A few people saw me making these and asked about them so thought I’d share. I’m trying wet molding leather with some molds I cut on the CNC. These are just little catchall tray type things.
Had no idea this was even possible, but it’s super easy and they come out looking great. Soak some leather (this is 5.5-6oz) in water for about 5 minutes, then sandwich it in the mold, press down, and clamp for a few hours.
Going to try a few other colors soon. Still learning how to finish the edges (if anyone has insight would love to hear it!)
General info for everyone - there is a pail of scrap leather in textiles next to the Juki on the far side of the room. It think it tends towards skinnier pieces, but am uncertain. Help yourselves!
You can finish leather edges either with some sort of paint/rubberized coating, or just by burnishing the edges. I recommend Tokonole burnishing gum (or Gum Tragacanth) and a good old wooden dowel or better yet a burnishing tool like this.
It’s also probably a good idea to bevel all the edges to avoid them mushrooming out from the burnishing. You’d use an edge beveler for that
I have all of the above if you just wanna try it out. I’ll bring my leather toolbag to the shop if you wanna test before you buy anything
Taking a slight turn, and likely unrelated to what you’re aiming for, John, but Adam’s pictures have me wondering.
Because stitching at the edge of finished leather products looks so nice, I wonder if the shape you start with pre-press would be predictable enough to do a row of stitches when the leather is still flat. Would it be possible to get those stitches consistently close to the edge of the bowl. Thought being - it’s far easier to sew something big and flat than it is to go around the edge of something dimensional. And then with a burnished edge? Lovely.
Great info Adam, very much appreciated! I ordered a set of edge bevelers and I think I’ll try burnishing the edges and possibly sealing with wax.
Stephannie, I think I’d like to try a different shape with a little bit of a “lip”, and maybe teo different colors of leather, and stitch around the edge of that. Agreed it would look really great
