balsammountainleather Report post Posted February 18, 2014 (edited) So I've been making these wallets for a little while now, and have a question about my process. I glue all the card slots onto the liner and assemble the entire thing before gluing it to the outer shell. This means that I end punching the stitching holes last ( I use Tandy's 4 prong Craftool punch). This seems to work fine, but occasionally, the force needed to punch through multiple layers of 3oz inner plus the 4/5 oz outer shell seems to be too much. I have to wiggle the punch out and sometimes the holes just seem to big after the stiching is done because I had to whack the punch so hard to get through the layers.. This picture shows what I'm talking about: So my question is: Should I be punching the holes for each piece individually, THEN gluing them together? This seems like it would result in cleaner stitching, the only problem being that the holes never seem to line up. I've tried it before where punch the holes for the outer shell, then punch the holes for the inner, and try to line them up when gluing together but I always end up having the needles going through at crazy angles and had a tough time with that. The attached picture shows what I'm talking about, (taken from Corter Leather) I just wonder how the heck all of the holes stay lined up, as cutting out pieces by hand always seems to ensure slight variances in dimensions. Thanks for taking the time to read this! Edited February 18, 2014 by balsammountainleather Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Chee Report post Posted February 18, 2014 Are the pieces from corter hand cut and punched or are they clicked from a die? If from a die then that's your answer. Of hand cut then he's just really good at cutting straight. Btw, from what I understand, pricking irons are meant to mark the stitch locations. The awl actuall does the punching through. At least traditionally that's how I've seen it done. Andrew Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
balsammountainleather Report post Posted February 18, 2014 Looking through his photos.. it seems as though he uses a die for his most recent work. I remember seeing an older photo of his that still showed pre-punched holes like this though, which is why I still questioned my methods even though I knew he was using a die currently. And you're right, I suppose I technically should be using an awl and have thought about it. I guess I justified using the pricking iron after going on a youtube binge, watching videos of Japanese makers using them on high end work; and I also like the convenience of being able to do 4 holes at once. If it cleans up my work though, I'm definitely willing to just switch and learn to get good at using the awl. Thanks for the reply! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northmount Report post Posted February 18, 2014 Take a look at how Nigel does the He has more videos as well.Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pete Report post Posted February 18, 2014 Those are laser cut Pete Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electrathon Report post Posted February 18, 2014 My opinions are: You are using too thick of leather, Thin at least 1 oz from both the inside and the outside. If you do not want to thin it, then you need to skive the edges. If you really want them that thick, I would punch through the main outer layers first, then glue it up, then finish your punch holes. Sometimes wax or saddle soap on the punch helps, poke it in the bar every time you punch new holes. Polish out your prongs on the punch, it will help it slide. Using your punch to punch holes works fine as long as you can get it in and back out. They did not do it that way long ago, but that does not mean it is wrong to learn a new or better way than it used to be done. Aaron Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
balsammountainleather Report post Posted February 19, 2014 Thanks for the replies guys! northmount: I watched almost all of the Nigel Armitage videos since posting that link, thanks a ton! Really good stuff. electrathon: I should probably think about using thinner leather in the future, but I've got a beautiful hide of this stuff to use up so I'm gonna go for it! Thanks for the advice on waxing & polishing the punch, I just tried that out and it helps tremendously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electrathon Report post Posted February 19, 2014 How come I can not see any atitching holdig your wallets togeather? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
balsammountainleather Report post Posted February 20, 2014 Oh, that picture was just to show how much of the wallet I assemble before punching the holes for stitching. There's a finished pic: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
