Oldtoolsniper Report post Posted August 25, 2015 I wanted a long nosed tracing tool for marking or scribing around objects to make patterns. It's made from stuff I had on hand and was no longer serviceable in its present condition. I used: A practice tooled belt from an eBay auction A size A Starrett pin vise that was in two pieces A brass compression fitting from some plumbing project long since forgotten A broken eyed John James needle A piece sawed from a broken solid brass hinge A 6x32 brass screw from a lamp fixture Epoxy It was a fun and challenging way to make a tool and learn some new things about leather. I used up a bunch of stuff that was basically going to the trash so I'm pleased at how well it came out. I have a box of these belts from different sources, word of warning here, one of the belts came from a heavy smoker and it wasn't bad to work with until I started sanding down the stacked leather to get my final shape, it just reeked like a moldy ashtray, it was disgusting so I tossed it. If it smells like cigarettes when it's whole it won't be to bad, start sanding it and the bouquet will intensify 20 fold. I used epoxy rather than Weldbond contact cement to hold the leather washers together because the shaft on the pin vise is round and I didn't want the handle to rotate. The leather washers were cut from a tooled belt, I just clamped them until they were dry and as you can see from the edges the tooling in the belt did not cause an issue in the final product. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwican Report post Posted August 25, 2015 Thats really cool man Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rohn Report post Posted August 25, 2015 That is a neat looking tool. I wonder how super gluing those leather pieces would work and turning it all on a lathe? I have made stacked leather pens that way. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidL Report post Posted August 25, 2015 Great job. You must have hands much larger than mine. Reminds me of the spinning tops that I see when I visited malaysia. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oldtoolsniper Report post Posted August 25, 2015 That is a neat looking tool. I wonder how super gluing those leather pieces would work and turning it all on a lathe? I have made stacked leather pens that way.Rohn, I turn pens as well and I thought about that but I wasn't sure if it would allow the leather to rotate around the shaft. The other consideration was the tooling on the leather, I figured the epoxy would fill any voids and the super clue would not. After doing it I don't think they were any voids after compressing the leather in the clamp. I started it on the lathe but I did not have a good way to chuck it and the shaft on the pin vise was already in two pieces so it came apart on me. I re-epoxied it and then turned it with a drill against my 1x30 belt sander. The finish is just sanding it to 400 grit and then beeswax on a buffing wheel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
