Gluing leather to MDF

[al heitz]

I have always used contact cement to glue leather to anything. Has never failed. After gluing, I usually clamp the leather to whatever I am using for a substrate for several hours.

[Dave Zellers]

Thanks Al- I did actually consider contact cement but given how little stress is on the leather to come loose, I'm actually starting to lean toward two sided tape for the first trial. I can always change it later if it fails down the road.

Stewie- re camber- I've no experience with this but wouldn't you strop exactly as you honed? (pressure on the left, pressure on the right). Perhaps the 'give' in leather provides that on it's own.

Can we talk compound? What I've found is that the compound tends to build up over time and create high spots. I recently took a sharp plane iron used like a scraper to an MDF board I've been using as a strop to clear off all the build-up. It worked great and that board is now clean and smooth. I recently watched a guy on YouTube charging a strop with compound and when it got a bit heavy, he dabbed his finger in mineral oil and rubbed out the unevenness. Is this common practice? It seems to make sense.

Enough questions for now. Thanks all.

[Bruce Haugen]

Does it matter if the strop wears out? The cost of MDF is trivial, it’s not a precious commodity.

[John Schtrumpf]

...Can we talk compound? What I've found is that the compound tends to build up over time and create high spots. I recently took a sharp plane iron used like a scraper to an MDF board I've been using as a strop to clear off all the build-up. It worked great and that board is now clean and smooth...

I use the side of a plane iron to scrape off the build up on my strop.

[Ted Phillips]

I have made several, including a double layer of leather. All smooth side up. I used Titebond liquid hide glue. Easy to use, almost no squeeze out if you coat only the leather. After applying the glue, turn it upside down and clamp it evenly to your workbench. Let set for a couple of hours. Works great.

I choose to use planed hardwood as a substrate.

I'm with you, Les. I use a piece of planed hardwood and liquid hide glue. You don't need to worry about removing the leather typically. By the time you need to replace the leather - it is easier just to make another. I've got four or five floating around my shop...

Oh, yeah - don't forget to leave a little of the wood sticking out on both ends. You'll need places to hold the strop.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I use a lot of epoxy in boat and surfboard building. When it starts to go amber colored from age, I start using it for side projects, including gluing leather to strops. Please note, i'm not saying it's the cheapest way, but I can tell you it will stay forever with epoxy. In my case, I always have a few gallons of epoxy on hand, and always have at least one that I need to get rid of due to short shelf life in my humid climate.

Leather glues well with contact adhesives. If not for all the epoxy I have on hand, I would use contact cement like what you use for counter tops.

[Bruce Haugen]

I'm with you, Les. I use a piece of planed hardwood and liquid hide glue. You don't need to worry about removing the leather typically. By the time you need to replace the leather - it is easier just to make another. I've got four or five floating around my shop...

Oh, yeah - don't forget to leave a little of the wood sticking out on both ends. You'll need places to hold the strop.

Or, you can forget the leather entirely and just put the compound on a piece of MDF. It works great and is nice and flat. Cheap, too. I also use maple and Corian scraps.

[Dave Zellers]

All of this is just so valuable. You know, almost always when I ask a question here, I’m usually not looking so much for an answer, but a conversation. All the different tidbits from everyone add up to so much more than any single reply to my original question. At the end of the day today I glued two pieces of half inch MDF together to create two 1” thick substrates for the leather. That will give me knuckle clearance. I will probably focus on that going forward. Play around with compound vs no compound and even different compound grits.

At this level I’m such a newbie. I very much appreciatie all who replied. I can hone reasonably well. It’s time to learn how to strop.

[Luke Dupont]

All of this is just so valuable. You know, almost always when I ask a question here, I’m usually not looking so much for an answer, but a conversation. All the different tidbits from everyone add up to so much more than any single reply to my original question. At the end of the day today I glued two pieces of half inch MDF together to create two 1” thick substrates for the leather. That will give me knuckle clearance. I will probably focus on that going forward. Play around with compound vs no compound and even different compound grits.

At this level I’m such a newbie. I very much appreciatie all who replied. I can hone reasonably well. It’s time to learn how to strop.

I do exactly the same

That being the case, I'll chime in with a thought I had on this subject.

I've recently been exploring different kinds of glues, more out of curiosity than anything else, and in addition to looking into hide glue, I also found a super simple glue that would probably work perfectly for a strop: rice glue (sukui). Super easy to make, too:

Save a small handful of rice after dinner, scoop it onto a piece of wood, smash it and add water until it's a thick glue-like consistency, apply it and you're done. It's not the strongest glue in the world, but perfectly fine for light jobs: excellent for gluing paper or fabric to wood, and decent at gluing wood to wood where joinery or additional fastenings provide the majority of the structural strength. Not good where glue is the only thing holding a piece together.

Should work great for leather on wood though, I would imagine -- and allow you to easily replace the leather when it eventually comes time.

[William Fretwell]

Went to visit the tannery for Rolls Royce leather in Canterbury UK back in 1981. Bought a whole bunch of off cuts and been making strops with them ever since. Fuzzy side down!
Use a spray adhesive for melamine, remains flexible and very strong. Comes in propane tanks so not viable for casual use.
Also have used moose hide, a very soft leather and a bit too thick really.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Went to visit the tannery for Rolls Royce leather in Canterbury UK back in 1981. Bought a whole bunch of off cuts and been making strops with them ever since. Fuzzy side down!
Use a spray adhesive for melamine, remains flexible and very strong. Comes in propane tanks so not viable for casual use.
Also have used moose hide, a very soft leather and a bit too thick really.

Now that's pretty cool!!! Rolls Royce strops. You could charge ten times a normal strop.

[Dave Zellers]

Put them together at the end of the day. Used double sided tape and put it under pressure in a vise. They are one with the MDF. Thanks to all.
Already put a nick in it after the photo.
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