Hey DB ..Jean here from Ontario Canada .just wanted to say i enjoyed your video as i recently bought a set of saddlebags not sure if they are real leather but they to were in need of some love, although not as bad as yours but a little saggy and out of shape ,and they needed some restiching in a few places,now i don't have a heat gun but after i gave them a cleaning (didnt think of actually washing them like to did) ,just used an watered down all probus cleaner and a rag,,then used a heavy duty or strong grade of thread ,did the stiching ,didnt know about the 2 needle method then ,but as to the not having a heat gun ,i sat them near the woodstove and as you did worked them straight then supported them with wood pieces or a splint, left them overnight ,then next day removed the splints and let them cool ,and i must say it worked farly well ,oh and there was an od hole or 3 so i used my liquid vinyl patch on them to fill them and by the time i was done they like yours didnt look have bad,now im told mink oil does wonders on leather i think ill get me some and give them a good go over (my leather jacket needs a good going over with it as well .
Hi Jean! Thank you very much that you share your experience - I always appreciate when people join to the discussion:)! Leaving it near wood stove was good idea, but you must, know that natural leather don't like it much- especially if it's wet, and temperature is high - can crack (slowly drying is safer). I've used heat gun because this material is something like bubbled PVC (anyway, some thermoplastic). Generally speaking, all kind of natural oils will make leather a little softer and protected, so if you can get somewhere some mink oil- try it. Worse case scenario: if this bags are not real leather you make nothing using this oil. BTW: if you have some before and after picture I would love to see it:)! My e-mail address is on "about" tab on my channel:). - Cheers, David
@@DBCraftWorld Ya i thought that might be the case ,for the record i only had them near the wood stove for maybe half hr or so then did the working it straight ,and then splint it .but i should of added when i left them near the wood stove over night i had moved them further back from the stove. still getting warmth but not close enough to dry it out as you say.But i was remiss in saying i was quite impressed how well yours turned out.Oh and lastly i am presently working on a tail case for my new to me bike ,it's a treasure chest style case but i dont have the leather to make it from so im using very thin but strong plywood then ill cover it in leather from an old coat ,hope ill have enough and ya i think i have a couple of pics before the reair if i can find your address link i''ll send them to ya.
thanks a lot! I've assumed that you were careful with drying it- I've said that just in case you don't have any experience with a leather crafts:). The plywood "frame" is used quite often in motorcycle saddlebags- it will work fine! My mail is: dbcraftworld@gmail.com
@@DBCraftWorld Hey thanks for that tip or the info as i wasn't sure about it, iv been thinking about what's the best way to apply the leather.Oh i need to make a correction, the little holes in one of the bags ,there is also a 2 inch in diameter hole as well and i actually haven't repaired it need lol (forgot about it actually ),not sure if ill try and repair that or take it to a plastic weld guy i know of .as its a plastic backing that on them. oh as a footnote to drying them ,i never really got them wet , i didn't give them a good scrub as you did.
I had to wash it because of stink (lol). my plan was to shape it to original look during drying, and because water didn't make it softer, I've start to looking closer to this material and it turns out, that it's synthetic- that also explain the heat gun... If you have any question or doubts you can easily write me an e-mail. I think, that knowledge should be for free and that is why I always try to help!
Well found this vid by chance but got to say, over all very well done on the restoration. Leatherwork and restitching was done verry well, and using rivets to reinforce the more stressed joints was a great idea. As for the reshaping a more easy method to help with that would have been to make some plywood cut out in the same shape as the bags and place in them a gymnastics ball and inflate it, or a large water bottle to stretch out and reform the bag walls while still damp and slowly dry it off while also applying some leather oil to be absorbed back into it. Then just leave it alone for 2 to 4 days before doing any more touch ups.
Thanks a lot for kind words! And thank you very much for the suggestion- I really appreciate it👊! When I was washing those bags I've noticed that they don't absorb water at all. In fact this are not real leather, but something synthetic that imitate a thick beef leather. The method you described is the most proper way of shaping a leather- I agree with you, that if this bags would be a real leather it would be the best way to reshaping it (and I would make exactly what you described, but I would never figure the gymnastic ball(!)- this is genius man!) . - Cheers David
Hey DB ..Jean here from Ontario Canada .just wanted to say i enjoyed your video as i recently bought a set of saddlebags not sure if they are real leather but they to were in need of some love, although not as bad as yours but a little saggy and out of shape ,and they needed some restiching in a few places,now i don't have a heat gun but after i gave them a cleaning (didnt think of actually washing them like to did) ,just used an watered down all probus cleaner and a rag,,then used a heavy duty or strong grade of thread ,did the stiching ,didnt know about the 2 needle method then ,but as to the not having a heat gun ,i sat them near the woodstove and as you did worked them straight then supported them with wood pieces or a splint, left them overnight ,then next day removed the splints and let them cool ,and i must say it worked farly well ,oh and there was an od hole or 3 so i used my liquid vinyl patch on them to fill them and by the time i was done they like yours didnt look have bad,now im told mink oil does wonders on leather i think ill get me some and give them a good go over (my leather jacket needs a good going over with it as well .
