Nuttish

Sorry, but you need to learn how to actually use Illustrator if you seriously believe that CAD software is more " precise" or that your workflow is efficient.

$170 is oppressive. Owasso Graphic Arts in Owosso, MI for magnesium hot foil debossing dies. Better results, more durable, and less expensive than laser cut Delrin stamps. Use them with an arbor press. https://www.owosso.com/Products/MagnesiumDies/FoilStamping.aspx

Is this what you mean? Bench splitter (bottom) in 2 seconds or skiving knife (top) in a few minutes:

What's wrong with a traditional angled skiving knife? Bell knife skivers are expensive and have a steep learning curve. Lisa Sorrel's Japanese knives are cheap and quite nice.

I hate the typesetting but the results are very very good for the application. Thanks for clarifying I'll just put out there again that plates like this is not out of anyone's reach and it's not difficult for a wood worker or someone with access to a laser cutter to make a jig that makes properly tracked and straight typesetting possible. For tooling leather, all you need are your dies, a wet shop towel, and a cheap arbor press that can pull a ton.

Laser etching destroys the grain. Maybe he did and painted it. You'd have to see if it smells like burnt hair! Does it look like the impressions have steep shoulders?

The flaps will be floppy. Not sure what you mean by edge finishing helping with wear. You might consider backing them with a bit of stiffer material or making them of two layers inside out and then sticking a piece of interface in whatever stiffness seems appropriate on the inside. You're essentially making a handbag, so you might consider how internal structure will enhance the usability of the piece.

Agree with Chief. Look at the letterforms and you'll see that they're identical. For example, that A is peculiar - the right diagonals are a different height (shorter x-height) than the rest of the character. They're all the same in the image you posted.

I can post some pics if it would help.

You can get pretty much any pulley useful to mankind at McMaster Carr. I added one to a new commercial sewing machine motor for a skiver for less than $10. McMaster also has a good selection of bearings.

They're ok for what they are and how much they cost. They're crummy knockoffs of the old Gerstner oak machinist tool chests. Nothing fancy, just blonde stained Asian "hardwood". Grizzly made a very nice Gerstner clone. If you want something thats a solid and affordable upgrade, check around and you might be able to find a good deal on a vintage Kennedy machinist tool box. They come in a variety of sizes and the drawer heights and depths are very useful for small leatherworking tools and hardware.

Not after as in you're tying a separate knot, but within the stitch itself. If you cross your thread under the other when inserting to the back and then back over when inserting to the front, you get half an overhand knot with no extra bulk. Make sense?

He finishes it with an overhand knot. I mean with each stitch you get a free overhand knot.

The tutorial omits an overhand knot behind the stitch, which adds durability.

Aaaanyway. I didn't initially look at your leather. I just did. This is nothing to do with better or worse, it's a question of whether the operation you want to do is appropriate to the materials. It's also not really a question of whether the material is vegetable or chrome tanned. 3mm is ~7/8 oz, which is thick enough to stand up on its own with a stiffer temper than you've got. I don't think you're ever going to get a satisfactory burnish on that material. Too stretchy and floppy. I'd take a run at practicing edge painting if you've got your heart set on finished edges. I just looked up what a festival belt is. Not sure you even need to finish the edges.

You can sand it smooth enough. Some chrome tan will burnish adequately with a piece of bone or bakelite where wood doesn't work. I have no idea why. Someone mentioned something sciencey about dielectrics.

3 days from UK to Chicago by DHL Yes, you get a DHL tracking number when they post your package.

I believe this is the section in which people have been asking questions about various ways to make their branding marks so I'm putting this here. I'm sending out an order for a plate of magnesium dies next week. I will have dies made for the first several people to contact me privately and send me their art. Preference to people who have been asking questions. I only ask that you post a picture of your mark once you get your die back because it will be helpful to people to see what's possible for little $$. I will only charge cost plus priority ($5.05) to get you your die. Cost per die will depend on size (I pay by the area of the plate, not number of dies or cuts) and likely be less than $15. Magnesium dies are suitable for hot and cold stamping many hundreds of impressions or more. They're not suitable for whacking like some of the Delrin marks people are offering, but the impressions are much higher quality and easier to get perfectly replicable results. Art: Files should be in Illustrator (up to CC is fine), .eps, or .svg with all text objects expanded to vector lines and no embedded images. I'm not doing your electronic prepress for you. If you only have a .jpg or .png, I will spend a few minutes converting it to vector lines, but it must be large, high quality, and you must tell me the finished size of the die you want.

I buy 2.5/3oz W&C English bridle. It's perfectly suitable for a very thin wallet, but only if you get it gum repasted. Otherwise, the temper is weird that thin. Thin enough Stiff enough

No, they'll sell to anyone. I suggested giving them a brand name to address your concern. They're not asking for people's Articles of Incorporation to sell them belt buckles.

Yes they do. Give them your brand name and they'll create an account for you.

Can you find a picture of the inside? I couldn't. I'm thinking the end caps are notched and wet molded on a form. 90º along a curve is difficult. The analogy is notching to sew convex curves in fabric — this illustration is on one that gets turned inside out, which is functionally similar to what you're doing. http://blog.megannielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/clipandntoch1.jpg

I did.

I'm looking for a brogue punch set for prototyping. I'll eventually have to have my dies made with these punches inserted, but I'm not there yet. I'm aware of the Lekoza tool. The Goetz tool is suitable, but they don't respond to inquiries because I'm a foreign nobody. Any leads appreciated.

Dwight, awesome suggestion on adding a few extra feet of thread. I immediately saw a vast improvement with lightly waxed thread and Horween bovine Chromexcel, which usually leaves my thread filthy so I just use darker colors. Thank you! Good suggestion on the overstitch wheel, Josh. Am I correct that this is one of the 2 intended uses (marking stitches and pressing them after sewed up)?