Leather as a tray-liner?

[M635_Guy]

I added the flip-up tray to my USG cart, and want to put something soft there for tools/parts/etc. I had the idea to use leather, and got a partial hide of oil-tanned leather to experiment with.

Not sure if I'm going suede-side up or skin-side:
Suede/flesh side:

Skin:

The suede side is probably a little softer, but more-likely to accumulate small bits of whatever. Not sure if I care about that or not.

The working plan is to use rubber cement. I don't want to permanently bond this thing as I may replace it with something different (leather or a regular liner), but any other suggestions welcomed.

I have a 30" x 20" piece left that I'm probably going to use as a work-mat - just bond it to a piece of plywood or MDF...

 

[toplessHO]

go vegan and try pleather

 

[Ralf11]

maybe bond it to foam board to give it more squish

this is the perfect solution for your Ferrari toolbox

 

[Dumber than lumber]

go vegan and try pleather

Naugahyde? That brings back some memories!!

 

[ZRX61]

I added the flip-up tray to my USG cart, and want to put something soft there for tools/parts/etc. I had the idea to use leather, and got a partial hide of oil-tanned leather to experiment with.

Not sure if I'm going suede-side up or skin-side:
Suede/flesh side:

Skin:

The suede side is probably a little softer, but more-likely to accumulate small bits of whatever. Not sure if I care about that or not.

The working plan is to use rubber cement. I don't want to permanently bond this thing as I may replace it with something different (leather or a regular liner), but any other suggestions welcomed.

I have a 30" x 20" piece left that I'm probably going to use as a work-mat - just bond it to a piece of plywood or MDF...

Not MDF.

 

[M635_Guy]

go vegan and try pleather

I'm the opposite of a vegan, and if I was going synthetic I'd just use regular liner. This seemed fun.

 

[Fedwrench]

I don't think leather is very grease/grime/chemical resistant. I've seen people glue that black rubberish floor runner that you can get for a few bucks at Home Depot on to side shelves.
Take a picture of what you end up with and let us know how it works out for you.

 

[M635_Guy]

I don't think leather is very grease/grime/chemical resistant. I've seen people glue that black rubberish floor runner that you can get for a few bucks at Home Depot on to side shelves.
Take a picture of what you end up with and let us know how it works out for you.

Will do. I'm not super-dirty on the tray, though I'm not going to avoid anything either. I got the bigger chunk for a work-surface, and I'm guessing both will last me years.

I think I'm going to go suede-side up for the tray and the work surface. It will be interesting to see how it works out.

 

[ZRX61]

I think I'm going to go suede-side up for the tray and the work surface. It will be interesting to see how it works out.

Other side up.

 

[GeeTeeOhh]

Other side up.

+1 on smooth side up, it would be easier to clean and apply conditioner if you so choose.

 

[measuredtwice]

Most tanned leather is slightly acidic... often around pH 5. Specifics vary with the process used for tanning.

An advisor for the Smithsonian says "Acid in the leather will react with metals, especially copper alloys (yellow brass, white brass aka nickel silver), carbon steel, eventually even stainless steel."

Although some knives and tools (such as Ka-bar knives and Estwing hammers and hatchets and some Nepros ratchets) have leather handles, it is generally advisable to store steel tools separate from leather holsters and sheaths when not in use.

Leather is not particularly well suited to line drawers full of steel tools.

 

[M635_Guy]

Most tanned leather is slightly acidic... often around pH 5. Specifics vary with the process used for tanning.

An advisor for the Smithsonian says "Acid in the leather will react with metals, especially copper alloys (yellow brass, white brass aka nickel silver), carbon steel, eventually even stainless steel."

Although some knives and tools (such as Ka-bar knives and Estwing hammers and hatchets and some Nepros ratchets) have leather handles, it is generally advisable to store steel tools separate from leather holsters and sheaths when not in use.

Leather is not particularly well suited to line drawers full of steel tools.

Thanks very much for that. I originally intended to use veg tan, but it was about double the price. Maybe next time.

I'm definitely not going to line the drawer, just the pop-up tray. I don't plan on leaving any tools on it for any length of time. Just use it as a soft place to land for tools and parts while they're in-use.

 

[Indexmill]

Is it okay to leave a handgun in a quality, commercial, leather holster for years on end?

 

[measuredtwice]

The same applies to any tool made of metals that are corroded by acid, including firearms. Better to store long term in a sheath made of a non reactive synthetic material like nylon or molded kydex. ...especially, if a firearm has a blued steel finish--that can be real bad. Store the leather sheath separate when you aren't using it.

 

[JR 42]

Is it okay to leave a handgun in a quality, commercial, leather holster for years on end?

Nope. If it's all stainless (really, all, everything) it might be fine, but the advice about knives would be well heeded here.

 

[RTM]

My friend the leather worker extraordinaire agrees with measured twices’s opinion, don’t store long term. I’ve gotten lucky so far on a few edge tools, but I check them regularly by pulling out of the sheath, need to develop a better method of storing axes and adzes.

 

[pcmeiners]

Leather? will hold condensed moisture, absorbs grease etc., will get ugly fast unless your talking fake , non porous leather

Rubber cement?, if you want to remove it later hope your only retirement project is this.

 

[M635_Guy]

I guess we'll see - it's an oiled leather, so it should have some resistance. The tray as an enamel-type paint/powder-coat, so I'd hope acetone will remove the rubber cement. I don't really care if it gets ugly.

It might cost me a tray at some point...

 

[Ralf11]

you can stamp the leather with patterns of your tools

the grease & oil form the tools will be the conditioner

post pics

 

[Wamsutta]

Cork makes a very nice tray liner. Glue it down with clear silicone.

 

[Ralf11]

F-rari has yer leather tool kit

 

[HenryAZ]

While leather would look good (for a while), I would think tools would slide much too easily on it. Unless you have tool holders, socket trays, etc. to keep all the tools in place, I would rather use something with more grab, such a rubber carpet runner underlayment.