Latest Restoration Project D&M

Please share your knowledge on how to keep your vintage gloves in great shape and looking sharp.

Latest Restoration Project D&M

Postby bbrah » April 15th, 2008, 2:23 pm

If I had found this glove myself, I probably wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of repairing it, but it was given to me by my brother. It is a D&M (unknown model) endorsed by Ben Cantwell.

Photos are here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2 ... id=7930496

Cleaned and reconditioned (Fast Orange w/pumice then Vaseline)
Disassembled and re-sewed
Replaced strap
Replaced edge binding
Replaced lace loop on index finger
Replaced padding in middle three fingers and palm
Replaced laces

I had an old Rawlings that I hated, so I cannibalized it for parts (notice the replacement strap is a finger!)

The glove started out as a crusty piece of wood and is now slightly less crusty but supple and usable.
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Different photo link

Postby bbrah » April 16th, 2008, 12:01 am

Here are links to the photos on Photobucket for those people without facebook accounts.

-BRAH

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wow

Postby Cowboy7130 » April 16th, 2008, 11:12 am

Excellent job! 8)
Yes, I still have my first glove.
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Thanks

Postby bbrah » April 16th, 2008, 12:00 pm

My biggest regret is that I could read most of the endorsement when the glove was dried out. Now I can barely see it.

Here's the original:
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Postby Mike_2007 » April 16th, 2008, 2:21 pm

Great job :!:
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Postby Moonlight Graham » April 16th, 2008, 5:18 pm

Wow! simply amazing! :shock:
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Postby BretMan » April 16th, 2008, 9:00 pm

bbrah,

Would you be interested in sharing your methods for sewing the leather? Are you using a machine or doing it by hand?

Also would be interested in hearing more about how you disassembled the glove into parts- and any other tips you can pass along!
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Disassembly and Re-sewing Technique

Postby bbrah » April 17th, 2008, 1:35 am

First let me say that I am not a professional leather worker or glove restorer. I'm just a hobbyist with an inclination to not leave well-enough alone.

I originally intended to only repair the two sections of ripped seams, but when I started into it, the other seams started falling apart. So I made the executive decision to re-do everything. I carefully cut the original cotton thread with a single edge razor blade to separate all of the pieces of the glove. I had already shot a couple dozen photos of the glove in case I needed reference. Even so, I proceeded carefully when cutting the original thread and paid attention to how everything went together. After I cut the thread, I pulled out the pieces with a small pair of needle-nose pliers.

The padding in the middle three fingers was shot, so I cannibalized another glove. I wanted to reuse the original thumb/palm/pinkie padding, so I decided to remove the glove leather before conditioning.

This is the part where some board members will cringe. After I disassembled everything, I totally soaked the leather in water and scrubbed it inside and out with fast orange hand cleaner with pumice (prior to discovering fast orange on this forum, I would have simply used dishwashing soap and a soft brush to clean the leather). After everything was as clean as I could get it (i.e. the scrubbing foam was white and the water ran clear), I hung the leather up to dry for about four days. Once the leather was thoroughly dry (almost to the point of brittleness), I slathered it with Vaseline and let it dry for a few more days, occasionally applying more Vaseline and bending and working the leather. After about a week, when the leather would absorb no more Vaseline, I wiped off the remains with a paper towel. Before someone fires off a nasty email or post about my reconditioning technique, please know that I've been using this same technique on all of my leather goods for the better part of 40 years and have never had any of them fail me. This includes boots, holsters, sheaths, belts, slings, dog collars, and pack straps. You can get leather wet, but the trick is to let it dry completely before applying any conditioner. Anyway, this is just a description of my process and should not be taken as advice.

Because I didn't care about originality (and also because I couldn't find the appropriate binding material), I purchased a piece of pigskin "lining" from Tandy Leather. I cut it into a 1 1/4" strip that was about 40" long. I coated the suede side with rubber cement and folded over the edges to create a binding that was about 5/8" wide.

I overdyed the binding strip with brown dye to darken it. At this time I also dyed the replacement strap and web loop with the same brown dye. Once these pieces were dry, I used the Vaseline treatment on them.

