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Fafnir77

Precison cutting

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Hello, I am both new to the forum and fairly new to leatherworking. I just got back from a trip to a local Tandy Leather Factory with some leather scraps and some tools. Right now I am trying to cut a hole about the size of a quarter in leather that is thicker than my belt. But its really thick, and the utility knife I am using just wont cut a neat enough hole. I was thinking of getting one of those drill bit attachments, the kind that lets you cut a round hole in wood, or something similar. But I would appreciate any advice, Thank you.

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Do they make punches that big? about an inch in diamater?

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Osbourn tools makes an ARC PUNCH, THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED.or if you are handy with a few tools you can make one from a SS pipe or i have did it with a galvanize water pipe before.

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I have a punch on my bench that cuts 1-3/8" discs. I have no idea where I got it and it only says "Made in USA on it. I will do some research and see if I can find out where I got it. Probably a yard sale, I love finding tools at them!

Backedit: While I didn't get mine on Amazon I did find them there. They are called Arch or Arc Punches and here is a link to them on Amazon. I think mine is a General. They have Osbornes, Generals and imports. My own opinion is stick to known makers on this. They aren't cheap and you want quality in your cutting steel. Just do your best to strop and smooth out the inside and cutting edge if you get one and use a heavy maul.

Edited by TTcustom

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Agree with the other posters. I tried the drill method using one of those things all I did was make a mess. Leather is suprisingly hard to drill thru with a round drill like that.

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I am less experienced than most here, but accustomed to making do without too many tools.

If your goal is the hole (not the piece you'd cut out of it) have you considered using a smaller hole punch, overlapping them around the line drawn for the hole? If you do this carefully (I'd prefer a single punch done with a hammer as opposed to a hole punch tool you squeeze in your hands), you can probably get a pretty nice line and you could use a small sharp craft knife to even it out a bit if needed.

Edge beveling and burnishing also seems to hide a bit of unevenness at the edges if done carefully.

Just a thought that might not cost as much as special-purpose tools...

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