Hard Side Suitcase Build Thread

Absolutely amazing! For the weight issue, will you try thinner plywood? Or maybe that could warp?

I guess this is why so many old-ish suitcases are made from weird cardboard materials. Probably cutting edge in their day, but with some drawbacks.

I'm late to this party, Terry, but want to add my applause to the rest. Terrific work, and brave. I worked wood for several years before taking up leather, so this gives me ideas about how I might one day combine those skillsets. Well done!

Wow and congratulations, Terry! It just looks fantastic.

Maybe look at the airline industry for weight ideas.

I just realized that you're on Hilton Head. I have a sister there and other family on Daufuskie.

I am finished! What a fun, interesting and challenging project. I was a little worried tackling something like this and not knowing what I was doing and at the same time sharing the progress. Thank you for the advice and encouragement.

Finished lid stays and clothing straps. It took an extra day because I didn’t like how the clothing straps looked and started over. I made the mistake of cutting the straps from too close to the belly area. The leather looked fine until I started to work the edges.

Here are some final pictures. I know a couple other people are thinking about projects similar to this. In a few days I’ll do another post with some lessons learned so you can learn from my successes snd mistakes.

@Terry Millard "The Lord of the Trunks" !!!! MAGNIFIC WORK TERRY!!!

@Terry Millard I’m so blown away by this trunk. You’re doing a beautiful job.

Lining is done! almost done with lid stays and straps. Tomorrow...finish...hopefully

Test lining section. I wrapped the lining around the mat board about 2 cm and notched corner to reduce bulk.

Made template to determine nail placement. Wanted even spacing on all sides.

Corners worked out well. Looks like I need to vacuum the wool!

Lining update - I went to craft store today looking for poster board to use as the base for the lining. I wanted something I could glue the wool to and then glue the section into the box. I thought the poster board was too thin. I was afraid any bumps in the box would show right through the lining. And if you‘ve been reading this thread, you know I’m no carpenter and there are bumps I’d like to hide.

I wandered around the store and found ivory color picture mat. The mat was good size, a great color, 1.25 mm thick, and not too expensive. It was perfect. Picture below is board on the left and wool covered board on the right. I couldn’t have planned it this well!

Here’s the top glued in place.

Here’s the top and bottom in place. Three things to finish this: 1. Finish lining, 2. Attach leather lid stays 3. Make and attach the straps that hold clothes down (not sure what they are called)

@Terry Millard c'mon Terry man, we need one more hit!

It's been like, 9 days! I swear this is the last time, just one more hit man...

just a little bit of lining... 😳💉💼

🤣

F&%* ME!!! How did I miss this thread!

This is incredible @Terry Millard . Beautiful work and so much details!

@Philip @Jaime Reyna thank you. I’ve been playing around with an ivory colored wool for lining. I think the contrast in color and adding something soft will work well.

That's coming out awesome! I'm loving it.

@Terry Millard Looking incredible Terry! Can't wait to see the inside finished off.

I'm speechless this is so beautiful.

Outside is done! Lots of hammering small escutcheon pins (nails)! The more I work on this the more I fall in love with it. A couple things I will do different next time. I will make the nail placement template wide enough to make both sides. I made the template for 1/2 and flipped it over to mark the other side. The issue is that the nails don‘t line up as perfectly as I’d like. I marked the leather a couple places when I was hammering the nails and the hammer glanced off and hit the leather. The method I found that worked best was to hold the nails with long tweezers and tap the nail until it is firmly started in the wood. Then I would finish driving the nail with a punch. Using a punch kept the hammer away from the leather.

Next up - lining and lid stays.

Decided to go with leather corner protectors. Made a paper template for placement of escutcheon pins. My goal is to get consistent pin spacing and placement on the edge strips. I went with 15 mm distance between pins. It is fun to see it all start to come together.

Brown handle wasn’t working for me so I made another handle. I didn‘t like the color and I thought it was too fat. I combined a couple methods and created my own version in black. Five layers of 2.2 mm leather for the core, then wrap in 1.5 mm English Bridle. Same leather I’ll use for corner protectors and edges.

I purchased lid stays to keep lid from opening too far. During the build process I changed the design of the main body so there is an extra piece of wood in the main body to create a lip for the lid to rest upon. This means the thickness of the lid is narrower then the thickness of the main body and the lid stays don’t line up. I thought about adding a block or something to the lid so I could use the lid stays. I decided it wouldn‘t look as clean as I’d like. Alternatively, I‘m thinking about using two leather straps as lid stays. I made a short piece to test the idea and size. I will give this idea a day and see what I think. So far I like the concept.

