# Did I strike gold or fool's gold



## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Well, I just returned from the DAV (Disabled American Vet's) store with the following item. Being extremely ignorant about leather*, I don't even know if this made in China jacket is real leather.

















I'm judging that the actual "leather" in this thing is around 1/32nd of an inch or maybe even less. I made a pouch and rigged it with a single tube of 20-40, which is very light pull, and it ripped right through the "leather" on my first pull.

If this is leather, I'm obviously going to have to glue a few layers together but I do not know what glue to use. I have tried to do this in the past with similar leather using super glue, but that made the pouch too stiff.

I need some schooling here.








Who's got a leather fetish?
* This and a myriad of other subjects.


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## dgui (Jan 12, 2010)

Dayhiker said:


> Well, I just returned from the DAV (Disabled American Vet's) store with the following item. Being extremely ignorant about leather*, I don't even know if this made in China jacket is real leather.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It would more likely have to be a contact craft fabric /leather glue from Hobby Lobby and they also sell Tandy kits there so you can get the glue there.

And Besides, There's no fool like an old fool, I otta know.


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Thanks dgui,
I bet I'm a waaaaaay bigger fool that you are!


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## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

Dayhiker said:


> Thanks dgui,
> I bet I'm a waaaaaay bigger fool that you are!


Well, if there's gonna be a contest, I'm in.


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## fatboy (Oct 26, 2010)

Loctite makes a glue especially for fabrics including leather. It has worked very well for me.

Check out the hardware stores ... Lowes Home Improvement, Home Depot etc.


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Thanks Fatboy!
@Henry, Oh the stories I could tell!


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## AZshooter (May 1, 2011)

Another old fool here...Tandy leather has the glue you need...and you might even try contact cement...rubbery, waterproof, and flexible...


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## philly (Jun 13, 2010)

You would look handsome in that jacket Bill


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Philly, I probably would've about 10 years ago. I'm only saying that because one of my daughters tried it on and cried, "Yeah -- Woodstock! Diggin' Jimi Hendrix and Janic!" ... and she looked cool as he|| to me, ha ha.


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

AZ shooter said:


> Another old fool here...Tandy leather has the glue you need...and you might even try contact cement...rubbery, waterproof, and flexible...


Contact at Tandy it is ... first I'll try Michael's though cuz it's right around the corner. Thanks, man.


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## dgui (Jan 12, 2010)

I Wont Give Up! I still think I got the Fool Part down better than anyone of you, And I Mean It! I'll even fight for it if I have to!


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Ever since the industry figured out how to split hides, clothes have been made out of super thin stuff which has no strength. You will need to glue several layers together.

Hard to beat good quality contact cement. Buy it cheaply at a hardware store. They make two types ... (1) water soluble, and (2) acetone based. By all means, give the water soluble stuff a pass ... get the acetone stuff. Follow the directions on the can. Coat both surfaces with the stuff and let it dry about 15 minutes at least ... until no longer tacky to the touch. Then put the two surfaces together ... instant bond ... pound on it lightly with a rubber mallet. BIG HINT: glue two (or even three) pieces together larger than your pouch ... cut out your pouch after gluing the pieces together.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## NaturalFork (Jan 21, 2010)

Rubber cement would be my guess.


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## wildwilly (Jun 10, 2011)

You might also try the iron on fusable web used for hemming fabrics. At least it is cheap so if it dosent work you arent out of a lot of money and can be used for a lot of fabric repairs around the house. My wife used it to hem my daughters pants for school and it worked pretty good as a matter of fact i was thinking of making some denim pockets to try out with a couple of slingshots I have to see if it strenghthens it enough to work.


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## Bert (Mar 20, 2011)

I use doubled up pouches sometimes but have given up bonding them together as after a few shots they seem to align perfectly anyhow. Not gone to 3 layer though..nothing is wasted, cool purchase


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Well, I have really learned a lot here. Thanks for all the suggestions.
Charles, thanks for the detailed advice, I'll be following it.

Sidebar: Darrell, I won't dispute, but I'd sure like to trade stories over a cup with ya sometime.


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## crazymike (May 8, 2011)

give the jacket to the women in the back round, winter is near.


