Harpo84

Last night I attached my first buckle The material I'm working with is a triple layer of 2oz pigskin. I don't have a crew / bag / slot punch so I started off by punching a 2.5mm hole at each end of the slot... all going well... I then tried to join the holes with my clicker knife but the soft leather just squashed down and moved around. It was a nightmare. I eventually got the slot at a fairly uniform width and it looks and works well but on close inspection the inside edges of the slot are very ragged and it took far longer to do than it should! So I thought: time to buy a crew punch but man are they expensive! Especially for a set. Does anyone have experience with using a single small crew punch to punch out slots of various lengths and widths? Does it work? Or any other tips on making slots less of a headache without shelling out on a full set of crew punches?

I'll second contact cement. I'm using EvoStik which I believe is the same thing. It's much much stronger than it needs to be, is usually easy to clean off when a little gets somewhere it's not wanted and it dries flexible. If you find it a pain to line up pieces (EvoStik bonds fairly well the second the two pieces touch) then you can even use it on one piece only and still get a decent bond. If you're only wanting the glue to hold things together while you stitch then run of the mill PVA / wood glue is fine too as you only need something strong enough to hold together as the awl passes through.

I've given saddle stitch another go. The problems I'm having are that with the glover's needles I'm obviously not using an awl, so when I pull the thread back to get the second needle in there's still not much room left in the small round hole created by the glover's needle. I tried using one glover's needle and one saddler's needle. Obviously glover's needle first to make the hole. This solved the problem of piercing the thread but created the problem that every other stitch leaves you with the glover's needle on the side with no stitch markings. Grr.... Tonight I'm going to try marking my stitches and carefully piercing them with a round awl so I can use two saddler's needles. But if I'm going to have to do it like that then I'm wondering why do glover's needles even exist? Can anyone who has ever made a wallet or anything out of light leather tell me how they pierce / stitch and what tools they use?

I think I'm probably making this sound far more difficult than it is I'm trying to make a choker. I'm planning to cut a length of my 2oz pigskin three times the width of the choker, fold it so I have three layers with the exposed edge to one side on the back. Then stitch along each edge. Not over, just along. I know what you mean about keeping the leather unpuckered while keeping the stitches tight but hopefully it won't be too bad with three layers. I've done a trial run with a scrap and it doesn't seem too flimsy. What type of stitching would you normally use to make say, a wallet? Looking at the beaten up old wallet that's been in my pocket for the last 10 years, the stitching looks like saddle stitch to my untrained eye. Definitely not running stitch. But if I attempt that with my glover's needles I pierce the thread nearly every time. I tried backstitch with not much more luck. Do I just need more practice? Or is there a different way to stitch with glover's needles that avoids this? I'm thinking about using one glover's needle and one saddler's needle to avoid piercing the thread and just saddle stitching it. It just feels like there should be a simpler way of stitching light leather? EDIT: I don't have a sewing machine by the way. And thank you Sylvia for the interesting find. The second method is a no no because I don't want to stitch 'over' the edge. The first method would work but I'd prefer something more secure than a running stitch style stitch. Good find though. I found absolutely nothing through google.

I know saddle stitch and backstitch and I've been using these on thick leather but now I'd like to try some light leather work. Can anyone tell me how I should stitch light leather? For example: I'm working on something that has 2 - 3 layers of 2oz pigskin that need stitching together at the edges. My book just says 'now stitch it'... but how? Is it that obvious? Are you just meant to use running stitch? Is there any more secure alternative? I'm using Glover's Needles and 18/3 by the way. Thanks.

Great advice - thank you guys, I've been in touch with my supplier and they've suggested that Sheep Nappa might be good for the lining. Apparently White Suede (my initial thought) is hard to come by and even harder to clean / keep clean. Regarding riveting before putting the lining on - I'm surprised that so many people don't do this. The majority that I've seen have exposed rivets on the inside. Not good. I was starting to wonder if there was a reason for it. Will let you know how it goes.

Oh, you guys Thanks for the advice. I've added the welded heavy duty D-Rings and a nice Heavy Duty double roller buckle to my shopping list. Solid Copper Rivets? Do you mean bifuricate rivets? The type with two legs that you hammer flat? I'll see what I can find. The removable lining is a good idea. But I admit that I also like the idea of it being stitched, solid and rugged in one piece. I tried handstitching for the first time last night and loved it so I'll stitch anything I can get my hands on Any excuse.

Hi, I'm completely new to Leatherwork. I've made a couple of simple strops so far and have dabbled with cutting shapes out of the scrap areas of a columbo hide I bought from LePrevo. For my first project I'd like to make some wrist cuffs like the ones attached. Sorry about the low quality thumbnails. I don't have internet access at home right now and don't want to go digging around on websites like that at work. If you have any tips, pointers or even patterns for similar things that you could share then that would be much appreciated. I have a rough idea of what I want: 2" Strip of tan leather (3.5mm columbo side is what I have), with a 1" strap (made from the same) stitched around the outside with a buckle and eyelets. I was thinking of putting a white padded lining on the inside. But I'm not sure what is best to use. Is a leather lining going to be sweaty / uncomfortable? If so then what other material would be good? If you could recommend a suitable leather from LePrevo, or similar, for the lining that would be good. And what would you use to pad out the lining? I was also thinking about using some single cap tubular rivets to add strength (and style). Can you tell me how much interference fit is good to have between the 'Stem Length' (as LePrevo call it) and the thickness of the layers you want to rivet? I was thinking of a 6mm Cap with a 5.5mm Stem for two layers of my 3.5mm hide... For the lining, I was thinking of turning the edges in so that it goes over the edge of the cuff, and then turning it over again to hide the edge of the lining and then stitching through the whole thing so that the edges on the outside are also lined. Is this a good idea? Or should I keep the lining on the inside only? Any help is appreciated and if I manage to make anything half decent then I'll get you some photos - thanks!