Awl-Chisel-Dremel

[harley45]

I'm slowly tooling up for holster work and am curious what the preferred tool is for hole making? Any of the above none? What say you guys?

Thanks

[camano ridge]

What kind of hole do you want to make, what is the hole to be for? If it is stitching holes an awl blade. I have an awl blde chucked into a drill press (that is not plugged in) make it nice for punching a lot of stitch holes. If you have the dremel mounted like a drill predd it will work the same. Some people drill there holes, I don't. That is another discussion, you can do a search and find some threads with discussions about drilling or not drilling. For round holes round punches for belt holes oblong punch or round punch hole at each end of the slot and connect the holed with a wood chisel.

Edited July 23, 2013 by camano ridge

[Dwight]

Tippmann Boss, . . . as I tell my students, . . . hands are for hamburgers, . . . machines are for stitching.

BUT, . . . in the rare exceptions where I cannot complain, cry, bellyache, or grunt loud enough to get out of it, . . . awl, . . . (no pun intended) . . . always.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Matt S]

Layout with a pricking iron then use a proper harness awl. Sharpen the all until you reckon it'll pierce your thumb before you realise... Then sharpen some more. Oh and practice. Then practice some more.

[Jeff L]

That awl is a great tool if you like bloody fingers... For hand stitching I lay out with the "pricking irons" aka chisels then drill with a Dremel... Hopefully I won't be doing much of that anymore because my Tippmann Boss arrived yesterday!!! It's all set up and seems to be working great... After a few hours or so of tighten this, pull that and twist this... Thank goodness I have a wife that can look at a stitch and tell what needs to be adjusted...

[jbossartcustomgunleather]

For years I have use a dremel in a drill press. My holes are just large enough to accomodate my needles with out drag. I do this because I have two torn rotator cuffs, along with carpal tunnel and chronic back pain, I just can't handle strenuous sewing. Forunately I picked up my first sewing machine today, smooth running and beautiful stitches- goodbye dremel!

[harley45]

I'm interested in the dremel method as I have hand issues also, care to share more info?

[jbossartcustomgunleather]

^{I use a black and decker with a knock off press rig, and a set of dremel brand bits and collets, but you can buy dremel brand in both, Make sure your dremel has the threaded end for attaching to the press. I use maine thread company waxed polycord in the smallest size, and very small blunt needles(I have used tapestry needles from the local walmart and stoned the tips in the past, lol) This process works for flat work, I cement my holster halves, sand the edges, do the lay out work, and drill. Then re tool the stich lines with the overstitch wheel and sew. I use as amall of a drill bit as possible that will still allow the needle and thread to pass through with little resistance. You can experiment with different hole/needle sizes to find a comfortable setup. I've done this for years with excellent results. Hope this helps}

[Fowlingpiece]

I am a traditionalist so everything is pricked and the stitching awl is used.

[harley45]

Thanks guys great info!

[workingmanleather]

I've been using the tool from Tandy that punches 6 holes at a time I have a single punch for corners is this the same thing you all are using? I simply lay out my lines then punch with the chisel accordingly.

[Steve75]

I use the stitching groover, over stitch wheel and awl.

[grumpyold]

I realize this is an older subject. There are various subjects on the site about drilling for stitching holes. I saddle stitch my projects, would love to have a sewing machine but can't justify the cost for the amount of work I do. I looked for different methods to get a nicer look to my stitching and also to move the process along a bit quicker. I tried drilling and as stated in lots of posts the results were not the best.. So here is what I've come up with and it works for me. I'll admit up front this is a combination of others techniques with tweaks I've come up with. I'll save time and space as to laying out, stitching groove, etc., and get to the drilling part. I'm using Maine Thread and like to use the heavier weights. I like the stitching work to stand out.
Once I run the stitching wheel in the groove I head to my drill press. I do not use a drill bit instead I have a tray of finishing nails in various sizes with the heads cut off. If I decide to use .035" thread I sort through the nails and using a caliper find one that's close to that size or slightly larger, knowing that when doing the saddle stitch I'm going to have double the thread passing through each hole. Once I have chucked the nail in the press I take some fine sand paper and with the drill press running at low speed run the paper, cut in a strip, and polish up the nail then stop the drill and wipe the nail with acetone.
With a backer of hard wood, at low speed, I use the nail to drill all my holes. Unlike a drill bit there is no grabbing and pulling and no bits of leather being pulled out, just nice clean holes. I tried just pressing the holes through without the drill running but I get the same results with it running and less effort. Once I get all my holes in it's back to the stitching horse and awl.
I've set up my stitching awl by punching holes in card stock to get the correct orientation and then sanding a flat on the handle for my thumb position.
The end result is the awl passes through the leather with little effort, and dead straight. It took a little practise to arrive at how far to pass the awl through so that when making the stitches the holes are still tight enough to require a firm push of the saddle needles, the first couple holes is all it takes. I can now stitch a holster in half the time, no sore hands, and no off line holes. I don't have loose holes they all close nice and tight around the thread.

[dikman]

Being new to all this leatherworking stuff, I have an advantage in not knowing the "right" way to do things . My method is to run a groover to locate the stitch line and then I use an old Singer 201 to punch the stitching holes along the groove. The Singer is a hand-cranked domestic model, and while the needles and bobbin can't handle the heavier thread used for leatherwork, it makes a neat job of punching the holes, with even spacing and nice and straight. I then use an awl to widen the hole and proceed to saddle stitch.

A bit tedious, maybe, but it works for me.

[SgtGing]

I use a scratch awl blade pulled from its handle and chucked into my drill press. Unlike a drill bit, the awl blade does not remove any materiel, only moves it aside. I turn the press on to keep the awl from sticking in the leather on the upswing.

[Blackey Cole]

Personally, I use a spacing wheel to mark the holes if it's not marked on the template, then I'll take the appropriate awl for the spacing and cut the holes. Then I glue everything together and start sewing it using a hand awl as needed. Now around the welt of a holster I'll use a dermal tool with a 1/16" twist drill to open the hole up.so the needles will fit through the leather creating the stitch.

If you do allot of leather work you'll figure out what works best for you and what doesn't work. If I get back into it much more I'll pick up a boss stitcher even though I hate chain stitches. My hand just will not take the hand sewing anymore.