After all of the original leather was supple with a slight waxy coating on the smooth side, I ran a needle through the stitch holes on the edges to clean them and make them more visible.

I sewed everything together with a hand awl using dark brown three-strand heavy duty polyester awl thread. I sewed the body pieces (fingers and palm pieces) together using a lockstitch. Typically when you sew leather by hand you need to pre-punch the holes for the thread. The binding and strap were new, so I had to punch the holes in them. Because I used most of the original leather for the rest of the glove, the holes were already punched in the appropriate spots.

The hardest part of the whole project was punching the holes in the binding with the same spacing as the parts it attached to. After I punched the holes with my awl, I simply turned everything inside-out, lined up the holes, and sewed it together.

I attached the new binding to the glove with a simple running stitch because I couldn't remember exactly what stitch was originally used (from my photos it looked like a running stitch). Likewise I used a running stitch to attach the liner to the padding. I used a loop stitch to sew the fingers of the new felt padding together leaving the free fingers the same length as the liner.

Overall the sewing wasn't difficult, but it was time consuming. I think I spent at least eight hours sewing on this thing! Like I said, I probably wouldn't have spent the time if I had picked up the glove at a flea market, but since it was a well-intentioned gift from someone whom I care about, I felt obligated to make it work.

Well, that's about it. If anyone has additional questions, you can PM me.

Regards,

-BRAH
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Postby wjr953 » April 17th, 2008, 10:00 am

Bbrah,
That is fabulous work, simply outstanding! Wow! Obviously VERY labor intensive. I too am a proponent of VPJ on leather products. I have been using it faithfully to soften and condition gloves for the last 18 months, and for me it works. I've tried a number of other things, but I always end up with the old standby. Using a sponge and hot water, I first wash my gloves thoroughly with Lexol, rinse them off with clear water and then let them dry. I have modified my approach to now using very light coatings multiple times (if needed) rather than going for the heavy coating approach. It seems to be absorbed more uniformly, and I don't have to spend a half hour to an hour with a q-tip, cleaning the residual VPJ out of lacing holes. I now just put enough on my fingertips to know that there is some on there, and then work that into the leather. I have found that it's also extremely important to do the inside of the glove as well as the outside, especially inside the finger ports. Vaseline Jelly has amazing restorative powers. You can see the old dried up leather coming back to life and softening up in your hands. The natural color of the leather comes right back too. I'm very impressed with the amount of time and effort you have put into this glove, and obviously the results are quite remarkable. You should be extremely proud of your handiwork. As far as the glove, I didn't see it mentioned in any of the other replies, but I believe D&M stands for Draper & Maynard. Again that is a really, really nice restoration.

br
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Postby BretMan » April 17th, 2008, 10:40 am

Thanks for the follow-up post and additional details. It is appreciated!

I'm really fortunate in that there is a leather craft and supply store just a few minutes from my house and they carry just about every item in the Tandy catalog. Everytime I'm in there, I check out that sewing awl, all the leatherworking tools and all of the raw leather and wonder, "What if...".
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Postby wjr953 » April 17th, 2008, 11:52 am

Bret,
I know exactly what you mean! lol I've looked at that sewing awl from Tandy a half dozen times, and I always say hmmmmmmmm,...... That's funny. You have the Tandy store in CT near you? I have had a few issues with them sending me crappy and/or misidentified product. I had to throw out at least 5 or 10 feet off of one 50' spool of 5/32" natural. The leather was thin, broke the instant you put any pressure on it, wasn't "square" in many places, and the color was all over the place. I realize that it can't be easy to produce a quality product every time from animal hide, but if you see something is bad, why bury it in the middle of the spool and sell it anyway? Where are they getting rawhide from "mad cows" or what? Also, the next to the last batch of "chocolate" rawhide that they sent me was actually black, but they tried to pass it off as chocolate. When I questioned them on it, they told me it was because they had to change their supplier and that the new suppliers' chocolate was just very dark. Yeah right, what a bunch of b.s. I know the difference between the two colors, why feed me a line of crap like that? Anyway, I wish that there was another source for 1/8" and 5/32" in chocolate and natural. If there was, I wouldn't even bother with Tandy at all. I hate it when a company that I buy from regularly tries to pull my chain. I guess quality customer service is a thing of the past with Tandy.

bill
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Postby BretMan » April 17th, 2008, 1:01 pm

Well, Bill, I'm the Bret who lives in Columbus, Ohio, not the esteemed and honorable Brett Lowman (VintageBrett) who so graciously runs this forum! :wink:

You're not the first person to get us mixed up just because we both have the same cool first name (though we do spell it differently).

