Bench / Table Top Press

[papaw]

Have you tried a stitching wheel to mark your holes for useing a awl. Thats what I use for my hand stitching. Just a thought..

[Jason311]

Papaw,

I've only been at this for a couple months and I used on awl on a couple test projects and my stitching always looks terrible - uneven and the leather stretches where the seam is made.

I was going to stick with it until I watched an Ian Atkinson (Leodis Leather) video talking about the awl and if he says he doesn't like them, I'm comfortable with opting out. I know all the "old timers" say to use an awl and stitch with it in hand, but its incredibly time consuming my work is always crap - which it will be at this point!

It seems crazy to use a press just to make the holes, but right now it might be a good option.

Jason

[Tree Reaper]

The problem using a press is the leather will stick to the needle unlike a sewing machine that uses a foot to hold the leather down while the needle raises out of the leather.

It can be a pain unless you develop something mechanical to hold the leather down.

[StrigaMort]

I use an overstitcher and a bench top drill press with a doll making needle chucked up. I love the setup. One person I know uses the drill press without running it, but I've found that method to be too sticky. Maybe wax on the needle would help. If you have a groover but no overstitcher, I've heard of people using a fork of all things.

Good luck, be sure and update with whatever you do. I'll be buying a HF arbor press soon, but for other work.

[Jason311]

Strigamort,

I have a couple overstitchers and they do their job just fine - its the consistency I'm trying to get down. I'm going to order a 1 ton arbor press and see how I can manage with it.

I don't mind taking the time to pry out the pricking fork. Afterall you're going to be doing that using those anyways. I just need to keep my apartment from sounding like a construction site!

I'll let you guys know how I get along with it.

[StrigaMort]

Since you may live there when you want to use tooling stamps and will need to use a maul/mallet anyway, what are you using to strike with, and strike on? I'm using marble and a Harbor Freight 1.5lb dead blow mallet. The mallet may not be the best, but it's fairly quiet. If I isolated the marble with a thin piece of foam, it would be even quieter. Just thinking out loud.

[RoosterShooter]

Back in the day I used a Dremel and Dremel Drill Press attachment. Kind of handy to have and very low profile. The bits that you can get for the dremel are the perfect size for hand stitching.

http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachments/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=220-01

[St8LineGunsmith]

you can also fold up a big towel and place it under your marble, this will help to silence the blows a bit as well,

if you do decide to use a d dremel dont use it on a high speed for it will burn the leather while making the hole.

I used to use a dremmel tool for those stitch holes that had a thick welt but I found that one of those little HF bench top drill presses work better because they don't bog down like a dremel will at slow speeds.

still though the best results I get is with using a good sharp stitching awl with a stitching clamp

just sharing my experience.

[StrigaMort]

I'm glad you mentioned the heat. I keep meaning to change the speed on my press. I was surprised to find that my needle was hot enough to burn me a couple of weeks ago.

[St8LineGunsmith]

ya the faster it spins the hotter it will get

I have had leather smoking and the needle turning colors theyve been so hot

when I use my drill press I set it on its slowest speed,

afterwards I will use the diamond shaped awl blade.