Restoring And Customising A Briefcase

[my63]

Here is a slightly better picture of the shoulder strap and it end pieces complete with trigger hooks.

 

IMG_1343 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I am still unsure of the dimensions of the handle. Although a local blacksmith was kind enough to provide me with a piece of flat bar to act as the handle support.

 

IMG_1346 by my0771, on Flickr.

 

I may splash some paint on it tomorrow

[my63]

Today I have stated the detail sewing on the divider and the front panel

 

IMG_1360 by my0771, on Flickr

 

IMG_1362 by my0771, on Flickr

 

One down one to go

[my63]

While marking out the holes for stitching the centre divider in place I realised that I had not punched the holes for the strap mounts.

 

IMG_1365 by my0771, on Flickr

 

So I have now punched the holes for the mounts and trial fitted them with the screw part of the Chicago screws on the inside this might not be possible once the divider is in place.

 

I guess I will find out

[TMLee]

Today I have stated the detail sewing on the divider and the front panel

 

IMG_1360 by my0771, on Flickr

 

IMG_1362 by my0771, on Flickr

 

One down one to go

 

 

 

Nice stitching

 

How many mm apart are your punch tines ?

 

4mm ? or 5 mm ?

 

 

Can't see from here , but have you tried making some kind of groove to seat your stitches ?

 

Awesome effort

 

( pls excuse me, I havent read thru your entire thread )

 

 

Look forward to your end product ...

[my63]

Hi T M Lee thanks for the comments.

For this case the pricking iron I am using has eight stitches per inch they are about 2.5 mm apart.

In the picture you have shown the stitching is just for detail it has no purpose and I wanted it to pop out so there is no grove.

The strap where wear might be an issue has a grove for the stitching but I am not planning on using that method anywhere else mainly because I would like the stitching to stand out.

There are many hours of stitching before it is finished but so far I am pleased with the progress.

[Biber]

Your work (and your story, if I remember correctly) is inspiring. Would that I had the gumption to start such an avocation.

[TMLee]

Hi T M Lee thanks for the comments.

For this case the pricking iron I am using has eight stitches per inch they are about 2.5 mm apart.

In the picture you have shown the stitching is just for detail it has no purpose and I wanted it to pop out so there is no grove.

The strap where wear might be an issue has a grove for the stitching but I am not planning on using that method anywhere else mainly because I would like the stitching to stand out.

There are many hours of stitching before it is finished but so far I am pleased with the progress.

 

 

 

I see, you mean you wanted the effect of the stitches that is above and not flushed with the surface of the leather?

 

That's a single pass of the thread right ? , you didnt stitch over twice right ?

 

I am just a little curious about how does one match thread size to stitch spacing , etc that kind of considerations ...

 

Nicely formed stitches

 

I am also curious what edge finisher you used?

 

and the techniques you employed from start to finish.

 

[my63]

Thanks Biber I appreciate your comments.

 

T M Lee yes I wanted the stitching to stand out normally a grove would be used to protect the thread from wear but this is not required here.

It took five hours to stitch around the strap so I only did it once it is not required and serves no purpose but I think it looks good.

The thread I use is Ritza 25 Tigre it is expensive mainly as it only comes in 500 metre reels, it is available online on auction sites but it works out even more expensive. I use one size 0.8 mm normally I select stitch spacing based on the thickness of the leather which is 2 mm so my closest is 2.5 mm number 8. As I am joining front and back to the side panel or gusset I should use a 4 mm thickness as my guide or thin or skive the edges to half of their thicknesses but I want a chunky look to the edges so they may stay as they are now.

 

For the edges I use an edger to round the edges then water and a slicker to smooth them and finish with Fiebings edges kote to seal them.

Hope that helps

[my63]

I knew that the strap mounting points were going to be difficult once the divider was sewn in place and I was right

 

IMG_1370 by my0771, on Flickr

 

It has taken me two days to sew the divider in place and bolt the mounts in place I have learned the lessons from this and if I ever make another I will be a little wiser.