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## whipcrackdeadbunny (May 22, 2010)

Sew it together.


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## THWACK! (Nov 25, 2010)

Barge Cement. Period.


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## mr.joel (Dec 21, 2009)

Barge indeed, it can be had at any shoe repair shop and often in hardware stores.


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## AZshooter (May 1, 2011)

A good quality contact cement will do the job...and for a much better price...Barge cement is pricey stuff and may be overkill for this situation.


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## bj000 (Jul 21, 2011)

i say " cut it up!"


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## rubberpower (Aug 16, 2011)

I make leather holsters as part of my income and I can tell you that Barge cement is tops. Rubber cement will come loose. The leather cement that Tandy puts out is made by Barge. Hope this helps


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## AZshooter (May 1, 2011)

Though both are basically rubber based, there is a big difference between contact cements, and rubber cements...involving solvent used and other additives.


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## THWACK! (Nov 25, 2010)

rubberpower said:


> I make leather holsters as part of my income and I can tell you that Barge cement is tops. Rubber cement will come loose. The leather cement that Tandy puts out is made by Barge. Hope this helps


That's EXACTLY why I suggested Barge Cement.
My grandfather, dad, and uncle operated an orthopedic shoe manufacturing business. The ONLY cement they used was Barge Cement, because it is simply the best for keeping two pieces of leather together. They cemented the soles prior to sewing the soles to the welt (I believe I have the terminology correct). They bought Barge Cement in huge quantities.

When I would occassionally walk into the store, my nose picked up the fragrance of leather. It was wonderful to me.
Everytime I smell leather, such as in a department store or thrift store, when I'm shopping with my girlfriend, it reminds me of the family business, and best of all, my dad.


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## rubberpower (Aug 16, 2011)

Do you happen to know what they used to thin it. Barge thinner is as expensive as the glue.


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## mr.joel (Dec 21, 2009)

Having also made holsters, knife sheaths, etc. as a partial income I would also concur. It's not overkill, the leather is flexed to the extreme and if you use an inferior adhesive, the two will start splitting, particularly if you don't intend to sew it. I would be careful to use an even smaller amount as the glue will add weight to the pouch. However, less is more with this superior leather cement.


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## Daniel J (Dec 15, 2010)

any of the above would work. except super glue. it makes the leather so stiff.


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## AZshooter (May 1, 2011)

My purpose in recommending a quality contact cement is simple...first of all it works...second its cheaper than barge cement (which is an excellent product for its purpose)...third if you are trying to cut costs on materials you can still get buy with a quality product...and fourth we are not making holsters (or putting soles on shoes), we are gluing two (or three) thin pieces of leather...The solvents used in contact cement are naptha, MEK, and toulene (others may also be used), and they cost 1/3 that of Barge cement thinner (which probabley are the same solvnts anyway-read the label)...


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## mr.joel (Dec 21, 2009)

You can do it any way you want to, bubba...I'm easier than he// to get along with!


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## THWACK! (Nov 25, 2010)

Ace Hardware. Barge Cement 2 oz. tube, $6.49.
No "thinner" necesary. : )


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Well, fellas I took Charles's advice days ago and this is what I bought. It seems to be working good so far.

I want to thank you all for the plethora of information.


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## THWACK! (Nov 25, 2010)

Dayhiker said:


> Well, fellas I took Charles's advice days ago and this is what I bought. It seems to be working good so far.
> 
> I want to thank you all for the plethora of information.


...and I thought he wanted something for LEATHER. Silly me.

Well, if one wants plethoras, this is probably as good as any forum to git 'em.

: )


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

THWACK! said:


> Well, fellas I took Charles's advice days ago and this is what I bought. It seems to be working good so far.
> 
> I want to thank you all for the plethora of information.


...and I thought he wanted something for LEATHER. Silly me.

Well, if one wants plethoras, this is probably as good as any forum to git 'em.

: )
[/quote]

Thwack, if you click on the picture and look down at the lower left corner, you will see that it is recommended for leather, too. The key is, I think, to use a flexible adhesive. Crazy glue makes the leather stiff, and rubber cement is too weak. This does seem to work well. If I do run into trouble, I'll try the tube of Barge cement, but this is half the price.


