silverwingit

I deal with this situation with the hybrid leather/kydex harmonica cases I make. I've found no cement/glue that I am comfortable using and then letting one of my products out the door. If there is any but the slightest amount of force put on the final product, stay far away from cements or glues. For me the only sure solution is drilling holes in the plastic, punching corresponding holes in the leather and using kydex or leather eyelets to positively lock the kydex and leather together in place, for good. I settled on eyelets over rivets because they can be hammered on both sides to a flatter end-result than rivets. Good luck and let is know what you end up deciding on. Michelle

How thick is that leather? It looks pretty thin to get nice, deep, well-burnished imprints. 5-6 ounce would be the minimum, IMO. Also, proper casing is key to successful tooling. You might want to review Hidepounder's tutorial in the "How do I do that" section. Thanks, Michelle

You might find this series of videos useful. Michelle

Since the tile of the thread has to do with "squaring" leather, I thought I would add this suggestion for smaller projects. I find that those clear plastic layout rulers that seamstresses use can be indispensable aids for making smaller square or straight cuts of leather. The ones that have one inch gradations marked in 1/8 inch divisions. I have several in different sizes from Olfa, the same maker as my rotary cutters, etc. http://www.olfaproducts.com/product_images/OLF%20QR-6x12hr.jpg They are double handy because they are transparent, you can see the underlying leather which is helpful deciding what section of leather you want to cut (avoid scars, etc.). Thanks, Michelle

It looks to me like you might need to cut a bit deeper with your swivel knife. For me, to make a nice straight, even beveled line I need to follow the middle of the swivel knife's cut. Assuming your swivel knife cut is straight itself, you should be able to ride your beveller right down the cut. Make overlapping strikes with your longest beveller right along that cut line. Try to avoid letting your beveller jump. Hold it firmly between your fingers and thumb, straight up and down and strike a solid, authoritative blow with your maul/mallet. Try to avoid letting your maul/mallet bounce, causing a spurious impression. And, I won't repeat what Dwight said. You know it's true. Thanks, Michelle

+1 on the skiver Chief pointed out. It's really a tool that comes in so handy in so many ways, even if you have a $600 splitter/skiver (I do). There are many items that either won't fit in a 6" splitter/skiver or that don't merit getting up and moving your work to the much more expensive machine. If you ever watch a saddler work, they will pull out one of these with all the finish worn off from constant use. And they really know how to use one! Only one thing I would add to Chief's advice and at that it might just be a clarification. You can't draw one of these straight toward you and expect good results. You need to draw it at an angle with respect to your work piece. Try drawing it at, say, a 45 degree angle and you will see how it will then glide through your leather. (Of course you need to use a sharp blade.) Thanks, Michelle

I'll leave the exhaustive search of Ohio Travel Bag's extensive wholesale catalog to you. If they don't have something close to what you are looking for, I don't know what to tell you. http://www.ohiotravelbag.com/PDF/P-214_Hardware-Finished_Goods_Catalog-web.pdf Thanks, Michelle

Some members report positive results using this heat embosser from Calvin LW Leatherworks on Etsy. I'm saving up for one myself. http://www.etsy.com/listing/112736766/electric-branding-iron-for-leather-wood?ref=shop_home_feat_1 Good luck and please let us know what you decide on. Thanks, Michelle

I suspect that he used a belt sander. Michelle

Good advice from the Chief. I would only add that you cannot only put the tang through your test hole in your scrap piece of leather, but if you use a piece of the same belt strip you can thread it through the buckle as well. Then you can pull the tang "shut" against the buckle and tug on both ends (buckle and threaded test piece) and see how the test hole holds up to the exact forces the actual belt will be subject to. That way you will also see the difference between a circular and an oblong hole as your Tandy fellow correctly suggests. I hope that made sense. Michelle

Glad you stepped up to a "real" awl (awl for awl isn't, IMO). Also, I'm glad to hear you are having good luck with your Osborne awl. You hear a lot of talk about Douglas blades (on back order) and other "high-end" blades, but I have never felt the need to go beyond Osborne awl handles and blades. In fact, the haft on the Osborne handles is smaller and more sleek than that on my beautiful Barry King handle (which sits as a result because I have tight spaces in which o stitch and I don't want to mark the adjacent leather). When people new to leatherwork ask, I advise Osborne handles and blades. Thanks, Michelle PS: If you think your awl is sharp, you might benefit from watching this video by Master Craftsman Nigel Armitage: And then take a look about how he uses it in his uber-informative video on saddle stitching. And, good luck!

