Cutting Belt Holes In Holster

[hestes]

I'm new to leather working, but I'm pretty happy with everything I've learned (mostly from here) in a short amount of time. My holsters are looking better and better, except for one thing. I can't figure out how in the heck to cut a clean belt loop hole. I've tried an oblong punch (which I can't get to punch through the two layers of leather without feeling like I'm just beating the thing to death), I've tried a chisel, I tried an exacto knife.......I'm just about at my whits end with this last detail. So I thought I would pick the brains of the experts here....how do you all cut your belt loop holes for holsters and/or mag pouches and make them look nice and professional? I know there has got to be something I'm missing here.

Thanks!

[Dwight]

Well, . . . ya gotta promise not to throw something at me.

I use a mallet and an oblong punch, . . . or a round punch.

I first lay my template down and mark the back side of my holes on the top of the belt.

Then I lay the belt on a piece of scrap 7 oz leather, on top of my big marble slab, pick up my mallet, and "WHACK", . . . I've got a hole.

I start at the hole farthest away from the tip of the belt, . . . center my punch in the middle of the belt, . . . and seriously, I just whack it. Now my bench does not move, . . . it is solid, . . . and the marble slab makes sure there is no movement. And most of the time I am going through two layers of 7/8 oz leather that has been cemented together, sewn, dyed, and Resolened.

I use the cheap kit with screw on nose pieces for my punches, . . . I have both sizes that Tandy sells, . . .

Some people also wet their leather before punching, . . . I don't, . . . but you might try that.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited May 7, 2013 by Dwight

[hestes]

Well, . . . ya gotta promise not to throw something at me.

I use a mallet and an oblong punch, . . . or a round punch.

I first lay my template down and mark the back side of my holes on the top of the belt.

Then I lay the belt on a piece of scrap 7 oz leather, on top of my big marble slab, pick up my mallet, and "WHACK", . . . I've got a hole.

I start at the hole farthest away from the tip of the belt, . . . center my punch in the middle of the belt, . . . and seriously, I just whack it. Now my bench does not move, . . . it is solid, . . . and the marble slab makes sure there is no movement. And most of the time I am going through two layers of 7/8 oz leather that has been cemented together, sewn, dyed, and Resolened.

I use the cheap kit with screw on nose pieces for my punches, . . . I have both sizes that Tandy sells, . . .

Some people also wet their leather before punching, . . . I don't, . . . but you might try that.

May God bless,

Dwight

Thanks, Dwight. What kind of mallet are you using? I have the little poly mallet that came with my starter kit. I'm wondering if that is part of my problem...I put the holster on top of a piece of scrap on my marble slab, but it doesn't punch through easily. My bench does move just a little. It is not as solid as I would like.

Thanks for your input!

[Dwight]

Tandy sells two sizes, . . . I got the bigger one, . . . the little one is of no use to my work.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Jaymack]

It will help if you post a picture.

I use a round punch and a sharp wood craft chisel for holster belt slots. It could also be that you aren't using a sturdy enough hammering surface. I traded some leatherwork for a 4" thick Marble tombstone mistake. This is what I use to punch holes and end cuts on.

Edited May 7, 2013 by Jaymack

[camano ridge]

I do like Jaymack for cutting Belt loop slots. You need a very solid work surface with little bounce. I put a poly board between my work and the work surface. Locate and measure where the slot is to go. I take an appropriate round size round punch and punch a hole at each end of where the slot will go. I then use an appropriate size wood chisel to connect the two holes. If its an 1 1/2" slot a 1 1/4" wood chisel should work to connect the holes. Positioning the chisel will take a little practice. It usually gives me a pretty good looking ssmooth slot.

[hestes]

Thank you all for the replies! I will figure out somewhere else to try the punch method that won't move and see how that goes.

Thanks again! This forum has been extremely helpful!

[IngleGunLeather]

I use a dead blow hammer from Sears and an oblong punch for belt slots and an oval punch for the buckle tongue holes. From top to bottom here's my pounding stack:

Project to be smacked

Scrap leather

Poly cutting board

Marble slab

Rubber mat

Note: the dead blow hammer is way better for punching in my opinion.