And, yes I was the same guy that exchanged samples of laces with you through the mail back awhile ago.

The leather supply store is just a couple of miles down the road from me and it's nice to able to check things out in person before plunking down the cash. It's not a Tandy store, per se. They carry most everything in the Tandy catalog, along with lots of leather supplies from other manufacturers.

I've had the same experience you had- some of their lacing can be kind of chewed up or badly made and you can't see it because it's in the middle of the spool. Their lace really seems aimed at a different market- people making beaded necklaces and craft projects- than the thick, strong, cosmetically appealing lace that glove collectors want.

I do use their thinner lace on some of my older vinatge gloves, and dye it myself to match original colors as close as possible. Too bad they don't carry lace that is more suitable for modern, game used gloves. I prefer the thick, high quality lace from Tanner's for that (and I believe you have already tried the Tanner's lace).
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Postby wjr953 » April 17th, 2008, 1:54 pm

Bret,
Sorry about that, I guess I got my Bret's mixed up. Yes, we have exchanged some laces, I do remember that much so I haven't completely lost my marbles yet. I started buying Tanner's after your recommendation. As far as Tanner's Leather goes, I absolutely love their rawhide lace products. They carry what is by far the best, most consistently high quality rawhide that I've ever purchased. I try to use them as much as I can, but there are some of the older gloves that just can't handle the 3/16" and 1/4" widths. I keep Tanner's Natural, Chocolate, and Cardinal Red in 3/16" width on hand at all times. I bought 4 or 5 bundles of 3/16" x 48" Natural off of eBay last year at a very good price, when Tanner's was selling from their eBay store. I want to pick up some Dodger Blue soon as well, but there's not a real high demand for that color. Their rawhide is great stuff, but it gets fairly expensive sometimes buying in bulk. Have you ever thought about buying with someone else and splitting the orders? There might be some savings there. Let me know if that's something that you'd consider. Nice chatting with you again Bret.

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Postby BretMan » April 17th, 2008, 9:26 pm

I agree with you on the Tanner's laces. Very high quality leather and excellent for relacing modern gloves and ones being actively used as "gamers". But they are a little thick and wide for most older vintage gloves.

When you buy their laces in bulk, you wind up paying about $1.35 each for 3/16" wide X 72" long laces. The local sporting goods stores sell the same laces for $3.99 each.

Another "experiment" I'm considering is to buy a batch of their white laces, and try dying them myself to get custom colors. I've had real good succes dying the Tandy laces to match my vintage gloves. It's really easy to do and you can get leather dye in just about any color imaginable. It seems like if you start out with a white lace, it would be able to take just about any color.

I have considered going in with someone who wants to get a bulk discount, as that might cut the cost a little bit. I floated that idea on the forum back awhile ago about the laces from Triple-C Leather, but didn't have any takers.

Sorry for getting off-topic! Not trying to take the focus away from bbrah's cool restoration project!
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bulk buy

Postby Number9 » April 18th, 2008, 2:26 pm

Bret - I'd be interested in a bulk buy. I'm looking for some lace that is suitable for 40-50's Rawlings (reddish brown) and possibly some other natural colored lace for 20-30's era gloves. I don't need much, maybe 2 or 3 for the Rawlings and maybe 5-6 to have on hand for the older gloves. If that works for you, let me know. I'd like to relace a John Pesky model that I recently picked up for some summertime catch.

Also, anyone know where to get some lightweight cowhide for piping? I've got some pigskin that would work but I'd prefer cowhide.

Brett Lowman - what laces do you use for your Sonnet gloves? Those are really nice.

edited to add: If Bret steered off topic, then I drove it off the cliff! Sorry. Nice work on th D&M.
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