Question on punching holes with a hole punch

[Windrider30]

Ok i have an idea i want to try with a leather corset. I need two rows of holes aligned as near perfect as possible. So how do i go about doing this, i need two vertical rows how do i go about keeping the spacing even as when i try just eyeballing this the distance between holes is a little off and for the lace work i have in mind the spacing needs to be as close to perfect as i can get.

[TonyRV2]

I'm not sure I'm following what the problem is so I'll point out the obvious...why not carefully measure and mark where you want the holes to be as opposed to 'eyeballing'?

[Windrider30]

basicly I need two lines like this . .

                                                   . .

                                                   . .

 

The problem with measuring is that I am not sure where to measure from after the first hole so that it lines up. If I should measure from the bottom of the hole, top of the hole down, because even going from the center I still get it a little off center even after marking where I want the holes in the first place.

7 hours ago, TonyRV2 said:

I'm not sure I'm following what the problem is so I'll point out the obvious...why not carefully measure and mark where you want the holes to be as opposed to 'eyeballing'?

 

[Halitech]

how about using a wing divider? trace  your line out where you need it to go then "walk" the wing divider along the lines. That way, you have a small spot and you aren't trying to figure out where to measure from

Edited September 20, 2016 by Halitech

[Northmount]

Don't measure from hole to hole, as any small errors will keep increasing and throwing your two rows out of sync.  Keep the ruler (use a ruler or tape) in place, mark off each hole without moving the ruler down each time.  So if you were making the holes 1/2" apart, you mark at 0, 1/2", 1", 1.5", 2", etc.  If you use a scratch awl or pencil/pen, just make small marks in a straight line.

When punching, press the punch centered over the mark, just hard enough to leave a slight impression.  Check to see if it is centered, correct the location if not, then punch the hole using the mark plus the punch impression as a guide.

You could make a punching guide or template out of a strip of wood or plexiglass or similar plastic material if you will be making several articles the same.  Will help speed up production.

You could also use painters green tape to place your marks, and punch through it, then remove the tape after.  Then you won't be marking the leather itself.

Tom

Edit:  Or modify this as Halitech suggests above.  We posted at the same time!

Edited September 20, 2016 by northmount

[TinkerTailor]

1 hour ago, northmount said:

Don't measure from hole to hole, as any small errors will keep increasing and throwing your two rows out of sync.  Keep the ruler (use a ruler or tape) in place, mark off each hole without moving the ruler down each time.  So if you were making the holes 1/2" apart, you mark at 0, 1/2", 1", 1.5", 2", etc.  If you use a scratch awl or pencil/pen, just make small marks in a straight line.

When punching, press the punch centered over the mark, just hard enough to leave a slight impression.  Check to see if it is centered, correct the location if not, then punch the hole using the mark plus the punch impression as a guide.

You could make a punching guide or template out of a strip of wood or plexiglass or similar plastic material if you will be making several articles the same.  Will help speed up production.

You could also use painters green tape to place your marks, and punch through it, then remove the tape after.  Then you won't be marking the leather itself.

Tom

Edit:  Or modify this as Halitech suggests above.  We posted at the same time!

Careful with the painters tape, I have had it stick and leave residue on some distressed leathers and more frequently when i use it on the backside. Not sure why. I just decided to stop using green tape on leather to prevent it.

I do dust the backside of my patterns with super77 sometimes, then rub it a bit with my hands to reduce tack. It works great to give patterns that little bit of "stay right there while i trace/punch"

[Windrider30]

Great ideas thanks all!!!!

[ENC]

What several of my friends have missed when doing hole layouts is there is 1 less division than there are holes. 11 holes 1 in apart cover 10 in because you have a hole at 0. Also its much easier to use metric measurements, it's much easier to mark out 5.76 mm than 2.4 inches, after you do the spacing division and end up with strange decimals. I use a XL spread sheet to do the math for me and come up with a measurement for each hole then place the ruler , clamp it and, mark each measurement distance from the 0, avoiding iteration error like you get from walking dividers.

Ray

[TheCyberwolfe]

Then there's the lazy man's solution - the Point 2 Point divider: http://www.garrettwade.com/point-2-point.html

Pick the number of holes you want, stretch it out until it covers the distance you want, and voila! No crazy fractions to worry about.