redeye00 Report post Posted July 22, 2011 (edited) Hi All! I am very new to the leather craft work. I make custom knives and want to make a belt loop, 2"X75", (1/8" thick) for the use of running it on my knife grinder. It will be used for final honing of the blade to ultimate sharpness. My question involves how to taper the ends 1 1/2" back from the tips to make a seamless lap joint that would be glued together. How can the tapering be done? Sandpaper is the only thing that comes to my mind. What are your recommendations for the tapering method and what kind of glue would be best?? Your reply would be especially appreciated... Additional info: belt travel will be 1700 rpm. It will be subjected to only mild heat. Thank you ~ Norman Edited July 22, 2011 by redeye00 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TwinOaks Report post Posted July 22, 2011 As far as tapering the leather, measure a distance from the end on the flesh side, and carry the mark around the side. Turn the leather on the side and mark a diagonal from the line at the top to the bottom corner. That's your skiving line. Now, take a razor, lay the leather on a cutting surface, and slice off what you don't want. If you have a long enough knife, you can lay the two ends side by side (don't forget to flip one of them) and make your cut that way. Sand if needed, apply contact cement per directions and stick it together. I'd highly recommend adding some stitches to the joint as well. An alternative that may work better is to cut a disk of leather an put on a sanding disk attachment. One of our members reports that as being very effective, as well as easy to do. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
amuckart Report post Posted July 22, 2011 Hi Norman, My question involves how to taper the ends 1 1/2" back from the tips to make a seamless lap joint that would be glued together. How can the tapering be done? Simple: practice If you're used to shaping things on a grinder, but you don't do a lot of this kind of leatherwork, you could do worse than to rubber cement the leather to a rigid backing and grind the taper on then clean the glue off with rubber cement cleaner. The traditional way, as the previous reply says, is to make a skiving cut with a long, thin, very very sharp knife. Either way you go, get a strap and practice to find out what works best for you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
