In yesterday's Part 1 post of the making of this leather reel case, Lee Slikkers of Slikkers Split Cane got a lot done and in this post the panels get fleeced, stitched, and the snap is put in place.
Many hours go into each leather fly reel case and it's really neat to see it all come together in this post.
Lee wrote... "Now I'm ready to measure and cut the fleece for the interior. Transfer the patterns you used for the leather and then I like to trim back the fleece to keep the fibers from getting trapped and pulled through while stitching."
"The leather is dyed to the color of your choice and then painting can begin. There are lots of options for painting on leather, some of the big leather companies sell leather specific paints, some folks use acrylics or oils, but I've settled on a mixed media of watercolors and antique wax finish. I prefer less bold colors and like to see the leather grain and leather tooling showing through versus a heavy pigment."
"Once the painting is completed I prep the pieces with an industrial Contact Cement and bond the fleece to the pieces."
"Once dried and cured I stitch the case together and set the snap enclosure. This process can take two to three hours to complete."
"All in all, each leather reel case has anywhere from fifteen to twenty hours involved with tooling, paint, and stitching. On a recent leather double case (fly reel and extra spool), I had over twenty hours wrapped up in it to completion."
The leather reel case arrived over the weekend and is a perfect fit for quite a few of the vintage 3" and 3 1/4" diameter fly reels that I use routinely. Many of these fly reels don't have a reel case so this will come in handy keeping them safe and snug on trips.
This morning before leaving for work I shot a few photographs of the leather reel case at my desk. The work done by Lee is so excellent in every way and I will certainly cherish this as part of my fly fishing collection.
Thanks again Lee for creating this very special leather reel case. I can't wait to see how the second one comes together in the coming weeks.
Please visit the Slikkers Split Cane website to see more of Lee's work with cane and leather.
Many hours go into each leather fly reel case and it's really neat to see it all come together in this post.
Lee wrote... "Now I'm ready to measure and cut the fleece for the interior. Transfer the patterns you used for the leather and then I like to trim back the fleece to keep the fibers from getting trapped and pulled through while stitching."
"The leather is dyed to the color of your choice and then painting can begin. There are lots of options for painting on leather, some of the big leather companies sell leather specific paints, some folks use acrylics or oils, but I've settled on a mixed media of watercolors and antique wax finish. I prefer less bold colors and like to see the leather grain and leather tooling showing through versus a heavy pigment."
"Once the painting is completed I prep the pieces with an industrial Contact Cement and bond the fleece to the pieces."
"Once dried and cured I stitch the case together and set the snap enclosure. This process can take two to three hours to complete."
"All in all, each leather reel case has anywhere from fifteen to twenty hours involved with tooling, paint, and stitching. On a recent leather double case (fly reel and extra spool), I had over twenty hours wrapped up in it to completion."
The leather reel case arrived over the weekend and is a perfect fit for quite a few of the vintage 3" and 3 1/4" diameter fly reels that I use routinely. Many of these fly reels don't have a reel case so this will come in handy keeping them safe and snug on trips.
Thanks again Lee for creating this very special leather reel case. I can't wait to see how the second one comes together in the coming weeks.
Please visit the Slikkers Split Cane website to see more of Lee's work with cane and leather.
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