Lone Fortress

Seems that I was overthinking things a bit then. I have plenty of card stock, so I'll give that a try for the next one.Thanks.

This is the second case of this construction method I made. The first-a phone case, didn't have good results as it was far too bulky. So I altered the design and instead of using a one piece frame that goes all around, I used two frame pieces-one for each side. I also slimed down the dimensions and used a single piece of leather instead of two. I discovered that this construction method looks much better when used for smaller cases such as coin pouches. Not all of the problems have been solved though so that is where this thread comes in. Like the first attempt, the holes are not aligned. I'm not sure if it can be noticed in my lousy photographs, but the Chicago screws on the right side of the case are slightly higher than the left and I don't like it. I want them to be as even to each other as possible, but since I'm dealing with leather..I'm not sure how I can accomplish that. If I make layout lines, they would be too noticeable-even if done on the inside. A template would have the same problems. I don't have a printer, so everything has to be done by hand-including the drawings, templates, etc. I would have the same problem, how do I get the holes on each side aligned to each other? Perhaps I'm overthinking things a bit, but what I tried this time was to: Get the frame materials identical in size, drill the holes in one, then use that as a guide for the other frame then use the frames as a guide for the holes in the leather. Still not aligned. What would be a more effective method? I can go to a more traditional stitched approach if I have to, but I really would like to get this assembly method to work. Here's the photos, they're blurry but I think they show what I'm referring to. I'd also like advise on how to get the flap more refined as it looks crude. It has other flaws of course, such as the uneven tooling, but fortunately-I know where I went wrong with them. The misaligned holes is the problem I'm having issue with.

Thanks for the welcome.

Finally joining this forum after lurking around a bit. My name is Byron and I'm also a knifemaker who intends on eventually specializing in functional art knives for the high end user and collector markets. I got involved with leatherwork a few months ago (I think) and until my knives are better quality, I'm only going to be making simple items with simplistic designs. Once I start making sheaths-I expect my tooling/carving to gradually become more elaborate, hopefully. So far I have only made keychains and bookmarks, with exceptions to 1 phone case(which was a disaster) and a few kit coasters. I'm going to begin making bracelets soon along with these. I'm a bit confused on what type of fasteners to use though-can't decide between line 20 or magnetic bag snaps. This isn't my earliest work (that would be burried in the scraps somewhere), but it's one of my earlier ones as seen by the numerous issues. The tree is about the way I want it, but the crescent moon is crooked and the shape isn't as even as I've liked it to be and the beveling could've been better.

I am probably going to order more material soon and decided that I want to make 2-3 cuff bracelets from it. I'm having difficulty deciding between two snap types: Line 20 snaps or 14mm magnetic bag snaps. The magnetic snaps uses prongs, but since they're designed for bags I assume they would be durable enough for bracelets. I'm concerned about the holding ability they would have though as I don't want them to be able to be brushed off nor do I want them to be too difficult to remove. Would they be appropriate? What would the advantages/disadvantages of either be? The leather is going to be thin 3-4oz, would that be a problem with either of these?