One of my 2019 goals is to build a hard sided suitcase. There’s little information available on how to build a hard sided suitcase so I thought I’d post what I learn and what works and doesn’t work and see what happens. I’m relatively new to leathercraft and have little woodworking experience so any input or guidance is appreciated. I’m happy to post more pictures, links, etc for anything anyone would like to see.
My suitcase will measure 45 cm width x 34 cm height x 15 cm depth.
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.