Punching Holes With Weak Hands

[AriasByMoonlight]

I have been making leather dog collars for a while now. I am small and have fairly weak hands. I started out with a basic rotary hole punch that I got at a local craft store, but I had trouble getting it to punch through the leather straps. I bought a Herm Sprenger leather punch and for about three weeks it worked great, but when I went to use it last I noticed that the punches don't line up anymore and the alignment has gotten so bad by the end of working on my collars it would no longer punch because the alignment is so far off. I am a college student, so my budget is fairly limited. I am looking for something $100 or less that will cut clean holes in leather and that my hands will be able to manage. I was considering something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Eurotool-EuroPower-Punch-Round-Pliers/dp/B003Y8R38W/ref=sr_1_14?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1361679630&sr=1-14&keywords=hole+punch

But I didn't know how it would do punching through leather. Any advice? Help!

[Catchndreams]

Buy a table top drill press, a Tandy hole punch set that you can change the size. The kind you use a mallet with. Chuck it in the drill press. Put a white cutting board under it and adjust the dept just enough to punch throught the leather. Turn your press on. Works great.

[electrathon]

The metal punch will not work properly on leather.

If you bent the compound leverage punch you were squeezing too hard.

Aaron

[AriasByMoonlight]

Buy a table top drill press, a Tandy hole punch set that you can change the size. The kind you use a mallet with. Chuck it in the drill press. Put a white cutting board under it and adjust the dept just enough to punch throught the leather. Turn your press on. Works great.

Do you mean something like this?

http://www.amazon.com/EuroTool-Benchtop-Drill-Press/dp/B0058ECQX2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1361684679&sr=8-2&keywords=tabletop+drill+press

I don't know a whole lot about tools. I do have the tandy leather punch kit already, so just have to find a drill press!

[J Hayes]

Maybe this

http://www.harborfreight.com/5-speed-bench-drill-press-60238.html

And add this http://www.harborfreight.com/drill-press-extension-table-with-fence-96395.html

With the fence set properly all your holes will be centered.

That or just get a good rawhide hammer to strike your Tandy punch, or HF has a 4 pound brass hammer that'd probably work real well.

I have an old table top drill press I plan on setting up with a fence for holes and spot setting

Jeremy

[WyomingSlick]

The plain simple fact is that the sharper your punch is; the easier it is to punch with. Like any tool you buy - you should not assume it came from the factory as sharp as it could be. It also helps to periodically punch into some beeswax which not only eases the punching, but makes it easier for the plugs left in your punch to come out. In Al Stohlman's book of leather tools, he suggests resting the revolving punch on the work bench, and just pressing down on the top handle so you can apply more downward force.

[benlilly1]

I can't use the rotary punch either. Hurts my hands and it doesn't want to punch through thicker leather. So I use the mallet and a single punch. I could do that all day! I haven't tried the drill press yet...probably a lot easier and more accurate.

[TwinOaks]

Slick has hit the biggest point here: you need sharp tools to cut things. Look at picking up a few regular hole punches in the sizes you use most. The interchangeable tip punhes are really only suited to punching through really thin leather or vinyl. Look at the end of the punch, and you'll see a very pronounced shoulder to the cutting edge. That shoulder is actually preventing the ounch from getting through the leather. If you grind/ sand that down, you'll have a much easier time. Or....just get an actual hole punch in the correct size, it's a very obvious difference.

Here's a pic comparing the two...same size hole:

Once you have your hole punches with some proper angles, you'll still need to sharpen it. There's some videos on youtube that demo it very well.

Alright...punches addressed. Cutting surface: you need to have a soft surface to protect the punch's edge, and under that you need something with significant mass. The mass under your cutting surface can be as simple as some heavy lumber, a sturdy table, or a block of rock. My set up is a 'poundo' board on top of my granite slab. When I tool, I just flip them to put the padding under the rock.

So....what should you hit it with? As much hammer or mallet/maul as you can comfortably use. It's okay to hit it more than once....and that's where the mass under the cutting board come into play. The more mass you have, the more the tool will cut because the energy from the mallet/hammer isn't enough to move it. That means all of the energy is going to be used in driving the punch through the leather.

If you try to punch holes on something flimsy like a card table, you'll notice a lot of bounce, and te hole may not be struck through.

[Matt S]

Are you stitching with thread or lace? Thread holes shouldn't be punched, despite what Tandy might say. You need a diamond awl. Layout with a pricking iron will help but is not essential.

[AriasByMoonlight]

No, I don't do any stitching or anything like that- just punching holes for the buckles and to put rivets or conchos through. I think I will have to try the drill press- might talk to my dad and see if he has one I can try before I purchase one. I appreciate all the advice!