Ike, it had better be the stitches. If you allow the cement line to extend past the stitch line, it will often split the leather or at least peel the finish of many types of leather when you turn the pouch inside out. I use a ~very~ thin line of cement (1/8" or less), just at the very outside edges of the two sides of the pouch. Yes, you can "erase" some if you catch it before it fully dries, but once you've set the two sides together with a shoe hammer or mallet, it's pretty much a done deal as far as preserving the finish when you turn it inside out. I think your instincts are correct. If you are bothered by seeing a stitch line or a stitch hole when you turn the pouch inside out (I am not, personally), use finer thread (hence a smaller needle) and closer stitches. But, the likelihood of never seeing a stitch line or stitch hole is low, even with very fine thread and stitching. Bottom line, you might think about changing your perspective a bit and learn to appreciate your fine stitchwork for its inherent beauty. Good luck, Michelle

FWIW, after having owned one of their drill press models (yes, mine is chucked too and I love it), I recently ordered one of their hand-held burnishers online (think of the Tandy one on steroids in beautiful cocobolo). Relatively inexpensive and beautiful to hold and work with. It arrived within days of my online order. Very pleased with the product and the turn-around time. Thanks, Michelle

Michael, that press is made to fit metric grommets, snaps, rivets, etc. You need to buy all this hardware from them (or many other online sources for he same press and dies). I already have thousands of SAE (non-metric) pieces of hardware )mostly Ohio Travel Bag) so I passed even with the very attractive pricing. I queried an ebay dealer about this issue over the period of several days and he went so far as to purchase some Tandy rivets and snaps and reported (to my near astonishment at his honesty) that his dies would not fit them. So, if you don't have any (many?) pieces of non-metric rivets, snaps, grommets, etc, you might do well opting for this machine along with the burden of having to buy its associated metric hardware. I don't have trouble setting snaps with a maul and hand setter and I don't have the need to set many grommets or spots so this "Rex Riveter," a nice stainless steel machine that is smaller and less expensive ($80 retail, $50 wholesale, including the rivet dies) from Weaver fits my needs and pocket book quite well. http://www.weaverleathersupply.com/Mobile/Catalog/ItemContent.aspx?ItemNumber=BFD148B02A961CA321085DF185439018F73701D0836A068FD48DFCD9E9AA59CC6F403169E7FB36E6A9010A2C3819E417D3A8BCA3BCDAA31AC2DDA51E5960C0C915643C0081CFA487722E5B2413C4867BEEA7AEF11074198CDEF01035E44645A9F554836D07AB32C33BA8E1778FD49252F8160ECBCF84C74C3DDE5A3BC63E31A1 Thanks, Michelle

I couldn't make the plunge for an Osborne rotary punch so I bought one by Heritage. It has a "compound" action making it easier to deal with thicker leather. Though the punch tube are not replaceable, it cost me about 1/3 of what the Osborne would have. Works just fine for me. Michelle

I was thinking more about holding the edge you've worked hard to achieve. Yes, quenching in water is a good idea. I do believe I have a couple old chisels to have a go with. Nothing to lose, right? Thanks for pointing the way, Dirk! Michelle

Jules, it would be helpful to know more about your situation. You didn't mention, for example, whether you have a budget to work with. One thing to consider when you are looking at rivet setting tools/machines is the extra time and motion necessary to use them. For example, even with hand tools, you must have an anvil or appropriate surface right in front of you or you will need to either move to the anvil's location or move the anvil to yours. Then there is the time and motion required to retrieve to tools, place the leather, maul the setter and so on and then put it all back when you are done. Then with manual tools there is always the likelihood and nuisance of mis-setting a rivet and having to remove it and re-set a new one. That doesn't happened with a hand or foot rivet press. But even with a hand press, you have many of the same issues. If you mount it to your bench, you will have to move to its location each time setting a rivet is needed. If you mount the hand press on a slab of wood or leave it un-mounted you will have to be moving it around on your bench. These hand presses aren't light -- something to consider If you are concerned about your joints. These issues are compounded when using a foot press (which cost into the thousands of dollars, and require dedicated floor space in your shop). You will have to prep all your project pieces of leather and move them to the riveter's location and back when you are done. So, unless you are in a true production mode and anticipate having all your pieces prepped ahead of riveting, you will have a lot of movement back and forth. So, I would do some real careful thinking before you make the plunge with a foot press. You can get a dedicated hand rivet press for about $50. That's my personal solution as I don't need a machine to set spots, snaps, etc. I get to thinking about the overhead and expense of swapping out dies each time I want to set a snap, rivet, etc. Bottom line: think before you leap. Michelle

I am also a happy owner of the Heritage skiver. I did feel that I could improve on the factory edge. I lapped my blade on my granite surface plate using 3M polishing papers. It took me all day to get both sides of the blade to a mirror polish. Now the thing cuts 7-8 oz veg-tan, latigo and bridle leathers with ease. I don't know the country of origin of the Heritage splitters but I'm not the least bit concerned about the longevity of the blade. It's a very heavy chunk of steel and I know it's hardened because I worked it all day. To me it was worth both the expense and the time spent working on the blade. I'd buy it again if my shop burned down. Now I laugh every time I see an ad for a Tandy skiver. Thanks, Michelle

I've thought about doing this, but I have held off because I don't know how to grind the metal to a fine edge without negatively impacting the tool's temper. I wonder if you are at all concerned about ruining the temper on these blades by grinding them so heavily? Or perhaps you have a technique that avoids this problem. If so, would you mind sharing it? Thanks, Michelle

You can skive the areas on the inside near the corners before gluing and stitching. That thinning down of the leather makes it easier to manage stitching the corners. You might think about skiving the whole length of the inside edges. Oh to own a skiving machine! Michelle

http://www.etsy.com/listing/112742933/customized-alphabet-letter-stamps-for?ref=shop_home_active_3 Michelle

Good advice, Bud, but I have to take one exception. Six times 4 feet would be 24 feet of thread, twelve feet on each end when starting out. That's a whopping length of thread to pull through 300 some stitch holes (the approximate number of holes along both sides of the belt at 6 stitches per inch). Several more manageable lengths would be better especially since Tommy is probably just starting out given the nature of his question. I'd suggest using lengths of 6-8 feet and learning to knot the ends and start back a few stitches with a new length of thread. At least that's the way I see it. Michelle

Mine is a Heritage knock-off of the old CS Osborne #84. The one with the handle on it. http://www.handtools-uk.com/images/Cs%20Osborne%20Splitting%20Machine%2084.jpg Its blade is a simple edge, not a compound one. That's one thing that makes it scary to me. But yes, it's all one taper down to its edge. Michelle

One other splitter note. My saddlemaker leatherworking mentor is a master at a hand splitter. He whipped out a belt blank to demonstrate its use when I first noticed it in his shop. He very deftly and smoothly cut a very even and smooth beveled skive at the end of the blank right down to a feather edge. I've ruined lots of strips of leather trying to accomplish that move. Oh, and one final side note since you are talking about mounting your splitter. Said saddlemaker has his mounted in a unique and handy way. His splitter is mounted on the flat side of a length of 2x6. He then has a 2"x6" slot built into the underside of his bench. That way he can un-stow his splitter from underneath the bench and slide its 2x6 mounting board into the 2"x6" slot where he can split as needed and then remove sand re-stow the splitter-mounted 2x6 back out of place. I know I wasn't able to do this without totally rebuilding my work bench so I actually mounted my splitter on a separate table just to keep it out of the way. I'm so scared of that blade that I made a little cardboard box shroud to cover it up when I'm not using it. A splitter is a great tool to have but like most any other leatherworking tool it needs to be carefully sharpened. Further, the proper and effective use of a splitter does not come without practice. Good luck and let us know how you progress. Thanks, Michelle

OK, I'm a bit of a sharpness freak, I admit it. For example, I wasn't satisfied with simply honing my splitter's massive blade. I polished it to a mirror surface. It is easily the sharpest blade I own. It cuts so smoothly and leaves a nice smooth flesh side. What I did, FWIW, is use the incredibly flat surface on my 3" thick granite surface plate that is my pounding block along with a series of the 3M wet or dry polishing papers of increasingly fine grain (down to 3 microns) to lap polish the cutting surfaces of my splitter's blade. I discovered these polishing papers while researching what other artisans use to sharpen their tools. I found that woodworkers are at least as anal as us leatherworkers about maintaining the sharpness of their chisels particularly. They get a slab of glass and either a commercial or homemade sharpening jig, some 3M papers and soapy water and have at it. They work their chisels for hours until they are satisfied with their sharpness. So it took me the better part of a day, but like I say you can see your reflection in my blade's, cutting surfaces. Now, whether all this hoo-ha makes that much of a difference I won't argue, but I do know my splitter shore is purty and it cuts through English Bridle leather like it was butter. Michelle