Nyckname

On Planet Money's The Indicator https://play.podtrac.com/npr-510325/edge1.pod.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/indicator/2019/11/20191106_indicator_191106_leather_final.mp3

I stick a scrap of heel bend through the keeper, shoot the staples through with a staplegun, pull the spacer out, then bend the ends over with needle nose pliers.

Tooling leather? Were they exposed to light? That affects the quality of the leather, and it'll never be quite right again. You need to store tooling leather in the dark.

Buy a bench mounted drill press. Drill the holes. Sell it when you're finished.

Grease the lace before braiding with it.

Rawhide needs to be damp in order to cut easily with a knife. Veg tanned leather should be cut dry.

Does your better half like the worn look? If so, buy used footballs, probably on ebay, cut the stitching apart, press to flatten, and sew the parts into panels. Or just take out the laces and bladder, add a zipper and strap, and viola.

Find a long, thin machine screw with a head that will fit inside of the center of the base. Get T-nuts that will fit the screws. Use Loc-Tite to make sure they don't come loose.

If there's a maker space near you with a 3D printer, find a line drawing on-line and create your own.