Avoid your templates "sliding around"

[Danne]

So I was trying to figure out a solution to keep my templates in place, this is of course especially important when cutting watch straps to size. A tapered strap 20-18mm, need to be somewhere between +-0.2 (+ 0.2 and there will be a lot more sanding, -0.2mm and it will be perfect with room for edge paint) but still if the template slide around it can ruin the whole project. (These dimensions are of course for the edge paint and technique I use, so different kinds of edge paint will build different thickness. This works good for me with Fenice (Low medium viscosity, I think it's AR 64XX/T, but I'm not certain. 250ml bottles doesn't have that information, 1l bottles have though) And also Uniters EP2000 (the standard viscocity version of EP2000)

And yes, laser cut templates would be a better solution, but a lot of my straps are prototypes so the template constantly change.

(Ps this solution might not be a good idea for full aniline leathers, because it might be visible "stains" from the tape. I use only full grain leather, but either finished or semi-aniline, so for me it works good.)

A thin double sided tape, and after attached to the template, stick it to some leather and pull it off a couple of times until the strength becomes lower. I didn't have a suitable thin double sided tape, so I used Jaeger 3516 reinforcement material. (One side is self adhesive, and one side have a glue primer, so I glued it to my template, and it works so good. 

Some photos.

The material

 

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by Danne

[Frodo]

I use  a 8” C-clamp on small stuff

And lead filled bags on the larger pieces

https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=pittsburgh&cid=pdp_brandLink

[Aven]

Have you tried using non-slip tape on the bottom of template?  Only have to apply it once.

[327fed]

On thick leather I sometimes use a thumb tack on the back side. Also painters tape on the back but this messes up the knap. 

[Danne]

8 hours ago, Frodo said:

I use  a 8” C-clamp on small stuff

And lead filled bags on the larger pieces

https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=pittsburgh&cid=pdp_brandLink

Yes also a good solution.

2 hours ago, Aven said:

Have you tried using non-slip tape on the bottom of template?  Only have to apply it once.

Not really sure what non-slip tape is, do you have a link?

2 hours ago, 327fed said:

On thick leather I sometimes use a thumb tack on the back side. Also painters tape on the back but this messes up the knap. 

Also, one solution is to glue the back side with water based contact cements, most (All) of them leave a "rubber like" surface when dried.

[Aven]

Weaver carries non-slip tape.

[327fed]

Gem clips if you put scrap leather under them to keep from marking the good stuff. 

[jrny4wrd]

the nano suction sheets from Tandy work awesome for this. Yes, they cost a bit, but worth it if you are always using the same template. Also, You can probably by sheets of nano grip from the manufacturers if needed. Tandy item# 3497-00

[Danne]

50 minutes ago, jrny4wrd said:

the nano suction sheets from Tandy work awesome for this. Yes, they cost a bit, but worth it if you are always using the same template. Also, You can probably by sheets of nano grip from the manufacturers if needed. Tandy item# 3497-00

Thank you, but 1mm thick will not work for me with these kinds of templates. I need an edge closer to the leather to cut against. But that material can still be useful in other situations.

I do use Sookwang score tape now with good results.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Danne

[YinTx]

Temporary/reposition-able adhesive?  (aka post it note adhesive)

I think this may be a version...

https://www.amazon.com/Aleenes-Tack-Over-Liquid-Glue/dp/B00178QQ84/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=post+it+note+glue&qid=1677106715&rnid=2941120011&s=arts-crafts&sr=1-2

 

[Ornyal]

On 12/18/2022 at 8:46 PM, Danne said:

Some photos.

Hi Danne, I've read a few of your topics recently, and first of all I'd like to thank you for sharing so much of your work.

I am very fond of watchstrap making too, and I prefer padded straps (also I mostly get request for padded straps). 

So I would like to ask how you cut your straps, especially curved/not straight one (20-18mm, 18-16mm and such).

