perhellion Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 Hi, Any thoughts on covering a body with leather? See pic at http://georgelynch.com/guitars/froglmob.html. Lynch also plays this guitar in the "Walk Away" video. The part I'm wondering about is the unfinished/ lightly finished leather. I can see how the answer to this question might be -- "like a material finish - use thin leather and a lot of clear", but that's not how this one looks. The problem is, with little finish, what do you do about the edges of the body, where leather meets leather? Hopefully someone has actually done this, but all educated guesses would also be appreciated. Perhellion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bow Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 I have not covered a guitar with leather, but I have done leather work. My Suggestion Would be: -get a piece of leather large enough to cover the whole front of the body and the edges -get the leather wet and form it around the body and hold it until it dies, it will bend over the edges with no problem. -Trim the large front piece to the back edge of the sides -Cut a piece for the back and stitch the pieces together at the back edge after it is glued to the body I have formed knife sheathes like this with no problems... good luck and post pics... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliendude012 Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 If you do this, maybe write up a little tutorial. that'd be an awesome idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliendude012 Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 Whoa ~ double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren wilson Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 Why not just get nice thick leather and use contrasting baseball stitching around the edges like they did on the Audi TT interior? I think it'd look hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 if you use leather, definitely don't clear it! That would ruin the whole point of it being leather. If you try this, you better post pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perhellion Posted May 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 Hi, If I ever figure out how to do it, it would certainly be worth lots of pics and a tutorial. It's actually something I've thought about for a while, but I saw the "Walk Away" video yesterday, and it reminded me of it. The Audi interior is cool, but I know nothing about sewing. Although with the coarse stitches shown in the pic, it would be more "lacing" than "sewing". To the member who had worked with leather, when you work with the wet leather, what do you glue it with? If the leather will form around the front edge, why not the back edge? Like use a bigger piece, have the only seam be in the back (probably hard to get straight, but the tremelo cover would allow a little "hiding"of mistakes.) Perhellion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bow Posted May 7, 2004 Report Share Posted May 7, 2004 To the member who had worked with leather, when you work with the wet leather, what do you glue it with? If the leather will form around the front edge, why not the back edge? Like use a bigger piece, have the only seam be in the back (probably hard to get straight, but the tremelo cover would allow a little "hiding"of mistakes.) Perhellion You could try that too. The problem with 1 large piece all the way around the body would be getting the corners smooth and crease free. as for glueing, you form the leather around the body wet, and hold it there until it dries. then trim your pickup holes, bridge mounting area and control holes. apply the glue to the body and probably a bit to the back of the leather also and put it back on. I would probably use a vacuum type of system to hold it one then until it the glue dries. Have you ever thought about getting ahold of J. Frog [the guy that did Lynch's] and asking him? he might tell you some tips... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefm Posted May 7, 2004 Report Share Posted May 7, 2004 hold it until it dies, A guitar made out of a live cow....Hmmmmmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 7, 2004 Report Share Posted May 7, 2004 Actually it will become part of a tutorial I'm already doing experiments for. I have a body in now thats getting a real Python top with leather back go figure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted May 7, 2004 Report Share Posted May 7, 2004 Do you know of any other pics of that guitar? It's really hard to tell from that pic how it was done. Also - just curious - where did you see the video? I'm a big George Lynch fan but I assumed that videos from that time period just aren't shown anymore. It's kind of wierd - I was just thinking about that video on my way to work this morning - trying to remember which guitar he used in it. I thought it was a Les Paul of some sort - I remembered that it was not one of his usual guitars - thanks for answering that one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perhellion Posted May 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2004 To the George Lynch fan, MTV ran that video only once I think. It was near the end of the first Dokken. I caught it again a few years back on MTV2, when they ran every video they (MTV) had ever aired, in alphabetical order. Yes, that's a lot of videos. It started at New Year's, and I believe "Walk Away" was in March. Vh1 classic has a show called "Metal Mania" that is basically "Headbanger's Ball" circa 1990. They really like Quiet Riot, Judas Priest, and thankfully for catching "Walk Away", Dokken. That's where I saw it. I actually didn't know it was leather-covered from the video. I thought it was dull brown paint. That's the only pic I know of. I guess you could go see it in person (Hard Rock somewhere, I believe). In the video, Lynch uses a Les Paul looking guitar for the clean parts. That guitar is cool also. I have seen that one in an old interview. It's hollow, had a trapeeze tailpiece (I think). Looks kind of like a Bendetto, but the body seems no bigger than a Les Paul. The solo is on the leather one, with a few clips of the neon green Kamikaze (prob. a prototype - reverse shark's tooth headstock, pearl fret dots on a maple fingerboard). Cool footnote about Lynch - he actually posts on his own discussion forum - really seems to want to answer fan's questions. Perhellion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ISUBARUI Posted May 14, 2004 Report Share Posted May 14, 2004 Instead of stiching the two pieces of leather together how about routing a channel around the guitar, for example on the side the two pieces of leather meet, then use plastic or metal strips to wedge the two ends together into the channel then fill over it with some type or inlay or just use a wedge that gives a nice finish. I'll be attempting to cover a guitar in a month or so either trying this method or just use stiching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Roger Posted May 14, 2004 Report Share Posted May 14, 2004 I've covered boxes with heavy tooled leather. I used rubber cement to bond leather to wood. It's flexible enough to allow for the different expansion/contraction rates. I stitched all the corners with waxed linen. Tandy is a place where you can get most of the stuff. To Brian with the Python top. Very cool. Bowmakers have use leather & snakeskin covers for many years. Like this. I'll bet your guitar looks fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted May 15, 2004 Report Share Posted May 15, 2004 I have a body in now thats getting a real Python top with leather back go figure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perhellion Posted May 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2004 Some updates : The Lynch guitar is cowhide, not leather. I guess it still feels "fuzzy". But I want leather anyway. No idea how to contact J. Frog. Brian's tutorial will be just what I want to see. It looks like (on the Lynch guitar) the cowhide covers the front, sides, and a little of the back, where it meets a back piece of cowhide. The "meeting" of the two is fairly crude (horrid by the standards of this board), and appears to be a line of perhaps rubber cement. I wouldn't want mine to be that sloppy looking, but I don't think Lynch cares too much about the backs of his guitars. Mr. Scary and the kamikazes are all plain on the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted May 15, 2004 Report Share Posted May 15, 2004 i think that control cavity covers and mounting rings could be covered in suede for a cool look...leaving the rest of the guitar normal(or spotted like a gateway computer package) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren wilson Posted May 15, 2004 Report Share Posted May 15, 2004 Why not use upholstery tacks along the sides of the guitar? Wrap the leather around the top and back, and use the tacks to dress up the seam where they overlap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ISUBARUI Posted May 15, 2004 Report Share Posted May 15, 2004 You could try asking around to see if a tailor that normally works with leather clothes could stich up the leather around the guitar. It wouldnt even need to be very precise if you want the seam showing like on the audi seats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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