# Leather desk top



## woodhutt (16 Jul 2020)

I'm planning a replica writing box, something not unlike the one in the pic below, to store the collection of pens I've garnered over more than fifty years (fountain, mapping, calligraphic and drawing types).






Can anyone advise me on the best method of attaching the leather to the surface? Do I simply rout a groove for the edges of the leather to tuck into or is it better to fix the leather to the substrate then make a surround frame to finish off?

Also any advice on leather thickness and preparation (pre-stretching?) would be appreciated.
Pete


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## Trevanion (16 Jul 2020)

I was told a long time ago that you're supposed to use quite thin pig leather for writing on as it didn't leave impressions in the leather when wrote on and it was harder wearing than bovine leather.


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## Blackswanwood (16 Jul 2020)

I am planning on making a writing box and found the attached instructions which may help ...

https://www.writing-slope.com/leather-instructions.html


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## woodhutt (16 Jul 2020)

Blackswanwood":sngqht86 said:


> I am planning on making a writing box and found the attached instructions which may help ...
> 
> https://www.writing-slope.com/leather-instructions.html



Thanks for the link. So essentially, just laying a flat piece of leather in a matching depth recess. I was wrestling with all sorts of scenarios which would have resulted in trying to get a neat fold at each of the corners.
I was forgetting the KISS principle. Keep It Simple, Stupid !  
Pete


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## TheTiddles (19 Jul 2020)

I think you can but leather skivers made to order to fit the size you need, then it’s contact adhesive to put them down or similar 

First link from a search... https://www.jamiltonupholstery.co.uk/pr ... h-tooling/

Aidan


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## Phlebas (19 Jul 2020)

Dunno whether this helps. From a book I bought second hand a while back.


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## Richard_C (20 Jul 2020)

How important is it to have real leather? 

Leathercloth is available and is used in bookbinding - can be very classy looking as long as you avoid the cheap stuff. Or bonded leather. Easy to work with and just about anything will glue it - pva perhaps. Ages since I used any but here's a link I found, have a look under book covering materials.

https://ratchford.co.uk/


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## woodhutt (20 Jul 2020)

Thanks for the link Richard. I'm not stuck on using real leather if a substitute is just as good but I thought that I might have a go at tooling the leather using some shop made punches. I don't know if a leather substitute would take this?
Pete


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## fezman (20 Jul 2020)

Peter Parfitt used a leather top on his desk build a few years ago - shows the process of cutting and gluing it to the top. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmIrSQGQ2dI


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## gasman (22 Jul 2020)

I have always used wallpaper paste - works a treat
There are at least 2 WIP projects of mine on here if you can be bothered
- a Victorian drum tableand a Writing desk- both with leather tops and both with wallpaper paste. Both in use every day and both still stuck down years later
Cheers
Gasman


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## gasman (22 Jul 2020)

sorry and a Writing lapdesk


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## Glynne (22 Jul 2020)

I used copydex to stick some pig suede down to a recent writing slope project: -


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## woodhutt (22 Jul 2020)

Thanks Glynne. Nice work BTW  
Pete


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## Tanker_55A (25 Jul 2020)

Looking good, I did come to this forum looking (among others) for advice regarding leather, as I was planning to renovate an old desk my grandfather used to work on, and it had a leather square on it. The wood is fine, but the leather has rotted away/been eaten by insects/been torn by time/I don't actually know but it's all torn up and decayed, and I was looking at my options to replace it with a new sheet! I'll see how the previous sheet was fixated - if I can't do it the same way, I'll follow the advice given in that thread - and will, in any case, use pig leather, as I don't want to try my luck with artificial material.


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