Restoring And Customising A Briefcase

[goatgolfer]

This topic is like a film serial... After the hero conquers the villain, he climbs the watchtower...only to find...a document case the squire claimed kept the family will and maps... But, but, only if the maiden...

 

And then we get some bridle leather and no-joint stitchery to keep us going.

 

I for one enjoy "tuning in" when it appears in the what's new section.

 

Thank you Michael for the lovely images and interesting dialogue.

[my63]

Thanks goatgolfer

 

Here is the next instalment

 

The USAAF case is almost ready for re assembly I have wet formed the liner for the gusset piece today

 

DSC_0149[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0151[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I will add the centre dividers and then allow it to dry overnight I will glue it in place tomorrow

[my63]

The lining leather which I wet moulded yesterday has dried overnight and is now waiting to be glued together.

 

DSC_0154[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

As you can see the lining leather has added to the integrity of the gusset piece already. In normal circumstances I would not always glue the lining in place as there will be plenty of stitching to secure it. In this case I want the lining to be completely joined to the original piece as tis will prevent any future tearing or splitting of the outer leather.

[my63]

Before I can re assemble this case I need to sort the edges of the dividers which are made from two pieces of leather glued together.

I could have just ran a bead of glue along the top and left it at that, but I have used a knife and bone folder to open up the joint and then added glue then applied pressure to bring the pieces together.

 

DSC_0159[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0156[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

when the glue has dried I will sand and refinish the edges with beeswax.

[my63]

I like shinny things earlier in the week I ordered a lock and handle fittings for my new case they are all solid brass and made in the UK.

The only item I need now is the meatal bar that the handle attaches to on the other side of the leather it stops the case sagging when you pick it up.

 

DSC_0169[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0167[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0168[1] by my0771, on Flickr

[Biber]

You should be making a patter of this case as you go along so you can reproduce it. I bet you'd have more than a few interested in one.

[my63]

Thanks Biber I did indeed take a pattern from the first Pendragon case that I restored and my new case will be made from those with some minor adjustments.

 

I was fortunate that the locks are still made in the UK by Abbey England to the original design.

[my63]

Here are the two internal dividers with the repaired edges.

 

DSC_0175[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have also glued all of the linings to the outer pieces of the case. All of the lining leather is to be left the natural colour it will only have a protective coat of wax.

 

I am still mixing dye to try and get a colour match that I am happy with

[pen2paper]

Very much enjoying the details of your journey.

 

Would you mind entertaining a question please? Clearly seeing you reconditioning old leather. Have you worked on leather that had some mildew odor, or slight mold, and if so, how did you remedy the situation?

[my63]

Hi Pen2paper I have not come across mould or mildew as yet (fortunately) but I have read enough to be able to tell you that lemon juice or vinegar mixed with water should remove it for you. Start with a weak solution and add more lemon juice / vinegar. Be careful with coloured leather test first.

Fiebing's mink oil will restore some oils to most leather but not suede.

[pen2paper]

Hi Pen2paper I have not come across mould or mildew as yet (fortunately) but I have read enough to be able to tell you that lemon juice or vinegar mixed with water should remove it for you. Start with a weak solution and add more lemon juice / vinegar. Be careful with coloured leather test first.

Fiebing's mink oil will restore some oils to most leather but not suede.

Thank you for responding with suggestions. Recently there was an inquiry from an inheritor of an old object collection that had some mildew/mold issues. A few pieces affected by this were vintage leather, and I immediately thought of your thoughtful process of leather reconditioning. Everything you suggested sounds reasonable and cautious. Again, thank you.

[my63]

To be honest I would not normally work on an heirloom piece but from my understanding of the story attached to the USAAF case it was important to the family.

I should have added I normally start cleaning with saddle soap and water which is good enough for most things I have encountered on leather.

[pen2paper]

To be honest I would not normally work on an heirloom piece but from my understanding of the story attached to the USAAF case it was important to the family.

I should have added I normally start cleaning with saddle soap and water which is good enough for most things I have encountered on leather.

These were not a major old pieces, and some of the lesser pieces allowed experimentation using your suggestions which, BTW, was very much appreciated. TY for taking the time to be thoughtful and generous.

[Intellidepth]

A promised here is a picture of my thread before I started sewing the strap edges ... Here is the joint ... I don't think it looks too bad.

Unless I had known it was there I wouldn't have picked it - even then I had to look twice to verify it. Those coils of thread look extremely organised.

 

I visited antique shops locally for the first time recently looking for nibs. Thanks to your sharing here my attention was widened to leather bags . One caught my eye. It is still at the antique shop as I haven't yet worked out what I would use the particular bag for (it has a t-bar shaped awl threaded through its outer pocket - looks like a workman's bag) but it's niggling at the back of my brain. The leather looked like it was in great condition for its age (stored in a locked glass case) so I felt I could probably venture into attempting leather cleaning/conditioning based on your work here. Hmm.

[my63]

Hi Intelidepth if you decide to have a go I would be happy to help you in any way that I can.

 

The colour is a bit off I am using my phone camera as my little canon does not like windows 10 I am hoping Santa may bring me a new camera

At least the colour is off on both the new straps and the case equally.

 

DSC_0197[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The repairs to the dividers are now complete and the edges that are visible have had beeswax applied and they have been burnished which means rubbed with a piece of hardwood or rough cloth to cause friction and melt into the pours of the leather.

 

DSC_0200[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Front and rear pieces test fitting to make sure they still fit

 

DSC_0202[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

This was the position earlier in the week before my recent hospital visit to have more injections into my damaged hand to keep it working for another three months. I have also started to sew the dividers into the gusset piece I knew this would be tricky before I began and I was not disappointed

[Erasmus]

This is just too awesome.

[my63]

Thanks

[my63]

Time for re assembly of the USAAF case. I have finished sewing the dividers into the gusset piece and the handle plates along with the pocket that holds the metal support bar.

As these pieces are visible have used the existing holes where possible.

 

DSC_0247[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I plan to thin the edges of the leather before I attach he front and rear pieces. this will involve marking a line around the inside edge and using a very sharp round knife removing a strip of leather from that area.

 

Talking of really sharp knives I have been putting it to good use my own case has progressed from a piece of 11 square feet I now have this.

The first piece cut was he straps followed by the long piece which is the gusset piece then the back front and divider were cut out the smaller pieces to the left and the top are what was left these will be used for the handle and the fasteners.

Rather than cutting for minimum wastage I have selected the very best parts of the hide for the important sections like front and the flap.

 

 

 

Here we have all of the pieces leather and hardware that are needed to make the case.

 

DSC_0252[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

 

DSC_0254[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

Edited October 5, 2015 by my63

[dcpritch]

Michael, everything you've done is 6 degrees of awesome. The case doesn't look anything like the beat up old bag you started with - it is taking shape into a piece of usable art.

[my63]

After struggling with the colour of this case for some time I realised that as I had used a saddle tan dye with lots of coats the orange tint I was blaming on my phone camera was actually down to the background tint of the dye.

So I used a darker dye diluted to cover that tint and make the case even closer to its original colour.

 

USAAF 1 case by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0277[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0280[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0286[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0284[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I am in the process of finishing the edges and once that is complete it will be time to send it back to its home in the USA.

It has taken a long time to bring this case back to a useable condition and I Think it will be good for another 70 years.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael