Concho Snaps

[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