BillinTR

I have been working on my first leather project. It is a side/hip quiver for archery. Across the top where I am making belt loops I have been sewing a double layer of 6/7 oz. veg tan together. This first attempt at sewing has been problematic to say the least. The layers were glued together with contact cement. Then I edge grooved for the stitches followed by laying out the stitch spacing with an overstitch wheel. Clamped my leather and prepared to proceed as per Al Stohlman's book. Spent some time making sure my awl was sharp and feel I got it very sharp. I know there are people who are going to say it needs to be sharper but I have been sharpening various types of blades for many years and believe I did a good job. Problem one: I could not push the awl through that thickness of leather to save my butt. In making some maximum effort to get it through I actually slipped and bent the awl blade to about a 45 degree angle. Even if I had succeeded in piercing the leather there is no way I could have stitched a total of about 18 to 20 inches working that hard. I wound up doing what most people on here will probably preach against but I drilled my stitching holes with a Dremel. Kept the holes as small as possible and the result was presentable if not ideal. I currently don't have a stitching chisel or pricking iron but it seems as though that would be the answer to this problem. Problem two: My intent was to have white stitching contrasting with a medium brown leather. But by the time I was done working the thread all the way around the stitch line the white thread was dingy to say the least from handling and pulling the stitches tight. I wound up staining the stitch lines to match the leather. Again not what I wanted but presentable. How do people manage to keep their light colored threads so clean while handling when sewing thick leather? Like I said this is a first project and I expected there would be lessons to be learned. I checked out on line videos including those by Armitage and I have the Al Stohlman book. In the Armitage video he uses a pricking iron but according to what he says in the video he only uses it to mark the stitch holes. I have subsequent projects in mind but they will all involve fairly heavy leather to be sewed. Any comments would be welcome.

Thanks for the additional comments. That PDF file had a lot of useful information although still missing a lot of info on the primary uses of various categories of stamps. I will look into the books that were suggested. At this point I don't anticipate getting into serious figure carving. I mainly expect to do some decorative work on relatively small projects. Maybe a picture of a bird, flower, leaves, some decorative trim. I am still in research/study/learn about stuff mode as I have gathered some supplies and tools. A lot of lurking here has taught me a lot.

I would have thought one or more of the on line leather supply houses would have done something along the lines of a glossary of some sort. But I guess their assumption is that if you are shopping for these tools then you know what you are doing and what you want. I already have a couple of the Stohlman books and I guess if there is something out there specifically about tools I could see about ordering it. But In this day and age where you can get answers to almost any question on line I was hoping not to spend any more money right now. I have already spent a lot trying to get leather and supplies for a first project.

I was wondering if there is a descriptive tool glossary somewhere for stamping tools? I ask this because when I browse through the stamping tool listings on the various web sites I see a lot of confusing tool names and depictions. As an example lets just take bevelers. I see stuff listed as bevelers that have a very varied number of shapes and apparent impressions shown that are hugely different, especially from my experienced perspective. Some of the depicted impressions are relatively flat and square with fairly light surface textures. And others show an impression that is deep on one side and shallow on the other. I can understand some subtle differences in size and shape but it seems that some of these "bevelers" are intended for widely different uses. Some other stamping tools show similar variations. And also the names of these stamps is very confusing at times when the impressions they make don't seem to be related to the names assigned. If someone knows of some place, preferably on line, to read up about the use of various stamping tools I would appreciate hearing about it.

I appreciate all the comments and learned a lot from them. I do recognize the need to be able to have both hands free. I never really questioned that need. It just seemed that the stitching pony was most suited to a specific need. I have plenty of scrap wood available to build one and possibly even the necessary hardware. And a couple of the comments above have given me an idea for modifications to the basic stitching pony. Thanks again for the insights.

Maybe my problem is that I need to study up more on techniques of construction. Initially the first couple of projects I have in mind will probably work fine in a stitching pony. But I have a couple of plans to do stuff that needs to be molded like holsters and cases. It seems that once something is molded I would not want to clamp it in something that would crush or deform what I molded the leather into. And I can see myself doing more of those kinds of things than flat stuff. Like I said I still need to study construction and design techniques. I am still gathering materials and tools also. I will take another look at the whole stitching horse/pony.

OK, so essentially a stitching pony doesn't often help much for the kind of stitching I am talking about. Which makes me wonder why everybody seems to strongly recommend getting one. I don't anticipate doing too many projects requiring stitching two flat pieces of leather together. It seems like a hobby vise with jigs or supports appropriate for the project would be more useful. Maybe I am missing something.

I am a new guy just getting started. My first project will involve just stitching and finishing. I have read threads here and books there and watched videos somewhere else. Everything I have seen so far shows sewing two flat pieces of leather together on the stitching pony. But how many projects involve just pieces of flat leather? What do you do when you formed pieces of leather into block shapes or some other three dimensional shapes that then need to be either stitched together at the edges or elsewhere or be stitched to some flat backing. It appears to me that a stitching pony doesn't accommodate 3D shapes well. Does anyone know of a video or illustrations on how to use a stitching pony for such things?

Just for curiosity I would like to know what the approach should be if you specifically want to copy something functional. There is a leather item I use regularly that is no longer made. There are a number of other simple functionally identical items available but the one I am interested in is uniquely constructed and that contributes to why I like it. I know for certain that the original company no longer makes the item which is why I am going to make one for myself. But I also know of a number of other people who happen to like the same version of this item that I do. I have considered making additional copies just to perhaps sell a few. We are not talking about a huge market. Just maybe a little pocket change to help support my interest in leatherworking. What is the predominant thinking on this?

Thanks Mike. OK I am not a total dunce. I have spent a lot of time reading in the "How do I do that" section. I guess what confused me is that there are references to stuff being posted in the "Tips and tricks" section in some of the messages in the "How do I do that" section.

I am pretty new here so I don't know my way around this site. But I have been surfing the web for a long time and feel like I am able to find something when I want to. During my time lurking and learning I have seen reference multiple times to the "Tips and Tricks section on the main page." Well I don't seem to able to locate any section labelled "Tips and Tricks." What is considered the "main page" here and where can I find the "Tips and Tricks" section. It could just be that my neurons aren't firing but could somebody point me in the right direction? There are things mentioned as being there that I would like to read.

Instinctive, thanks for the pattern offer. For now though the first couple of items I have in mind will be copies of stuff I have and really like that don't seem to be available any more. I will keep your offer in mind for the future though.

Is there any reason a bench top drill press could not be used for this? A half inch chuck ought to hold many of the stamps and dies I have seen listed.

Just thought I would introduce myself. I am just beginning to get into some feeble attempts at leatherwork. I am waiting on my first order from Springfield Leather Company. My initial primary interest is some archery related stuff since I enjoy shooting a longbow. Later I want to try and make some moccasins. I expect most of my work to be stitching for now. I have been doing a ton of reading and video watching and have someone giving me their personal insights as I move along. I have also been lurking here for a couple of weeks and have learned a lot that way as well.