Thread: What is a good adhesive for applying leather to a wood surface?

Hey all,
A week ago I found an old four sided strop at an antique store. The leather belt is destroyed as is the leather pads on the small wood block, but the hardware is fully functional. I havn't picked it up but I have been thinking I should to restore it. So as the title inquires, What would be a good adhesive for gluing leather to wood?

Try "Barge Cement". It's a contact glue used by shoemakers, like rubber cement.

Clean and flatten the wood surface with a sanding block, apply a thin coat of Barge
Cement to both the wood and leather surfaces, let it dry a bit, then carefully position
the leather on the wood. Clamp the project together for 24 hours, and she'll be right,
mate.

Sounds good, do you know what kind of retailer sells that? Would I find it at a wood works shop?

Originally Posted by Nuntits

Sounds good, do you know what kind of retailer sells that? Would I find it at a wood works shop?

Amazon.com lists it, so you might have a look there. Unless you plan on doing many such projects,
there's no need to buy a large supply...you won't need much, so a small tube should be enough.

A couple of additional comments: using Barge Cement is a pretty much permanent solution, ie it
will take alot of work to remove/replace the leather in the future; also, it's best to use a thin
application of the cement...it's pretty thick and gooey stuff, but it can be thinned out with
acetone or MEK.

Good luck!

Or use Eco Flo Tanner's Bond from Tandy. It's inexpensive and remarkably strong, cleans up with soap and water. I've used it for leather-to-leather bonding as well as bonding the velcro strips in all my hone-pouches.

You can pick it up today, since there are Tandy stores all over, even in sinister foreign countries like that there Canada place.

3M Super 77 spray adhesive is what I've used and usually recommend. It's a great general purpose adhesive.

What he Said^^^^^^^^^^^^any contact cement will work.

Thanks for all of your help guys!

I've made some 50 hard-backed strops and eventually settled on spray adhesives as Theseus mentioned before.
They are about 5 to 7 bucks at any home improvements store (like Home Depot) for a large can.
It tends to spread very evenly and thinly (so there is no glue bump),
and the adhesive is only on the leather so you can just stick it onto the leather. No fuss.

The messier part of the spray adhesive is the spraying part.
I use masking tapes to cover the usable side and then quickly and in a smooth motion spray the backside of the leather.
Once you pop it on to the hardback, just use a roller to smooth out the leather.
If you reflect light on the leather (like you are sighting down a rifle), it should appear very flat.
Good luck.

For the best bond,spray both wood and leather.