Material To Use For Rein Rounder

[jwt]

I'm not happy with the rein rounders available for purchase and I'm in the process of designing my own.

I'd like to hear suggestions for a material to use (or avoid) for the body of the tool that will be contacting the leather.

I can use pretty much anything I'd like but I'm leaning towards one of the following:

Marble

Oak

Brass

Stainless steel

Thanks in advance for your advice.

jim

[dirtclod]

Steel all the way. Marble is to brittle. Brass is soft enough to nick up pretty easy. The grain is coarse in oak and wood just doesn't work very well. Or it didn't when i tried some cherry.

[shtoink]

I would argue that cherry is too soft to work. Oak or Walnut are hard enough, but the grain is too open and course to be work right. It would end up scratching or tearing the leather.

If you can locate some Cocobolo or Lignum Vitae board that is about 3/4" thick or so, it would be a good start. Those woods are very dense, hard, and strong. They will polish up very nicely and should be capable of taking the abuse you give it by forcing strips of leather through it.

[bruce johnson]

Another vote for steel although I did have an unmarked brass one that was pretty and looks to have held up surprisingly well. If you are making your own, the hinge is critical to not have any play in it.

[jwt]

Steel all the way. Marble is to brittle. Brass is soft enough to nick up pretty easy. The grain is coarse in oak and wood just doesn't work very well. Or it didn't when i tried some cherry.

I hadn't considered what effect the wood grain might have on the leather. Thanks for mentioning that.

[mlapaglia]

Also consider that Cocobolo has an oil that leaches out of the wood for a while. It can stain the leather. I had it happen when I laid a piece of cocobolo on top of a scrap of leather over night.

[shtoink]

I guess you just don't leave your leather hanging out of the rounder overnight.

All joking aside, it's good information to keep in mind, but as long as it isn't being left in there for extended periods of time it should present no problems for normal use.

[jwt]

Thanks again for the feedback.

I'm going to prototype it out of steel this weekend. It's easier for me to work with metal than wood so I'll stick with what I know -- plus I've got a bunch of bar stock lying around.

[Woodyrock]

I would use a free cutting stainless steel, or Monel. Vignam Vitae would cost more than the Monel, and it like the Coco bola is oily. My first one was made form a dense New Zealand wood that was not oily, and worked quite well. After boring the holes, I turned stock of a very dense wood to fit tight in each hole, and burnished the holes.

Woody

[Kulafarmer]

I would use a free cutting stainless steel, or Monel. Vignam Vitae would cost more than the Monel, and it like the Coco bola is oily. My first one was made form a dense New Zealand wood that was not oily, and worked quite well. After boring the holes, I turned stock of a very dense wood to fit tight in each hole, and burnished the holes.

Woody

I know this post is old but going to try anyway,,,,

When you made the wood rounder,

Two pieces of wood clamped together then drill the holes? And what sort of hinge arrangement?