Introduction: Leather Bike Tool Chest

So this is a tutorial on making a toolbox to fit low a bicycle stand and above the rear wheel. I've had this pedal for a number of years and I like to not waste space. I wanted to have completely my tools handy, and eventually leave the top of the rack absolve for either a torso operating room other such space for reposition. I spent several months mulling over the space above the back wheel you said it IT was all going to work verboten. This is what I came up with... Enjoy.

Firstly, I'll mention that I will not be using measurements in that tutorial because this particular project is so customized that if I were to give measurements, they would be wrong for most other bikes. That and I am not very good at taking measurements.

Secondly this is NOT a light weight down cup of tea. So if your a weight wienerwurst, create knowing your adding weight to the motorcycle. Important for preparation rides, not so much in a race type of tease.

Supplies

cereal grass cardboard or other card stock for pattern, scissors, sharp-toothed leather awl, leather tongue OR exacto knife, waxed heavy free weight thread, golden eyelets or grommets, duple shoulder of veg tanned leather (I victimised saddle weight 9-12 oz), leather liner in 2oz or less, breeze closer of your select (I used button snap concho and a slit-abridged hole), leather lace up, leather dyes in your choice of colours, lifelike haired paint brushes (do not use synthetic, they will fade in the chemicals used for the dye and cleaners), leather finishing product (super shininess or burden shlack), good thick gloves designed to prevent chemical exposer and skin contact (ones for cleaning the toilet are the correct type, not latex or surgical gloves. The chemicals for leather dyeing and cleaning volition go straight through those), paper towels and cardboard to protect the work surface or a desk you just don't care what gets on IT, leather tooling stamps and tooling mauls of your choice, tooling patterns of your tasty, tooling pivot knife(s), leather needles, stitching pony/horse/table clamp to appreciation your bring while sewing, leather sheers, hole punches, stitching punches, rubber cement, bicycle with rack and fender (fender will need two points of securing so the bag weight doesn't compress the fender into the tire). I'm sure I've missed at least a couple of tools...

Step 1: Create the Pattern

I ordinarily jump with creating a pattern, and on this figure, I skipped that step because I wasn't planning happening making a second puppet chest. Soh unfortunately in that respect is no pattern to go from. Please don't skip this dance step though. I have a quite a little of pattern qualification experience. If you skip this step, your project could be ruined from the start. So before start I intimate you due some seed boxes or other starchy poster stock and use tapeline and scissors to make the shape of the pocket earlier beginning. Make sure your edges line finished and there's no dimples in the tape Beaver State large areas not connected at the seam lines.

In leu of having formula photos we will expend some photos of the forum process as you can learn how the bag was designed to fit over the back bike and buffer.

Measure 2: Cut Your Convention From the Leather

Once you have your pattern, carefully isolated all the pieces and trace out over the veg bronzed shoulder. Cut your patterns from the leather articulatio humeri. Unfortunately I do not have photos of this footmark.

Stone's throw 3: Tooling Your Nontextual matter Into the Leather Panels

For my design I used several different leather tooling patterns semi-willy-nilly. I tried to blend in umpteen different images for a nice conglomerate that kind of matched throughout the panels.

I then used a swivel knife to cut the images into the leather trying non to go encourage than half the thickness of the leather.

Next I tooled the images, again existence careful to not go further than fractional the thickness of the leather. The reason you don't want to compress more than half the thickness is because the leather dye will not infiltrate an area that has been likewise compressed. Instead the dye will get siphoned off from the compression position to anyplace busy 2 inches from where you actually want your dye to lie. So beryllium troubled to see your non hammering your tooling stamps too touchy. Practice pattern practice before you work connected your main panels. Use scraps to test your hammer pressure before your main work and always emotional up your hammering in front beginning to work along the panels.

Notes connected tooling: Leather needs to be tacky, not too wet, non too dry, merely Goldilocks soppy. A fresh practice is to soak the leather in water that is passabl warm (equate to a hot bath), until it nobelium thirster releases bubbles. Then the leather is set in either a hurry lock bag operating theatre seran enfold and placed in a cool place (fridge) to rest, for anyplace from 1 to 24 hours.

You know the leather is absolutely wetted when you stamp a tool into the leather and it leaves a darkish shiny imprint, doesn't sploosh water, and the stamp is clean-cut and remains clear. The leather should look dry but feel cool to the touch.

Also note that once leather is wet you induce a limited clock time to work until the leather will atomic number 102 thirster absorb pee. This is nigh 2 weeks but depending on mood, leather type, and a number of strange factors like how often you re-wet the leather this can vary wide.

When you are complete tooling for the twenty-four hours, re-wet the surface with a mist nebulise, and pose the panel noncurrent into seran wrap or a zip ignition lock bulge and store flat in the electric refrigerator until the next day. Follow mindful of stacking work on pinch of each other. Formerly marked leather won't give up that mark well and if a seam on a ziplock bag lays against another panel, your going to find that seam will forever German mark that control panel. Indistinguishable with tooled panels egg laying on other tooled panels, the image can and will remove to other panel without much effort. Great for trying to get along a mirrored image, non such when your exactly storing information technology until the next day.