So far here is what I have tried :

• Pre-cutting every piece without keeping a trim allowance ---> Not great, especially on padded straps
• Pre-cutting the inner side, assembling with a comfortable trim allowance on the top side, and then cutting along the line of the inner side ---> actually what works best for me, but I think edges are still not perfect
• Keeping a trim allowance everywhere ---> that would give the cleanest edges but I find it rather hard to get clean cuts with the combo padding + curve

I should mention that I don't usually cut free-hand. I almost always use a metal ruler (I've stuck a few pieces of double-sided tape under it so it doesn't slip). But I admit that the ruler may not be the best option on curved watchstraps, it's just that I don't feel confident in getting perfect symmetry if I cut free-hand.

Any tip is welcome and if you have further question on how I proceed, please let me know (also don't mind my english, I'm not a native speaker so if I'm not understandable, feel free to let me know and I'll do my best to clarify).

[Frodo]

A site that sells art supplies and/ drafting supplies will have these

I use them to cut angles instead of free hand

 

[Ornyal]

Hi & thank your for your reply, just to clarify, I have no trouble getting a clean cut on the tip of the trap, I meant that on strap that are for instance 18/16, you loose 1mm on each side, so you have to cut at an angle, but it's a very small one (or big one, depends how you look a it). I usually cut with a ruler, but in this occasion it does get tricky.

[seabee]

Hi, I use Ruler Magic to hold templates and on back of rulers.

Howard

[CalgaryJim]

On 2/22/2023 at 4:07 PM, YinTx said:

Temporary/reposition-able adhesive?  (aka post it note adhesive)

I think this may be a version...

https://www.amazon.com/Aleenes-Tack-Over-Liquid-Glue/dp/B00178QQ84/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=post+it+note+glue&qid=1677106715&rnid=2941120011&s=arts-crafts&sr=1-2

 

Here's one of the negative reviews, with a lot of details:

"Abraham B

2.0 out of 5 stars Ruined fabric, failed to hold plastic to plastic, drying slowly--disappointed shopper

Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2018

Number of Items: 1Verified Purchase

We bought this to try out in our community theater--sticking fabric to plastic and plastic to plastic. Before I ordered, I called Aleene's using the CS number their rep shared in several of the questions posted here. The young woman who answered the phone was surprisingly curt. Maybe their CS center, which answers the line under another company and then tells you they handle Aleene's, too, is a large generic center. Anyway, I told the rep what I was looking for a glue for and she seemed disinterested in what I was saying. Desperate for a glue that would work, I still ordered the product.

It arrived today & we rushed over to the center to try it out. First, when wet it's a white Elmer-like glue. I thought it dried quickly. I was wrong. We left the glue to "dry" for over 3 hours, but it remained white and liquid. We tried using it as it is on pieces we want to stay together indefinitely. It "bled" though our fabrics, staining them but not holding pieces together. And it made our plastics sticky without holding plastic to plastic. As I write this, nearly 11:30PM, I'm still waiting for the glue to dry (turn clear...).

All in all, I'll continue looking for a better product. We don't have time to wait half a day or longer for this glue to solidify/dry. And it turned out to be as messy as the old-fashioned Elmer's glue we stopped using millennia ago. When I was in school and we put on a show, we used "liquid cement" that was thick but clear and gelled very quickly (under half an hour) into a stable matrix. I wish I could find that product here on Amazon. I guess we'll keep the Aleene's for paper-on-paper glue needs, but other than that, we're very disappointed in this product. We had such high hopes.

UPDATE NEXT MORNING

The glue STILL hasn't set. It's still white and liquid. It's puddled along the base of the set pieces we used it on, creating a sticky, ugly mess. We tried vegetable oil then 85% alcohol to get the mess off. Then we tried extra-strength detergent. We finally got rid of most of the white liquid mess, but now our set pieces are ruined--fabric and plastic. And our hands are, of course, sticky and messy. This product didn't work for us at all. The only things it stuck to was our hands and the outside of surfaces it slobbered down.

6 people found this helpful."