[dirtclod]

The mallet you have isn't heavy enough to work very well as you have found out. I would get a 20 or 22 ounce maul.

[chiefjason]

I'll second a dead blow hammer. I have one that came with a flooring installation kit. All of my punching is done with a deadblow. About 5-6 good hits and I'm through 2 layers of 8-9, 2 hits and I'm through a single layer of 9-10. That poly hammer just is not solid enough IMO. And a heavy hammer will bounce. A dead blow hammer will not bounce.

I do a lot of my work in the garage and have resorted to using the concrete floor as my hammering surface. I just lay my cutting board on the floor. I also put a layer of thin cardboard under the holster, otherwise the force may transfer the grain of the cutting board to the leather. Although, recently I have been using a 4x4 scrap and laying a section of cutting board on it. That puts me in a chair instead of kneeling on the ground. Much more comfortable. I may buy a 12' 4x4 and make a pedestal out of several of the cut pieces for punching holes.

My current, and most successful, method for belt slots is to punch a hole on each end and use my round knife to connect the holes. I can control it better than a pull blade. I lay a point in one hole and rock the knife forward towards the other hole. I'll rock it back and forth a couple of times on each side to cut deeper. Then turn the holster upside down and repeat from the other end. I'll finish up by carefully running the knife through from one end to the other.

[renegadelizard]

If you have a local machine shop, see if they will make you a custom press die...i use mine with a 1 ton arbor press from harbor frieght..its quick, easy and very clean...it takes me about 30 seconds to cut both slots in a holster..

[mmn]

A Forstner bit in a drill press cuts a very clean hole in leather.

Regards

Michael

[hestes]

Wow, thank you all for the suggestions! Now I have a few other things to try! Your suggestions have all been very helpful.

[buzzkiller]

This will probably make me sound silly but touching on what was mentioned earlier about the hammering surface, be sure the section of table you are using is very solid. I typically use 8-9 oz scraps over granite. Early on when I had extremely limited resources (now I just have very limited resources) I had padding beneath the granite as not to scratch the tabletop I was having to use. I was using the hammer, hammer, curse, hammer, curse even more method. I moved my granite/ 8-9 ounce leather set up to a true work bench and hammering over a section where the leg was directly beneath the work, slots became so much easier to make. Looking back, I believe the padding beneath the granite and the flimsy area of the table I was striking absorbed too much force which also lead to the tool walking on me a bit. Like Dirtclod and Jason mentioned, a dead blow hammer http://www.harborfreight.com/2-lb-neon-orange-dead-blow-hammer-41797.html, http://www.harborfreight.com/2-1-2-half-lb-neon-orange-dead-blow-hammer-41798.html makes a world of difference. As elementary as it may sound, make sure your punch is sharp. I hear rumor of an overzealous young man (actually not so young) driving his punch through a project, a leather scrap and into a piece of granite and dulling his punch and chipping his granite... just a rumor mind you. For another example, if you go to Particle (Eric's) video on holster making around the 3:13 time frame he shows how he makes belt slots

. Sorry for this jumble of words but windows 8 wont allow me to hit enter to make a new paragraph on this forum.

[mncarpenter]

I use a slot die from Texas Custom Dies,1 5/8" x 5/16, and an arbor press like renegadelizard- put a little saddle soap on the die, slides right through

[steelhawk]

I have a similar sized punch from Texas Custom Dies. I currently use a 16 oz hammer but I really need a dead blow mallet.

I'll have to try the saddle soap and see how it works. I tried the chisel and hole method but could never get good slots that way.

[malabar]

I always cut my slots when the leather is wet, right before I mold the shape of the gun. The wet leather is easier to cut, and the outside of the slot gets a nice convex edge that looks more finished.

I really like the idea of cutting them in a press, but haven't tried that yet.

tk

Edited May 15, 2013 by malabar