Inlay Technique

[renegadelizard]

So i spent all afternoon working on my inlay technique...trying to get the pillowed/embossed effect right....i got there, but i think i cut my pillow pieces a bit to small as the embossing wasnt quite as dramatic as i wanted...its okay though...i did all of this on a bracelet, thinking that it was scrap leather to begin with, and if it worked out okay, my little girl would love it...well, after it was all finished up and i tried to snap it closed, it snapped together and them right back open...i switched snaps...same thing happened....i tried playing with the bigger snaps, and they popped right open too..im madly in hate right now with line 20/24 snaps....is this normal or is there a trick to setting these and making them actually work?...are there better alternatives besides the incredibly expensive pull the dot snaps?

Edited September 8, 2012 by renegadelizard

[Chief31794]

I've never had Line 20 or 24 snaps fail, I set them with a hand press and they work pretty well. How are you setting them?

Chief

[renegadelizard]

Im using the little anvil and the setter...it this one ...

I've never had Line 20 or 24 snaps fail, I set them with a hand press and they work pretty well. How are you setting them?

Chief

[IngleGunLeather]

can you show us a pic of the male and female side? maybe the stems are too long not allowing a good seat?

[renegadelizard]

its seating all the way...the problem is that the male ends only have a very slight lip on them...just a very slight bulge...

can you show us a pic of the male and female side? maybe the stems are too long not allowing a good seat?

[IngleGunLeather]

its seating all the way...the problem is that the male ends only have a very slight lip on them...just a very slight bulge...

Hmm. Not sure then. I usually use Tandy ones and haven't had problems other than the stems usually being too long for me. I picked up some shorter stems at Micheals the other day for a couple bucks. They've worked well in the past too. Maybe try another brand or another setter?

[Northmount]

That is fairly thick leather. The stem should protrude about 3 mm above the leather. Too short, not enough to flare/bead over to hold, too long and they tend to collapse crooked instead of beading over nicely.

CTG

[chiefjason]

I made a couple of tuckable loops for a holster with line 24's. The guy I gave a set too loves them. I can't keep mine snapped. But the two snap on holster I have made worked great. I ordered some pull the dot insides planning to use my black outer pieces and they won't work with each other. I'm a little annoyed with snaps currently as well.

[steelhawk]

I use the Tandy snaps. They have a 5/16 inch post. I also use a setter with a deep hole and tap on the post first after I put the snap into the strap. This pushes the leather down onto the snap. Then I use the regular line 24 setting tool to attach the two pieces together.

I got some other line 24 snaps and didn't like them a bit. I don't know the brand. I got it online.

[Lobo]

Not all snaps are created equal. In addition to different shaft lengths snaps are made with differing "actions". There are "soft-action" , "standard-action", and "hard-action" snaps, refering to the relative holding power of the snap when fastened. The differences are accomplished by the use of different annular (ring-shaped) springs inside the snap cap that secure to the snap stud when fastened. Differences in snap materials can also produce different results (brass, steel, stainless steel, plated, anodized finishes, etc). Finally, the differences between various manufacturers can be considerable.

In my experience the products of Durable Dot and Fasnap have been of very good quality and consistency. The snaps usually found in the hobby shops and leather supply stores are most likely imported products and quality may vary considerably.

The hobby shop snaps are available in small quantities, typically 10 or 12 sets to a bag, at around $5.00 or so per dozen (about 40 to 50 cents per set). Much better snaps are available, but usually require larger volume purchases (100 or 1000 sets), but the overall cost per set will actually be lower than what you might pay in the hobby shops. You can probably find on-line retailers selling the better name brand products in smaller quantities, but prices will reflect the expenses of breaking down bulk orders into smaller units for retail sale (someone has to count them out, or weigh them, and repackage, etc).

[renegadelizard]

Not all snaps are created equal. In addition to different shaft lengths snaps are made with differing "actions". There are "soft-action" , "standard-action", and "hard-action" snaps, refering to the relative holding power of the snap when fastened. The differences are accomplished by the use of different annular (ring-shaped) springs inside the snap cap that secure to the snap stud when fastened. Differences in snap materials can also produce different results (brass, steel, stainless steel, plated, anodized finishes, etc). Finally, the differences between various manufacturers can be considerable.

In my experience the products of Durable Dot and Fasnap have been of very good quality and consistency. The snaps usually found in the hobby shops and leather supply stores are most likely imported products and quality may vary considerably.

The hobby shop snaps are available in small quantities, typically 10 or 12 sets to a bag, at around $5.00 or so per dozen (about 40 to 50 cents per set). Much better snaps are available, but usually require larger volume purchases (100 or 1000 sets), but the overall cost per set will actually be lower than what you might pay in the hobby shops. You can probably find on-line retailers selling the better name brand products in smaller quantities, but prices will reflect the expenses of breaking down bulk orders into smaller units for retail sale (someone has to count them out, or weigh them, and repackage, etc).

I must have got the soft action snaps...i think im going to try to stop using snap altogether...if i can get by with chicago screws and/or post, then i think ill go that direction..if a customer absolutely has to have snaps, ill go with the pull the dot...thanks for the input...