jcwoman

Ah, I figured it out, thanks to another post here. There's some kind of magic about setting that half on the backside of a metal anvil. The other post said that makes the bottom part spread out so that they lock together. Not just any flat surface will do, apparently!

Okay, I got the cap pair set nicely but when I tried to set the other half, they wouldn't clamp together firmly. It seems like the shorter post just deformed a little. What is supposed to happen to make those two snap together firmly? I tapped them with about the same light force as the cap pair. Do I need to hit them harder to make the longer post smash into the shorter post and lock?

Ah, thank you, I wasn't sure. I bought them from buckleguy and they didn't use that name. I did look at this video but wish they'd zoomed in just a bit more. It's hard to see exactly how the one piece fits inside the cap without just breaking the cap. I'll re-watch it and experiment and come back if I still have questions.

I tried to google for this and watched some youtube videos but I'm a bit frustrated because they all seem to be out of focus, don't zoom in enough for me to see which part fits which other part, etc. I found a video by Tandy that might be good except that it's all low-contrast brown leather on brown work surface. I just can't see enough detail to be able to know which of the four snap pieces goes with the other piece. I've also been fiddling a bit and can't figure it out on my own. I use rivets a lot and know how to set line 20 snaps - and I know those are different, but I just add it to say that I do have some of the basic skills. Can someone point me to a decent tutorial? Edited to add a picture of what I have. The cap is pretty obvious, but I can't tell which of the other three is supposed to fit into the cap. If I can figure that out, then maybe I can figure out the rest. I'm using snap setters for line 16 snaps.

Nice! That will work!

Yeah, they're small. I work on 1/2" wide straps, so the letters are about the right size for that. Not as ornamental as stamps commonly used for belts and such. I make straps for dog muzzles and special-purpose collars (they hold the muzzle on, for smart dogs that figure out how to slip the muzzle strap over their heads). It's the collars that I'm thinking of stamping, to personalize them a bit.

Thanks all! I'm going to look for some more videos showing these techniques.

So I know I can paint them and I can use antique.... but I'm wondering what is the best method to make a stamped name on a leather strip more visible and pretty. I got a set of letter/number stamps as a gift last month. I tested it and it works great, but I'll use it for sellable products so I want to make sure the letters are visible and attractive. The letters are just slightly taller than 1/4". I don't think I have the dexterity to hand paint them and "stay within the lines", so a better method might be something that I can wipe over the whole strap and then polish away the parts outside of the letter imprint. I usually dye the straps black, but for this i can go with brown or whatever, because I know you can't easily put a lighter color over the top of black. What would you guys recommend?

I think my main lesson from all of this is that my sharpening skills need to improve, which isn't outrageous given that I'm new at it. Practice makes perfect! But also, I'm going to buy another punch, a bit larger. Either 3mm or 4mm size, and the style that Chuck pictured above. It looks like those have a better taper to begin with.

Okay, thanks, that's super helpful!

You're not wrong, but... this is a second punch that I bought after thinking the first one was cheap/soft/bad. I can absolutely buy a third one, but I'm starting to think it's my attempt at sharpening that's the problem, so I think I should fix that first. So to sharpen it, I chuck it into the drill and hold sandpaper over the tip while I run the drill. The outside edge looks better after that, but after a few punches the edge rolls over again. Maybe that's normal and you have to clear the plugs and re-sharpen it after every 4 or so holes? Really, my issue is that I'm spending more time unplugging and sharpening than doing actual strapwork. While fixing the edge this time after you guys called that out, I used a magnifying glass to examine it. That works fine, but I sure wish there was a way to see if the inside is roughened up to cause the jams. I can hold it up to my shop light and see the light through it but I need a third hand with a really good magnifying glass to really see the inside surface.

Ohh, I see what you mean. Yeah, could be my shitty attempt at sharpening it. I'll address that.

I know, that's what's making me crazy. I must be doing something wrong, or not sharpening the punch correctly or something! Trying to figure it out. I've also punched against an old retired kitchen cutting board (wood). It has lots of little circles all over it now. Since I am new at this, maybe I just haven't found the knack for it yet. Things seemed okay at first, then went downhill.

I claim newbieness... can you put an arrow or circle around the bit you're talking about?

Oh, I was just re-reading this and it caught my eye. You don't find that 4mm holes are too big for a 1/2" wide strip? Maybe my problem will go away if I use a bigger gauge punch. Or at least it would be easier to clear.