 

The only serious problem was a small nick in the left hand mount

 

IMG_1376 by my0771, on Flickr

 

As this is the rear facing section and the case is for myself ( I know I have said this before:) ) it is not really a serious problem if I am made an offer I cannot refuse I can replace the mount as it is bolted in place.

 

IMG_1367 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The final picture shows the whole centre assembly.

 

My next step is to attach the handle to the back panel which I have been avoiding for some time now time for a deep breath.

[my63]

Handle avoidance continues actually I have a plan.

 

This is the front as you can tell. I am working backwards towards the handle.

 

IMG_1382 by my0771, on Flickr

 

 

IMG_1383 by my0771, on Flickr

 

The straps and the hasp are marked out by putting an awl through the fixing holes and marking the leather below.

 

IMG_1386 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I cannot fit them until I have the suede lining in place and I cannot fit the lining until the handle is in place.

No more excuses handle next honest

Edited November 1, 2015 by my63

[my63]

Handle

 

IMG_1401 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Sorted

[my63]

The handle was the main sticking point today I applied some locktite thread sealer to the threads and fixed the handle in place I then used a thin piece of leather to cover the fittings.

To hold this leather in place I used contact cement. After adding the suede liner (which is held in place by a latex glue) I marked out the top section for stitching.

 

IMG_1407 by my0771, on Flickr

 

IMG_1409 by my0771, on Flickr

 

Then I stitched it in place

 

IMG_1412 by my0771, on Flickr

[Biber]

Suggestion - for added functionality, make the inside divider itself a zippered pocket. The briefcase I carry has this and it's a pretty slick feature, not that I use it. Anyway, enough from the peanut gallery.

[my63]

Suggestion - for added functionality, make the inside divider itself a zippered pocket. The briefcase I carry has this and it's a pretty slick feature, not that I use it. Anyway, enough from the peanut gallery.

Oh it is too late for alterations to the divider assembly has started and besides I skipped the chapter on zips they look really difficult .

Once the rear panel has been sewn in place I will post some pictures.

[my63]

The sewing of the rear panel is now complete I started with the front flap which is detail stitching just for show really

 

IMG_1494 by my0771, on Flickr

 

IMG_1492 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have lost track of the number of hours of sewing involved here over a number of days.

[jimhughes]

What a beautiful piece of leather. That is the ultimate piece of art you can use daily. Beautiful tools like this make the days work go much better. You are truly a artist who works in leather. Thanks for sharing, Jim

[my63]

Thanks for your kind words Jim I appreciate them.

It is a joy to make something like this I hope to make more in the future if i can find buyers for them.

 

As usual i have put off those jobs that I think are difficult.

I did some riveting as a young man many years ago but the rivets were 1 inch thick not 3/32 of an inch it has taken a long time to find a brass rivet i am happy with. but here is the end result.

 

DSC_0547 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I had put off fitting the fastening straps because i thought it was another difficult task until the hasp was riveted in place and once that was done there was no further excuse.

This may be because of perfectionism or lack of confidence or a bit of both

 

Anyway taking a deep breath as I did with the rivets I fastend the hasp and the straps on the tightest setting and tried to line up my ewarlier marks 1 matched 1 did not.

 

DSC_0545 by my0771, on Flickr

 

I added some contact cement and used a pair of needles to hol them in place while the cement hardened.

 

Edges are next I will come back to them later.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[Keyless Works]

Wonderful work.

[my63]

Thanks Keyless Works I appreciate your comments.

 

After making the pad for the shoulder strap I was concerned that it was too large so I decided to adjust it and at the same time show a little more detail on edge finishing.

 

DSC_0551[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

I have chopped off the excess the next picture shows the two tools required to finish the edges on the right is the edge trimmer and on the left is the slicking tool to smooth the edges.

 

DSC_0555[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

The edges have been rounded and polished with the slicker

 

DSC_0590[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

After polishing I sealed the edges with edge kote

 

 

DSC_0602[1] by my0771, on Flickr

 

A more detailed description can be found on my blog

 

Thanks for looking

 

Michael

[stonezebra]

Is it really as wonderfully yellow as it appears in the photos? If so it would cheer me up every time I saw it.