Restoring And Customising A Briefcase

[dcpritch]

[my63]

Thanks I will let you know when it is ready to go

[stonezebra]

Michael you really are a master artisan, you've brought that sad old case back to life! Am curious, what will the new case color be, the one you just cut out? You certainly did make excellent use of your material. (I always find that most impressive.)

[my63]

The new case colour is called London tan made by a company called J Sedgewick they have an excellent video on YouTube showing how their leather is made and hand curried that is the finishing process for English bridle leather.

Rather than cut the leather to the correct size I have rough cut it first then I plan on lining it before I cut the exact size pieces as I am told it gives better edges.

So the old choice is back lining green red yellow. Oh and the thread colour

[goatgolfer]

I didn't see that you had to take any special care for that gold lettering on the front of the case. The soap alone was not a worry?

[my63]

Thanks goatgolfer I don't think I was very clear about that part of this restoration.

When the case arrived it was very dry and one of the things about saddle soap is that it removes some of the oils from the leather with that in mind I used mink oil paste to add more oils in the first instance.

Once I had opened up the case I did use saddle soap to clean the leather with a damp sponge I was careful not to soak the leather.

I checked the gold lettering on the front of the case when it first arrived and found it to be very securely attached I believe it must have been hot stamped as it appears like it is de bossed into the leather that means slightly below the surrounding surface.

 

I hope that answers your question

 

Thanks

 

Michael

[my63]

All other projects are finished so now is the ideal time to make my case.

I cut the hide into the small pieces so it is time to start making the parts, I have started with the handle the first step was to glue some strips of leather together after a little shaping I have this.

 

DSC_0365[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The handle plates and rings have a maximum inside diameter of 22mm and the outer leather is 2 mm thick so 18mm was the maximum size I could use but I decided to reduce it to 16 mm to give a little room.

 

DSC_0367[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Here you can see the outer cover being shaped around the leather blank

 

DSC_0369[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The handle assembly seen from the top the long ends fold under the handle then the side flaps fold around.

 

DSC_0370[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have folded the handle end underneath to demonstrate that.

 

DSC_0377[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I know have my usual dilemma what colour for the inside and also for the thread. I have red and green.

[my63]

Handle assembly with rings and plates as you can see I used the green thread so it will be green suede for the interior

 

DSC_0379[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I still need to stitch the top edge

 

DSC_0381[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

I have started to sew the handle together I like the idea if the green suede for the interior but I am having second thoughts about the green thread.

For the moment I have stopped while I consider the options.

 

DSC_0384[1] by my0771, on Flickr

[my63]

I have decided to stick with the green for both thread and suede lining.

Here is the finished handle it measures 95 mm around the grip which fits my hand perfectly and 175 mm between the centres of the handle rings.

 

I have a stainless steel bar which is 20 mm x 3 mm I plan on drilling holes at 150 mm centres which will force the handle to curve slightly.

Once I am happy with the position of the holes I will transfer them to the leather.

 

DSC_0387[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0386[1] by my0771, on Flickr

[my63]

Today I have focused on my briefcase project The first job was to mark out and cut the back panel with front flap along with the inner divider and the front piece

 

DSC_0399[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The next step was to mark out where I wanted the gusset piece to bend

 

DSC_0393[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

After marking out all of the bends I used a grooving tool too....... well make groves along those lines this also allowed the water to soak into the leather and help the leather to bend.

 

DSC_0397[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Even after grooving and soaking the leather did not bend easily as I wanted neat folds rather than sewn joints I persevered and made it work.

 

DSC_0404[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

There is more detail on my blog

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

I had hoped to share the lining today however I did not have enough suede so I will save that for another day.

 

I decided to make the straps and buckle mounts along with the anchor points for the shoulder strap which I planned to fix over the divider.

 

DSC_0412[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I did make a mistake with the marking out but my measure twice mantra made sure I caught that although I had made it too big so I could have rescued it later.

 

DSC_0413[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The finished pieces

 

DSC_0418[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[jsolares]

Nice, it's looking great!

[my63]

I finished making the buckle mounts last night

 

DSC_0422[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

Today I started marking out the front panel for the lock and buckle mounts

 

DSC_0423[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I made the holes for the lock using its backing plate as a template. The buckle mounts have a front and a tail piece which is fed through a slot it is then riveted and sewn in place for added strength.

 

DSC_0431[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0433[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The suede for the interior arrived this afternoon.

[Intellidepth]

 

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

Truly magnificent. You've taken it back in time and kept its character wonderfully. Edited October 22, 2015 by Intellidepth

[my63]

Thanks jsolares

Intelidepth I still have the USAAF case there was an issue with the single rivet that held the hasp on the lid in place the original was not long enough to use.

I had replaced it with a brass pin but it haunted me that it was not the same as the original which was more rounded I looked everywhere for something to replicate the original.

To cut a long story short I went and bought some brass round bar and made my own.

I will have to send it off soon as I keep fiddling with it.

Thanks for the complements I appreciate them

 

Michael

[my63]

Today I fitted the suede to the inside of some of the pieces the back panel needs the handle fitted before I can go any further. The piece of metal I have is a little wider that I would like at 20 mm my ideal would have been 15 mm I splashed out and bought stainless steel so cutting 5 mm off with a hacksaw is not an option either as it is very hard.

Todays other problem is I have fitted the lock lower than I had intended. I got it in my head that I wanted the centre of the lock in line with the centre of the buckles not thinking that the flap might not be long enough. Too late now. There is no spare leather so I cannot remake the front panel I have tried the back and front together and it looks ok so fingers crossed

 

DSC_0442[1] by my0771, on Flickr

[my63]

After yesterday I decided to dry fit everything just to reassure myself that all was well fit wise

 

DSC_0447[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I am happy that all is well although I am a little unsure of the size of the handle it is actually 175 mm or 7 inches long the palm of my hand measures 115 mm. I might have consider making a smaller one

[my63]

While I am thinking about the handle situation I have decided to turn my attention to the shoulder strap.

 

Before I made any cuts on the original hide I cut a straight edge and used a strap cutter to cut two straps and the gusset piece.

 

I cut the straps 25 mm in width to match the buckles I had purchased

 

DSC_0452[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

My newest tool is a strap end cutter gives a nice neat end one tap with the hammer and it is done.

 

DSC_0454[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The next step is to mark out the stitching for this strap I decided to cut a grove for the stitches and marked each stitch with a pricking iron there are 8 stitches per inch. the strap is 46 inches long.

 

DSC_0455[1] by my0771, on Flickr.

 

I started making this strap yesterday morning and finished it today

 

DSC_0458[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I am planning on making the buckle mounts for the strap next.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[my63]

You may have been wondering why I cut two straps from the original hide. I like to have adjustment on both sides of the strap so there needs to be a piece of leather between the trigger hook and the buckle.

 

I cut a piece of strap 150 mm ( 6 inches) long and folded the two ends into the centre, groves and holes for stitches

 

DSC_0462[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0460[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0467[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

DSC_0470[1] by my0771, on Flickr