Step 4: Layered Eager

Once all the tooling has been completed and the leather has had time to fully dry next comes colors and picture.

I use ii types of leather dyes. Water supported and oil based. Water founded MUST keep first before oil color based as water and vegetable oil do not blend well. If you were to try and use a body of water based leather dyestuff complete an oil based you'll rule it just sloths off the oil and pools in gravid droplets. Kinda fun when your going for thrown paint like outcome, but not so fun for standard painting look-alike look. So if your using two types of dyes, read the labels or know what your working with before application.

Brushes used should be brushes specifically for oil picture. These will be your natural hair case of painting brushes and not a synthetic type of picture brushes like nylon. Nylon and synthetics hairs will dissolve into one big glop of hair and you will deflower the brush and your leather panel.

Work with one colourize at a time. Mix the tinge in a tras chatoyant-meth, and put the lid back on the dyestuff bottle or IT will evaporate. Glass eye droppers work for transferring from the dyestuff nursing bottle to your shaft glass. Never role the shot chalk for imbibing again. Use a dedicated jigger that wont e'er atomic number 4 stored in your kitchen. We don't want anyone poisoned.

Always clean your brushes well before moving on to the next bed of color. Brushes and the chemicals wont to dye leather like to hide up in the bristles and lav leakage into the adjacent color of dye if your not through and through in your cleaning. I use acetone or turpentine to clean my brushes. Followed by another cleaning with hot water and dish grievous bodily harm. Please be mindful and do not pay back these chemicals happening your hide as it will absorb through the skin and is a known cancer causing chemical. Use loggerheaded gloves designed for chemical make when working with acetone, turpentine, and any and all leather dyes.

Step 5: Much Layering of Color.

This is the HARDEST part and no joke. You MUST give time for the dye to dry-eyed in front moving on to the next layer of color. If you don't the dye will blend and phlebotomize into your prior layer and cease up looking like mud. Give time between layers for drying. 24 hours is best practice, but minimum 4 hours between coats. It is passing difficult to not keep playing with your dyes, but you have to put information technology dejected and manner of walking away. This step is critical to creating a nice painting like effect on your panels.

Once you have all of the water based colors on your panels you can move on to oil founded layers. Same methods equally prior. Work with one color at a time, mix in your glass guesswork-glass. Clean your brushes between colors. Don't get these chemicals connected your skin. Wash your hands often.

Regrettably I am unable to settle middle layer images.

Step 6: Finishing Top Coat

For the top coat I used a generous amount of tops luster. This has the consistency of milk and of necessity a good amount of time between coats. If memory serves Maine (and ofttimes doesn't), I applied 5 coats of super luster over the course of trine years with wad of time between coats. And another 48 - 72 hours of drying time for the final coat before touching the opencut of the leather. The top coat of topnotch sheen real gives the colors some visual world power and brings everything in the lead and out.

Step 7: Eyelets, Tie Downs, and Gathering

Install your eyelets in the lowest point of the tool chest for water drainage, just in event the bag ever gets a good dunking in water. You put on't want to have wet tools as they will rusty fairly quickly.

Set u your tie downs before assembly as information technology will be draw close impossible after everything is together. Don't make my mistake! I honestly forgot all most tie downs until everything was assembled.

For this future step i placed the side panels image pile and laid retired all my tools I wanted stored in my tool cabinet. Then marked my inner facing for strap placement, snaps and the care. I did use some cheap and knotty lining, and colored information technology fluorescent yellow for still of visually finding tools within the toolbox.

Reasons for this decisiveness was because 1. Tools are usually dirty. 2. I had it on mitt. And 3. I couldn't use the lining for anything else as it was really horrible leather. Mightiness as well usage it for holding tools, atomic number 3 the tools can pock up the inside to their little hearts content and not chafe me later about having marks on nice leather.

Once the lining was consummated with strapping and snaps i ill-used India rubber cement to adhere the liner to the outer panels wrong side (inside).

Succeeding comes a comparatively difficult task of punching run up holes that line up with run up holes on adjacent paneling. And marrying the panels together with stitch work. To do this part right you must reckoning the sew holes and make sure the panels to be stitched together have the unchanged number and placement. If you don't have the correct number of holes betwixt the pieces, your expiration to have a unspeakable clip of trying to line things up. Count your stitch holes.

Erstwhile your holes are punched and your happy with them, you can lead off hand stitching each panel, starting with the ground of the toolbox freshman as this will represent the just about catchy to stitch later. You can either do your sewing free hand Beaver State employ a sewing pony/horse or a table top vise to hold your work as you stitch. I free two-handed near of the creature dresser, but i did use a table top vise to start the work.

Footstep 8: Installation

Finally we can install the tool cabinet under the scud. You will take in to remove the rack from the bike. Tie the bag to the inside of the rack, then reinstall the single-foot to the bike. This can be tricky with the fender also being attached to the rack, but its not impossible.

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