leather case for my concertina and also for melodeons. But neither used box sewing techniques; they were designed to avoid it. This technique may look easy in a video but is difficult to master and make the resulting joint be strong and look good without a lot of practice.

Do you have any experience of sewing thick leather and have the necessary implements?

 

 

 

[SteveS]

9 hours ago, AndyNT said:

Can you post a pic of the case you are hoping to copy?

 

Do you have any experience of sewing thick leather and have the necessary implements?

I've attached a pic of the case I might copy - this is for a baritone, but I have a treble that could use a case, so I'll just scale down accordingly.

 

I've been collecting leather working tools for some time, and have just recently bought a sewing kit with various needles, awls, and various coloured threads.  I have edgers, skiving knives (and the facilities to sharpen them), and various punches used in leather sewing.

Edited July 3, 2023 by SteveS

[Chris Ghent]

AyBee of this parish has made several. Might be worth pinging him.

[Michael Marino]

Is that a full leather box or is it a leather and veneer box? I have made leather and veneer boxes a long long time ago (I was teenager then). If it is only Leather that is going to be interesting as it is going to require a good bit of knowledge in leather craft. Best of luck and please keep us up to date if you do choose to make it.

[SteveS]

1 hour ago, Michael Marino said:

Is that a full leather box or is it a leather and veneer box? I have made leather and veneer boxes a long long time ago (I was teenager then). If it is only Leather that is going to be interesting as it is going to require a good bit of knowledge in leather craft. Best of luck and please keep us up to date if you do choose to make it.

It's leather externally (about 2mm thick leather), with wooden internal box.

My thought is to see how it goes with 2mm leather (might be a challenge for a beginner) for my test piece.

If all goes well, when I come to make the first case, my thought is to reinforce the case internally using thin birch ply.

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

Why not make a wooden case instead?

Simple sawn jointed box; avoiding the traditional hexagonal cases often seen. Also, just  like your leather example, a square box enables instrument to be removed more easily ( I have found).

Wooden box will.protect concertina  inside, and can be veneered also.

 

[AndyNT]

 

That's a lovely box with some nice leatherwork challenges. It looks like it might benefit from some leather feed

It uses traditional box stitching which is tricky to master.

 

This excellent video by Nigel Armitage shows the full technique. Nigel also runs courses in the UK.

 

However there is a simpler way which I plan to try at some point which is described in this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_7ooZY0M2c

 

I always prototype a tricky project like this to test out the measurements and build sequence. I often use mount board or foam board of a similar thickness to the leather. As they are inexpensive, it is much cheaper to make mistakes with them, than with the expensive leather!

 

It is an interesting, challenging project and I look forward to seeing the final result.

 

[SteveS]

52 minutes ago, SIMON GABRIELOW said:

Why not make a wooden case instead?

Simple sawn jointed box; avoiding the traditional hexagonal cases often seen. Also, just  like your leather example, a square box enables instrument to be removed more easily ( I have found).

Wooden box will.protect concertina  inside, and can be veneered also.

 

Wooden cases can be a good option, and they look great when veneered and French-polished.

 

IMO the traditional leather cases, are very attractive and add to the overall appearance of a good instrument contained within.  Unfortunately, this is hard to appreciate nowadays since most leather cases are well over 100 years old and in varying degrees of poor condition.

 

As a beginner, I'll do some stitching tests on scrap/samples, then prototype a small box.  If successful, I'll then move on to a full-size box, but will make templates first, sticking them together with tape to get a feel for the overall size of the end product, before I start cutting and stitching expensive leather. 

[adrian brown]

Hi Steve,

 

As Chris said, I have made a few of the Jeffries style jug cases as well as repaired of few Wheatstone cubes. There's a thread from a few years ago here:

 

 

It sounds as though you are using the right approach - you really need to test your technique at every step of the way before you ruin a nice piece of leather, or destroy the project at the last seam 🙂

 

I found a the videos by Nigel Armitage very helpful too, but it was nothing like getting to grips with a mock up joint. The Jeffries cases have cardboard stiffener on the inside and as you say, the Wheatstone ones have thin wood. In both cases 🙂  an important part of the stiffness comes from the hide glue - it's truly amazing how this works once it is dry. Other than that a good pricking iron is essential to get your stitching straight and it would help to make up a jig that holds the pieces to be joined in place, while stitching. Nigel shows one of these in his box stitching video and it really helps.

 

Otherwise send me a pm Steve and I'll try to help.

 

Adrian

[DDF]

These are a few I have made myself over the years the front two last winter. They have card lamination inside and are box stitched . I found a little superglue and activator works well to hold sections together whilst stitching.

[SteveS]

Wow! exactly what I have in mind.  Thanks for posting.

I'm thinking to reinforce internally using birch ply rather than a card lamination - but I'll certainly look at the card option since I have loads of it 😀

 

[alex_holden]

The two leather cases I've made so far are 3mm plywood boxes with 2.5mm leather glued and stitched to the outside.

 

 

 

 

 

[DDF]

If you do go for the wood lining you may need to drill the stitching holes as the stitching punch will likely damage the wood edges too much,just a thought.

[adrian brown]

Hi Alex and DDF,

 

Great work!

DDF: when I made my cases, I punched the holes when the pieces were flat on the bench, with their cardboard backing already glued on, but before bending the sides. It looks like Alex has stitched his leather to the the already jointed box, so yes, I agree the pricking iron would probably demolish the box unless you supported it somehow on the other side. With the Jeffries cases, the stitching goes between the leather panels, so on the ends, it's going through the joint at an angle of about 45° and hardly touching the card on the inside. Using Alex's technique, it looks like the stitching is closer to 90° from the surface, so the leather is joined to the wood construction, rather than (in the case of the Jeffries cases), to the corresponding leather panel. How is it on the Wheatstone style cases you made? I've never had one of those apart enough to see how the stitching goes, put given the proximity of the stitching to the edge of the joints, I suspect it is more like the Jeffries cases, than how Alex has done it? Alex - I'm not saying one way is better than the other, I'm just interested to know how it was done in the past with a wooden as opposed to a card liner? This would have implications for how Steve approaches it, since covering a wooden box with leather would need very different planning than constructing a box from a composite material of leather/card or leather/wood.

[DDF]

Hello Adrian, I think Alex's beautiful case is a wooden box with a leather covering whereas in the  "traditional" type, the leather and card form the structure of the case. I have a lachenal square case where the stitching is so close to the edge that it goes through the corner edge at about 45°. I also have a Crabb square case which seems to be constructed more along the lines of technique I used. I had thought the square cases would be easier to make than the "jug" style but they not really. I should also say if anyone is worried about my handle position on the square cases and  them accidentally falling open and spilling the contents rest assured I have tested that scenario. The concertina stays in the case.

[alex_holden]

I agree, mine are more of a jointed wooden box with leather covering rather than a traditional leather box with wood or card stiffening. I was aware of the traditional method but less confident in my ability to make a neat and sturdy box that way.

 

I did drill the holes for the stitches as it would have been too difficult to punch the holes through the plywood with an awl.

[xgx]

H Alex

Which method do you use to align the pricking and the drilled holes please?