I’m trying to make as many mistakes as I can so y’all can learn from them. It feels like I’m doing good on the learning part of this build 😀

I like the black corner protectors. Maybe if you were to secure them with brass hardware to match the latch you have to contrast the black leather, it might look pretty cool.

Made progress today and made a couple design changes.

I think the one big lock is enough. I planned to use 2 additional clasps but I think it may be too much. Not sure yet about handle. Need a couple days to think about size and color. Maybe should have made it black. Black edge works nicely and I think I’m going to make corner protectors instead of using metal. I’d welcome any design input...

Top edge is glued on both lid and main body. I wanted to get pressure on the glue until it dried, so this was my solution. Not elegant but it looks like it is going to work. Patience isn‘t a strength. I’m going to walk away and let this dry.

Lid side are glued and corners cut. Waiting until hardware is attached to glue insides.

Glueing sides to main body today. I sure hope the corners work like I planned.

Inner box built and glued into outer box. My woodworking experience is limited so I was pleased how easily it went together.

I’m waiting on more info about additional 3 corner sizes from ABAS. In case they don’t have what I want, I started to play with making 3 corner protectors from leather. I just need to determine how much to cut out and what the cut out shape should be in order to leave enough room to stitch edges together. That’s a problem for tomorrow.

Nice handle. Whats the name of the book?

Made progress this weekend. Handle is done. I like how it turned out. Next time I will do a little more skiving on cover leather and make the overall dimension slightly narrower,

Also did some test fitting with actual leather. I think my spacing will work.

Next I’ll finish inside of box and start covering it with leather!

Looks amazing. How did the router lip turn out?

Leather and hardware arrived this week. Leather is Wickett & Craig English Bridle, dark brown and split down to about 1.3 mm. Trim leather is W&C black English Bridle.

Hardware from ABAS in Italy. The hardware is beautiful. Finish is perfect. They feel substantial.

My only issue with hardware is the size of the three-sided corners. The website stated the inner side is 32 mm. The actual corners are 22 mm. I emailed ABAS and I’m sure we will get issue resolved. I think the corners look small. What do you think?

My plan is to start working on this tomorrow!

I love seeing your tests. keep it comming!

Played with wood router with the goal of figuring out how to get the step or lip similar to red case above on the right. After some experimenting with different router bit, I landed on the round over bit.

One area I haven’t decided how to handle is the inside structure of the carcass. The issue is how to create the inside lip that will cause the top to fit snug and secure.

The image below shows 2 examples of how Louis Vuitton creates the lip. The left image looks like they create the lip as part of the lining. I think they cover a piece of wood and use as both lining and lip. The image on the right is the typical way they finish their luggage. To me, it looks like they use a router to create a step for the top to fit into. The lining is then a thin lining attached to sides.

The left solution looks easier to make. The right side looks more professional and finished. I can’t decide which way to go. What do you think?

Wow! Thanks for sharing, really interesting

This is great. Im so interested in how these types of cases are made. Great thread! ill be following it for sure .

I’m trying a more complicated handle then I have ever made. I bought The Book of Dulles Bag Making. It includes a pattern and instrucations for a handle that looks like it should be on a suitcase. I started the handle and have it to the point where I need to wrap the ends with the exterior leather.

Hardware is ordered from ABAS in Italy. I’ve purchased from them in past and their products are beautiful. I’ll post pictures when hardware arrives.

Leather is ordered from Wickett & Craig. It is a dark brown English Bridle, 3 to 3.5 ounces (1.2 to 1.5 mm). W&C is staking the leather to soften it. I’m hoping staking will allow the leather to flow around edges better. This is one of the unknowns. Louis Vuitton uses canvas to cover their products so thickness and stiffness don‘t appear to be an issue for them.

Wood carcass - the carcass is made from Baltic Birch (BB) plywood. BB is higher quality (less voids and nicer exterior) plywood then is typically available in the States at big box stores (Home Depot). I’m using 6 mm (1/4 inch) thickness for front and back and 9 mm (3/8”) for sides. I went with thinner front and back to reduce weight. I think it will still be strong enough.

I’m using 9 mm on sides to make sure the box is sturdy. More on insides later. I have the carcass glued and nailed. The next step is to saw the box into two pieces - a body and a top or lid. I’m waiting until hardware arrives to cut the box into two to make sure the hardware fits like I’ve designed.