Loft Leather

Cool little lights. Are those add-ons or where they part of the machine? I'm over 50 and my eyes require more light so I'll have to figure something out.

I haven't searched that way before. Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a try. I just put my 5mm hole punch into the drill press and didn't turn it on. It was easy for me to go through this heavy leather just pulling down on the handle. Is there a benefit to the spinning other than making it easier to go through the leather? Using the press like this is a game changer for me. I think I'll be able to get my stitch lines straighter and do it without damage to my body or upsetting anyone else with the noise. Working with heavy leather, I can probably go faster too vs hammer the 6 prong punch 4-5 times to get it through. Maybe I'll invest in a dedicated press eventually, but for now I can use this and get good results. I'm not sure if the drill chuck's ability to spin with the punch in it is a good or bad thing for this yet.

Yes, but didn't see anything. Maybe I didn't look hard enough or maybe this is the first post on the topic?

I'm sure someone else has already thought of this and it might have been posted already. I put a six prong hole punch into my drill press and it works really well. I was considering buying a press so I could avoid waking up the neighbors and the jarring to my hands/arm from hammering. Some of my mistakes on my first project were a result of shifting the punch ever so slightly as I pulled the hammer back to hit. I think this is an approach that will help me and maybe some others.

The pattern called for 7-8 oz veg tan. I bought the thickest I could find at Hobby Lobby called tooling leather; I'm guessing 3/16ths (4.5mm?) inch thick..maybe 12-14 oz? Much thicker than what Tony (Diesel Punk) used in the YouTube video. I thought a tool bag needed to be thick and tough and at this point had not been to a real leathercraft shop where other options are available. I used a 1, 2, 4, and 6 hole punch for the holes. It took probably five hits on average to get the 6 hole punch through. I'd say I'm above average in hammering strength. I wore noise canceling headphones throughout or I might have had hearing damage. 1.5 mm holes and 1mm white waxed thread off Amazon. The edge are painted with brown ArtMinds edge paint. I bought a little roller tool off Amazon and it got a little sloppy...the roller head keeps falling off. I used a fine beveler. I was hoping for better results overall. Most of the edges are not even and my stitch lines are not straight in several areas. The leather didn't bend as nicely as I hoped where the side and the front/bottom/back come together. Cleaning up the leather from my dirty hands caused some creases/wrinkling on the surface. The handle is the worst for part for bringing two edges together. The leather edges were pulled inward instead of making a nice square edge. The stitches were too close to the edge to sand and make it even...I would have sanded the thread. I didn't have an awl to start, but bought one and found it really helped with lining up the holes for stitching. I broke probably 10 needles. They kept snapping at the eye. Eventually I started using needle nose pliers to pull the needles through as my hands ached from the work. If I followed instructions of 7-8 oz, stitching probably would have been easier and the edges might have matched up better. I ordered some hardware from Amazon, but my wife said it was cheap stuff and encouraged me to return it. I went to Tandy Leather Shop in Livonia MI and found the clasps I used. I'm happy with the quality of the clasps from Tandy. I had to make some modifications to use this hardware. The rivet above the swing clasp was a hole for the original Diesel Punk plan. I just put that in to fill the hole...I don't think anyone would think it's to cover up a change in plans mid project. I'm going to clean the bag a little more than apply some Filson's Original Oil/Finish/Wax to protect it from staining. I'll test the product on some scraps before I apply it to the bag. I'm currently using the tool bag to hold my leather tool. I'm also planning to add magnetic clasp/buttons to the inside pockets to old them closed...I haven't looked into my options for this yet though.

Yes, dieselpunk.ro.

I used a pattern from a Romania leather guy off of YouTube. I think he's probably pretty well known. My hands hurt afterward, but I learned a lot and am excited to start my next project. I want to make large leather goods like this...maybe a duffle bag, hand bags, or a backpack next. I don't want to be a seller of my projects. I hope to become good enough where I can gift these items. I included a link to two pictures of my tool bag. Tool Bag