When I commuted to work on a train I enjoyed reading but my books got damaged whilst in my ruck sack. Here I describe my solution, a leather and metal book wrap.
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Signing UpStep 1: Materials
Materials:
- Leather
- Metal
- Needle & thread
Tools:
- Sharpe knife for cutting leather
- Drill
- 2mm drill bit
Optional:
- Leather punching tools
- Hammer

Notes:
Leather
The leather came from ebay and was a handy 210mm x 295mm so mine didn't need cutting to size. A sturdy pair of scissors could be used to cut the leather depending on thickness but a knife can be cleanly run along the edge of a metal ruler to give a clean true cut.
I've made a couple of covers like the one above and think that leather of at least 2mm thickness works best.
Metal
I've used aluminium sheet for the one pictured but anything flat will do! The aluminium is a couple of millimetres thick and has held up relatively well to the abuses of being in my bag.
Leather punches
Can be home made from a nail, instructable to follow.








































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When I first started to work with leather I would score my stitching line with the back of a butter knife then use the sharpened tines of a steel fork to mark my holes I still use this method occasionally but now have a wheeled stitch marker for the job. If you are going to do a lot of leather work you may find something like this useful. It helps to keep the stitches straight & if you score the line deeply enough your stitching will be flush with the surface of the leather.
I still carry books in my backpack when I know I will have a long wait for an appointment or I am travelling so I will probably make something similar, I like the idea of velcro but I may substitute the aluminium for a thin steel plate & use a couple of hard drive magnets for the closure.