Oblong Belt Holes

[Chimel]

I've got 2 Carhartt and Dockers belts that have oblong holes and the shape looks much better and professional than round or oval holes, so I'd like to replicate it. However the only oblong punches I can find are those for the belt tongue, not the holes.

I see 2 different sizes of onlong holes, approximately:

L7/32" - W1/8" (5.5mm x 3.3mm)

L9/32" - W1/8+" (7mm x 3.5mm)

Do such tools exist? Round holes suck because they are not adapted to the angle of the metal tongue, and oval holes too because the tongue does not rest in the middle of the hole but at both ends, so oblong seems perfect.

Punching 2 round holes and cutting between them would be very awkward and bad looking since the holes overlap. I also noticed that the holes look bigger from the upper side of the belt compared to the sharp underside, like the holes on the overside have been finished by some stamp after being punched. Do the belt makers here also reproduce this effect?

It looks like there's a lot of complex things going on to make a real professional looking belt, not even mentioning the double or triple stitch along the sides... I guess it requires making your own custom tools.

[Chief31794]

Tandy sells a set of Oval Punches that cover all the sizes you need, I use them on belts and love em. Make sure you line them up straight, it will show.

This is the link to Tandy's product. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/3005-00.aspx

Chief

[dirtclod]

You can get a 1/4 bag punch Osborn from Ohio Travel bag. I think it's 40.00. Chief is right if their not perfectly straight they look really bad. I would make a cardboard pattern to lay them out with.

[Chimel]

Yep, I have checked out the Osborne and Tandy punches, I already had a few of their round ones, but they don't have oblong ones that length, only oval ones which wouldn't match. I haven't tried those yet, but I realize now they should work great too, at least for rounded buckle tongues.

I just wanted to know if there were any oblong ones, i.e. with a straight line on each side of the length between the two rounded ends, not an oval shape. I searched other leather tool distributors but couldn't find any, which seemed strange to me since oblong seems to be a common shape in commercial belts.Maybe it's a recent way for the brands to distinguish themselves from the competition.

Thanks anyway, Chief!

[Chimel]

The Osborne #151 bag punch does not match either, their length is way too long compared to the width and does not suit a belt hole.

And when will these guys start using millimeters instead of 3/32, 7/64, 1/8 that don't even follow the same divider, making it harder to read and compare? ^-^

The Osborne punches look gorgeous and very durable though.

Edited December 29, 2012 by Chimel

[NVLeatherWorx]

Being as the oblong holes are not actually that long, you could just punch two round holes next to each other, just overlap them so that you get the oblong look.

[Northmount]

Or are you really looking for rectangular holes? I've seen them on some designer belts somewhere, where the buckle tang is wide and flat. I did a Google search and found some rectangular punches for watch straps, but that is small!

There is a thread posted here, again about watch straps, but with some ideas. Also a link to a 2 x 4 mm pliers type punch in post number 8.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=30979

Tom

[tnawrot2]

Here is a link to Osborne oval punches. Some are within 1/32" from your measurements.

http://www.csosborne.com/no158.htm