Hey Forum,
I watched a video recently where a leatherworker used a form cutter to press wallet inserts out of a sheet of leather. His work was superb. I'm not sure of the rules of linking to a youtube video here, but if you search for "Leodis Leather Making a Handmade Leather Wallet", you'll see what I mean at about 0:55. It's like a cookie cutter attached to a block of wood. It's then driven into the leather to press-out the insert shape using what I think is a snap press, though a modified drill press would work.
Looks like a good way to save time, create uniform products and prevent errors.
My questions are; does anyone know where to find these? Better yet, has anyone ever tried custom making something like this? Could it cut things larger than inserts, like say the wallet outer?
In my head, it's just tin ribbon bent to the desired shape and then attached to a board by any number of means (I think I'd solder inlets or punch out tabs and then screw it to the block). It may or may not require sharpening, though I'd assume that the rigidity and thickness of the leather dictates that. I also might be underestimating how well pressure alone could cut through 3oz +/- veg tan.
What do you guys think?
Cheers,
Ben