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## THWACK! (Nov 25, 2010)

Dayhiker said:


> Well, fellas I took Charles's advice days ago and this is what I bought. It seems to be working good so far.
> 
> I want to thank you all for the plethora of information.


...and I thought he wanted something for LEATHER. Silly me.

Well, if one wants plethoras, this is probably as good as any forum to git 'em.

: )

I sit corrected. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. Good luck with your bargain-priced cement. BTW -Did you know that Loctite threadlock is made from sanitized sewerage? Yuck.
[/quote]

Thwack, if you click on the picture and look down at the lower left corner, you will see that it is recommended for leather, too. The key is, I think, to use a flexible adhesive. Crazy glue makes the leather stiff, and rubber cement is too weak. This does seem to work well. If I do run into trouble, I'll try the tube of Barge cement, but this is half the price.[/quote]


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

fatboy said:


> Well, fellas I took Charles's advice days ago and this is what I bought. It seems to be working good so far.
> 
> I want to thank you all for the plethora of information.


Hmmm ... I'm always willing to take credit for other's good ideas ... but I hate to take blame!!! I guess to be honest I should say the suggestion for the glue came from fatboy.

I suggested acetone based contact cement. As a boy, a friend of the family had a shoe repair business, and in those days re-soling shoes was a big part of the business. He never used anything else but contact cement ... also used it to repair sagging seams on leather clothing. No doubt newer products have been developed, but I am not familiar with them. When I find something that works well, I tend to stick with it, so I am not up on the latest glues. I doubt that it matters a great deal in this application what one uses, as long as it is reasonably flexible and will glue leather.

There is no great investment here. Try one thing, and if it does not work, try something else ... lots of choice out there. Please ... no one should get bent out of shape because their particular suggestion was not followed. Let's all remain civil and just try to help each other.

Cheers ... Charles


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Hey Charles -- you lookin for a fight or somethin'?


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Naaah ... guys my exalted age have enough scars on their knuckles and have had their lips split enough times to know there is no mileage there! I have become a more peaceable sort of guy ... unless you piss me off!!







































Cheers ........ Charles (ain't these emoticons great??)


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Okay, after extensive testing (100's of shots) this Loctite isn't holding up. I guess I will have to buy a tube of Barge cement from Ace Hardware. Thanks Thwack.


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## THWACK! (Nov 25, 2010)

Dayhiker said:


> Okay, after extensive testing (100's of shots) this Loctite isn't holding up. I guess I will have to buy a tube of Barge cement from Ace Hardware. Thanks Thwack.


You're welcome, Duh.

: ) : ) : )


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## bj000 (Jul 21, 2011)

what happened now?


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## THWACK! (Nov 25, 2010)

bj000 said:


> what happened now?


ummmmmmmmmmm... what would you LIKE to happen?????????


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## bj000 (Jul 21, 2011)

i want to see him cut that jacket up and make some cool stuff with it.


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## THWACK! (Nov 25, 2010)

bj000 said:


> i say " cut it up!"


It's just my opinion of course, but I really like the look of that jacket. I can picture it hanging on a peg from my rifle rack or bow rack. It has a rustic charm.

Hopefully, someday, I'll have a rustic charm too. As it, is I still haven't outgrown my assholiness. But that's just me.

: )


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## fatboy (Oct 26, 2010)

Dayhiker said:


> Well, fellas I took Charles's advice days ago and this is what I bought. It seems to be working good so far.
> 
> I want to thank you all for the plethora of information.


Loctite is what I use. Glue both sides and put under pressure for a few hours.

Sounds like Barge is better.


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Since I have 2 tubes of this stuff, I will try that.
@ bj00: What do you expect to see? You know what pouches look like, don't you?









Edit: Now that I took your advise FatBoy, everything is fine. I have a couple of pouches with almost 100 shots on them and the glue is holding fine.

@ Thwack: looks like I won't be buying the expensive stuff after all. I'm all about the bargains.


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## bj000 (Jul 21, 2011)

i bought some contact cement . going to contact up some leather tomorrow and make some pouches. thanks for the advice charles


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