Molding leather "pouch bodies" utilizing male/female mold - any tricks?

[bedbugbilly]

I have some leather belt pouches that I want to make and I want to "mold" the main portion of the pouch body.  Basically what I'm looking at doing is constructing them pretty much like a Civil War percussion cap box/pouch.  I want to make the body so that it will be about 1 1/4" deep, 2 1/2" high and 3 1/2" long with the bottom corners rounded.  I could change this though to make the entire bottom of the pouch rounded - a radius of 1 3/4" and change the height if need be.

I'm thinking of making a male / female mold out of wood.  The male portion would have a radius on the front edges, etc.  The female portion of the mold matching the male portion but with about an 1/8 to 3/16 clearance all around (oversize to accomodate the thickness of the leather.  I would use about 8 oz. leather for the pouch body.  I'd cut it oversize so that when placed in the mold, it would end up with a leather "flange" that could be sewn to a pouch back and then trimmed.

Basically, I'm constructing a Civil War cap pouch with a hormone problem.   

I know that someone out there has made percussion cap boxes.  I need to know if there are any "tricks" that I need to know - either in constructing my mold or in doing the actual molding.  I'm assuming that the leather wants to be "cased" and molded while moisture is still in it.  One of my concerns is the corners - will the leather conform to the mold and compress without "bunching"?  Does it want to be left in the mold until completely dry or removed after several hours of being clamped and allowed to air dry?

When constructing them, I will be putting "sheep's wool" at the top - much like a percussion cap box.  These will be used to carry loose rounds of rimfire ammunition instead of using cartridge loops on a belt.

Will 8 oz. leather be appropriate or would another weight work better? 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!   

[Dusty Drifter]

BBB,

The first time I wet formed a case (a cell phone case) I tried the male/female form idea but the outside form just started scratching up the leather so I gave up on that idea real quick. Just cut a block of wood the size and shape you want the pouch to be, wet your leather down good and start forming it around the block.
I just finished a cap pouch kinda like the one you are describing. Mine is about 4 1/2 x 4 1/4 x 1 1/2 deep. I used 8-9 oz leather cut oversize so I could use small brads out past the final size to hold it down while I wet formed it. I used a few pieces of saran wrap rolled up into ropes with small dowels as a "tourniquet" to squeeze the leather around the mold and a piece of smooth deer antler as a boner to shape the curves. Due to the depth of the pouch it took quite a bit of work to get rid of all the puckers at the corners. I think I worked on it for over an hour. I left the leather on the mold until it returned to its natural color and took it off and let it finish air drying for a couple of days.
Hope this helps.

DD

[Slowhand Bob]

Not trying to give the short answer but Tandy does have a set of three Stohlman books, Vol. 1-3, on just this subject.  I have spent more than a few hours over the last week or so working on various pouch designs and for me this is more frustrating than holsters.  I actually prefer to work out a pattern, assemble it and then wet mold by using controlled wetting, as much as possible.  I find it a pain to try and assemble, trim and sew already molded parts, its like the molded piece has final say over the finished project.

[Johnny McCrae]

My experience with Wet Molding is very similar to Dusty's. It takes a some time and effort to get all of the puckers out but it can be done.

Attached is a link to a slide show about Wet molding:
http://s278.photobucket.com/albums/kk81/jvsaffran/Wet%20Molded%20Bullet%20Pouch/?action=view&current=cb7104a7.pbw

I wouldn't want to make more than a couple of these using the above method.

[G.W. Strong]

Johnny, I loved the slide show. it was most informative. I would never have thought to use saran wrap in that way!

[Trailrider]

The only difference in what I do is to use 5-6 oz. leather for the moulded front of the pouch.  I place the front blank on the male portion of the die, after wetting the leather thoroughly, then bend the sides down to the backing piece of the wooden die.  I tack the leather at the juncture of the male piece and the backing, but just at the top corners of the pouch.  I then force the female die piece down over the leather by hand, and see if it is bunching. If so, I smooth the bunches using a plastic forming tool, right where the stitching will go.  The backing piece has a hole through it on each side of the die set.  I have a steel plate that is drilled and tapped for 3/8" diameter rods which stick up on either side of the wood.  After placing the female die (which has matching holes, on the partially formed leather, I place a piece of mat board (also with matching holes) on top of the female die so it protects the leather from the steel top plate.  I then stand on the top plate, exerting about 210 lbs of pressure  until the die pieces come mostly together.  Then I place washers and nuts on the steel rods and torque them down as tight as I can with a 6-inch wrench.  I leave the whole thing for about four or five hours, then disassemble the die and remove the leather.  I trim the edges and use the forming tool edge to mark where the stitching will go.  I let the leather dry overnight.

[bedbugbilly]

Thanks to all for the information/help - it's greatly appreciated.  Took a look at tha slideshow - I ahve a feeling if I personally did it that way, it would turn in to a "sideshow"!     It just goes to show that there's more than one way to "skin a cat"!

Trailrider - what you are describing is pretty much what I had in mind for the male/female die.  The only difference between what you do and what I had in mind was the "weight" you put on the die - I've got 15 pounds on you!     I can see the advantage of using the lighter weight leather for the front of the pouch pocket.  I've owned a number of original cap boxes and the weight of the front of the pocket varied.  I was thinking of constructing my die so that I had four bolts that would be in the bottom half of the die (male side) that would match up with holes in the plate that the female die was attached to - then being able to tighten the four bolts evenly as the die halves come together.  It may be an "exercise in futility" but I want to give it a try and see how it goes. Hopefully I can get the materials for the mold when I go to town next week.  Will keep y'all posted on the progress.  Either it will work or I'll be spending quite a bit of time making a die that I'll have to convert into a footstool or an ashtray!   

Thanks again for the help - appreciate it.  Those are some fine pouches that you pards pictured!

[Dusty Drifter]

Trailrider,

I'd like to see pictures of your set up. It sounds interesting!

DD

[Johnny McCrae]

Trailrider,

I'd like to see some pictures of your setup also. I've got around 215 pounds of pressure to work with.

[Slowhand Bob]

Any well equipped shop should have at least 240+ lbs to uhhh fall back on!     It might take a bit of searching but there are all sorts of interesting techniques being use by the young guys out there today.  They are taking advantage of a lot of technology that we did not have and being an old dog I just recently started seeing a little of it.  Check that u-tube place out for various leather work and kydex working videos.  They are mix matching the two techniques in many cases to do some interesting stuff.

[bedbugbilly]

Slowhand - just remember, most of us may be "old dawgs" . . . but we can still learn new tricks!   

At least my wife still thinks I'm "trainable" . . . boy, is she ever living in a fantasy world!