Slots and Skiving

[zuludog]

Recently I have been restoring some vintage machinery, including fitting new drive belts

The belts are about 4mm thick leather, joined by steel clips . Each clip requires a hole or slot in each end of the belt; with two clips per belt that's 4 holes altogether

The holes need to be 1/4" X 1/2" or about 6mm X 12mm

Apart from the fact that I couldn't find a slot punch or crew punch of the correct size, they are quite expensive. So instead I went to the secondhand tool stall in my local market and bought a 1/4" wood chisel for £2. It was a bit dirty with surface rust, but once I'd cleaned it, underneath there was an excellent old Sheffield steel chisel, which sharpened to a razor edge

I marked out the size with a scratch awl, then cut the slot, with a piece of scrap wood for a backing

The stall holder was charging the same price for all the chisels;  £2, about $3, regardless of the width. It occurred to me that for the same price and a bit of work you could get a 1" / 25mm chisel, or possibly a bit wider and have a very good and cheap skiving knife 

 

Edited April 20, 2016 by zuludog

[Nuttish]

Odd size belts are a real bummer that can take up as much time as you're willing to throw at them until you give up.

You might consider replacing the belts with weldable urethane a la http://www.fennerdrives.com/eagle/_/Eagle-Orange-85-Non-Reinforced-Flat/ This outfit appears to sell in England.

I use it fractional horsepower machines in my shop, but the machine shop downstairs uses it on heavier duty stuff like horizontal mills.

You don't need the welding kits. http://www.fennerdrives.com/eagle/_/Eagle-Orange-85-Non-Reinforced-Flat/ They're super nice, but expensive and a cigarette lighter and cheese knife work just fine. Just put one end in a vice and use some needle nose pliers to mash the other end into it when they're both sufficiently molten, making sure they're straight and coplanar. Carefully trim with a fresh razor blade.

[zuludog]

Thanks for the reply and the link, but that would be too easy!

These machines date from just before WW1 and we're trying to keep them as original as possible, so it has to be leather

[Marcella]

Zuludog, can you post a pic of the chisel? I'm slowly teaching myself to make shoes and am looking for an affordable but decent alternative to a $60 spring steel skiving knife. I know nothing about heat treating or sharpening tools but my local ace hardware store does a decent job with sharpening blades. Too bad I haven't heard of a local second hand tool stall near me. Thanks!

[zuludog]

Sorry, but I'm a bit of a dinosaur & technophobe and I don't know how to post pictures. My son used to do that sort of thing for me but he's grown up and left home. I really must get my finger out and learn for myself. But here are a few comments

I make or modify old tools as I can't afford to go out and buy a load of new ones. Besides, there's something satisfying about doing that, and a lot of people are of the opinion that old steel is better than new steel

Surf & search the Net & Google for old/secondhand wood chisels, and try the various options & categories that come up, you'll see the sort of things available. You could shorten the handles to make them a bit more manageable, and if the handle is broken, so much the better, you can make your own palm handle. Also search for butt chisels, old or new

Doesn't have to be old. I have found this website selling new 1", 1-1/2" and 2" Buck chisels at reasonable prices  http://www.homedepot.com

I have made a skiving knife from a secondhand decorator's filling knife - 50p, about 75 cents; cleaned it up & sharpened it, it took a razor edge. but it was a good one with a proper forged blade. Don't get the cheap ones with stamped blades. Even new ones are not that expensive, about £7, say $10 Again, search & surf

If you get secondhand tools  be willing to do some work, like cleaning, sharpening, and possibly a bit of repairing. In Britain we have car boot sales, I think the equivalent in USA is a garage sale. Or put the word out among friends, colleagues at work, neighbours; you might just meet someone who has their uncles old tools stashed away and would love for then to go to a good home

Search Google &YT for 'japanese leatherknife' and 'japanese skiving knife' I have seen them as low as $15 but as with all tools you can pay &pay as much as you want Look at this website

http://leathercrafttools.com 

You need to be good at sharpening.  - Diamond, water, or oilstones, yer pays yer money and yer takes yer choice. I use old (my Dad's)  medium and fine oilstones and have cleaned them up as in YouTube videos. But treat yourself to some proper honing oil

Then I go to a strop. Make them from scraps, easy enough and again there is information on this forum, and probably on YT but I haven't checked

There is a lot of information on sharpening - there is a section on this forum, and a lot of videos on YouTube, but I think one of the best is 'Preparing and Sharpening a Woodworking Chisel' by Paul Sellers

Have a look at my thread 'handmade shoes' in Leather Conversation, very recent

 

Edited June 13, 2016 by zuludog

[Marcella]

Thanks for all the great advice! I really don't want to get into oil stones etc. sounds like another investment. Stropping is necessary so I would not mind that much work. I'll take a look at that video and keep an eye out for the tools you mentioned. Thanks again! 

[Matt S]

If you are going to spend any amount of time working in leather or wood, a sharp edge is essential for quality of product and your own safety. A basic two-sided oilstone is available for just £1 or 2.  Lubricate it with light oil, dish soap, spit or window cleaner.

 

You don't need much to hone and sharpen non-fancy steel. I do pretty much everything with a crappy old 2-sided oilstone and a strop loaded with green compound.

[zuludog]

The key to leatherwork is to use absolutely sharp tools. I have several sorts of oil - and diamond - stones as I make tools & knives from all sorts of odds & ends, and one of my hobbies is knifemaking; but if you get proper tools in the first place you should only need a fine stone and a strop, so sorry, but you will probably need a fine stone sooner or later, and learn to use it

Ceramic stones aka water stones tend to be expensive, and are a bit messy

Diamond stones are probably the easiest to use, but can be expensive. However you can probably find a cheap one at a discount store or hardware store

Oil stones are about the cheapest to buy new, and as they have been around a long time you can get them even cheaper secondhand. In Britain that would be about £2 or £3 - $5?

Cheapest is to use wet & dry paper on a sheet of glass, or a ceramic tile. Search YT for 'sharpening with sandpaper'

Surf & Search YouTube for all of these; even if you don't buy or use the various stones you will see the various methods. And if you're only sharpening awls and leather cutting knives you don't need a huge stone, say something like 6" x 2"

Edited June 14, 2016 by zuludog