Members DavidL Posted December 3, 2014 Members Report Posted December 3, 2014 How do you mark the holes on a belt and get them aligned in the centre. The most common way i see this done is people have a paper layout and put a dot in the middle. To me that would be inaccurate and difficult to get the punch centred and be an issue on things like watch straps. Do you use a template and draw the outline of the circle? Use a template and press an indentation with a hole punch and align in the groove? Something else? Quote
Members wlg190861 Posted December 3, 2014 Members Report Posted December 3, 2014 Say you are making a belt, 1 1/2" wide, I use a clear plastic ruler ( the ones you can buy at ( Wal-Mart ) Lay the ruler on the belt, line up the edge of the belt with the 3/4 inch line on the ruler, take a pen or any pointed object an put a mark every inch. Most belts have 5 holes. When you punch the holes, use your eyes to center the punch. I hope this helps you. Dan Quote
Members Dwight Posted December 3, 2014 Members Report Posted December 3, 2014 Pretty much the same as wig190861, . . . except I have a punched out template made many moons ago from a manila folder. I lay it on the top of the belt, . . . pencil, pen, nail, punch, . . . use something to mark the front to back location of the holes. Then I lay it on the table, . . . belt point looking directly at me, . . . lay my hole punch back side on the mark I made, . . . adjust it left or right as my eyes tell me what is centered, . . . punch it. I learned a long time ago, . . . if I cannot see any error in the location, . . . nobody else will either. I just eyeball and punch. May God bless, Dwight Quote If you can breathe, . . . thank God. If you can read, . . . thank a teacher. If you are reading this in English, . . . thank a veteran. www.dwightsgunleather.com
Members DavidL Posted December 3, 2014 Author Members Report Posted December 3, 2014 ok, looks like I need more practice. A while back I was making a shoe and the eyelet holes where slightly off, enough where it was noticeable and I was curious if there was any thing that I haven't thought of. Quote
Members thefanninator Posted December 3, 2014 Members Report Posted December 3, 2014 Weaver has a centering device for this. Quote http://www.instagram.com/fannintexas/
Members Red Cent Posted December 4, 2014 Members Report Posted December 4, 2014 I use a wing divider. I mark the spot with a pencil, use the wing divider to establish center, place the punch over the mark made by the divider stem to make an impression, then use 1 ton hand press to punch the holes. Little involved but I have not had a "bad" hole for quite a while. Quote https://www.facebook.com/redcentcustomleather?ref=bookmarks http://www.redcentcustomleather.com/
Members 25b Posted December 4, 2014 Members Report Posted December 4, 2014 Weaver has a centering device for this. You have a name for the tool or a link to it? Quote
Members silverwingit Posted December 4, 2014 Members Report Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) For me, the trick is not so much how you mark the hole's locations, but how you physically punch them. Having marked the locations of the holes with, say, a point using a round awl, one method is to place the punch centered on the points, where another places the leading or following edge of the punch at the points. With the latter method, you can always see the marked point but must be very careful of left/right placement. With the former method, which I actually prefer, you must make a light test impression with the punch to ensure that it is indeed centered over the given marked point. Of course you can and should always make light test impressions before punching any hole, whatever placement method you prefer. Michelle PS: Here is that Weaver centering device. You should know two things about it, though. One, Weaver only sells to tax licensees. Also, the device is designed to use their Master Tools punches which are very, very nice but quite pricey. Search that same catalog to see what I mean. http://www.weaverleathersupply.com/Mobile/Catalog/ItemContent.aspx?ItemNumber=185FD3CC33B7CF69C99B93B444F2313F6A85E188A47961DAB96A232C7F033E4818485C02B019734BB68DC4C6A1E9B194AFA55689811E277237334E382C069D02BAF005735363B572E8FFCDA522DB7EA6F894C0F2C8C282BB60AB9D59DC14E2FB43E3D97F9A6304D177B9AC42B13D3327106661CF8E801C592F9C9AB1FA196EF1 Edited December 4, 2014 by silverwingit Quote
Members thefanninator Posted December 4, 2014 Members Report Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) You have a name for the tool or a link to it? http://www.weaverleathersupply.com/Catalog/ItemContent.aspx?ItemNumber=29291&CatalogId=001&CatalogDetailId=40&NSM=Y Whoops, just noticed it was already posted. Weaver will sell to anyone now. The Weaver Leather Supply site is for anyone. Weaver Leather is for businesses. Edited December 4, 2014 by thefanninator Quote http://www.instagram.com/fannintexas/
Jaymack Posted December 5, 2014 Report Posted December 5, 2014 Black River Laser at Ebay makes a pretty cool template. I haven't bought one yet, but I will soon. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.