Concho Snaps

[Bob Blea]

Hello,

I am using conchos snaps on a notebook for the first time. I am using a screw back concho that is attached to the female part of the snap. After installing, there is a big gap between the strap with the concho and the notebook. I'm wondering if I did something wrong, or used the wrong hardware? It just seems like there shouldn't be such a big gap between the strap and the notebook.

The pictures aren't the best but hopefully they show the problem clearly enough. I would appreciate any feedback.

Bob

[LNLeather]

HI Bob

I saw your post and was looking at my wallet snap. I was wondering... do

you think there is a chance that you got your snap parts in backwards and or upside down?

Do you have anything else there with snaps that you can look at? I haven't set any snaps

yet, although I have some and I have always wondered how to tell which parts go where...

I guess it is just like anything else that comes with practice.

here's a picture of my wallet snap. Hope it helps

By the Way - Nice Notebook!

I love your work!

Edited March 10, 2013 by LNLeather

[Tree Reaper]

Hi Bob;

Can you punch a larger hole for the stud to go through the leather, eliminate the washer.

Kevin

Edited March 10, 2013 by Tree Reaper

[Bob Blea]

Thanks Cheryl and Kevin, at least I can tell now I'm on the right track. Thanks for the pictures. Cheryl, thanks to your pic I can see I definitely have the right hardware in the right places, and thanks for the compliment.

Kevin, thanks for your pic and suggestion too. I'd like to eliminate the washer but the screw for the concho is bottoming out before the concho is tight. It's just a 4mm screw and I just measured the hole in the concho and it should be the right length, but it's just not tapped very well. Guess I'm going to the hardware store this morning to either get a 2mm long screw or I'm getting the tool to tap threads in the concho. I tested another concho and was even worse, so I think I just need to get the tool.

Thanks both for your help!

Bob

[Tree Reaper]

That concho in my photo has a 4mm screw and I can bury it into the concho right up to the screw head.

[Bob Blea]

I wish mine would do that, but I can't quite drive it that far on any of the conches I have. I ended up putting a very thin nylon washer I had lying around between the screw and the snap. It makes the concho and the snap fit tightly enough that it doesn't feel loose, and it doesn't interfere with the action of the snap. However, next time I'm using thicker leather for the strap!!!! I might even just remake this one with something thicker. I still don't quite like the way the snap sits.

Bob

[LNLeather]

Hmmm, this is interesting..... I need to make some notebooks and I will definitely

be sure to practice before I try to finish the concho/snaps... I hate to waste hardware

practicing but I am afraid that I would just mess up the finished leather. I might

just put the concho on the top and have the closure similar to this

[Bob Blea]

Yea, I thought this would be more straight forward than this. But I won't end up wasting anything except the small leather strap, which I can probably save and use somewhere else. But now I know I need more than a 4 oz. piece of leather for the strap.

Bob

[Tree Reaper]

Bob, have you thought about using a small self tapping screw ?

[billymac814]

I've had to grind down the post on occasions when the screw bottomed out, you may have to do the screw too. That should eliminate the washer anyway.

[Bob Blea]

I thought about grinding the screw down a bit, but figured I would mess up the threads. I don't have a metric nut to clean them back up, but might try getting one today. I tried getting a tool to tap M4 metric threads but the only one I found had a pointed tip, so unless I drilled the center hole deeper (which would risk destroying the concho) it wouldn't be able to cut the threads any deeper than they are. The nylon washer works, but it does make the snap a bit looser. So far that's OK because the snap was very hard to work the way it was.

I'm still going to look for a tool to tap these all the way to the bottom. I checked a few of the other conchos and I could only get about half of the screw into them. So, it's a common problem with these.

Bob

[billymac814]

I've never needed to use a tap or a but to clean off the threads, I do it all the time with Chicago screws too that are too deep, just be carefull how you do it and it should be fine, especially for a permanant mounted one. I also put a bit of locktite in there too.

[Bob Blea]

I was just talking with someone at work about tapping this out. He used to work in a machine shop and apparently they would grind to pointy tips on their tapping tools flat for just this sort of situation. He recommended getting a tap from Harbor Freight and trying to grind the tip off so it could reach the bottom of the hole. I just need to be careful because even the Harbor Freight tool will be made from hardened steel and if I'm not careful I might break it.

It still would be easier to just make a thicker strap, but I'm kind of into the challenge of fixing the concho now. Thanks all for the help!

Bob

[Tree Reaper]

Bob;

Make sure of the thread.

The screws I have are 4mm long but 8/32 tpi.

Kevin.

[Bob Blea]

So I've been meaning to follow up on this and post the solution I eventually came to. It was a much more elegant solution that trying to tap out the hole in the concho. I realized that part of why this didn't look good was because the snap itself had a small ridge on the back that make it look like it was standing away from the leather. Add that to the overall height of the snap and it really stands out and makes the strap stay well away from the notebook. My solution was to use two layers of leather for the strap. The inner one is about the thickness of the body of the snap and I punched a large enough hole so the snap could fit down in it. I also used a thicker piece of leather for the outer strap so the screw would sit properly. The first picture shows all the parts and the other show the assembled product. I haven't glued the strap together yet, I was just test fitting everything.

Thanks again for your help.

[LNLeather]

Thank You so much Bob, for posting your fix for the problem. I am sure it will help many others

that are going to try using the concho snap adapters. I know it is going to help me!

(it is funny - writing this - the leatherworker.net spell check is saying that the spelling of concho is wrong... heheheh )

Edited March 27, 2013 by LNLeather