Hi Jean! Thank you very much that you share your experience - I always appreciate when people join to the discussion:)! Leaving it near wood stove was good idea, but you must, know that natural leather don't like it much- especially if it's wet, and temperature is high - can crack (slowly drying is safer). I've used heat gun because this material is something like bubbled PVC (anyway, some thermoplastic). Generally speaking, all kind of natural oils will make leather a little softer and protected, so if you can get somewhere some mink oil- try it. Worse case scenario: if this bags are not real leather you make nothing using this oil. BTW: if you have some before and after picture I would love to see it:)! My e-mail address is on "about" tab on my channel:).
- Cheers, David
@@DBCraftWorld Ya i thought that might be the case ,for the record i only had them near the wood stove for maybe half hr or so then did the working it straight ,and then splint it .but i should of added when i left them near the wood stove over night i had moved them further back from the stove. still getting warmth but not close enough to dry it out as you say.But i was remiss in saying i was quite impressed how well yours turned out.Oh and lastly i am presently working on a tail case for my new to me bike ,it's a treasure chest style case but i dont have the leather to make it from so im using very thin but strong plywood then ill cover it in leather from an old coat ,hope ill have enough and ya i think i have a couple of pics before the reair if i can find your address link i''ll send them to ya.
thanks a lot! I've assumed that you were careful with drying it- I've said that just in case you don't have any experience with a leather crafts:). The plywood "frame" is used quite often in motorcycle saddlebags- it will work fine! My mail is: dbcraftworld@gmail.com
@@DBCraftWorld Hey thanks for that tip or the info as i wasn't sure about it, iv been thinking about what's the best way to apply the leather.Oh i need to make a correction, the little holes in one of the bags ,there is also a 2 inch in diameter hole as well and i actually haven't repaired it need lol (forgot about it actually ),not sure if ill try and repair that or take it to a plastic weld guy i know of .as its a plastic backing that on them. oh as a footnote to drying them ,i never really got them wet , i didn't give them a good scrub as you did.
I had to wash it because of stink (lol). my plan was to shape it to original look during drying, and because water didn't make it softer, I've start to looking closer to this material and it turns out, that it's synthetic- that also explain the heat gun... If you have any question or doubts you can easily write me an e-mail. I think, that knowledge should be for free and that is why I always try to help!
Well found this vid by chance but got to say, over all very well done on the restoration. Leatherwork and restitching was done verry well, and using rivets to reinforce the more stressed joints was a great idea. As for the reshaping a more easy method to help with that would have been to make some plywood cut out in the same shape as the bags and place in them a gymnastics ball and inflate it, or a large water bottle to stretch out and reform the bag walls while still damp and slowly dry it off while also applying some leather oil to be absorbed back into it. Then just leave it alone for 2 to 4 days before doing any more touch ups.
Thanks a lot for kind words! And thank you very much for the suggestion- I really appreciate it👊!
When I was washing those bags I've noticed that they don't absorb water at all. In fact this are not real leather, but something synthetic that imitate a thick beef leather. The method you described is the most proper way of shaping a leather- I agree with you, that if this bags would be a real leather it would be the best way to reshaping it (and I would make exactly what you described, but I would never figure the gymnastic ball(!)- this is genius man!) .
- Cheers David
Great work lad. 👍🏽👍🏽
Thank you Ben! Those bags was in very poor condition but at the end the whole effect is nice! I still use them :)!
Wow, what a creative way to bring it back to life! Keep up with the good work !
thanks a lot! I'm in the middle of making something really cool, so await for the next episode!
I wish I had a shop like that :(
What's the best way to get motor oil of leather saddlebags??
Hey David, what is the color of the saddlebags? I guess they are not black and the motor oil is very visible, right?
@@DBCraftWorld no they're black
Would you share diamensions of this bag. Is awsome shape and design for my old bike from 1952. Would like to copy those bag. Thanks in advances.
Wow! 1952?! That must be very cool bike:)! This bags is 40x30x16cm (real diamensions - manufacturer write 50x30x16)